Over his shoulder, Zessel could hear the breathing of his colleague who he carried on his back. She took weak, shallow breaths.
—Kate’s bleeding wasn't stopping.
“It’s only a bit farther, so hang on!”
There was no response from the woman he was carrying.
“……Hang on until then!”
From the preparation he had done before coming here, he knew that there was a door at the farthest end of the main hall which they could use to escape outside.
Zessel felt dizzy and had a headache. But even so, he continued to run.
***
“……It’s so quiet.”
Was this the changing room? Rows of lockers were filled with staff lab clothing. Neight was hidden quietly inside one of the lockers.
……Kate-sensei.
In order to allow him and Ada to escape, their teacher had stayed behind, alone.
“—I……”
He felt a powerlessness similar to what he had felt during the recital contest. But the major difference was that now, he was truly alone in this place.
Arma, who had always been by his side, was not here. Mio, who had prepared a Night-colored catalyst for him, was not here. Finally, Kluele, who had watched over him as he recited, was not here.
……Am I alone again?
A long, long time ago, when he had still been in the custody of the orphanage, there hadn’t been anyone he could talk to or rely on. So whenever morning came and he felt lonely, he would always want to hide under his futon. He wished for night to continue on forever and ever.
But.
He had been picked up by his mother, who had now passed away. Ever since then, something had begun to change little by little. He had met Arma and come to Tremia Academy where he met many people. He had met a kind girl with scarlet hair, the Reciter who continued to keep his promise with Mother, and also many classmates.
“That’s why it’s different now.”
There were people who would stay by his side. He just couldn’t meet them right now since he was hiding here. There was no point in him continuing to hide like this.
“I need to go find them.”
Neight opened the locker door just a crack and looked around at his surroundings. There weren’t any of snakes or lizards nearby.
He exited the changing room and headed down the hallway in the direction he had come from.
But after less than a few seconds, he felt something strange underfoot. He was shaking. Was he scared? No, that wasn’t right. This was—
“What is this…… An earthquake?”
Silently, the glow of the light fairy disappeared. Was it another grey Recited creature? Enne instantly became on guard, but after a while, she let out a sigh of relief.
After she composed herself and looked around, there was nothing worth taking notice of. The light of the fairy had simply been hidden by another light.
A faint beam of light lit up the dark hallway. It leaked out from behind a closed door and shone like rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees.
“……That must be the main hall.”
Enne knew that Zessel was talking to himself, but she nodded anyways.
Within the research institute blanketed in darkness, only the main hall deep inside the building was lit up. It would be a lie to call this just a coincidence. Judging from the situation until now, the possibility that they had arrived at a completely safe location was nearly zero. Even deciding whether or not to enter the room would be a risky bet. What awaited them there was probably—
……However, they had no choice but to enter. Beyond the door was a place to take refuge. Kate’s body couldn’t endure much longer. They had to make a quick decision and head for medical supplies.
Zessel kicked open the door. Even though the brightness of the room was forcing him to close his eyes, he took a look around the room.
Squinting, Enne looked around.
—So it’s like this, huh?
She gritted her teeth. Finally, they could see through the troublesome farce.
“So this is the cause of everything.”
In the center of the spacious room, lying on an ornate lantern studded with gemstones, was a grey <Egg>. It was just like a grey king sitting on a throne that shone with five colors. Glancing around, Enne and Zessel could see five colored <Eggs> in the corners of the room.
“……So this really is an institution just for refining these catalysts.”
Zessel, who carried Kate on his back, muttered sarcastically.
He had heard that one <Egg> of each of the five colors had been brought to Tremia Academy.
If so, then it wouldn’t be unusual to have a fair number of <Eggs> still remaining in this institute.
“Did an <Egg> run wild in this research institute as well?”
“We can’t say for sure yet.”
Enne shook her head lightly.
She had heard that only catalysts of the five existing colors had been brought to the campus. If the <Eggs> refined in this institute were only of those five colors, then just what was that grey <Egg>? Furthermore, they hadn’t seen any grey <Eggs> so far except for the one in this room. A single catalyst going out of control wouldn't make sense considering the large number of grey Recited creatures. To call out so many of them, there would need to be at least two, no, at least three <Eggs>.
And then there were the words written in blood on the stone monument……
—That’s enough.
“We should stop worrying about the complicated situation for now.”
Right now, they didn’t need to analyze the situation. Safely overcoming this dilemma and escaping was their top priority.
“Zessel, don’t touch that catalyst.”
Touching the <Egg> would force someone to conduct a Recitation. Although they didn’t know what the trick behind that was, it had already been proven before during the recital contest.
“……Kate, hang on.”
Kate already had no strength left to raise her upper body. Although he also looked tired himself, Zessel shifted the position of Kate on his back.
In the back of the room, standing out from the grey walls surrounding it, was a scarlet door. It was like what he had seen on a map of the research institute. Going through that door should lead outside.
Suddenly.
“……An earthquake?”
Zessel raised an eyebrow slightly. As if in harmony with that movement, Enne felt faint vibrations at her feet. Dry flakes of paint peeled off from the ceiling.
It felt strange. She had experienced this feeling before.
Deja-vu? No, it was different. She, Zessel, Mirror, and Xins had felt the ground shake in exactly the same way during the recital contest.
The <Egg> was going out of control. Back then, the ground had rumbled as the creature came into existence.
“Enne!”
Zessel's tone of voice changed into one that sounded like there was a scream or warning mixed in. On the other side of the door they had come in from, grey creatures slowly crawled forth from the shadows of the corridor.
“Damn, just how many traps did they set?!”
“Zessel, let’s hurry! We can’t handle all of—”
—Her feet stopped.
“…………No way.”
Of the egg-shaped catalysts that rolled around freely in the four corners of the room, two were activated and emitting light. It would be fine if that was the only thing. But the problem was, they were the two <Eggs> closest to their escape route.
The Recitation light disappeared and a Recited creature emerged from each of the two used <Eggs>.
Behind Enne and Zessel were a group of grey Recited creatures. Floating in front of them was a will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit and coiled up beside that was an Amphisbaena with a green body.[1]
—They were surrounded. The circle of creatures gradually closed in around them.
“Kate…… I’ll do what I can, but…… Sorry, this might turn into the worst possible scenario.”
Slithering on the floor, the Amphisbaena came at them from below. Grey snakes crawled along the ceiling. On either side were grey lizards and the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit.
There were too many of them!
——[Red SongKeinez]——
Aiming at the several grey lizards that were closest to him, Zessel called out roaring flames. However, the flames were suppressed enough that they wouldn’t flare up and backfire. Zessel could clearly see grey shadows continuing to advance within the crimson heat wave.
—This much fire isn’t enough to stop them?
In order to defeat the Amphisbaena coming at them from the front, Enne shifted her position.
She took an instant to glance at her colleague. Nearly two meters directly behind him was the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit. It had silently crept up so close behind him that it frightened her. Its attack range should be about as far as the height of a person. Then that distance was— Oh no!
“Zessel, behind you!”
Zessel quickly turned around. Because the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit was too close, he reflexively backed up. But before he could do so, his knees buckled. In the face of imminent danger, he had forgotten that he still carried Kate on his back. Her weight hindered his movements.
The light emitted by the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit changed from yellow to blue. Silk-like threads shot out from its glowing spherical body.
Zessel instinctively realized that couldn’t dodge them.
Get down
O muas dowa
……Get down?
Before Zessel could comprehend those words, both he and Kate fell to the ground as if guided by the power of the Serafeno Musical Language.
The scarlet door that led to their escape route turned an even brighter shade of red.
At that instant, the door burst apart with a loud noise. The splinters of the smashed door struck the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit in front of Zessel and crashed into the walls of the room at high speed.
……What just happened?
A giant crimson bird came to a stop on the floor of the large room in a way that couldn’t be called elegant.
Was that the PhoenixDivine Bird of Dawn?
Enne froze, even forgetting about her surroundings. Before her eyes was the extremely rare and famous Recited creature that had become like a fantasy among Reciters.
“Quick, Enne-sensei, come over here!”
“Ada?”
Seeing the face of the girl who rode the giant bird, Enne was dazed and speechless.
“Zessel-sensei, get on with Kate-sensei!”
Another girl, one with hair the same color as the divine bird’s wings, beckoned them over.
“Are you Kluele?”
Zessel opened his eyes. He realized that this was probably one of the students he had taught a lecture to.
“Sensei, do you know where Chibi-kun is?”
Ada jumped off the divine bird’s back. In her hand was— a long spear that gleamed metallically?
“Chibi?”
“Ah, I mean Neight-kun. He came here with me and Kate-sensei.”
“……Sorry, but we haven’t seen anyone other than Kate.”
But contrary to the teachers’ expectations, the light-hearted expression remained on Ada's face.
“It’s okay, it’s fine just knowing that. If we look around, we should be able to find him.”
Tossing only those words over her shoulder, Ada calmly walked away from them by herself. Did she really intend to go look for Neight?
“……A-Ada! What are you doing?!”
All at once, the Recited creatures that had paused in their steps now attacked the girl who walked through the main hall away from the PhoenixDivine Bird of Dawn.
“Ada, behind you!”
Kluele yelled, still sitting on the back of the divine bird.
Directly behind Ada was the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit that should have been thrown back into the wall.
But despite the warning, Ada did not turn around.
“—Got it.”
The will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit stretched out a glowing tentacle. At the same time, with her back facing it, Ada stabbed her spear behind her. The glowing tentacle and the spear passed by each other—
“The will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit’s attack range is 1.673 meters. On the other hand, my GilExorcist Spear is 1.895 meters.”
The glowing tentacle stopped only a finger-width away from Ada’s back.
However, the girl’s spear pierced the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit, which began to shudder.
“In other words, if I hold my spear at 0.2 meters away from one end and stab it out, the enemy’s attack will miss me by 0.022 meters.”
Miss. As Ada spoke that word, the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit turned into specks of light and was sent away.
She had been…… only 2.2 centimeters away from death.
Ada still didn’t turn around to face her opponent. No, she hadn’t even looked at the spear she was holding. If she had gripped her spear only a finger-width farther down, what would have happened?
“I definitely won’t make a mistake, not even by a millimeter.”
As if reading their minds, Ada muttered.
“……That much practice has been hammered into me ever since I was young.”
Her voice sounded strangely sad.
Difficulty to suppress— Easy.
Enne finally understood why the girl hadn’t turned around to look at her opponent.
It could be described as ‘not interested’. Ada’s gaze had already turned to the next enemy she needed to defeat.
“There are twenty-seven creatures in total, thirteen of which I don’t know details about.”
The Amphisbaena attacked from below.
Fangs dripping with poison touched the end of Ada’s foot— The distance between them created that illusion, but the snake’s fangs cut only empty air.
Raising its heads, the Recited creature emitted a green Recitation light and was sent away.
“Twenty-six left. Yeah, I’ll be just fine. It’ll be easier to search for Chibi-kun after I finish them off.”
Ada stood behind the snake.
—She’s fast. No…… more like graceful?
She moved her body smoothly and naturally. If she were to move like that underwater, probably not a single ripple would form on the water’s surface. Her movements were so fluid that they could be thought of like that. Enne still couldn’t comprehend how Ada had dodged the attacking snake just now.
“Finish them…… all off?”
This was the girl who had been taking Enne’s practice test only yesterday. Remembering the name written on the exam sheet, Enne’s breath caught in her throat.
Ada Yung Gillshuvesher.
GillshuvesherMaster of the Exorcist Spear— Enne had heard that it was the greatest title among GillsheExorcists. Had this young sixteen-year-old girl already earned that title?
Even Klaus, the leader of the GillsheExorcists had earned the title in his twenties. But this girl who was studying Recitations at a Recitation school had already gotten it?
She couldn’t believe it so suddenly, but the scene before her eyes was an undeniable truth.
The girl danced, leaving behind only the quiet sound of her breathing. She directly confronted the Recited creatures with her own body.
This dance in which she wagered her life made even those watching feel afraid.
Was that because it was dangerous? No, the dance itself sent shivers up their spines.
Ada attacked the large snakes dropping from the ceiling while dodging the Amphisbaena by her feet and evading the lizards' claws by only a few millimeters. Synchronized with her amazing movements, the metallic spear was like a whip, cutting through the air as it attacked its enemies.
Delicate yet bold. Quick yet serene. Magnificent yet cruel. Even though it was just a spear, it was as sharp as a sword. Even though it was just a spear, it drew curves as beautifully as a bow.
In the first place, even though she was just a single girl, there were nearly thirty enemies. All of them attacked Ada as if they had forgotten everyone else. But despite being surrounded on all four sides, the girl danced without pausing even once. It was a dance of death filled with such tension that even Enne’s heartbeat seemed to freeze. But even so, there was no rage or impatience in Ada.
……No, she wasn’t the student Enne knew. She wasn’t the Reciter Enne knew. She was— Someone who shouldn’t be a Reciter.
Ada swung the spear, cutting down two more enemies at once. As Recitation light streamed out in their throes of death, the Recited creatures were sent away one by one.
There were thirteen remaining. Then, the girl’s movements stopped for the first time.
Ada carried the spear in her right hand, with her left hand hanging loosely at her side.
“Ada, your left hand!”
As if compelled by Kluele’s scream, Enne looked at Ada’s hand…… And her breath caught in her throat. On Ada’s tanned brown arm, her wrist that had turned grey was strikingly visible.
“……Did I get grazed?”
A monotonous voice escaped Ada’s lips. The remaining thirteen creatures before her were all grey Recited creatures.
“Ada, that’s enough! Step away from them!”
The girl had singlehandedly defeated more than a dozen Recited creatures. It was more than enough. She and the others needed to quickly escape this institution.
“I can’t do that.”
With her back facing them, Ada shook her head defiantly.
“Ada!”
Why? Why was she so persistent? What could she do, with one arm already turned to stone?
“……Because I’m a useless girl.”
That’s right. A useless girl who wanted to be a Reciter but couldn’t— Was it Enne’s imagination? She thought she heard Ada say those words.
Front, back, left, right. A group of Recited creatures advanced from every direction. It wasn’t a number that could be easily dealt with. What did Ada intend to do with only one hand?
At that moment, Ada shouted out.
“Sensei, what color?”
—Out of the five colors, which color was the Reverse Song of Grey Recitations closest to?
Only Enne understood the meaning behind Ada’s words. Perhaps that was because she had been this GillsheExorcist’s ‘teacher’, even if for not a very long time.
“It’s the color that you chose!”
Enne used all of the air remaining in her lungs to convey that message to the girl.
Instead of replying, the tip of the spear that Ada held shone white. The pearl embedded in the spear tip became active as a gemstone for reversing Recitations.
Then, the GillsheExorcist pierced her left hand with her GilExorcist Spear.
There was a sound like glass shattering.
With a clear, crisp sound, the curse that had turned her arm to stone was instantly exorcised. The movements of the grey Recited creatures slowed down, as if they understood the implication behind it. They hesitated for less than the blink of an eye. It was a length of time that couldn’t even be called an opening. However, that was more than enough for the GillsheExorcist girl.
——[ReturnNussis]——
Leaving behind only afterimages of the spear tip, the white, shining GilExorcist Spear swung in all directions. Like steam rising up, all of the Recited creatures remaining in the room emitted white smoke and disappeared.
As if yielding her body to the smoke, the girl holding the GilExorcist Spear quietly closed her eyes.
The faint tremors stopped. Just how long had they gone on for?
Quickly rising to his feet, Neight glanced around at his surroundings.
The single path out seemed to gradually curve to the right. Because he had escaped by running down the left fork, taking that path should lead him straight ahead of where he was before.
……Nothing’s out there, right?
Although he checked behind him every few seconds, there were no signs of the mysterious grey creatures chasing after him. Because the hallway lights were off, he continued forward by relying on the emergency lights.
“Evacuation…… route.”
Those words were engraved on a plate attached to the wall of the hallway.
If he were to continue farther down this path, he should reach an evacuation door.
He continued to walk forward again, but before he could take a step— His body trembled.
“E-Eh?”
It wasn’t just his body. The floor, the walls, the ceiling. Everything trembled like they were screaming.
An earthquake? And it was larger than the one that happened a little while ago.
……Just what was going on?
***
“Ada, that was amazing! I never knew you could do that!”
As her classmate carrying a spear returned, Kluele involuntarily cheered.
She had known that Ada was in the spear-wielding club, but never knew her friend was this talented. During class, Ada never acted anything like it.
“Yeah…… Well, it’s just a skill I have.”
Talking in an ambiguous manner, her classmate scratched the back of her head. She had shown godly skills back then, but strangely, a lonely expression shadowed her face.
“Kluele, hurry up and take the teachers back to school.”
The three teachers: Kate, Enne, and Zessel. And then there was Kluele and Ada. Although together they would be extremely heavy, the divine bird said it was no problem.
“Alright. Ada, get on.”
But instead of getting on the bird’s back, Ada smiled bitterly and shrugged.
“I’m going to find Chibi-kun. It was me who brought him along, so I feel responsible for him.”
“But……”
[Let us go. We must hurry.]
The divine bird raised its head. ……Sure enough, thinking things through calmly, what Ada and the divine bird said made sense. The problem was their homeroom teacher, Kate. The wound on her back was deep and she needed to be transported to a medical facility right away.
“Sorry Ada, but I’ll be right back.”
“How unfortunate, to be told that by the Demon of Lateness.”
Ada joked lightly. Before Kluele could reply with ‘You’re also like that!’……
Wind, sneer at the transience of sand crawling on the ground
loar dime, Hir qusi fluse feo nen rawa cley
Feathers, laugh at the foolishness of ashes drunk on flames
sheza dime, Hir qusi nazarie feo eza da wavir uc corne
The voice came from somewhere unknown and soared around the calm room.
At the same time.
——Crack!——
It was the sound of something hard cracking. The sound was quiet but unusually clear, echoing throughout the room.
A lonely prison, a banquet of trash, the defeated laughs at the unending tragedy
solitie kaon, writh lef eza, lastis os fisa endehec mofy
The throne hungers for a king, but sitting on the seat is only dust
arsei glio, ovan ezis glia jes reive
A husky elderly voice sang a strange melody.
No, it wasn’t just a regular song. Was it a <OratorioSong of Praise>?
“W-What……? There’s more?”
Everything in nature changes. Along with the chair, I flow to dust
omunis via-c-univa, Yer sis tera peg ezis, eza
If that is so, then there is no winner in this world
zette yupa thes I neckt loern
The melody which they thought was the malice of the dead came from the single remaining <Egg>—
“Ada, get on right now! That <Egg> seems dangerous!”
After Enne spoke, Zessel’s face paled.
The grey catalyst in the middle of the room.
Its outer layer gradually tore off like it was breaking out of its shell. A grey glow leaked out from inside.
Come, born children, thou art the children who serve thy king
Isa da boema foton doremren Ser la lemenent, clar lef ilmei arsa
In thy hands are the king’s swords, twelve of them become a shadow over power
jes effectis qusi fo Lastihyt, ecta peg sterei orza
[It seems this research institute itself is a trap.]
The divine bird glared—
The Recitation light shone conspicuously. Particles of light traced out a helix shape and a silver shadow appeared in the center.
[And so, this seems to be the final and worst trap.]
Everything in the world now becomes the defeated — It is the day when the twelve plates of silver, the king’s swords, roar
miqvy O evoia arsei tearl dis elmaei I — sterei efflectis Ezehyt = ende arsa
Something silver-colored appeared there.
It was nearly two meters tall. Its shape resembled a humanoid made of long and narrow metal needles. Silver swords grew directly out of the parts where the hands were meant to be. It looked very much like something manmade, different from the species of Recited creatures usually called out from Recitations and the grey Recited creatures. —Floating in the air around the True Spirit as if they were protecting it were twelve bladed weapons that glowed silver, including spears, swords, and axes.
……No way, was it the True Spirit of Grey Recitations?
It was a silver Recited creature with a blade in each hand, as well as twelve more around it.
The True Spirit slowly raised the weapons in its hands…… And the instant they became aware of that.
The True Spirit was standing directly in front of them.
[……It’s fast.]
The divine bird spoke in an amazed voice.
It had moved suddenly, without any warning. Its movements were also frighteningly quick and smooth. Goosebumps rose all over Kluele’s body as she watched the True Spirit. It moved in a way similar to how Ada had.
The raised swords pointed in the direction of the divine bird and swung down.
“—What a fool.”
The attacking flash of silver was blocked by another flash of silver that swung up from below.
“Girl with the stick, watch where you’re swinging it!”
Alone, the girl wielding the spear stood her ground in front of the True Spirit.
“Ada?”
“Go on ahead of me. I said before, right? I’ll go find Chibi-kun and then return to school.”
“What are you saying? Ada, hurry up and get on!”
Keeping her gaze fixed on the enemy in front of her, Ada silently shook her head. At the same time……
……Plop.
A tiny drop of water hit the floor.
“A-Ada, what are you……?”
“Please…… Go ahead of me.”
That drop of water had fallen from the girl’s eye.
“I’m a useless person, so this is the only thing I can do.”
She slowly turned her head.
Her eyes brimming with tears were like the shore of a lake.
“……I wanted to become a Reciter.”
—She was crying.
It was the first time Kluele had seen Ada cry. Large teardrops rolled down Ada’s cheeks.
“At first, I hated the path that my idiot parents had decided for me, so I wanted to do the exact opposite and become a Reciter. It was such a lame reason. After I had a fight with my parents and left, I came to this school.”
She tightly gripped her spear. Even though the True Spirit slowly moved closer to her, she was still defenselessly facing the other direction.
“But as I studied, Reciting started to seem more interesting. I started to think that I truly wanted to become a Reciter. That’s something I can't deny. I made many friends, and honestly, it was the first time I’ve done that. Until now…… I’ve always…… always……”
‘—Let’s say for example that there was a student in the class other than Chibi-kun who was alone. If that were so, what would you do, Kluele?’
Her voice trembled. Her body trembled.
Her tears trembled. Her sigh trembled.
The extremely delicate and fragile girl cried uncontrollably.
“That’s what I should have been thinking. ……But this is the first time. For the first time, I'm glad to be an GillsheExorcist.”
Without trying to hide her tears, Ada showed an unfitting smile.
“I’m…… a useless idiot…… It seems like this is the only path for me.”
Everyone who saw that smile was left speechless.
It was extremely fragile, yet extremely determined.
The manner in which Ada behaved was —unmistakably that of an GillsheExorcist.
“But Ada, even if it’s you, there’s no way you can face this monster alone……”
“Don’t worry. Compared to this puppet, my stubborn father is a hundred times worse.”
The stone wall and ceiling now collapsed. Was it due to the rumbling a while ago, or was it yet another trap?
[……Kluele, let’s leave this place.]
The divine bird gently flapped its wings.
……Ada definitely wouldn’t listen if she was told to escape.
She was an GillsheExorcist who had stayed in a Recitation school.
And now— If this was the path she chose……
“Ada, you need to return to the school with Neight as quickly as possible! It’s a promise, alright?”
The only thing Kluele could do right now was to believe in her classmate.
……Yeah, yeah. Understood, class representative.
Continuing to smile, Ada watched the divine bird cross through the evacuation door.
—But I might be a bit late.
Turning her gaze back to the enemy before her, Ada transferred the spear that she had held in both hands to only one hand.
It was her GilExorcist Spear that she had received before she could understand what was going on.
After several years of training, she had gotten to know the GilExorcist Spear’s weight within one gram of error and its length within one millimeter of error. What she could and could not do with the GilExorcist Spear had all been engraved into her. —After she had accomplished that, for the first time, her father had allowed her to call herself an GillsheExorcist.
Thirteen years old. It was the moment when the youngest GillsheExorcist in history had been born.
And now, it was three years after that.
The spear had already become a part of her body. There was no link between the spear and the arm she wielded it with. Both of them were her spear and both of them were her arm.
“Now, all that’s left is for the two of us to fight alone.”
……Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since I’ve talked to you.
Ada wiped away the tears on her cheeks. The True Spirit drew closer to her, cutting down the nearby walls as if they were made of thin paper. They cut down anything they touched —The twelve silver blades protected the True Spirit by circling it at high speed. Ada’s skin hurt like she had been burned. It wasn’t due to the blades but the blood thirst emitted by the enemy.
This opponent was undeniably strong. Ada had to admit that. As the Reciter she was now, she definitely couldn’t win. If so, then had the half year she spent as a Reciter been a complete waste? ……No.
There was one thing she had learned from the school for Reciters.
Because she couldn’t win like this, she had to Recite.
It was something she knew the best, but also something she hated the most— The her of the past.
—Through great reverence and dignity, I carve out my name
O toga Wem millmo, HIr shoul da ora peg ilmeri giris ende zorm
Sing. Remember.
She didn’t need daydreams or fantasies that she had created.
She just needed to call back the her of those days.
The her who she had cut away in the past. She had let go of and turned her back to her memories as an GillsheExorcist.
The her who had innocently loved only her GilExorcist Spear, who had lived together with her GilExorcist Spear— Right now, she called back that part of her just one more time.
Dreams and wishes, I threw them all to the distant past (behind)
ole shan ilis, peg loar, peg kei, Hir et univa sm hid
I cannot even turn around to look at that path anymore
Hir be qusi Gillisu xshao ele sm thes, neckt ele
She spun her spear in one hand. Each spin was faster, stronger, more beautiful.
She hated her parents and the people around her talking about her natural talent. That was why she had continued to practice tirelessly in a place where nobody could see her.
Be the beginning of the one sent home (seen off)
Lor be se Gillisu feo olfey cori ende olte
My whole life is simply meant for singing, dancing, and living with my spear
lipps hypne cooka, fifsia-c-ect-c-ele peg Gill, jes qusi giris
She had come to a Recitation school but neglected her Recitation studies.
She had joined the spear-wielding club but ditched practices whenever she felt like it.
However— Training to become an GillsheExorcist was the one thing she couldn’t stop doing.
There are no flowers at my funeral, no name is needed on my gravestone
leide neckt ele sm Yem hypne, reive zayxuy lostasia Yem nehhe
I only need my rusted spear thrust upright into my corpse
O la Laspha, Wem shel zo hearsa lipps sm cley
Her blood blisters had burst, the skin of her palms had been torn, and her eyes had teared up with pain. But even so, she had still held onto her GilExorcist Spear. There had been times when she lost consciousness while being pounded by chilly winter rain and her skin had nearly festered after being scorched by insanely hot summer heat. But even so, she hadn't let go of her GilExorcist Spear.
Her GilExorcist Spear wouldn’t betray her. The more she swung it, the sharper it would become. The more she cried, the stronger it would become.
That’s right. They had walked together for far enough a distance that she could declare that with certainty.
Now sing praise, many colors, many called out children
Isa O ora, sterei Ies, sterei da cooka doremren
The spear cut through the air, as if changing into an armor of blades that enveloped the girl’s body.
As it cut through the air, it sung a tune that resembled a song.
The tanned spear-user sang a tanned melody.
Here and now, the one thing after setting free all of the names—
Jes nehhe qusi Ies, arsei spil, Seo la miqvy virgia
If she were to bear not the title of a Reciter, but of an GillsheExorcist.
If the one who should protect her back and the opponent before her who she should defeat were here.
—As one who bore the ultimate title, there was one path she couldn’t step away from.
There is already nothing that can bind my spear
bekwist Yem nehhe olfey besti Gillshuvesher
Her impatience and rage faded away far into the distance.
The burning and excitement of her body made her unable to feel even the rumbling around her.
“I’m coming, True Spirit! I’ll show you the power of a GillshuvesherMaster of the Exorcist Spear!”
There were no more Reciters in the room.
The time when she had wavered in the gap between song and spear had passed.
—Ada Yung Gillshuvesher was coming.
***
……Was the earthquake still not over?
The large tremors from before had passed, but weak vibrations that shook his hair still continued.
Suddenly, the noise changed.
It was no longer the crushing sound of the wall collapsing, but clear, metallic reverberations. The incessant clashing of two hard things created a cold, sharp melody. He could hear the sounds echoing from the direction he had come from.
“……There’s a light?”
Was that a door? Silver light shone through from the cracks around the door.
The sounds were coming from— the other side?
Peering through to the other side of the door, Neight caught his breath.
There was a True Spirit made of metallic silver rods arranged in a humanoid shape. It wielded long blades that grew out of its hands and used them to slash at its opponent.
The opponent blocking its way was— A single girl with tanned skin who wielded a spear.
……Ada-san?
Right, left. The two blades slashed downward in less than a second. Ada blocked the right blade with the tip of her spear, and with the momentum of her blocking movement, turned her gaze to the left blade. The silver flash it created was already coming close to the tip of her nose.
—I can’t block it in time. While parrying the edge of the blade with her spear, Ada pressed her body close to the floor. The silver spear and the axe passed by where her neck had been moments before.
“Hah!”
With a loud breath, she swung at the protective blades floating in the air. Claaaang. With a reverberating sound like striking a bell of ice, a spear and an axe disappeared.
“……Eight left.”
She stepped back, putting approximately four meters of distance between herself and her pursuer who approached closer.
4.42 meters, that was her reach. On the other hand, she had already confirmed that her opponent’s reach was 4.14 meters. 28 centimeters— It was a tiny distance that she would have to rely on her speed and her weapon’s reach to surpass. But the protective weapons surrounding the True Spirit flew irregularly around it within a six meter range.
Ada had no choice but to stay out of the True Spirit’s range. If it rushed in, then her spear would lose its length advantage. Therefore, she should be standing between 4.14 meters to 4.42 meters away from her opponent. Any closer than that would be within the enemy’s range and any farther meant the floating blades could attack her while she couldn't strike back.
A space of 28 centimeters. That was the small boundary separating life and death, triumph and defeat. Leaving that space or being pushed out of it would mean defeat. However, right now, they were locked in a stalemate.
—She needed to find a way to tip the scales in her favor. What could she do?
But while she had been focused on thinking, the True Spirit had closed the distance.
……So it’s a strange enemy without any common sense, huh?
Its sword flashed down at a speed that an ordinary person would be unable to keep up with. With speed that could slay an enemy in the blink of an eye, it gouged, pierced, thrust, slashed down— but then abruptly retreated. Just when Ada thought it was retreating, it lunged forward at an intense speed. Then, just when they were about to clash, it suddenly slowed down and retreated again.
Its movements were unpredictable.
It attacked irregularly without any particular style of fighting. Without breathing like a person, without the attack range of a person, it attacked randomly as if mocking people’s swordsmanship. Ada wasn’t even sure which way to look.
……No, she couldn’t be bothered by it. She needed to breathe steadily.
She twisted to avoid its right-side sword that stabbed forward. She curved her body to avoid its left-side sword that drew closer to her. The silver flash grazed her cheek. She felt hot blood flowing down, as if a layer of skin had been peeled off.
But in exchange, she had avoided her opponent’s attack.
Ada thrust her GilExorcist Spear forward as fast as she could. Embedded in its tip was a pearl. The milky white tip of the spear lunged at the True Spirit’s body.
However, what the spear pierced wasn’t its body, but one of the protective blades surrounding it.
“—Not again!”
Ada unintentionally let out a bitter sigh.
While fighting the True Spirit, she had realized that the twelve blades dancing around it were both its weapons and its defense. In order to land a single hit on the True Spirit, she first had to send back the blades. Out of the original twelve, seven remained.
Blood mixed with the sweat running down her cheeks.
She had already seen through her opponent’s weak points. Its body was comprised of silver blades and what held them together in the middle was an <Egg> glowing dark grey. It wasn’t difficult to think that the <Egg> was the core holding the True Spirit in this world.
……Ada could still move her body. She was fine.
Before her movements became sluggish and her mind became exhausted, she needed to send back all of the blades protecting the enemy. After that, she could hit its core with her GilExorcist Spear.
“Let’s go, GilExorcist Spear.”
Nodding at the spear she was holding……
——Craaaaaack——
An ice-cold sound rang out from beside her hand. Willpower, strength, determination, resolve. It was a sad sound…… as if all of that had been drained away.
“……My GilExorcist Spear?”
At first, she thought it was a hallucination. She couldn’t believe it. But the more she stared at it, the more it proved to be real.
About halfway down her spear, thin cracks like a spider web had appeared.
……Ada-san?
Something had happened to her. Even Neight, who was just an onlooker, could understand that much.
Something had suddenly disappeared from Ada. Strength? No, it was something more basic.
As if her will to fight had vanished, she only dodged the opponent’s attacks. That’s right. She only dodged. She didn’t block or parry the attacks with her spear. She did nothing but continue to step back.
But— that was absurd. Even if it was Ada, there was no way that she could fully avoid all of the attacks.
In the blink of an eye, Ada had been pushed back until her back touched the wall. With one swift move, the True Spirit closed the distance between itself and the girl who had nowhere left to run. While its sword sliced Ada’s shoulder and slashed at her abdomen, a floating axe chopped down at her foot.
“Ada-san!”
Crossing through the doorway, Neight ran to the girl’s side.
……No way. Hey, this can’t be true, right?
Ada couldn’t believe that a crack had appeared on her GilExorcist Spear. Nothing like that had ever happened until now. She had never neglected to take care of it. Even when using it normally, she had made sure to be careful with it. Even with the fighting just now, it had only clashed with other blades no more than a few times. Considering the GilExorcist Spear’s sturdiness, something like that shouldn’t have damaged it this much— Then was this because of a different reason?
She could only think of one other reason.
Creatures with life, objects with a shape, a single truth applied to all of them— That is, the restriction called ‘lifespan’. After enduring around a dozen years of rigorous training, the result was that the GilExorcist Spear’s limit had come more quickly.
……No, no way. There’s no way that’s true.
Wasn’t it a part of her? The first friend she had made?
—Are you leaving me?
—Was this my fault?
Everything that reached its limit crumbled noisily.
The True Spirit swung its sword down. She might have been able to block with her GilExorcist Spear. However, she couldn’t do that no matter what.
“Ugh!”
She twisted her body and dodged. A sharp pain ran along her shoulder. It was a small but deep cut.
……But she didn’t care.
If she had taken that blow with her GilExorcist Spear, its lifespan would have been shortened even more. That was something she definitely didn’t want.
She ran from the floating weapons and the swords wielded by her opponent.
—Thump. She felt something hard against her back. The wall?
At the same time, the True Spirit turned towards her and closed the distance between them in a single movement. Ada tried once more to widen the distance between her and the stabbing sword, but her feet wouldn’t move.
“Ow!”
The floating axe gouged her calf. The pain blurred out the world around her for a split second. When she came to her senses, she saw the True Spirit raising its large sword in front of her.
……She couldn’t avoid it!
Did she have to defend with the GilExorcist Spear? Wasn’t there another option?
Her thoughts swirled around in vain. Her body wouldn’t move.
“Ada-san!”
The sword heading down towards her suddenly stopped. Pausing in its tracks, the True Spirit turned around to look behind itself. An intruder had entered the main hall. It was a small boy with a young-looking face.
……Chibi-kun?
With the sound of metal scraping on metal, the True Spirit ran off. Its target was—
No…… Don’t, Chibi-kun…… Run away, hurry…… Don’t come here.
“Don’t come over here!”
“Eh?”
Stunned, the boy froze. The True Spirit directly ahead him raised its large sword. Neight looked up helplessly. The sudden attack left him unable to comprehend the situation.
“Ah…… Ah……”
Intimidated by the True Spirit advancing towards him, Neight was frozen in place.
A Reciter who could call things out without singing a <OratorioSong of Praise> was a different matter, but other Reciters were weak when attacked directly. That was why GillsheExorcists existed, to stand as a shield before Reciters. There happened to be an GillsheExorcist here. Moreover, there was a Reciter right in front of her.
……No. Ada didn’t want to regret anymore. There was a friend getting hurt right in front of her. Wasn’t that why she had felt so pitiful during the recital contest?
Couldn’t she protect anyone? If not, then what was the use of her spear?
Its life would end without having done anything.
Was that what her GilExorcist Spear truly wished for?
‘Ada. Do you truly think this path is nothing but boring?’
‘Anyone born into a family of GillsheExorcists will struggle with that question at least once. —I was also like that.’
‘But one day, I realized.’
……That’s right. Hadn’t her father told her something like that?
'……Father, I don’t understand.'
‘It’s not that you don’t understand. You just haven’t realized it yet.’
She had finally realized. She realized what her father’s eyes had been trying to tell her that day.
‘I’m…… a useless idiot…… It seems like this is the only path for me.’
After searching for something she could do, that was the result she chose.
She chose it out of her own free will.
There was no turning back. For as long as she lived, she would have no choice but to walk down this path.
It would be an extremely rigorous and boring path. ……But even so.
—By going down this path, she could definitely protect someone.
Merciless flashes of silver flew down towards Neight. They came from the two swords that the True Spirit wielded as well as the protective blades revolving around the True Spirit.
They were all knocked aside by a glittering milky-white slash.
“……A-Ada-san……”
“Are you alright, Chibi-kun?”
Neight nodded wordlessly. Ada lightly patted his head.
She then glanced at her spear. The cracks on its tip were growing larger.
After the next attack, she would probably have to bid it farewell.
……Was it willing to fight together with her until the very end?
“Chibi-kun, do you have a catalyst?”
Speaking quickly without even moving her lips, she asked the boy behind her.
“Eh? Y-Yes.”
“Then can you do me a favor? Right now, can you conduct the very first Recitation you tried to show everyone?”
She didn’t mean the Recitation from the recital contest, but the one he conducted on the very first day he had transferred into the school. She wanted to make use of the <OratorioSong of Praise> he had sung in the laboratory.
“Eh…… B-But I still can’t do it properly yet.”
“I don’t mind if you fail. Also, make sure you sing the <OratorioSong of Praise> loud enough that even the True Spirit can hear it!”
“—!”
A tense expression appeared on Neight’s face. He finally realized what Ada was planning to do.
“Ada-san, it will probably disappear in under a minute. ……Please make sure you time it properly!”
Giving only a wink in response, Ada leaped forward directly in front of the True Spirit.
The True Spirit had two swords, as well as the protective blades flying around. Ada twisted her body, leaped, and dodged. She couldn’t block attacks with her GilExorcist Spear, which could only withstand one more blow. In order to use that blow wisely, right now she had no choice but to continue dodging.
Descend, dark curtain of twilight
“—cart lef dimi-l-shadi denca-c-dowa”
From behind Ada, the <OratorioSong of Praise> that Neight sang resounded all throughout the main hall.
I praise the distant (your) name
YeR be orator Lom nehhe
Dark, courageous, pitiful (sorrowful)
lor besti bluci ende branousi -l- symphoeki
Master’s single wing (transient master)
O she saira qersonie Laspha—
A Night-colored ChannelRecital gate slowly formed by Neight’s feet.
Pulling back her spear so that the large sword passed by only a hairsbreadth away, Ada leaped forward towards her opponent’s torso with all of her strength.
At the same time, Neight’s Recitation ended with its final verse.
——[Night SongEzel]]——
Just then, for an instant, the room was enveloped in thick black smoke.
It was the result of his Recitation going out of control.
The True Spirit, Neight, and Ada. All of their visions turned completely dark, making them unable to see anything at all.
……However!
Despite the stinging smoke, Ada opened her eyes. She had done training to see in the dark before, but right now she had a different purpose in mind. The glittering grey <Egg> in the center of her opponent was the only light that could still be seen in the darkness.
—So that’s where it was!
Abandoning any thoughts of defense, Ada simply thrust her GilExorcist Spear straight forward.
The grey True Spirit now knew its target’s location.
A milky-white gemstone shone at the end of the GilExorcist Spear that Ada held, which exposed her location. The two swords and the floating protective blades— all of the weapons thrust forward towards the gemstone.
And then……
—The black smoke cleared.
The girl and the True Spirit. Both of them stood frozen in a position with their weapons pointed at each other.
“……It’s over.”
Ada looked up at her enemy, which was close enough to touch.
She had definitely felt the tip of her GilExorcist Spear pierce the <Egg>.
On the other hand, the silver swords that the True Spirit had thrust out were all pointed at the wall far away from her.
“In this situation, if we had both struck each other, you would probably have won.”
Where the weapons had pierced it, the wall shone with a faint milky-white light.
That was the fake target Ada had called out.
[…………]
The True Spirit didn’t respond. Ada had prepared a two-fold plan. As if it was praising her, the True Spirit simply stared at the Recitation light.
From the very beginning, what Ada had wanted from Neight was just the black smoke that resulted from a Recitation gone out of control. When all of their visions turned dark, the targets had become the light of the <Egg> and the shining gemstone on the tip of her GilExorcist Spear.
While Neight was Reciting, Ada had called out a white light similar to the glittering gem.
From the very start, White Recitations were Ada’s speciality. The catalyst had been the pearl on the GilExorcist Spear, and as for the <OratorioSong of Praise>—
‘Make sure you sing the <OratorioSong of Praise> loud enough that even the True Spirit can hear it!’
When Neight sang his <OratorioSong of Praise> loudly, covered by the boy’s voice, Ada had sung her own <OratorioSong of Praise>. After that— While the True Spirit’s swords aimed at the fake light of the spear, Ada had thrust her GilExorcist Spear at the <Egg>.
With a faint rustle, the sheets of metal that made up the True Spirit turned into fine dust and disappeared.
The remaining seven floating blades, the large swords that the True Spirit wielded, and the True Spirit’s body all disappeared. Only the crumbling <Egg> with a hole pierced in it tumbled to the floor.
And then, at the same time……
Something very precious to Ada shattered loudly.
“Ada-san!”
With a vacant expression, Ada stood still. Chilled by the frightening thought that she might faint, Neight rushed up to her.
“Is your wound alright?”
“……I’m fine.”
She definitely shouldn’t be fine. The blood flowing down both her legs had already stained the tips of her shoes red.
However, she didn’t look like she was concerned about that. Instead, she gazed down by her feet.
She wasn’t looking at her blood-stained shoes. What she gazed at was something farther beyond that.
—Her GilExorcist Spear?
The tip of the GilExorcist Spear that Ada had spent around a dozen years together with was now shattered. Scattered on the floor were countless tiny shards of a broken blade.
“Chibi-kun, I’m sorry but do you mind going back to school before me?”
Ada sighed weakly.
“……But……”
“Please. I want ‘us’ to be alone.”
Neight ran away towards the evacuation door.
A curtain of silence fell across the room. In it, Ada stood alone.
Closing her eyes, the girl GillsheExorcist hugged the shattered spear to her chest.
“……I’m sorry.”
You were the one closest to me who protected me until now. I’m sorry for noticing it so late.
……I’m truly, truly sorry.
Just how long had he been waiting for already?
Chilly waves lapped the sandy beach. Right now, he was standing somewhere between the branch school and the research institute. The sun that dyed the ocean red was now disappearing beyond the horizon. The waves which washed away grains of sand were becoming darker.
“The stars are coming out.”
Beside him, a girl with scarlet hair murmured. Compelled by her words, Neight looked up at the sky overhead.
The twinkling points of light reminded him of the shattered GilExorcist Spear.
“I was really worried. And then you wandered off by yourself, of all things!”
Kluele had waited for him the whole time on the road leading back from the research institute.
“……I’m sorry.”
“But I’m glad you came back safely.”
“U-Um, what about Kate-sensei?”
“We immediately took her to see a doctor, so she’ll be fine. The other teachers are also going to have a quick checkup.”
For several seconds, there was silence between them.
“……Sorry.”
As if in harmony with the splashing waves, Kluele was the first to speak.
“I should be the one apologizing. I was troubled about my Recitations being scary, so I made you worry unnecessarily about something strange like that.”
Looking up at the sky, she spread her arms wide open.
“But I’m fine now. After this, I’ll be back to normal.”
Normal. That was something that could be understood just by seeing her calm expression.
“I believed in Kluele-san ever since the very beginning.”
Before he could finish speaking those words……
“……Hey, Neight?”
With a mischievous smile— Kluele suddenly pinched both of his cheeks.
“O-Oww! Kwuewe-san, tha’ huwts!”
“Ahaha. During times like these, you should just politely ask ‘what is it?’”
“Whaa’ ith it?”
“Yup, just like that.”
Nodding with a satisfied look, Kluele let him go.
“……Aah, that was mean.”
Neight reflexively pressed his hands to his cheeks…… And suddenly, he blinked repeatedly.
Eh? His cheeks didn’t hurt at all, even though he had expected it to be painful just now.
“……Kluele-san, did you go easy on me?”
“What are you saying, isn’t that obvious?”
Covering her mouth with her hand, the girl chuckled.
……I see.
Other than that, they had nothing more to say. In silence, they gazed at the ebb and flow of the waves—
Suddenly, the quiet noise of someone walking on sand could be heard on the beach.
“You’ll catch a cold, both of you.”
It was a tall girl with black hair. With her white Tremia school uniform fluttering in the wind, she slowly walked up to Neight and Kluele.
“……Serges-san?”
Looking back now, the beginning of everything had been— When Serges had told Neight about the GillsheExorcist girl practicing with her spear on the rooftop.
“U-Um, Serges-san?”
“What is it?”
The girl stood still, pushing aside her bangs that had been stuck together by the sea breeze.
“Did you know about Ada-san?”
“About her being an GillsheExorcist?”
……Like he thought, Serges had known everything from the very beginning.
“I’m probably the one who knows the most about her. More than any other student and any teacher.”
Her expression suddenly turning gentle, Serges also looked up at the sky. She gazed beyond the clouds drifting overhead, beyond the twinkling stars— She gazed at something in the distant past that she could no longer return to.
“Ada was the same as you, Neighty.”
The same as me?
“During the school entrance ceremony, she walked around quietly by herself. ……She had probably been thinking that she was too different compared to the rest of us. When I first talked to her, she ended up telling me a lot of things. It felt like she was so anxious that she couldn’t help spilling everything.”
—Ada-san had done that?
“She originally had a much brighter personality, which you probably can’t imagine her with anymore. Back then, she held onto her precious long spear and gazed at me anxiously.”
With a small laugh, Serges put her arms behind her back.
But then, she continued to speak in a quiet, unusually low voice.
“She looked like she needed someone to act like an older sister to her. I thought that she desperately needed a friend who she could fool around with.”
Eh, ‘someone’?
“Neighty, until you understand that, you’ll still be ‘Chibi-kun’. Right, Kluele?”
“Wait, what? Who do you mean by the role of the older sister?”
“……Even I don’t know.”
Letting out a sigh that was mixed with laughter, Serges walked lightly across the sandy beach.
In the direction she was heading—
With the starry night sky behind her, a short girl quietly walked towards them.
On her back, she carried a spear with a broken tip.
“……You idiot. You’re so late that we were all worried.”
Saying that, the Reciter hugged her close GillsheExorcist friend.
“Mmhm. Sorry about that. I’m alright now.”
Ada smiled weakly.
“That’s an obvious lie.”
“—Eh……”
One again, Sergies hugged Ada tightly.
“Didn’t I tell you already? Fake smiles don’t suit you. You need to express your mood more genuinely! It’s fine to act cheerful when you’re feeling up to it. But during painful times, rely on your friends more, okay?”
“…………”
“Or am I not reliable enough?”
“……What are you saying? That’s not true…… I’m just really happy.”
—I’m glad that Ian Exorcist came to this schoola Recitation School.
Her voice was choked with tears.
Mixed in with the splashing waves, it echoed quietly.
Over his shoulder, Zessel could hear the breathing of his colleague who he carried on his back. She took weak, shallow breaths.
—Kate’s bleeding wasn't stopping.
“It’s only a bit farther, so hang on!”
There was no response from the woman he was carrying.
“……Hang on until then!”
From the preparation he had done before coming here, he knew that there was a door at the farthest end of the main hall which they could use to escape outside.
Zessel felt dizzy and had a headache. But even so, he continued to run.
***
“……It’s so quiet.”
Was this the changing room? Rows of lockers were filled with staff lab clothing. Neight was hidden quietly inside one of the lockers.
……Kate-sensei.
In order to allow him and Ada to escape, their teacher had stayed behind, alone.
“—I……”
He felt a powerlessness similar to what he had felt during the recital contest. But the major difference was that now, he was truly alone in this place.
Arma, who had always been by his side, was not here. Mio, who had prepared a Night-colored catalyst for him, was not here. Finally, Kluele, who had watched over him as he recited, was not here.
……Am I alone again?
A long, long time ago, when he had still been in the custody of the orphanage, there hadn’t been anyone he could talk to or rely on. So whenever morning came and he felt lonely, he would always want to hide under his futon. He wished for night to continue on forever and ever.
But.
He had been picked up by his mother, who had now passed away. Ever since then, something had begun to change little by little. He had met Arma and come to Tremia Academy where he met many people. He had met a kind girl with scarlet hair, the Reciter who continued to keep his promise with Mother, and also many classmates.
“That’s why it’s different now.”
There were people who would stay by his side. He just couldn’t meet them right now since he was hiding here. There was no point in him continuing to hide like this.
“I need to go find them.”
Neight opened the locker door just a crack and looked around at his surroundings. There weren’t any of snakes or lizards nearby.
He exited the changing room and headed down the hallway in the direction he had come from.
But after less than a few seconds, he felt something strange underfoot. He was shaking. Was he scared? No, that wasn’t right. This was—
“What is this…… An earthquake?”
Silently, the glow of the light fairy disappeared. Was it another grey Recited creature? Enne instantly became on guard, but after a while, she let out a sigh of relief.
After she composed herself and looked around, there was nothing worth taking notice of. The light of the fairy had simply been hidden by another light.
A faint beam of light lit up the dark hallway. It leaked out from behind a closed door and shone like rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees.
“……That must be the main hall.”
Enne knew that Zessel was talking to himself, but she nodded anyways.
Within the research institute blanketed in darkness, only the main hall deep inside the building was lit up. It would be a lie to call this just a coincidence. Judging from the situation until now, the possibility that they had arrived at a completely safe location was nearly zero. Even deciding whether or not to enter the room would be a risky bet. What awaited them there was probably—
……However, they had no choice but to enter. Beyond the door was a place to take refuge. Kate’s body couldn’t endure much longer. They had to make a quick decision and head for medical supplies.
Zessel kicked open the door. Even though the brightness of the room was forcing him to close his eyes, he took a look around the room.
Squinting, Enne looked around.
—So it’s like this, huh?
She gritted her teeth. Finally, they could see through the troublesome farce.
“So this is the cause of everything.”
In the center of the spacious room, lying on an ornate lantern studded with gemstones, was a grey <Egg>. It was just like a grey king sitting on a throne that shone with five colors. Glancing around, Enne and Zessel could see five colored <Eggs> in the corners of the room.
“……So this really is an institution just for refining these catalysts.”
Zessel, who carried Kate on his back, muttered sarcastically.
He had heard that one <Egg> of each of the five colors had been brought to Tremia Academy.
If so, then it wouldn’t be unusual to have a fair number of <Eggs> still remaining in this institute.
“Did an <Egg> run wild in this research institute as well?”
“We can’t say for sure yet.”
Enne shook her head lightly.
She had heard that only catalysts of the five existing colors had been brought to the campus. If the <Eggs> refined in this institute were only of those five colors, then just what was that grey <Egg>? Furthermore, they hadn’t seen any grey <Eggs> so far except for the one in this room. A single catalyst going out of control wouldn't make sense considering the large number of grey Recited creatures. To call out so many of them, there would need to be at least two, no, at least three <Eggs>.
And then there were the words written in blood on the stone monument……
—That’s enough.
“We should stop worrying about the complicated situation for now.”
Right now, they didn’t need to analyze the situation. Safely overcoming this dilemma and escaping was their top priority.
“Zessel, don’t touch that catalyst.”
Touching the <Egg> would force someone to conduct a Recitation. Although they didn’t know what the trick behind that was, it had already been proven before during the recital contest.
“……Kate, hang on.”
Kate already had no strength left to raise her upper body. Although he also looked tired himself, Zessel shifted the position of Kate on his back.
In the back of the room, standing out from the grey walls surrounding it, was a scarlet door. It was like what he had seen on a map of the research institute. Going through that door should lead outside.
Suddenly.
“……An earthquake?”
Zessel raised an eyebrow slightly. As if in harmony with that movement, Enne felt faint vibrations at her feet. Dry flakes of paint peeled off from the ceiling.
It felt strange. She had experienced this feeling before.
Deja-vu? No, it was different. She, Zessel, Mirror, and Xins had felt the ground shake in exactly the same way during the recital contest.
The <Egg> was going out of control. Back then, the ground had rumbled as the creature came into existence.
“Enne!”
Zessel's tone of voice changed into one that sounded like there was a scream or warning mixed in. On the other side of the door they had come in from, grey creatures slowly crawled forth from the shadows of the corridor.
“Damn, just how many traps did they set?!”
“Zessel, let’s hurry! We can’t handle all of—”
—Her feet stopped.
“…………No way.”
Of the egg-shaped catalysts that rolled around freely in the four corners of the room, two were activated and emitting light. It would be fine if that was the only thing. But the problem was, they were the two <Eggs> closest to their escape route.
The Recitation light disappeared and a Recited creature emerged from each of the two used <Eggs>.
Behind Enne and Zessel were a group of grey Recited creatures. Floating in front of them was a will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit and coiled up beside that was an Amphisbaena with a green body.[1]
—They were surrounded. The circle of creatures gradually closed in around them.
“Kate…… I’ll do what I can, but…… Sorry, this might turn into the worst possible scenario.”
Slithering on the floor, the Amphisbaena came at them from below. Grey snakes crawled along the ceiling. On either side were grey lizards and the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit.
There were too many of them!
——[Red SongKeinez]——
Aiming at the several grey lizards that were closest to him, Zessel called out roaring flames. However, the flames were suppressed enough that they wouldn’t flare up and backfire. Zessel could clearly see grey shadows continuing to advance within the crimson heat wave.
—This much fire isn’t enough to stop them?
In order to defeat the Amphisbaena coming at them from the front, Enne shifted her position.
She took an instant to glance at her colleague. Nearly two meters directly behind him was the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit. It had silently crept up so close behind him that it frightened her. Its attack range should be about as far as the height of a person. Then that distance was— Oh no!
“Zessel, behind you!”
Zessel quickly turned around. Because the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit was too close, he reflexively backed up. But before he could do so, his knees buckled. In the face of imminent danger, he had forgotten that he still carried Kate on his back. Her weight hindered his movements.
The light emitted by the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit changed from yellow to blue. Silk-like threads shot out from its glowing spherical body.
Zessel instinctively realized that couldn’t dodge them.
Get down
O muas dowa
……Get down?
Before Zessel could comprehend those words, both he and Kate fell to the ground as if guided by the power of the Serafeno Musical Language.
The scarlet door that led to their escape route turned an even brighter shade of red.
At that instant, the door burst apart with a loud noise. The splinters of the smashed door struck the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit in front of Zessel and crashed into the walls of the room at high speed.
……What just happened?
A giant crimson bird came to a stop on the floor of the large room in a way that couldn’t be called elegant.
Was that the PhoenixDivine Bird of Dawn?
Enne froze, even forgetting about her surroundings. Before her eyes was the extremely rare and famous Recited creature that had become like a fantasy among Reciters.
“Quick, Enne-sensei, come over here!”
“Ada?”
Seeing the face of the girl who rode the giant bird, Enne was dazed and speechless.
“Zessel-sensei, get on with Kate-sensei!”
Another girl, one with hair the same color as the divine bird’s wings, beckoned them over.
“Are you Kluele?”
Zessel opened his eyes. He realized that this was probably one of the students he had taught a lecture to.
“Sensei, do you know where Chibi-kun is?”
Ada jumped off the divine bird’s back. In her hand was— a long spear that gleamed metallically?
“Chibi?”
“Ah, I mean Neight-kun. He came here with me and Kate-sensei.”
“……Sorry, but we haven’t seen anyone other than Kate.”
But contrary to the teachers’ expectations, the light-hearted expression remained on Ada's face.
“It’s okay, it’s fine just knowing that. If we look around, we should be able to find him.”
Tossing only those words over her shoulder, Ada calmly walked away from them by herself. Did she really intend to go look for Neight?
“……A-Ada! What are you doing?!”
All at once, the Recited creatures that had paused in their steps now attacked the girl who walked through the main hall away from the PhoenixDivine Bird of Dawn.
“Ada, behind you!”
Kluele yelled, still sitting on the back of the divine bird.
Directly behind Ada was the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit that should have been thrown back into the wall.
But despite the warning, Ada did not turn around.
“—Got it.”
The will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit stretched out a glowing tentacle. At the same time, with her back facing it, Ada stabbed her spear behind her. The glowing tentacle and the spear passed by each other—
“The will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit’s attack range is 1.673 meters. On the other hand, my GilExorcist Spear is 1.895 meters.”
The glowing tentacle stopped only a finger-width away from Ada’s back.
However, the girl’s spear pierced the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit, which began to shudder.
“In other words, if I hold my spear at 0.2 meters away from one end and stab it out, the enemy’s attack will miss me by 0.022 meters.”
Miss. As Ada spoke that word, the will-o’-wispsmall yellow spirit turned into specks of light and was sent away.
She had been…… only 2.2 centimeters away from death.
Ada still didn’t turn around to face her opponent. No, she hadn’t even looked at the spear she was holding. If she had gripped her spear only a finger-width farther down, what would have happened?
“I definitely won’t make a mistake, not even by a millimeter.”
As if reading their minds, Ada muttered.
“……That much practice has been hammered into me ever since I was young.”
Her voice sounded strangely sad.
Difficulty to suppress— Easy.
Enne finally understood why the girl hadn’t turned around to look at her opponent.
It could be described as ‘not interested’. Ada’s gaze had already turned to the next enemy she needed to defeat.
“There are twenty-seven creatures in total, thirteen of which I don’t know details about.”
The Amphisbaena attacked from below.
Fangs dripping with poison touched the end of Ada’s foot— The distance between them created that illusion, but the snake’s fangs cut only empty air.
Raising its heads, the Recited creature emitted a green Recitation light and was sent away.
“Twenty-six left. Yeah, I’ll be just fine. It’ll be easier to search for Chibi-kun after I finish them off.”
Ada stood behind the snake.
—She’s fast. No…… more like graceful?
She moved her body smoothly and naturally. If she were to move like that underwater, probably not a single ripple would form on the water’s surface. Her movements were so fluid that they could be thought of like that. Enne still couldn’t comprehend how Ada had dodged the attacking snake just now.
“Finish them…… all off?”
This was the girl who had been taking Enne’s practice test only yesterday. Remembering the name written on the exam sheet, Enne’s breath caught in her throat.
Ada Yung Gillshuvesher.
GillshuvesherMaster of the Exorcist Spear— Enne had heard that it was the greatest title among GillsheExorcists. Had this young sixteen-year-old girl already earned that title?
Even Klaus, the leader of the GillsheExorcists had earned the title in his twenties. But this girl who was studying Recitations at a Recitation school had already gotten it?
She couldn’t believe it so suddenly, but the scene before her eyes was an undeniable truth.
The girl danced, leaving behind only the quiet sound of her breathing. She directly confronted the Recited creatures with her own body.
This dance in which she wagered her life made even those watching feel afraid.
Was that because it was dangerous? No, the dance itself sent shivers up their spines.
Ada attacked the large snakes dropping from the ceiling while dodging the Amphisbaena by her feet and evading the lizards' claws by only a few millimeters. Synchronized with her amazing movements, the metallic spear was like a whip, cutting through the air as it attacked its enemies.
Delicate yet bold. Quick yet serene. Magnificent yet cruel. Even though it was just a spear, it was as sharp as a sword. Even though it was just a spear, it drew curves as beautifully as a bow.
In the first place, even though she was just a single girl, there were nearly thirty enemies. All of them attacked Ada as if they had forgotten everyone else. But despite being surrounded on all four sides, the girl danced without pausing even once. It was a dance of death filled with such tension that even Enne’s heartbeat seemed to freeze. But even so, there was no rage or impatience in Ada.
……No, she wasn’t the student Enne knew. She wasn’t the Reciter Enne knew. She was— Someone who shouldn’t be a Reciter.
Ada swung the spear, cutting down two more enemies at once. As Recitation light streamed out in their throes of death, the Recited creatures were sent away one by one.
There were thirteen remaining. Then, the girl’s movements stopped for the first time.
Ada carried the spear in her right hand, with her left hand hanging loosely at her side.
“Ada, your left hand!”
As if compelled by Kluele’s scream, Enne looked at Ada’s hand…… And her breath caught in her throat. On Ada’s tanned brown arm, her wrist that had turned grey was strikingly visible.
“……Did I get grazed?”
A monotonous voice escaped Ada’s lips. The remaining thirteen creatures before her were all grey Recited creatures.
“Ada, that’s enough! Step away from them!”
The girl had singlehandedly defeated more than a dozen Recited creatures. It was more than enough. She and the others needed to quickly escape this institution.
“I can’t do that.”
With her back facing them, Ada shook her head defiantly.
“Ada!”
Why? Why was she so persistent? What could she do, with one arm already turned to stone?
“……Because I’m a useless girl.”
That’s right. A useless girl who wanted to be a Reciter but couldn’t— Was it Enne’s imagination? She thought she heard Ada say those words.
Front, back, left, right. A group of Recited creatures advanced from every direction. It wasn’t a number that could be easily dealt with. What did Ada intend to do with only one hand?
At that moment, Ada shouted out.
“Sensei, what color?”
—Out of the five colors, which color was the Reverse Song of Grey Recitations closest to?
Only Enne understood the meaning behind Ada’s words. Perhaps that was because she had been this GillsheExorcist’s ‘teacher’, even if for not a very long time.
“It’s the color that you chose!”
Enne used all of the air remaining in her lungs to convey that message to the girl.
Instead of replying, the tip of the spear that Ada held shone white. The pearl embedded in the spear tip became active as a gemstone for reversing Recitations.
Then, the GillsheExorcist pierced her left hand with her GilExorcist Spear.
There was a sound like glass shattering.
With a clear, crisp sound, the curse that had turned her arm to stone was instantly exorcised. The movements of the grey Recited creatures slowed down, as if they understood the implication behind it. They hesitated for less than the blink of an eye. It was a length of time that couldn’t even be called an opening. However, that was more than enough for the GillsheExorcist girl.
——[ReturnNussis]——
Leaving behind only afterimages of the spear tip, the white, shining GilExorcist Spear swung in all directions. Like steam rising up, all of the Recited creatures remaining in the room emitted white smoke and disappeared.
As if yielding her body to the smoke, the girl holding the GilExorcist Spear quietly closed her eyes.
The faint tremors stopped. Just how long had they gone on for?
Quickly rising to his feet, Neight glanced around at his surroundings.
The single path out seemed to gradually curve to the right. Because he had escaped by running down the left fork, taking that path should lead him straight ahead of where he was before.
……Nothing’s out there, right?
Although he checked behind him every few seconds, there were no signs of the mysterious grey creatures chasing after him. Because the hallway lights were off, he continued forward by relying on the emergency lights.
“Evacuation…… route.”
Those words were engraved on a plate attached to the wall of the hallway.
If he were to continue farther down this path, he should reach an evacuation door.
He continued to walk forward again, but before he could take a step— His body trembled.
“E-Eh?”
It wasn’t just his body. The floor, the walls, the ceiling. Everything trembled like they were screaming.
An earthquake? And it was larger than the one that happened a little while ago.
……Just what was going on?
***
“Ada, that was amazing! I never knew you could do that!”
As her classmate carrying a spear returned, Kluele involuntarily cheered.
She had known that Ada was in the spear-wielding club, but never knew her friend was this talented. During class, Ada never acted anything like it.
“Yeah…… Well, it’s just a skill I have.”
Talking in an ambiguous manner, her classmate scratched the back of her head. She had shown godly skills back then, but strangely, a lonely expression shadowed her face.
“Kluele, hurry up and take the teachers back to school.”
The three teachers: Kate, Enne, and Zessel. And then there was Kluele and Ada. Although together they would be extremely heavy, the divine bird said it was no problem.
“Alright. Ada, get on.”
But instead of getting on the bird’s back, Ada smiled bitterly and shrugged.
“I’m going to find Chibi-kun. It was me who brought him along, so I feel responsible for him.”
“But……”
[Let us go. We must hurry.]
The divine bird raised its head. ……Sure enough, thinking things through calmly, what Ada and the divine bird said made sense. The problem was their homeroom teacher, Kate. The wound on her back was deep and she needed to be transported to a medical facility right away.
“Sorry Ada, but I’ll be right back.”
“How unfortunate, to be told that by the Demon of Lateness.”
Ada joked lightly. Before Kluele could reply with ‘You’re also like that!’……
Wind, sneer at the transience of sand crawling on the ground
loar dime, Hir qusi fluse feo nen rawa cley
Feathers, laugh at the foolishness of ashes drunk on flames
sheza dime, Hir qusi nazarie feo eza da wavir uc corne
The voice came from somewhere unknown and soared around the calm room.
At the same time.
——Crack!——
It was the sound of something hard cracking. The sound was quiet but unusually clear, echoing throughout the room.
A lonely prison, a banquet of trash, the defeated laughs at the unending tragedy
solitie kaon, writh lef eza, lastis os fisa endehec mofy
The throne hungers for a king, but sitting on the seat is only dust
arsei glio, ovan ezis glia jes reive
A husky elderly voice sang a strange melody.
No, it wasn’t just a regular song. Was it a <OratorioSong of Praise>?
“W-What……? There’s more?”
Everything in nature changes. Along with the chair, I flow to dust
omunis via-c-univa, Yer sis tera peg ezis, eza
If that is so, then there is no winner in this world
zette yupa thes I neckt loern
The melody which they thought was the malice of the dead came from the single remaining <Egg>—
“Ada, get on right now! That <Egg> seems dangerous!”
After Enne spoke, Zessel’s face paled.
The grey catalyst in the middle of the room.
Its outer layer gradually tore off like it was breaking out of its shell. A grey glow leaked out from inside.
Come, born children, thou art the children who serve thy king
Isa da boema foton doremren Ser la lemenent, clar lef ilmei arsa
In thy hands are the king’s swords, twelve of them become a shadow over power
jes effectis qusi fo Lastihyt, ecta peg sterei orza
[It seems this research institute itself is a trap.]
The divine bird glared—
The Recitation light shone conspicuously. Particles of light traced out a helix shape and a silver shadow appeared in the center.
[And so, this seems to be the final and worst trap.]
Everything in the world now becomes the defeated — It is the day when the twelve plates of silver, the king’s swords, roar
miqvy O evoia arsei tearl dis elmaei I — sterei efflectis Ezehyt = ende arsa
Something silver-colored appeared there.
It was nearly two meters tall. Its shape resembled a humanoid made of long and narrow metal needles. Silver swords grew directly out of the parts where the hands were meant to be. It looked very much like something manmade, different from the species of Recited creatures usually called out from Recitations and the grey Recited creatures. —Floating in the air around the True Spirit as if they were protecting it were twelve bladed weapons that glowed silver, including spears, swords, and axes.
……No way, was it the True Spirit of Grey Recitations?
It was a silver Recited creature with a blade in each hand, as well as twelve more around it.
The True Spirit slowly raised the weapons in its hands…… And the instant they became aware of that.
The True Spirit was standing directly in front of them.
[……It’s fast.]
The divine bird spoke in an amazed voice.
It had moved suddenly, without any warning. Its movements were also frighteningly quick and smooth. Goosebumps rose all over Kluele’s body as she watched the True Spirit. It moved in a way similar to how Ada had.
The raised swords pointed in the direction of the divine bird and swung down.
“—What a fool.”
The attacking flash of silver was blocked by another flash of silver that swung up from below.
“Girl with the stick, watch where you’re swinging it!”
Alone, the girl wielding the spear stood her ground in front of the True Spirit.
“Ada?”
“Go on ahead of me. I said before, right? I’ll go find Chibi-kun and then return to school.”
“What are you saying? Ada, hurry up and get on!”
Keeping her gaze fixed on the enemy in front of her, Ada silently shook her head. At the same time……
……Plop.
A tiny drop of water hit the floor.
“A-Ada, what are you……?”
“Please…… Go ahead of me.”
That drop of water had fallen from the girl’s eye.
“I’m a useless person, so this is the only thing I can do.”
She slowly turned her head.
Her eyes brimming with tears were like the shore of a lake.
“……I wanted to become a Reciter.”
—She was crying.
It was the first time Kluele had seen Ada cry. Large teardrops rolled down Ada’s cheeks.
“At first, I hated the path that my idiot parents had decided for me, so I wanted to do the exact opposite and become a Reciter. It was such a lame reason. After I had a fight with my parents and left, I came to this school.”
She tightly gripped her spear. Even though the True Spirit slowly moved closer to her, she was still defenselessly facing the other direction.
“But as I studied, Reciting started to seem more interesting. I started to think that I truly wanted to become a Reciter. That’s something I can't deny. I made many friends, and honestly, it was the first time I’ve done that. Until now…… I’ve always…… always……”
‘—Let’s say for example that there was a student in the class other than Chibi-kun who was alone. If that were so, what would you do, Kluele?’
Her voice trembled. Her body trembled.
Her tears trembled. Her sigh trembled.
The extremely delicate and fragile girl cried uncontrollably.
“That’s what I should have been thinking. ……But this is the first time. For the first time, I'm glad to be an GillsheExorcist.”
Without trying to hide her tears, Ada showed an unfitting smile.
“I’m…… a useless idiot…… It seems like this is the only path for me.”
Everyone who saw that smile was left speechless.
It was extremely fragile, yet extremely determined.
The manner in which Ada behaved was —unmistakably that of an GillsheExorcist.
“But Ada, even if it’s you, there’s no way you can face this monster alone……”
“Don’t worry. Compared to this puppet, my stubborn father is a hundred times worse.”
The stone wall and ceiling now collapsed. Was it due to the rumbling a while ago, or was it yet another trap?
[……Kluele, let’s leave this place.]
The divine bird gently flapped its wings.
……Ada definitely wouldn’t listen if she was told to escape.
She was an GillsheExorcist who had stayed in a Recitation school.
And now— If this was the path she chose……
“Ada, you need to return to the school with Neight as quickly as possible! It’s a promise, alright?”
The only thing Kluele could do right now was to believe in her classmate.
……Yeah, yeah. Understood, class representative.
Continuing to smile, Ada watched the divine bird cross through the evacuation door.
—But I might be a bit late.
Turning her gaze back to the enemy before her, Ada transferred the spear that she had held in both hands to only one hand.
It was her GilExorcist Spear that she had received before she could understand what was going on.
After several years of training, she had gotten to know the GilExorcist Spear’s weight within one gram of error and its length within one millimeter of error. What she could and could not do with the GilExorcist Spear had all been engraved into her. —After she had accomplished that, for the first time, her father had allowed her to call herself an GillsheExorcist.
Thirteen years old. It was the moment when the youngest GillsheExorcist in history had been born.
And now, it was three years after that.
The spear had already become a part of her body. There was no link between the spear and the arm she wielded it with. Both of them were her spear and both of them were her arm.
“Now, all that’s left is for the two of us to fight alone.”
……Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since I’ve talked to you.
Ada wiped away the tears on her cheeks. The True Spirit drew closer to her, cutting down the nearby walls as if they were made of thin paper. They cut down anything they touched —The twelve silver blades protected the True Spirit by circling it at high speed. Ada’s skin hurt like she had been burned. It wasn’t due to the blades but the blood thirst emitted by the enemy.
This opponent was undeniably strong. Ada had to admit that. As the Reciter she was now, she definitely couldn’t win. If so, then had the half year she spent as a Reciter been a complete waste? ……No.
There was one thing she had learned from the school for Reciters.
Because she couldn’t win like this, she had to Recite.
It was something she knew the best, but also something she hated the most— The her of the past.
—Through great reverence and dignity, I carve out my name
O toga Wem millmo, HIr shoul da ora peg ilmeri giris ende zorm
Sing. Remember.
She didn’t need daydreams or fantasies that she had created.
She just needed to call back the her of those days.
The her who she had cut away in the past. She had let go of and turned her back to her memories as an GillsheExorcist.
The her who had innocently loved only her GilExorcist Spear, who had lived together with her GilExorcist Spear— Right now, she called back that part of her just one more time.
Dreams and wishes, I threw them all to the distant past (behind)
ole shan ilis, peg loar, peg kei, Hir et univa sm hid
I cannot even turn around to look at that path anymore
Hir be qusi Gillisu xshao ele sm thes, neckt ele
She spun her spear in one hand. Each spin was faster, stronger, more beautiful.
She hated her parents and the people around her talking about her natural talent. That was why she had continued to practice tirelessly in a place where nobody could see her.
Be the beginning of the one sent home (seen off)
Lor be se Gillisu feo olfey cori ende olte
My whole life is simply meant for singing, dancing, and living with my spear
lipps hypne cooka, fifsia-c-ect-c-ele peg Gill, jes qusi giris
She had come to a Recitation school but neglected her Recitation studies.
She had joined the spear-wielding club but ditched practices whenever she felt like it.
However— Training to become an GillsheExorcist was the one thing she couldn’t stop doing.
There are no flowers at my funeral, no name is needed on my gravestone
leide neckt ele sm Yem hypne, reive zayxuy lostasia Yem nehhe
I only need my rusted spear thrust upright into my corpse
O la Laspha, Wem shel zo hearsa lipps sm cley
Her blood blisters had burst, the skin of her palms had been torn, and her eyes had teared up with pain. But even so, she had still held onto her GilExorcist Spear. There had been times when she lost consciousness while being pounded by chilly winter rain and her skin had nearly festered after being scorched by insanely hot summer heat. But even so, she hadn't let go of her GilExorcist Spear.
Her GilExorcist Spear wouldn’t betray her. The more she swung it, the sharper it would become. The more she cried, the stronger it would become.
That’s right. They had walked together for far enough a distance that she could declare that with certainty.
Now sing praise, many colors, many called out children
Isa O ora, sterei Ies, sterei da cooka doremren
The spear cut through the air, as if changing into an armor of blades that enveloped the girl’s body.
As it cut through the air, it sung a tune that resembled a song.
The tanned spear-user sang a tanned melody.
Here and now, the one thing after setting free all of the names—
Jes nehhe qusi Ies, arsei spil, Seo la miqvy virgia
If she were to bear not the title of a Reciter, but of an GillsheExorcist.
If the one who should protect her back and the opponent before her who she should defeat were here.
—As one who bore the ultimate title, there was one path she couldn’t step away from.
There is already nothing that can bind my spear
bekwist Yem nehhe olfey besti Gillshuvesher
Her impatience and rage faded away far into the distance.
The burning and excitement of her body made her unable to feel even the rumbling around her.
“I’m coming, True Spirit! I’ll show you the power of a GillshuvesherMaster of the Exorcist Spear!”
There were no more Reciters in the room.
The time when she had wavered in the gap between song and spear had passed.
—Ada Yung Gillshuvesher was coming.
***
……Was the earthquake still not over?
The large tremors from before had passed, but weak vibrations that shook his hair still continued.
Suddenly, the noise changed.
It was no longer the crushing sound of the wall collapsing, but clear, metallic reverberations. The incessant clashing of two hard things created a cold, sharp melody. He could hear the sounds echoing from the direction he had come from.
“……There’s a light?”
Was that a door? Silver light shone through from the cracks around the door.
The sounds were coming from— the other side?
Peering through to the other side of the door, Neight caught his breath.
There was a True Spirit made of metallic silver rods arranged in a humanoid shape. It wielded long blades that grew out of its hands and used them to slash at its opponent.
The opponent blocking its way was— A single girl with tanned skin who wielded a spear.
……Ada-san?
Right, left. The two blades slashed downward in less than a second. Ada blocked the right blade with the tip of her spear, and with the momentum of her blocking movement, turned her gaze to the left blade. The silver flash it created was already coming close to the tip of her nose.
—I can’t block it in time. While parrying the edge of the blade with her spear, Ada pressed her body close to the floor. The silver spear and the axe passed by where her neck had been moments before.
“Hah!”
With a loud breath, she swung at the protective blades floating in the air. Claaaang. With a reverberating sound like striking a bell of ice, a spear and an axe disappeared.
“……Eight left.”
She stepped back, putting approximately four meters of distance between herself and her pursuer who approached closer.
4.42 meters, that was her reach. On the other hand, she had already confirmed that her opponent’s reach was 4.14 meters. 28 centimeters— It was a tiny distance that she would have to rely on her speed and her weapon’s reach to surpass. But the protective weapons surrounding the True Spirit flew irregularly around it within a six meter range.
Ada had no choice but to stay out of the True Spirit’s range. If it rushed in, then her spear would lose its length advantage. Therefore, she should be standing between 4.14 meters to 4.42 meters away from her opponent. Any closer than that would be within the enemy’s range and any farther meant the floating blades could attack her while she couldn't strike back.
A space of 28 centimeters. That was the small boundary separating life and death, triumph and defeat. Leaving that space or being pushed out of it would mean defeat. However, right now, they were locked in a stalemate.
—She needed to find a way to tip the scales in her favor. What could she do?
But while she had been focused on thinking, the True Spirit had closed the distance.
……So it’s a strange enemy without any common sense, huh?
Its sword flashed down at a speed that an ordinary person would be unable to keep up with. With speed that could slay an enemy in the blink of an eye, it gouged, pierced, thrust, slashed down— but then abruptly retreated. Just when Ada thought it was retreating, it lunged forward at an intense speed. Then, just when they were about to clash, it suddenly slowed down and retreated again.
Its movements were unpredictable.
It attacked irregularly without any particular style of fighting. Without breathing like a person, without the attack range of a person, it attacked randomly as if mocking people’s swordsmanship. Ada wasn’t even sure which way to look.
……No, she couldn’t be bothered by it. She needed to breathe steadily.
She twisted to avoid its right-side sword that stabbed forward. She curved her body to avoid its left-side sword that drew closer to her. The silver flash grazed her cheek. She felt hot blood flowing down, as if a layer of skin had been peeled off.
But in exchange, she had avoided her opponent’s attack.
Ada thrust her GilExorcist Spear forward as fast as she could. Embedded in its tip was a pearl. The milky white tip of the spear lunged at the True Spirit’s body.
However, what the spear pierced wasn’t its body, but one of the protective blades surrounding it.
“—Not again!”
Ada unintentionally let out a bitter sigh.
While fighting the True Spirit, she had realized that the twelve blades dancing around it were both its weapons and its defense. In order to land a single hit on the True Spirit, she first had to send back the blades. Out of the original twelve, seven remained.
Blood mixed with the sweat running down her cheeks.
She had already seen through her opponent’s weak points. Its body was comprised of silver blades and what held them together in the middle was an <Egg> glowing dark grey. It wasn’t difficult to think that the <Egg> was the core holding the True Spirit in this world.
……Ada could still move her body. She was fine.
Before her movements became sluggish and her mind became exhausted, she needed to send back all of the blades protecting the enemy. After that, she could hit its core with her GilExorcist Spear.
“Let’s go, GilExorcist Spear.”
Nodding at the spear she was holding……
——Craaaaaack——
An ice-cold sound rang out from beside her hand. Willpower, strength, determination, resolve. It was a sad sound…… as if all of that had been drained away.
“……My GilExorcist Spear?”
At first, she thought it was a hallucination. She couldn’t believe it. But the more she stared at it, the more it proved to be real.
About halfway down her spear, thin cracks like a spider web had appeared.
……Ada-san?
Something had happened to her. Even Neight, who was just an onlooker, could understand that much.
Something had suddenly disappeared from Ada. Strength? No, it was something more basic.
As if her will to fight had vanished, she only dodged the opponent’s attacks. That’s right. She only dodged. She didn’t block or parry the attacks with her spear. She did nothing but continue to step back.
But— that was absurd. Even if it was Ada, there was no way that she could fully avoid all of the attacks.
In the blink of an eye, Ada had been pushed back until her back touched the wall. With one swift move, the True Spirit closed the distance between itself and the girl who had nowhere left to run. While its sword sliced Ada’s shoulder and slashed at her abdomen, a floating axe chopped down at her foot.
“Ada-san!”
Crossing through the doorway, Neight ran to the girl’s side.
……No way. Hey, this can’t be true, right?
Ada couldn’t believe that a crack had appeared on her GilExorcist Spear. Nothing like that had ever happened until now. She had never neglected to take care of it. Even when using it normally, she had made sure to be careful with it. Even with the fighting just now, it had only clashed with other blades no more than a few times. Considering the GilExorcist Spear’s sturdiness, something like that shouldn’t have damaged it this much— Then was this because of a different reason?
She could only think of one other reason.
Creatures with life, objects with a shape, a single truth applied to all of them— That is, the restriction called ‘lifespan’. After enduring around a dozen years of rigorous training, the result was that the GilExorcist Spear’s limit had come more quickly.
……No, no way. There’s no way that’s true.
Wasn’t it a part of her? The first friend she had made?
—Are you leaving me?
—Was this my fault?
Everything that reached its limit crumbled noisily.
The True Spirit swung its sword down. She might have been able to block with her GilExorcist Spear. However, she couldn’t do that no matter what.
“Ugh!”
She twisted her body and dodged. A sharp pain ran along her shoulder. It was a small but deep cut.
……But she didn’t care.
If she had taken that blow with her GilExorcist Spear, its lifespan would have been shortened even more. That was something she definitely didn’t want.
She ran from the floating weapons and the swords wielded by her opponent.
—Thump. She felt something hard against her back. The wall?
At the same time, the True Spirit turned towards her and closed the distance between them in a single movement. Ada tried once more to widen the distance between her and the stabbing sword, but her feet wouldn’t move.
“Ow!”
The floating axe gouged her calf. The pain blurred out the world around her for a split second. When she came to her senses, she saw the True Spirit raising its large sword in front of her.
……She couldn’t avoid it!
Did she have to defend with the GilExorcist Spear? Wasn’t there another option?
Her thoughts swirled around in vain. Her body wouldn’t move.
“Ada-san!”
The sword heading down towards her suddenly stopped. Pausing in its tracks, the True Spirit turned around to look behind itself. An intruder had entered the main hall. It was a small boy with a young-looking face.
……Chibi-kun?
With the sound of metal scraping on metal, the True Spirit ran off. Its target was—
No…… Don’t, Chibi-kun…… Run away, hurry…… Don’t come here.
“Don’t come over here!”
“Eh?”
Stunned, the boy froze. The True Spirit directly ahead him raised its large sword. Neight looked up helplessly. The sudden attack left him unable to comprehend the situation.
“Ah…… Ah……”
Intimidated by the True Spirit advancing towards him, Neight was frozen in place.
A Reciter who could call things out without singing a <OratorioSong of Praise> was a different matter, but other Reciters were weak when attacked directly. That was why GillsheExorcists existed, to stand as a shield before Reciters. There happened to be an GillsheExorcist here. Moreover, there was a Reciter right in front of her.
……No. Ada didn’t want to regret anymore. There was a friend getting hurt right in front of her. Wasn’t that why she had felt so pitiful during the recital contest?
Couldn’t she protect anyone? If not, then what was the use of her spear?
Its life would end without having done anything.
Was that what her GilExorcist Spear truly wished for?
‘Ada. Do you truly think this path is nothing but boring?’
‘Anyone born into a family of GillsheExorcists will struggle with that question at least once. —I was also like that.’
‘But one day, I realized.’
……That’s right. Hadn’t her father told her something like that?
'……Father, I don’t understand.'
‘It’s not that you don’t understand. You just haven’t realized it yet.’
She had finally realized. She realized what her father’s eyes had been trying to tell her that day.
‘I’m…… a useless idiot…… It seems like this is the only path for me.’
After searching for something she could do, that was the result she chose.
She chose it out of her own free will.
There was no turning back. For as long as she lived, she would have no choice but to walk down this path.
It would be an extremely rigorous and boring path. ……But even so.
—By going down this path, she could definitely protect someone.
Merciless flashes of silver flew down towards Neight. They came from the two swords that the True Spirit wielded as well as the protective blades revolving around the True Spirit.
They were all knocked aside by a glittering milky-white slash.
“……A-Ada-san……”
“Are you alright, Chibi-kun?”
Neight nodded wordlessly. Ada lightly patted his head.
She then glanced at her spear. The cracks on its tip were growing larger.
After the next attack, she would probably have to bid it farewell.
……Was it willing to fight together with her until the very end?
“Chibi-kun, do you have a catalyst?”
Speaking quickly without even moving her lips, she asked the boy behind her.
“Eh? Y-Yes.”
“Then can you do me a favor? Right now, can you conduct the very first Recitation you tried to show everyone?”
She didn’t mean the Recitation from the recital contest, but the one he conducted on the very first day he had transferred into the school. She wanted to make use of the <OratorioSong of Praise> he had sung in the laboratory.
“Eh…… B-But I still can’t do it properly yet.”
“I don’t mind if you fail. Also, make sure you sing the <OratorioSong of Praise> loud enough that even the True Spirit can hear it!”
“—!”
A tense expression appeared on Neight’s face. He finally realized what Ada was planning to do.
“Ada-san, it will probably disappear in under a minute. ……Please make sure you time it properly!”
Giving only a wink in response, Ada leaped forward directly in front of the True Spirit.
The True Spirit had two swords, as well as the protective blades flying around. Ada twisted her body, leaped, and dodged. She couldn’t block attacks with her GilExorcist Spear, which could only withstand one more blow. In order to use that blow wisely, right now she had no choice but to continue dodging.
Descend, dark curtain of twilight
“—cart lef dimi-l-shadi denca-c-dowa”
From behind Ada, the <OratorioSong of Praise> that Neight sang resounded all throughout the main hall.
I praise the distant (your) name
YeR be orator Lom nehhe
Dark, courageous, pitiful (sorrowful)
lor besti bluci ende branousi -l- symphoeki
Master’s single wing (transient master)
O she saira qersonie Laspha—
A Night-colored ChannelRecital gate slowly formed by Neight’s feet.
Pulling back her spear so that the large sword passed by only a hairsbreadth away, Ada leaped forward towards her opponent’s torso with all of her strength.
At the same time, Neight’s Recitation ended with its final verse.
——[Night SongEzel]]——
Just then, for an instant, the room was enveloped in thick black smoke.
It was the result of his Recitation going out of control.
The True Spirit, Neight, and Ada. All of their visions turned completely dark, making them unable to see anything at all.
……However!
Despite the stinging smoke, Ada opened her eyes. She had done training to see in the dark before, but right now she had a different purpose in mind. The glittering grey <Egg> in the center of her opponent was the only light that could still be seen in the darkness.
—So that’s where it was!
Abandoning any thoughts of defense, Ada simply thrust her GilExorcist Spear straight forward.
The grey True Spirit now knew its target’s location.
A milky-white gemstone shone at the end of the GilExorcist Spear that Ada held, which exposed her location. The two swords and the floating protective blades— all of the weapons thrust forward towards the gemstone.
And then……
—The black smoke cleared.
The girl and the True Spirit. Both of them stood frozen in a position with their weapons pointed at each other.
“……It’s over.”
Ada looked up at her enemy, which was close enough to touch.
She had definitely felt the tip of her GilExorcist Spear pierce the <Egg>.
On the other hand, the silver swords that the True Spirit had thrust out were all pointed at the wall far away from her.
“In this situation, if we had both struck each other, you would probably have won.”
Where the weapons had pierced it, the wall shone with a faint milky-white light.
That was the fake target Ada had called out.
[…………]
The True Spirit didn’t respond. Ada had prepared a two-fold plan. As if it was praising her, the True Spirit simply stared at the Recitation light.
From the very beginning, what Ada had wanted from Neight was just the black smoke that resulted from a Recitation gone out of control. When all of their visions turned dark, the targets had become the light of the <Egg> and the shining gemstone on the tip of her GilExorcist Spear.
While Neight was Reciting, Ada had called out a white light similar to the glittering gem.
From the very start, White Recitations were Ada’s speciality. The catalyst had been the pearl on the GilExorcist Spear, and as for the <OratorioSong of Praise>—
‘Make sure you sing the <OratorioSong of Praise> loud enough that even the True Spirit can hear it!’
When Neight sang his <OratorioSong of Praise> loudly, covered by the boy’s voice, Ada had sung her own <OratorioSong of Praise>. After that— While the True Spirit’s swords aimed at the fake light of the spear, Ada had thrust her GilExorcist Spear at the <Egg>.
With a faint rustle, the sheets of metal that made up the True Spirit turned into fine dust and disappeared.
The remaining seven floating blades, the large swords that the True Spirit wielded, and the True Spirit’s body all disappeared. Only the crumbling <Egg> with a hole pierced in it tumbled to the floor.
And then, at the same time……
Something very precious to Ada shattered loudly.
“Ada-san!”
With a vacant expression, Ada stood still. Chilled by the frightening thought that she might faint, Neight rushed up to her.
“Is your wound alright?”
“……I’m fine.”
She definitely shouldn’t be fine. The blood flowing down both her legs had already stained the tips of her shoes red.
However, she didn’t look like she was concerned about that. Instead, she gazed down by her feet.
She wasn’t looking at her blood-stained shoes. What she gazed at was something farther beyond that.
—Her GilExorcist Spear?
The tip of the GilExorcist Spear that Ada had spent around a dozen years together with was now shattered. Scattered on the floor were countless tiny shards of a broken blade.
“Chibi-kun, I’m sorry but do you mind going back to school before me?”
Ada sighed weakly.
“……But……”
“Please. I want ‘us’ to be alone.”
Neight ran away towards the evacuation door.
A curtain of silence fell across the room. In it, Ada stood alone.
Closing her eyes, the girl GillsheExorcist hugged the shattered spear to her chest.
“……I’m sorry.”
You were the one closest to me who protected me until now. I’m sorry for noticing it so late.
……I’m truly, truly sorry.
Just how long had he been waiting for already?
Chilly waves lapped the sandy beach. Right now, he was standing somewhere between the branch school and the research institute. The sun that dyed the ocean red was now disappearing beyond the horizon. The waves which washed away grains of sand were becoming darker.
“The stars are coming out.”
Beside him, a girl with scarlet hair murmured. Compelled by her words, Neight looked up at the sky overhead.
The twinkling points of light reminded him of the shattered GilExorcist Spear.
“I was really worried. And then you wandered off by yourself, of all things!”
Kluele had waited for him the whole time on the road leading back from the research institute.
“……I’m sorry.”
“But I’m glad you came back safely.”
“U-Um, what about Kate-sensei?”
“We immediately took her to see a doctor, so she’ll be fine. The other teachers are also going to have a quick checkup.”
For several seconds, there was silence between them.
“……Sorry.”
As if in harmony with the splashing waves, Kluele was the first to speak.
“I should be the one apologizing. I was troubled about my Recitations being scary, so I made you worry unnecessarily about something strange like that.”
Looking up at the sky, she spread her arms wide open.
“But I’m fine now. After this, I’ll be back to normal.”
Normal. That was something that could be understood just by seeing her calm expression.
“I believed in Kluele-san ever since the very beginning.”
Before he could finish speaking those words……
“……Hey, Neight?”
With a mischievous smile— Kluele suddenly pinched both of his cheeks.
“O-Oww! Kwuewe-san, tha’ huwts!”
“Ahaha. During times like these, you should just politely ask ‘what is it?’”
“Whaa’ ith it?”
“Yup, just like that.”
Nodding with a satisfied look, Kluele let him go.
“……Aah, that was mean.”
Neight reflexively pressed his hands to his cheeks…… And suddenly, he blinked repeatedly.
Eh? His cheeks didn’t hurt at all, even though he had expected it to be painful just now.
“……Kluele-san, did you go easy on me?”
“What are you saying, isn’t that obvious?”
Covering her mouth with her hand, the girl chuckled.
……I see.
Other than that, they had nothing more to say. In silence, they gazed at the ebb and flow of the waves—
Suddenly, the quiet noise of someone walking on sand could be heard on the beach.
“You’ll catch a cold, both of you.”
It was a tall girl with black hair. With her white Tremia school uniform fluttering in the wind, she slowly walked up to Neight and Kluele.
“……Serges-san?”
Looking back now, the beginning of everything had been— When Serges had told Neight about the GillsheExorcist girl practicing with her spear on the rooftop.
“U-Um, Serges-san?”
“What is it?”
The girl stood still, pushing aside her bangs that had been stuck together by the sea breeze.
“Did you know about Ada-san?”
“About her being an GillsheExorcist?”
……Like he thought, Serges had known everything from the very beginning.
“I’m probably the one who knows the most about her. More than any other student and any teacher.”
Her expression suddenly turning gentle, Serges also looked up at the sky. She gazed beyond the clouds drifting overhead, beyond the twinkling stars— She gazed at something in the distant past that she could no longer return to.
“Ada was the same as you, Neighty.”
The same as me?
“During the school entrance ceremony, she walked around quietly by herself. ……She had probably been thinking that she was too different compared to the rest of us. When I first talked to her, she ended up telling me a lot of things. It felt like she was so anxious that she couldn’t help spilling everything.”
—Ada-san had done that?
“She originally had a much brighter personality, which you probably can’t imagine her with anymore. Back then, she held onto her precious long spear and gazed at me anxiously.”
With a small laugh, Serges put her arms behind her back.
But then, she continued to speak in a quiet, unusually low voice.
“She looked like she needed someone to act like an older sister to her. I thought that she desperately needed a friend who she could fool around with.”
Eh, ‘someone’?
“Neighty, until you understand that, you’ll still be ‘Chibi-kun’. Right, Kluele?”
“Wait, what? Who do you mean by the role of the older sister?”
“……Even I don’t know.”
Letting out a sigh that was mixed with laughter, Serges walked lightly across the sandy beach.
In the direction she was heading—
With the starry night sky behind her, a short girl quietly walked towards them.
On her back, she carried a spear with a broken tip.
“……You idiot. You’re so late that we were all worried.”
Saying that, the Reciter hugged her close GillsheExorcist friend.
“Mmhm. Sorry about that. I’m alright now.”
Ada smiled weakly.
“That’s an obvious lie.”
“—Eh……”
One again, Sergies hugged Ada tightly.
“Didn’t I tell you already? Fake smiles don’t suit you. You need to express your mood more genuinely! It’s fine to act cheerful when you’re feeling up to it. But during painful times, rely on your friends more, okay?”
“…………”
“Or am I not reliable enough?”
“……What are you saying? That’s not true…… I’m just really happy.”
—I’m glad that Ian Exorcist came to this schoola Recitation School.
Her voice was choked with tears.
Mixed in with the splashing waves, it echoed quietly.
