1. A NEW EXELIA

“Gah, aaah!” Rain groaned loudly in pain. “Ugh…”

His five senses floundered, as if he’d been tossed around.

It doesn’t hurt anymore… All the pain and the injuries on Rain’s body from the prior battle had disappeared.

……

Though, the sensation of suffocation still lingered in his consciousness. Every single time he tried to inhale, pain tore through his lungs… It took him a while, but he gradually caught his breath. And when he finally raised his head…

…he found himself in a snowy field.

This is… Instead of a forest filled with gunfire, he found himself in a field of snow. Silvery white extended in every direction. Rain was currently in a mountainous region, so getting a proper read on the situation would be difficult. At least there were no enemy soldiers around him. And no friendly ones, for that matter.

He’d entered a world that had shifted…

Rain rode a ten-foot-tall armored weapon…an eastern M4 Exelia. Both the situation and area were different from his battle mere moments ago. He stood alone in that snowy field.

“I swear…”

No…he wasn’t alone. Someone sat in the Exelia’s front seat with their back turned.

“Rain,” she called his name languidly. “I swear, the moment I look away, you almost get yourself killed. Didn’t I order you to hold out for at least seventy seconds?”

“…Sorry.”

“Sheesh.”

That was the same voice that had spoken to him through his wireless transceiver earlier, counting down to the moment of activation.

“Well, you’re still alive, so I suppose all’s well that ends well.”

“…Where are we?”

“Not sure. I was also in the middle of the forest a few seconds ago, but here we are.”

Her long, silver hair and bright eyes of the same transparent color gave her an ethereal appearance, and yet she carried herself with a great deal of presence even against the backdrop of snow.

The girl combed down her hair, then said, “We’re probably pretty far from the earlier battlefield. There’s no one else around us.”

“Air, that Reprogramming just now…”

“That was me, of course,” said the silver girl, Air. “I used the Devil’s Bullet.” She was awfully casual about those fateful words. Then she turned to the south and said, “Honestly, they sent a great deal more troops than I expected.”

He had to look down to meet her gaze, but despite her dainty appearance, she spoke harshly to the taller boy.

“I might commend a rookie for surviving an attack from five mages for seventy seconds, but you’re still too weak to survive on the battlefield if that is all you can do.”

“…Understood.”

“If I had to grade your performance, I’d say you’d handle yourself all right against any ordinary mage. However, if we were to encounter a Ghost, you’d die with nothing to show for all your hard work.”

Air presented him with a rather bitter, harsh evaluation, but Rain found himself unable to argue. Everything she said made perfect sense.

The silver-haired girl was a Ghost, a being in possession of unimaginable power. Her silver hair and the two massive guns she carried on her back, which also served as her primary weapons, made her easy to spot in a crowd. However, her true power resided in the silver bullet only she could produce.

The Devil’s Bullet, it was called. Any person shot with one disappeared. And that meant more than just dying. All achievements, accomplishments, and results produced by that person got erased, leaving no trace of their existence. If one were to shoot a hero’s mother, that hero would disappear. And if the inventor of a weapon were to be shot, the world would shift to one where the weapon had never been invented.

Reprogramming… Air had given that name to the power that changed the world. And after gaining said power, Rain had used it many times. He’d gunned down officers who caused the death of many and enemy commanders who led great massacres, changing history each time.

This bullet that could erase a person and everything they’d done fell into the hands of one powerless boy, giving him the authority to control the world.

I can change things. I can surely end his war…

And yet—

“Well, all right,” Air sighed. “I used the Devil’s Bullet to pull us out of that losing scenario, but the fact is, we got whittled down to twenty percent of our armored units back there. I doubt we can win the next battle if we put up a similar showing.”

Even such an overwhelming power wasn’t almighty. Air reminded him of this as she brushed away the snow that piled over her clothes.

“Let’s wrap things up for today.”

Dammit…

In Rain Lantz’s eyes, Bullet Magic was a weapon. It’d been nearly ten years since the fires of war had consumed his hometown, and he had since polished his technical and magical skills to ensure he would never lose the people he held dear again. Of course, he wasn’t conceited enough to believe he could beat high-ranking officers. However, he’d still survived live battles time and again. Even in an academy that trained young mages, few matched him.

“Really, I’m all bark and no bite, aren’t I…?”

Alestra Academy. A military academy established to train and promote young mages. Around sunrise, Rain and Air sat side by side atop the institute’s western gate. No one walked near the deserted area at that time of day, so they often discussed things there.

“You sound pathetic,” Air said, her words stabbing straight into his heart.

It’d been a day since their last battle, a local struggle in Jilen Woods. The West had maintained complete control of the situation until it eventually won, while the East lost one of its prominent internal land routes.

That was by no means a small loss. Losing a main logistic route in the middle of the war was the same as having an artery severed. Plus, the knowledge that they’d lost such a major battle dealt a bitter, crippling blow in its own right. The damage to morale would not soon heal.

The momentum from that defeat threatened to overwhelm them, which was why they had to win the prior day’s battle, even if it meant suffering massive casualties. However, even the Devil’s Bullet, which shifted the world, failed to overturn the results.

Dammit…

“This makes it four defeats in a row.”

“…I know.”

That battle wasn’t an anomaly. All the ones Rain had joined over the past month had ended in defeat. In the few months since he’d gotten the Devil’s Bullet, he’d rushed through many battlefields and used it to change the results…to change the world. He’d shot down many officers who caused tragedies, interfering with the past again and again to gradually guide the war to its conclusion.

Unfortunately, his enemy, the western country of Harborant, was a major power that had never allowed another country to encroach on its territory. Many powerful individuals inhabited its borders, so it easily augmented its forces enough to counteract the interference of Rain and the Devil’s Bullet.

The power of the Devil’s Bullet wasn’t almighty. It wouldn’t work without hitting its target, and that condition could be difficult to meet. And if said target didn’t influence the state of battle enough, the bullet’s effects would be minuscule.

The West mass-produced newer Exelia models and erected a powerful invasion force, which granted them an advantage the Devil’s Bullet couldn’t easily overcome. And as a result, O’ltmenia had suffered many defeats.

What should I do…? Do I even have a next move to make?

While Rain was agonizing…

“Hmm, what should I do?”

…it was clear that Air was not considering the matter at all.

“Thinking is just too much work!”

“…Hey,” Rain said to her

“Oh? What do you want?” the silver-haired girl beside him responded moodily. “I-I’m not giving you any of my strawberries,” she added as she hid the bag.

“I don’t care about your strawberries.”

“…You better not.”

Air chowed down on the bag full of strawberries as she listened to Rain’s musing. They were a rather rare, precious fruit during winter months, and from the moment she started eating them, Air’s mood had improved significantly.

The prior day’s battle had only just ended, so they met at the western gate to discuss the situation first thing in the morning. Air didn’t seem the slightest bit tired, though. Quite the opposite, in fact. She idly watched the morning sun, her hand stuffed into the bag as her usually sour expression made way for a pleased grin.

“Still, quit looking so depressed. Moping around won’t change the fact that you lost.”

“It’s better than acting all carefree.”

“Guess you’re the type to die first on the battlefield.”

“……”

“Overthinking can be just as foolish as not thinking things through at all.”

“Foolish…?”

“Well, whatever. Be depressed if you want. Luckily, I have a little tribute here,” Air said while stuffing another strawberry into her mouth. Rain had received the bag of fruit a few days ago from his friend Athly, and he’d brought it to Air intending to share half. Needless to say, she ended up snatching the whole thing from him.

“Don’t you have any more?”

And she even had the audacity to demand seconds, which he couldn’t provide.

Haaah… Rain internally heaved a sigh. He felt exhausted. Thinking back, he realized Air always acted exceedingly arrogant and overbearing. A mere few months ago, Rain, a cadet on the battlefield, had nearly met his demise. But he had stumbled across a silver bullet, and when he used it, he met Air.

Right…

She’d called herself a Ghost, a being who continued to exist by feeding off the flames of war. However, before Rain even had the chance to refute such an absurd claim, he met other Ghosts like her.

Ghosts…

Forced into an extraordinarily dangerous situation, Rain had no choice but to fight.

And just like Air had said earlier, had Rain found another Ghost during that battle, he would have certainly died.

In order to maintain their souls, Ghosts spread war and conflict. They possessed immense, unnatural magic power, pressing the bounds of the concept itself. Fighting them had endangered everyone in the area, leading to much death and destruction. Many people had died, and many towns had burned, leading only to further sorrow.

Still, some things remained. A month ago, during his last battle with the Ghosts, Rain had formed a long-term partnership with Air. He still had that, as well as his temporary home, Alestra Academy.

They had a strange relationship, an unstable union that threatened to collapse at any moment. And yet, she remained by his side. She was one of the Ghosts. A silver mage who stood above all others, noble and full of pride and dignity. However, at her core, she was a fragile girl. She stayed with him through it all, even during the calm and casual moments outside the battlefield.

“We can finish this talk next time. It’s cold out here.”

In the end, Air made preparations to leave because she found the morning chill too hard to bear. She’d done nothing but chat and stuff her cheeks with strawberries, but that seemed enough for Rain. Thoughts of the future made him anxious, so he needed a change of pace.

“When’s our next meeting, then?”

“Right, about that. I have some errands to run, so I’ll be away for ten days.”

“Ten days…?” A rather long period of time, in Rain’s opinion. He wanted to talk things over sooner, if possible.

“Having some time to mull things over will help you.”

“But our next dispatch is in five days.”

“You should handle that without me. Remember, don’t do anything reckless and get yourself killed, if you can manage that.”

After that parting shot at Rain, Air disappeared.

Five days later, Rain arrived at his next dispatch point, Hazul Lake. Air, of course, didn’t accompany him. It was an area along the border, with the lake at its heart, where the West frequently launched guerrilla attacks. The region contained an iron mine that was crucial for the East. If Hazul Lake ever fell into the West’s hands, the East would lose a large source of iron, which was why they dispatched even cadets to defend it. But—

This is bad…

It had happened two days after Rain and his fellow cadets had arrived. For the first time in over a hundred days, a western strike force appeared near the lake. And it wasn’t one meant for patrol or keeping the enemy at bay, either.

Fifty units… The West had invaded Hazul Lake with fifty Exelia units when each country only possessed a thousand or so in total. Their actions seemed absurd, but the enemy did it anyway. The East, in comparison, only reached thirty units by adding the cadets.

Thirty units were more than enough to hold any defensive line, but when the enemy brought fifty, they stood no chance.

It’d been an hour since the battle began, and while they’d tried to resist through conventional means, all their attempts had ended in failure. The western units rushed into Hazul Lake and crushed the eastern defenses with superior numbers, so the battle rapidly tilted in the enemy’s favor. Bullet Magic rained nonstop from the enemy’s sturdy formations.

“Dammit…” Rain ground his teeth in frustration as he watched the battle from the rear along with the rest of the cadets. They hadn’t joined the main force yet due to a lack of orders. If Air was there, perhaps he would have sneaked onto the front lines, but…

“Whoa… Another unit’s down…”

…she wasn’t by his side. Instead, his classmate Athly joined him in the Exelia.

“We’re going to lose this, aren’t we…?” she asked.

“We’ve already lost. Hell, we didn’t even stand a chance to begin with…”

“Ugh, can’t they just give us the order to retreat already…?”

She’d been his partner ever since they’d enrolled in Alestra Academy, and her skills as an Exelia manipulator were far beyond what one might expect from a mere cadet. But despite her talent, she still didn’t hold a candle to Air in any regard.

Rain refused to act, mostly because Athly didn’t know about the Devil’s Bullet. He had to keep that power a secret at all costs. Athly was completely oblivious, so he had no reason to act outside the scope of their orders for all she was concerned.

And so, Rain merely watched as the East fought a losing battle.

At this rate, the battle will… No. Even if Air were present, turning the tides seemed impossible. The gap between their forces appeared too large to overcome. And sure enough, eventually…

“Attention. All eastern forces aside from the second unit are to retreat downstream. We’re falling back.”

Major General Kobachi, who led Hazul Lake’s defenses, had concluded there was no point fighting any longer. That was the wisest, most prudent action given the situation.

The battle had ended in the East’s defeat. That seemed clear to everyone present.

However—

“All right, there’s that order to retreat. Let’s bail, Rain!”

“…Keep moving forward, Athly.”

“Huh?”

“Head for that rock fifteen hundred feet ahead.”

A lone cadet refused to accept that fact. While everyone else retreated, Rain fixed his rifle’s sights, removed the safety, and placed his finger over the trigger.

At this rate, we’ll lose… Over the past few weeks, the East hadn’t garnered even a single notable achievement. They’d simply faced one loss after another; any more and they were doomed. He had to change the battle, no matter the cost.

“U-um, Rain, they told us to retreat…,” Athly said, trying to deter him.

“Forget that!” Rain shouted.

“Ah…”

Intimidated by Rain’s outburst, Athly drove their unit as he directed. Passing by units heading away from the front lines, they made their way toward Hazul Lake’s northern end. That was no random charge, of course. He had a clear plan in mind.

I’ve been observing the battlefield this whole time, but… He’d analyzed the battlefield, even as he stood at the back, and managed to narrow down the enemy’s chain of command. A group of several units that hardly moved stood in the middle of the battlefield, overlooking everything. If he managed to shoot the commander…

Everything might change…

He had a chance to shift the flow of the battle, but before they reached the rock…

“Ah…!”

Powerful Bullet Magic blasted Rain’s unit from behind. The enemy hadn’t scored a direct hit, but the blast still sent their unit flying. And when the dust clouds settled and Rain regained his vision, he saw Athly bleeding profusely from her head.

“Ugh…”

“Athly!”

“Oh, Rain… O-ow… I’m fine; a rock just grazed me…,” she replied bravely, but it clearly looked like a more serious injury. Honestly, watching Athly’s clumsy attempt to smile encouragingly through her pain tormented Rain.

“…Athly. Let’s regroup with the rest of our forces.”

“Roger.”

Rain changed his order and made them retreat from the front lines, leaving another failure in his wake…

“Really, I’m fine. They said I’ll need some time off, but they’re blowing it way out of proportion.”

After the two of them had retreated, Rain quickly urged Athly to receive medical treatment. Then, upon returning to Alestra Academy, she had been issued two days of bed rest in the hospital wing. Athly sat on a bed, her head covered in a bandage.

The only wound she’d suffered was a gash, but since it involved blunt trauma to the head, the doctor insisted she stay for observation.

Rain had arrived at eight in the morning, to which she responded with a giggle.

“They’re not blowing anything out of proportion. You took a serious knock to the head.”

“But they are… Still, having you come see me every single day like a doting wife makes it kind of worth it.”

“I’m supposed to be your wife?”

“Maaan, I’m dying for something sweet.”

“…I’ll grab you something tomorrow.”

“Yaaay! Oh, and good luck in class today. I’ll be taking a nice, long nap while you hit the books,” Athly said as she pulled the covers over her head. She joked around, but…

Her wound still hurts.

…he knew she was suffering. The huge cut was roughly sewn together, so it would be aching terribly the moment the painkillers died down. Even as she talked to him, her smile appeared shaky.

…Why?

Why had everything turned out so poorly? He’d gained the power of the Devil’s Bullet, but he still constantly lost battles. Plus, he’d even gotten his partner hurt.

“I’ll come visit you again later today.”

“Okaaay!”

Rain left the bedroom and headed for the lecture wing.

“Fuck!”

The moment he walked into an empty corridor, Rain expressed his frustration by kicking a wall. He knew he was throwing a childish tantrum, but he still failed to keep his emotions in check. A sense of irritation overwhelmed him. He hated that nothing went the way it should have… He hated himself for being so powerless.

I’ll never change anything this way… His patience was wearing thin. Anger consumed him before he realized he had to calm down.

“…Huh?”

Shortly after he said good-bye to Athly, Rain stepped into the lecture wing. He’d arrived late, so he expected everyone else to already be there. However, all the students huddled around the bulletin board, speaking excitedly.

“What now?” he sighed. Rain felt abysmal, but the sight still piqued his curiosity. And so, he sneaked a peek at the board that had a new sheet of paper plastered onto it.

“What’s this all about?” Rain mumbled to himself as he walked down the hallway. He noticed his classmates staring at him curiously. And they weren’t just sneaking peeks, either. Upon noticing his presence, they turned to him and outright stared.

Ugh…

The reason was clear. The message on the board addressed him personally, and the one who called him was the chairman, the highest-ranking official in Alestra Academy. This was extremely unusual.

Why call for me…?

Alestra Academy was the largest officers’ academy in the country. It produced those who served as the core of the military but also contained many people affiliated with research institutions. While the latter counted as military personnel, some of them had never even held a gun. They were fewer in number compared to orthodox soldiers like Rain, who accounted for a little less than 60 percent of the student body. Most were younger than Rain, too; though, some researchers were middle-aged men.

There were non-degree courses established for such researchers. Some of them focused on practical warfare, like the Exelia manipulator’s course, but most, such as the mechanical engineering department, were desk jobs. Despite that, all departments required cadets to take practical training and some general knowledge lectures until they reached their third year. The true split into majors only began in the fourth year, which meant third-years were still treated as general students.

But a summons, huh?

Rain stopped in front of the chairman’s office, which was on the first floor of the annex building, a place people rarely visited.

I wonder what she wants with me…?

He felt extremely nervous as he gazed at the ebony door that had a note on it that said NO NEED TO KNOCK, but he still had to go through with it.

“Pardon me,” he said as he opened the door and walked in as per instructions. The moment he did, Rain wrinkled his nose. It was a fairly large room, but the chairman’s office was filled with paperwork and the distinctive scent of fresh paper.

Ugh…

There was also the volatile smell of alcohol from the ink, common in places full of paperwork.

“Ugh…”

“Groaning the moment you walk in is rather rude, don’t you think?”

Rain turned toward the one who had spoken.

“I mean, sorry, but…,” he apologized awkwardly.

“Good grief, you’ve truly become an impolite student, haven’t you? I must say, you were far more well-mannered as a first-year. You used to bear it with just an uncomfortable smile.”

“I feel like that was rude enough, to be honest…”

“Well, I thought your awkward reaction was cute.”

After that, a woman in a military uniform poked her face out from behind the mountain of paperwork.

“It’s been a while, Rain.”

When Rain had first met her, he thought she looked to be in her forties, but rumor had it she was a decade older than that. She was a fairly attractive woman with a slender build. If it weren’t for the eight medals and golden rank insignia on her rack, anyone would have assumed she was an ordinary senior officer…and most would have refused to believe she was the chairman of the biggest officers’ academy in the country.

Rain simply stood up before the uniformed woman who’d summoned him.

“So what is your business with me, Major General Kreis Falman?”

Major General Kreis Falman was a female officer who had been promoted to the position of chairman two years ago. She was originally the instructor for the mathematics division, where she worked on Exelia development, but she was pushed up after the previous chairman passed away. The promotion was a grand achievement, but Kreis never sought fame and mostly lamented the extra work that had dropped onto her lap.

“So if I may ask again…” Rain trailed off as he closed the door, then continued. “What’s your business with me?”

“Oh, nothing in particular.”

“…Seriously?”

“You’re not in a hurry to get anywhere, are you?”

She motioned for him to take a seat on the sofa and poured him a cup of cold tea. In an effort to act polite, Rain took a sip, while Kreis sat opposite him, sipping on equally cold tea.

“……”

“……”

However, silence fell.

“Um…”

“What is it?”

“I know it’s rude to say, but I’d prefer to cut the small talk and get to the main topic.”

“Impatient, aren’t you? Well, if that’s what you’d prefer, I can accommodate.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you having fun at Alestra Academy?”

More small talk. Had she ignored his request?

“Listen, Rain, this is important to me. Only three people enroll in mathematics each year, so you’re one of the rare few. Up until you were a second-year, you often showed up to help me with research, but I haven’t seen you recently, which worried me.”

“The promotion means I get dispatched often.”

“How dreadful.” Kreis’s reply was a condemnation of the war as a whole.

Why do all this…? Rain failed to understand her reason for summoning him.

Kreis Falman was one of the few people Rain had known since entering Alestra Academy. He majored in mathematics, which had very few new recruits, and Kreis was his instructor at the time, so he’d gone to her for guidance.

There weren’t many students in the mathematics division, but that was because only those with outstanding grades could join it. Kreis stood head and shoulders above the other instructors, and so, her lectures and advice had felt extremely valuable. She was quite kind and well-spoken. Rain honestly thought her a woman of character, in a way unlike most senior officers, so he viewed her as one of the few trustworthy adults he knew. He’d helped her with her research whenever possible, which had resulted in them growing rather close.

However, that had all ended one year ago. The war grew fiercer, with battles breaking out on all fronts more frequently, so their time together diminished. Kreis herself didn’t have much leisure to speak to a student, either. She had her duties as an instructor, the chairman, and a researcher to attend to.

Now she had called him over out of the blue but danced around the issue. Nothing made any sense, including her questions. She went as far as using the bulletin board to call him over, so he assumed she had urgent business, but that seemed wrong.

“Hmm…” Kreis likely realized how impatient Rain seemed and said, “All right, then. There’s something I’d like to ask you, Rain.”

“Go ahead.”

Her cup, which had remained in her hand the whole time, suddenly shook.

“Isn’t it hard to be around the Ghost, Air?”

The very next moment…

“Ah!”

…Rain pulled out the pistol holstered at his waist and fired a bullet in Kreis’s direction. It was neither silver nor did it contain any Bullet Magic. It was just an ordinary bullet, a standard projectile made of lead that couldn’t have missed at that range. However…

“Ow…!”

…Rain groaned in pain the moment he fired. The bullet aimed at Kreis’s shoulder missed its mark and buried itself in the wall behind her. Someone had stopped it…and it wasn’t Kreis. She wasn’t a mage, so she had no way of keeping up with him. The one who protected her was…

“Well, color me surprised.”

…a girl hiding in the shadow of the bookshelves.

“I wondered how you’d react, but I didn’t expect you to just up and shoot her.”

“Air—”

He failed to even ask what she was doing there. The moment he took a shot at Kreis, Air had shot Rain’s right hand. She hadn’t penetrated the bone, but his dominant hand was still screaming in pain. She’d fired a blank, but it dealt enough damage to render him speechless.

“You have a knack for doing the most unexpected things, you know that?” Air whispered as she walked out of her hiding place and looked down on Rain with clear exasperation in her eyes. He had no problem with that, though. The real problem was…

“Air, why…?”

…Air had saved Kreis.

“Why, indeed…?” The girl sighed. “Answering that is going to be a bit of a headache…”

Kreis looked taken aback. The two of them had different expressions on their faces, but they exchanged familiar glances.

“Um, can I ask you something, Air?”

“What?”

They conversed naturally, as well, which implied they had at least met before.

“I thought I heard a gunshot just now, but what happened?”

“This panicky little blockhead just tried to shoot you.”

“What?!”

“I know you’re not a mage, but at least pick up on that much…”

Based on how they talked to each other, Rain developed a theory.

They…know each other?

They’d most likely met multiple times already, since they seemed like more than just casual acquaintances.

“What’s going on?” Rain asked. Air had watched him from the shadows in the room without his knowledge, which implied she had some sort of personal connection with Kreis. However, the circumstances behind it remained unclear. And so, Rain turned his gaze to Air, who sat down on Kreis’s table with her arms crossed.

“Look, I really don’t get all this,” he said.

“And you think you deserve to know? Presumptuous, much?”

“Just explain the situation already!”

“I first met Kreis forty years ago,” Air said, answering his question. “During the third war, to be precise.”

“The third war…?”

“Right, the last great war before this one. I leeched off O’ltmenia’s ground forces at the time, while Kreis was a cadet… I think this girl was about your age back then. She served as one of my subordinates. That was our relationship.”

From back during the third war…?

Air called Kreis, a woman in her fifties, this girl. It was hard to believe an apparent teenager like Air would use that term to refer to someone so much older than her. But considering their relationship, that made perfect sense. They’d known each other for forty years. Back then, Kreis was indeed a girl, while Air looked the same as ever.

“…Major General Kreis.”

“Yes?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could stop beating around the bush and explain why you summoned us. I highly doubt you’re here to reminisce over tea.”

“Oh? And here I thought you’d be a bit more interested in my relationship with Air.”

“Frankly, I am, but I doubt that knowledge will change anything.”

“I see. In that case, Rain Lantz, I have an order for you,” Kreis said, swiftly changing the subject. She’d finally reached the matter at hand by calling it an order…something a soldier couldn’t ignore. Then she spread a few sheets of paper over the table, presenting them to Rain.

“I want you to escort a transport headed for the capital that’s carrying our second-generation Exelias.”

The words Kreis had just uttered, second-generation Exelias, shocked Rain. That was a machine that would set the trend of battles to come.

“This is my order as chairman, Rain. Since you’ve helped with my research, I shouldn’t have to explain the details. It’s the unit I’ve been developing for decades,” Kreis said, then turned her attention to Air. “Air, do you recall hearing about it?”

“I’ve heard some rumors but have never seen the real thing,” Air replied, then looked up as if trying to fish the right words from memory. “Second-generation Exelias are new units that run on an entirely different mechanism than the current ones.”

“Yes, that sums it up well enough,” Kreis responded before turning her gaze back to Rain. “Right now, Exelias use reciprocating engines. Many aspects of the machines have evolved over the past century, like the structure of their legs and the many measures taken to reduce weight and elevate maneuverability. But on the other hand, the main mechanism that powers Exelias has barely changed. They’re all the same in the sense that they use organic fuels… However, second-generation Exelias use an entirely different mechanism altogether. The flow engine I’ve developed makes the decay heat of graimar nuclear alloy its energy source, allowing for a more potent weapon.”

The classification was simple enough. First-generation Exelias used reciprocating engines that consumed gasoline for fuel, while second-generation Exelias used a flow engine that employed the decay heat from graimar nuclear alloy.

Kreis Falman’s thesis was “Graimar Nuclear Alloy’s Radiant Heat.” She instructed mathematics but only because it related to her true field, nuclear physics. And through her years of research, she created the flow engine used in second-generation Exelias.

Extracting a great deal of energy from graimar nuclear alloy wasn’t new knowledge in and of itself, but it released too much decay heat, and no one knew a way to control its output, so people deemed the flow engine an impossible dream. Even if one were to build such an engine and equip it onto a second-generation Exelia, they had no way to regulate its energy output. Thus, second-generation Exelias did not exist…until now.

“We’ve only developed a handful of them, but they’re pretty much complete. Their performance isn’t exactly ideal, however, so they’re prototypes unfit for live combat. Problem is, the units themselves are loaded with state secrets, including the flow engine. We can’t let them get stolen, no matter what.”

“Why…?” Rain faced Kreis directly and questioned her at that point. “Why have me escort that unit, then?”

“Allow me to be direct. I want you by the second-generation Exelias’ side as my spy. The flow engine is like a child to me, and there are even people on the East’s side who are after the technology. But you, Rain, are different.”

She’d made a rational choice, then.

“I know about your relationship with Air.”

“……”

The fact that he’d teamed up with a Ghost was a large enough secret to hide, but something else worried Rain more. Did Kreis know about the Devil’s Bullet? Hiding the existence of a bullet that erased others entirely was of paramount importance. If knowledge of the Devil’s Bullet leaked, it would spell the end for Rain and Air. The risk of someone else knowing was too big to simply ignore.

“Unfortunately, unlike you two, I’m not a mage, so I can only watch battles from afar. Who knows what special powers you have?”

“You mean the Ghosts’ bullets…?”

“Ghosts’ bullets?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Based on her tone, Rain realized Kreis did not know of the Devil’s Bullet. She simply knew of the mysterious existence of the Ghosts and that Rain was helping Air. She understood that he was closely involved with a Ghost—that he had a special relationship with an entity capable of influencing the flow of history.

“I can’t entrust this mission to someone who can’t keep a secret.”

That explained why Kreis had selected Rain. He understood that.

“Major General Kreis…I’d like to decline.”

And that was why he turned her down.

“Care to elaborate, Rain?” Kreis asked, seemingly confused.

“I’m not fit for an escort mission. There are more important battlefields for me, so I refuse. I simply don’t think we have time to waste considering the state of the war.”

“…You’re saying that transporting second-generation Exelias safely is a waste of time?”

“Frankly speaking, yes,” Rain replied in a curt tone, but there was no emotion in his response. He’d made his decision after careful deliberation. He understood the truth better than anyone else, after all. He’d helped Kreis with her research over the last two years, and as an engineer, he knew the importance of second-generation Exelias. He knew how realistically viable and important it was…or rather, how nonviable and unimportant it was.

“I don’t doubt that the technology of second-generation Exelias is important, but because we prioritized theory over advancing technology, it’s unusable. I don’t see how escorting it will influence the war.”

“Perhaps it won’t have an immediate effect, but we’re close to perfecting it. Can’t you take that into consideration and realize the importance of this task?”

“By then, the war will be over.”

“……”

“The East is teetering on the edge of defeat at this very moment. And there are battlefields we have to fight on, outcomes we have to change, right before our eyes. If we focus on protecting the second-generation Exelias, this country will die.”

In Rain’s eyes, the whole matter was about priorities.

“We need to win the upcoming battles. That matters more than anything else.”

Rain didn’t deny the fact that developing new technology was important. How could he when technological advantages had helped the West take control of the war? However, at that point, they didn’t have time to waste on it. If they focused on developing new technology, the country would definitely lose the war before that research bore any fruit. Things were simply that bad.

It’d been four years since the fourth war began, yet the end was already approaching. Both countries had suffered massive damage, but the West had taken the wheel and steered the war toward their victory. They wouldn’t let such a chance pass them by.

The time for preparations had long since passed. If the East didn’t fight, the country would die. Taking that into account, escorting a prototype unit felt very low priority. Especially for Rain, who had the Devil’s Bullet and held the greatest potential to turn the tides. An escort mission simply was not where he belonged.

That was his honest take on the matter.

“Dispatch me to the next major battlefield instead,” Rain advised. That felt like the ideal course of action after analyzing the situation. But then…

“Why are you acting so impatient?”

…a cold voice chastised him. And it hadn’t come from Kreis, either.

“Air…”

“You’re free to run off and die if that’s what you truly want, but have some pity for the lives you’ll take down with you,” said the girl of silver, her posture perfectly relaxed.

“What are you saying?” Rain asked as he moved his gaze to Air, who sipped on Kreis’s tea with an exasperated expression.

“Do you have any clue what you’ve been like lately?”

“I do.”

“Then why do you keep losing battles?”

“That’s…”

He couldn’t have done anything. He wanted to tell Air those battles felt hopeless, but that sounded so much like an excuse that he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“I’ll tell you why. It’s because you never had any chance of winning those battles. They were all lost causes.” Air voiced Rain’s exact thoughts. “Your last four battles ended in defeat. And I’ll level with you, Rain. None of them were fights you should have taken. And do you know why that is? Because they were all losing battles. I shouldn’t have to tell you that, though. You know that better than I do. Or am I wrong?”

“……” Rain found himself unable to respond.

“Sure, the power I granted you is great, but it’s not omnipotent. Turning around a battle you have no chance of winning is impossible. It honestly feels like you think you can turn the tides yourself without considering any outside factors.”

Rain was surprised to hear this from Air. She had never given Rain advice thus far. She may have given him answers when he asked for them, but she’d never stepped up to offer them of her own volition.

……

Rain hadn’t actively chosen his battles due to the emotional impatience that had overtaken him. When he’d first started using the Devil’s Bullet, things had taken a quick turn for the better. However, since he’d been throwing himself into battles with low prospects of victory, no new hope had taken root.

He had no way to win every single battle. That was just a mathematical inevitability. But as his losing streak continued, he felt more and more desperate to achieve something. He couldn’t even tell how rashly he was acting. Emotions he had no way of controlling dulled his judgment, so he threw himself into hopeless battles.

And I even got Athly hurt…

“You should take some time off to cool your head. And this escort mission you seem to think is some kind of simple package delivery might be the perfect chance. Right now, you’re just moving blindly and at random. You won’t change anything like this.” Air provided perfectly sound advice, but it failed to resonate with him.

Why…?

“Why are you being so complacent?”

“Huh?”

“So, what, are you suggesting that I just kick back and relax while we keep losing?”

“That’s not what I said,” Air replied calmly.

“No, that’s exactly what you’re saying!” Rain screamed at her, clearly losing his grip.

“It definitely isn’t. Quit sulking like a little kid. And don’t you dare put words in my mouth.”

“See, you literally called me a kid.”

“Stop that!” Air snapped back at him, scratching her head in irritation. “I’m telling you that picking fights you can’t win because of some delusions of grandeur is suicide. You’re not looking at the bigger picture, Rain.”

“So, what, I should do nothing?”

“Ugh! God, you’re annoying!” Air shouted.

“But that is what you mean, right? Sounds to me like you’re telling me to just stay put.”

Rain sounded even angrier than Air. Her words carried a particular nuance, a particular weight to them in his mind. They challenged his core beliefs. Rain had subconsciously assumed that having the Devil’s Bullet meant he had to fight more than others, that he was the most important soldier in the East. And so, her words touched on a nerve.

It felt like she’d said he didn’t matter. From an outside perspective, he sounded extremely childish. Air’s words made sense given the situation, after all. But he shut her out and refused to listen.

“…Fine,” Rain flatly stated. “If you say that’s the best course of action, then I’ll escort the second-generation Exelias. But whether it’s successful or not, nothing will change.”

And with that said, Rain rose to his feet. There were still things he probably needed to ask, but the irritated boy simply snatched the documents that contained the escort mission’s details and left the chairman’s office, slamming the door behind him.

Two individuals remained in the room.

“Well, I’ll admit I was a little shocked when he shot at me all of a sudden,” Kreis said, breaking the silence after a while. Then she looked behind her and gazed at the bullet hole in the wall. The slug was still lodged in there. “I’d be dead if not for you, Air.”

“I will say I’m not surprised he did that,” Air answered, to which Kreis sighed.

“I always saw him as a little taciturn, but he seemed like a sensible, intelligent, and kind boy… To think he’d even shoot his own teacher to protect the secret of the Ghosts.”

“Are you shocked?” Air asked.

“Honestly, yes,” Kreis replied. Then, after a short pause, she added, “Are you really fine with this, Air?”

“Hmm? Well, in any other situation, I’d say he did the right thing by shoot—”

“That’s not what I mean,” Kreis cut her off in denial. “I’m talking about you.”

“What?”

Rain shooting her wasn’t the issue.

“I’m trying to ask why you haven’t killed that boy already?”

“Ah…!” Air gasped and stiffened involuntarily.

“You gave him a stern lecture about how he’s failed to see the bigger picture, but I’d say you’re in the same boat. That boy, Rain Lantz, is far too inexperienced to work with you. True, he’s head and shoulders above cadet level, and even I can’t tell how much he’ll grow over the next five years, but at present, he’s a bad fit for a powerful Ghost like you. If you keep giving him more power than he can handle, he’ll lose control sooner or later. You know that better than anyone, right?”

Forty years ago, Kreis had worked alongside Air, who’d manifested as a Ghost during the last war. She’d occupied a role both similar and different from Rain’s. Air had integrated herself into the military’s very heart, while Kreis was below even a rank-and-file soldier. They had a direct relationship as commander and subordinate, as well as a common goal to strive toward.

Frankly, their relationship felt rather cold and mechanical, but it did eventually yield great results. And that was why Kreis questioned her. “You’re going to have to make a choice, Air.”

She didn’t miss Air’s signs of weakness, and she moved in to correct her. A commanding officer’s mistake could get many people killed. She knew that very well from personal experience.

“It’s perfectly clear that Rain is impatient because he’s lacks maturity. You managed to rein him in this time, but what if he refuses to listen to reason again? Is he truly worth getting you and your soldiers caught in the crossfire of his hubris?”

“……”

“How many times have you hesitated to pull the trigger in this situation, only to regret it later?”

“That’s…”

“You should kill him as soon as possible.”

“I keep trying to tell you…,” Air started to speak again but failed to finish her sentence.

Kreis noticed. “You often let emotions sway you.” Despite her gentle and kindhearted demeanor, she continued coldly, “That’s why I called Rain here today. I had to judge if he’s a suitable partner for you… At this point, he only barely passes. I’ll admit, Rain matters to me, too. He’s a student of mine. I’ve watched him grow over the years, so he almost feels like my own child. But I can say the same about other soldiers, too. The battlefield is full of Alestra Academy alumni. If I had to pick between all of them and Rain, I’d discard Rain without a second thought.”

Thus, in her mind, the boy who’d succumbed to the power had to die.

“How many times will you repeat the same mistake, Air Arland Noah?”

Unfortunately, Air had opened her heart to him once, so she found herself unable to make that decision.

“I know; I get it…”

Rain’s mindset had shifted. If left unchecked, he would self-destruct and involve many others in that catastrophe.

I know that. And yet…

“You know I’m right, but you still can’t do it, can you? Well, if you want, I can arrange for it to happen…”

“I said I get it!” Air cut her off with a shout.

“Shouting and pretending you didn’t hear me won’t change anything,” Kreis replied quietly.

“Seriously, just shut up for a second…”

“I didn’t want to have to say this, either. I don’t want to have someone I know killed, much less a student of mine… But can you imagine how many people will be sacrificed if you hesitate?”

“I know. Really, I get it, I do. When the time comes, I’ll…”

The girl said she’d do it, but her words lacked conviction.

What the hell are you doing…? You promised we’d fight together…

All she could do was call his name in her heart.

Rain…