8

The fact that Haruyuki still had about 20 percent of his HP gauge left, even after being swallowed up in a pillar of fire that reached up to the sky and then jostled by the shock wave, was because he had taken almost no damage in the impact itself.

Punching out an enormous crater by crashing into the large staircase at Sunshine City, Chrome Disaster’s armor—the Enhanced Armament—was finally completely destroyed. The armor broke into thousands of metal fragments and went flying, and from its core, particles of thick darkness jetted straight up, acting as a cushion and repelling Haruyuki’s avatar back into the sky. He felt the wire on his back severed, perhaps struck by shrapnel.

Tossed about like a scrap of litter in the enormous explosion, Haruyuki curled his body up intently and endured the damage whittling down his gauge. He somehow managed to break free of the intensely hot sphere and descended haltingly, thin lines of smoke trailing from all over his body. Unable to stand up again once he’d landed, he crumpled to his knees.

When he raised his face, the pillar of flame mixing orange and black was just beginning to diffuse into the atmosphere and disappear. The embers pouring down like rain bounced off gray tiles and withered trees, making their surroundings glow red.

The large staircase had been pitted near the middle in the shape of a mortar blast, and in the center of this, he could see a small avatar lying half-buried on its side. The cherry-pink armor was completely scorched and absent its left hand and right foot. Extremely faint light in the elliptical eye lens, which seemed humorous somehow, blinked irregularly and disappeared.

Such a powerless and pitiful figure. He found it incredibly hard to believe that this was the avatar that had put on the evil armor and slaughtered so many so ruthlessly.

Crouching, unable to move, Haruyuki only heard the sound of the small footsteps approaching him from behind. His left shoulder was slapped lightly.

“You did it, Silver Crow. Now leave it to me.”

Haruyuki stared silently at the back of the Red King as she stepped forward and then descended into the crater.

He thought about standing up and following her, but he quickly reconsidered. He got the feeling that the final conversation between those two was something he shouldn’t overhear.

The two duel avatars, the same red family and nearly the same size, one prostrate, the other standing, appeared to exchange words for a brief while. Finally, the red girl-shaped avatar knelt down beside the light peach boy-shaped avatar, held up the ragged body, left arm severed, and hugged it tightly.

The gun in her right hand raised softly.

The barrel pressed against the boy’s chest.

Despite its impressive name, both the sound and the light of the Judgment Blow were modest. But the instant the virtual bullet pierced the avatar, something happened that Haruyuki had never before witnessed.

The boy avatar disassembled into countless ribbons, each one a luminous, minute series of code. All the information that made up the duel avatar by the name of Cherry Rook unraveled, divided, and melted into the sky of the Accelerated World.

Roughly ten seconds later, there was nothing left in Niko’s arms.

The crimson avatar, slumped down on the spot, threw her head back to look up at the sky, which was painted almost entirely black in the twilight.

Haruyuki wobbled to his feet and started walking toward the explosion’s epicenter, dragging his right foot, which had suffered a fairly serious injury. A few seconds later, he arrived behind Niko and stopped to her right, but a mixture of every type of emotion tripped him up and prevented any words from coming out.

Finally, Niko blurted, “Me and Cherry, we don’t know our parents.”

He couldn’t grasp her meaning right away. When his breath articulated the question in his heart, her words returned, quietly.

“And by ‘parents,’ I don’t mean where we got our copies of Brain Burst, okay? I mean, the real world…our real parents. I told you before that my school’s a boarding school, right? The truth is, it’s a ‘school for the total care and education of abandoned children.’” Haruyuki could only listen respectfully to the words Niko, still plopped down on the ground, dispassionately uttered.

The policy of taking in newborn babies unconditionally had started in hospitals and similar places at the beginning of the century. As a step in the countermeasures against the acceleration of the decreasing birthrate and aging population, this policy had become law around the year 2030, and welfare institutions that doubled as schools were established in every region. And it was true that there was one such school in the Red Legion–controlled Nerima Ward.

“I-it’s ’cos of this personality. Even at school, I don’t fit in. I was always playing VR games by myself. But three years ago…this guy two grades ahead of me suddenly starts talking to me, right? He says, there’s an even better game, asks if I wanna try it.” She let out a small laugh before continuing.

“An invite like that, and I still let him direct. But, you know, he was just so sincere, all red in the face, you practically laughed. And that didn’t change after I became a Burst Linker, either. He taught me all these things super seriously, and when I got in trouble, he’d be a shield and protect me and stuff. But soon I caught up with his level. And then I passed him. And before I knew it, I’d somehow gotten to level nine. And once I was pushed into the Legion Master thing, I was frantic, too. It’s almost like I didn’t even care about what he was thinking or the problems he was having. In the real…When we’d meet at school, I didn’t even notice he was acting weird.”

Niko’s right hand scratched at the ground. Facing down, shoulders shaking, the young King squeezed out a thin voice. “He wanted to stay my ‘parent’ forever. And he wanted me to stay his ‘child.’ That’s why he sought power. He lost to the temptation of the Armor of Catastrophe. I-if I had just said something, just told him. That levels and stuff don’t matter, you’ll always be my only ‘parent.’ That that would never change.”

Back still rounded, little, softly weeping Niko crouched over…

For a moment, Haruyuki couldn’t find anything to say.

The Burst Linker “guardian-child” relationship. Connected in the same way with Kuroyukihime, Haruyuki had thought he understood the weight of that. But for Niko and Cherry Rook, for these two who didn’t know their real parents, it was no doubt the only indelible bond they’d made. And Niko had severed that with her own hand. She’d had no other choice.

Haruyuki worked to swallow back the things welling up in him, kneeled down, and placed a gentle hand on Niko’s shoulder.

“Niko. It’s true, Brain Burst isn’t just a game. But…it’s not the whole of our reality, either.”

Thinking, he started to talk, and the bitter sobs quieted slightly. “I mean, I’m always scared of being powerless. I’m scared of being abandoned by her. But…I know the real her. I know her face, her name, her voice. No matter what happens, that bond’s not going anywhere. I mean, it’s not digital. It’s carved into my heart. Which is why—Which is why you can still be friends with him again in the real world. You should be able to. I mean, you and us, we’re in different Legions in the Accelerated World, but in the real world, we managed to become actual friends.”

The low sobbing continued for a while longer but finally melted, as if swept up by the slight wind blowing away the twilight. Her back shuddered conspicuously one final time, and Niko wiped her avatar’s eyes with her right arm before brushing away Haruyuki’s hand, still resting on her shoulder.

“Friends…you say?” Her voice was hoarse and shaking, but it had reclaimed just a little of its impudent tone. The childish King stood abruptly, looked down at Haruyuki with red lenses, and spoke. “Were you born yesterday?! At best, you managed to become one of my subordinates! Don’t get carried away!!”

“Wh-what?!” Haruyuki was about to continue in protest when a cool voice from behind interrupted.

“Hey. Just who is whose subordinate?”

Whirling around, Haruyuki saw the ashen avatar, her entire body in tatters but standing solidly—Black Lotus.

And the indigo-blue avatar Cyan Pile supported her left arm.

“K-Kuroyukihime! Taku!!” Crying out, Haruyuki practically flew over to them. “A-are you okay, Kuroyukihime? And Taku, how—” he started to ask before he finally remembered.

Immediately prior to entering the battle with the Yellow Legion, Takumu himself had explained it. Burst Linkers who die in the Unlimited Neutral Field were resurrected in the same place after a one-hour standby penalty. Which meant that much time had already passed before he’d even realized it.

“Taku…honestly, you were totally crazy to do that,” he grumbled.

Takumu spread out a hand and replied, “You say that, Haru, but look at the terrible shape you’re in. Going after Chrome Disaster by yourself…I mean, that’s beyond crazy.”

“I take after our master.”

And that master separated herself from Cyan Pile and hovered on one leg to stand immediately before Niko. Kuroyukihime waved the tip of the sword of her right hand and uttered in a somehow arrogant voice, “Now then, Scarlet Rain. Don’t you have something to say to me?”

Right fist trembling for a while, the Red King finally jutted her face up. “Sorry.”

“Come on! Is that it? Honestly, this is exactly why I—”

“Wh-what about you?! We were out there fighting our butts off while you were just taking a nap!!”

“What did you say?”

“What, you don’t like it?”

Haruyuki and Takumu inserted themselves placatingly and desperately between the two Kings facing off, red and bluish-purple sparks scattering.

Suddenly, a remarkably strong wind blew down from the enormous tower of Sunshine City, and Haruyuki unconsciously closed his eyes.

“Oh,” Niko murmured.

Followed by Kuroyukihime. “Come, Haruyuki. Look. It’s the Change.”

“Ch-change?” Haruyuki asked in response as he lifted his face to see—

The unbelievable sight of the world rapidly changing around him.

The city, nothing more than blue-black steel and desolate ground unfolding infinitely, was covered in a wave of light like an aura rolling in from the east. Caressed by this curtain, the bleak, naked steel structures of the town were transformed into a series of large trees with thick trunks. Cavities to be used as entrances and stairs winding around the trunks were built into the trees, with suspension bridges reaching out to connect thick branch to branch. The city became an elf country straight out of a fantasy movie.

In the dead of night, the thick growth of leaves were enveloped in a faint blue phosphorescence that illuminated the floor of the forest. As Haruyuki stood there dumbfounded, a rainbow-colored aura drew near, wrapped up the world in front of him with a roar, and faded to the rear.

“Ah! S-Sunshine is…”

In the place where there had been an enormous tower, the castle of the King of Hell a moment before, he saw a tree so enormous it very nearly pierced the heavens, and Haruyuki caught his breath.

The trunk, covered in a golden-green moss, stretched up vertically, gnarled knots popping up here and there, while the top of the tree melted into the clouds in the distant sky above. Here and there along the trunk, terraces—small forests themselves—jutted out, and particles of blue light spilled down to the ground. A majestic presence worthy of the name World Tree.

But why on earth would the field transform like that?

When he shifted his attention to ask the question, Kuroyukihime had the air of a slight smile wafting around her injured avatar as she replied. “Come now, I told you that its affinity was ‘chaos’ when we first dived into this field.”

“Uh-huh, so then…”

“That, in other words, means that the affinity of this world changes at fixed times. But most of the time, it’s just brutal. You’re lucky. The field almost never shows itself in this kind of beautiful form.”

“Uh-huh.” Haruyuki filled his lungs with air that had adopted a sweetness in scent and flavor and nodded several times. It had been a tough, painful series of battles, but for the first time, he felt glad to be here.

I still don’t have enough power to fight here. But I’ll get strong enough so that one day, I can fly freely through this world’s skies. And I’ll probably keep losing again and again in very uncool ways, but…one day, for sure.

“I’d ask you to pick us up and fly again. But when the Change happens, the Enemies are completely repopped. Loitering’s dangerous right now. We’ll just be good kids and go home.”

“Let’s.” Kuroyukihime nodded at Niko’s suggestion. “Whoops! Before we do, though, I nearly forgot something important.” Looking around once, she continued in a more severe tone, “Everyone. Open your status screen and check your item storage. If the Armor of Catastrophe is there, you must get rid of it. So the same thing does not happen again.”

Haruyuki’s eyes flew open.

Right, we have to check that at least.

When the previous Chrome Disaster had been subjugated at the hands of the Seven Kings of Pure Color two and a half years earlier, the Kings supposedly did the exact same thing. And they’d all reported that the armor hadn’t been transferred.

However, that had been a lie. There was no proof, but the armor had been dropped into the Yellow King’s storage. The Yellow King had concealed this fact and had only recently contacted Cherry Rook, who belonged to the Red Legion, and given him the armor. To have him break the nonaggression pact due to the poisonous nature of the armor, and then take compensation for this “crime” with Niko’s head.

Just as Kuroyukihime had said, the same tragedy must not happen again. Haruyuki stretched out a hand, touched his HP gauge, and moved from the open status screen to the item storage.

The window was completely empty. He nearly burned a hole into it with his gaze, but there wasn’t a single line of text there.

“I don’t have it.”

Haruyuki gave his answer, lifting his head, and was followed by Niko’s “Me neither,” Takumu’s “Nor me as well,” and shakes of their heads. Finally, Kuroyukihime murmured, “Nor I,” and the four of them fell silent for a moment.

Cherry Rook, the fifth Chrome Disaster, had definitely had Brain Burst forcefully uninstalled with Niko’s Judgment Blow. When its owner lost all his points, the Enhanced Armament was supposedly transferred with a fixed probability to the storage of those who had defeated the owner. In which case, this time, not having been transferred, it had finally been completely destroyed. Probably.

Since it was impossible to see anyone else’s status screen, there was always the possibility that someone was concealing the armor like the Yellow King had. However…

“It’s gone, this time for sure,” Haruyuki declared in a clear voice.

Niko assented right away. “Yeah. We’re not that jerk Radio, and…I don’t think anyone here’s stupid enough to fight him, fight Disaster, and then go and make the thing their own. The Armor of Catastrophe is gone. We totally destroyed it.”

“Uh-huh. I could see that explosion from South Ikebukuro. That’s probably proof it was annihilated, right?” Takumu also nodded.

Finally, Kuroyukihime declared firmly, “Good. Settling things with the Yellow King will have to wait until next time or later, but in any case—mission complete. Now, perhaps we should go home and raise a glass?”

“Ooh! Okay, let’s have champagne! Champagne!”

“Idiot. Children drink juice.”

Quarreling once again, the two Kings began walking. Takumu and Haruyuki followed them, grinning wryly.

At the root of the World Tree, a large cave opened up illuminated by the same blue light he’d seen when it was a steel tower was shining inside. They headed toward the swirling, shining withdrawal point, and walking last in the line, Haruyuki’s ears—

A voice that somehow wasn’t—

“Huh?” He turned around automatically, but of course, there was no one there.

“What’s wrong, Haru?”

At the sound of Takumu’s question, he hurried to turn again and shook his head. “No, nothing! Aah, I’m like ten times more tired than after a regular duel. I’m starving. I can’t go on…”

“Hey, come on! You know, in the real world, we ate cake, like, just a few seconds ago.”

“Gah! I forgot…” Bantering with his friend, he slipped through the entrance enclosed by the thick tree trunk.

The base of the World Tree turned into an expansive semi-sphere of a dome. In the center, a blue portal, which contained a view of the real-world Ikebukuro, floated like a mirage. Following his friends and moving forward a few steps, Haruyuki turned around just one more time.

Must be imagining things, he murmured in his head before quickly facing forward again.

But the instant he leaped into the slowly rotating portal, the strange voice rang out behind his head once more.

This is what he heard:

Want to eat.