Chapter 4: Sometimes Kindness Surpasses Despair

The life of Lud Langart had been full of ups and downs. He was born into a family of moderate wealth, but his parents died when the war started. Then, when he was ten years old, he was tricked out of his inheritance and became a street urchin.

The military rescued him and turned him into a type-three soldier, and he went along to survive. But he was overqualified, which brought him to the attention of Genitz, who enlisted him in a special operations unit known as the Werewolves.

After his involvement in the worst tragedy of the war—the slaughter of Lapchuricka—he lost the will to continue as a special ops soldier. Later, he recovered and became a regular soldier and a Hunter Unit pilot, where he displayed outstanding skills and achieved great deeds, earning the nickname Silver Wolf. After the war, he retired from the military and opened a bakery in a rural town.

When everything was listed like this, his life looked too eventful. And because of that, Lud had adopted a motto... “Everyone has their own individual circumstances.”

If he was burdened with such a past, then it made sense that others also had circumstances. And just as he wouldn’t casually discuss his past... No, just as he couldn’t discuss his past, other people would have reasons for not wanting to discuss theirs. So he didn’t ask other people about their pasts.

And that included the fact that his friend Jacob’s father was a hero from the Great War. Lud didn’t ask about Marlene, the nun from the church atop the hill, who had once been a troublemaker and then became a terrorist.

He had managed well so far, and he intended to continue the same way. As a result, however, he had diverted his gaze from something important.

1719 26.04.921—

Peace had come to Tockerbrot. In fact, it was so peaceful it felt abnormal.

“Meitzer, let’s take a break.” On one such abnormal day, when it was almost dusk, Lud spoke to Meitzer, who had now been at Tockerbrot for three days. “It helps to have you here, Meitzer.” Lud set chairs in a corner of the oven room and handed Meitzer a mug of coffee.

“I’m glad to hear it. I thought I might cause trouble if I intruded.”

“No, not at all.” Lud wasn’t feigning kindness.

“To tell the truth, I was short on help.”

It was hard to believe Tockerbrot’s business had once been in a slump. In less than a year, business had improved to the point where the shop couldn’t keep up with demand for bread, which was their main product.

“I’m embarrassed to admit I even collapsed one time.”

“Ha ha ha! Did my daughter turn as white as a sheet?”

“Uh-huh.”

Lud had fainted one day while working. Sven had panicked as though the world was ending.

“So I’m grateful for your help.”

After the recent incident, demand dipped briefly, but now business was recovering. An excellent baker was always appreciated and welcome.

“Oh... In that case, I just might keep the job and stay here!”

“Well, if you did, I’d be thankful.” Lud didn’t turn Meitzer down, even though his offer was partially a joke.

“You never reject people.” Meitzer answered in a tone that implied something more.

“Mr. Langart, it seems you’ve been through a lot. That’s why you never poke your nose into other people’s affairs. And I think that’s a virtue.”

“Y-Yeah...” Lud was surprised by Meitzer’s earnest comment, and the man continued.

“At the same time, though, does that mean you’re frightened? If you don’t get involved and if you don’t know more, then you can keep things just the way they are.”

“Meitzer, what are you suggesting?” Meitzer had struck a sensitive spot for Lud.

“Why did you take in my daughter?”

“That was, um... because of my face.”

Lud’s past experiences left him unable to smile. He looked so intimidating that it drove away customers no matter how much effort he put into his business.

“If Sven hadn’t become such a popular waitress, Tockerbrot would have closed a long time ago.”

“Did you not understand the point of my question? Or are you trying not to?”

“............?!”

That wasn’t what Meitzer had asked. Sven was a popular waitress whose identity and origins were unknown to everyone. And that wasn’t all. She had combat skills superior to the special ops soldiers from August and mechanical soldiers from Greyten, and Genitz had made her a key element of his rebellion. If someone saw her abnormal strength, it would naturally lead to one conclusion.

“She isn’t human. And you know that, right?”

Rather, it would be strange if Lud hadn’t reached that conclusion. “Well, um... !” Lud was at a loss for words. Indeed, he had known it for a long time. But despite knowing, he never asked Sven about it.

“Why do you pretend not to see how unusual Sven is? Are you just being kind? You are being considerate by pretending not to know or see, but... No...” After sipping coffee from his mug as if to loosen his tongue, Meitzer continued.

He had painful words for Lud. “You realized her identity a long time ago. So you don’t need to ask her. Am I right?”

“—!” Meitzer’s tone was quiet, calm and rational as if merely relating facts. Lud couldn’t immediately reply to him. “..................”

And Lud’s silence indicated Meitzer was correct.

“Normally, this would be unbelievable. The weapon you once piloted came to you in human form. But as a seasoned and excellent soldier, you see things a different way.”

Nothing is impossible, so anything can happen. This wisdom was known by those experienced with the ceaselessly shifting fortunes of the battlefield. Before they analyzed what happened and why, soldiers projected what was possible based on the conditions of current reality.

“Is... Is Sven actually Avei?” Lud was trembling as he asked the question.

Avei was the name of the assistive AI in the Hunter Unit Lud had once piloted. And he gave it that name.

“Are you really asking me that? Will my answer satisfy you? Or...” Meitzer paused before questioning Lud further. “Do you really want to cling to the possibility she isn’t Avei? And if I tell you she isn’t, will you use my answer as an excuse to keep pretending you haven’t noticed? I don’t think that would be kind.”

“...............” Lud had noticed.

Not only had he discovered Sven wasn’t human, he had also recognized that she was his old partner. Sven’s words suggested that she knew Lud when he was in the military. And there were other signs.

By any standard, Lud wasn’t good at dealing with other people. With her, however, he was able to talk from the first time they met, as if they had known each other for a long time. Moreover, when she arrived, Lud had been wearing himself thin managing the bakery alone, and her appearance made him feel as if reinforcements had arrived.

“Um, I...”

He knew that he felt that way because he had shared life and death with Sven. Human or not, there was only one such person.

“You didn’t need logic or reason, right?”

“Oh...”

He had known it. But he was unable to ask. Lud had thought Sven wasn’t telling him because her circumstances prevented her from explaining. So he decided to pretend he hadn’t noticed until she could tell him. He would wait until she was ready.

“You’re a kind person. And you’re kind because you’ve hurt and been hurt a lot. But, as a result, you’re unable to get involved with others.”

Lud still couldn’t respond, so Meitzer continued. “What if she can’t speak? What if she were afraid of telling you and losing everything?”

If they both continued to pretend not to know, the situation wouldn’t change and their relationship would stagnate. If the other person thought the same...

“I’m sure you’re uncertain, too. You’re willing to take misfortune on yourself, but you won’t do anything that will make another person unhappy. I suspect you’re that kind of person.”

And Meitzer was correct. Lud tended to undervalue his own life.

“But that’s cruel for someone whose greatest happiness is to have a life with you.”

What is happiness? Each person’s answer is different. No one can say for sure what absolute happiness is. One person might risk his or her life for something that another might see as unfortunate.

“Being with you takes priority for Sven, and she would sacrifice everything for that. But you can’t get involved with her, and you won’t let her get involved with you.”

“I...” Lud couldn’t say anything.

It didn’t occur to him to ask the identity of this man who knew more about Sven than he did. His mind was so agitated he couldn’t even consider such things.

“I shouldn’t be the one telling you this, Mr. Langart.” Meitzer spoke a little apologetically. “But circumstances have forced me. To ask my daughter... to ask Sven... I needed to confirm your feelings toward her.”

“Ask? Ask her what?”

“About something important. The same thing must not occur again. This time, that mistake must be prevented.” Meitzer answered Lud’s question with a faraway look. His eyes looked as if staring further into the past than was even measurable.

“Yes, that’s...”

“That’s—”

Before Meitzer could answer, the door of the shop made a clanging noise.

“Oh, we have a customer.”

“Wait!”

Meitzer stood up and left the oven room.

Sven wasn’t in the shop. She was visiting Jacob, who hadn’t been to the shop for a few days.

“What?”

Meitzer changed his demeanor so quickly that Lud decided not to follow him. Instead, he crouched down. He felt as if he had been saved. The question facing him was too big for an immediate decision.

1225 26.04.921—

At the ceremony welcoming national guests to Berun, the royal capital...

A female soldier had a troubled look on her face. “Ugh... The military is a hierarchy, so I have to follow my superior officer’s orders, right?” Corporal Marissa Haven, a member of the guards under Sophia’s command, was muttering to herself. She was assigned to the guards six months ago, after the rebellion. Due to massive vacancies, recruitment prioritized quantity over quality, so Marissa was a new soldier without much military experience.

“Bunga? Bunga-bunga?”

“Um... sorry, but I have no idea what you’re saying.”

She had been ordered to delay one of the state guests as long as possible.

“Chuk alami!”

“Sorry! Sorry! I don’t even know why I am supposed to do this!”

“Nar trov swig!”

“Chill! Don’t get angry!! And no hitting!”

The guest she was ordered to stall wasn’t a citizen of Wiltia or Noa. He was the diplomatic ambassador from the Abignon Empire. And he was trying to tell her something.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand a word you’re saying!”

Many foreign nations had embassies in Berun, the royal capital of Wiltia, and Abignon was among them. Filbarneu and Greyten were in the European region, so Marissa could have managed a simple reply to visitors from those nations, but Abignon was on the far western edge of the continent of Aesia, and separated by the sea, so she couldn’t make out anything he was saying.

“Sorry, sorry... I’m really sorry!” Marissa couldn’t understand at all, but she could tell he was angry, so she apologized.

Perhaps it was characteristic of his people, but the ambassador from Abignon was over two meters tall—tall enough to almost reach the ceiling. He was also well built, so compared to the much smaller Marissa, it was like the difference between an elephant and a puppy.

“This isn’t easy for me either! But it’s my superior officer’s orders! And she’s scary!”

“Rubor yob?”

“Her eyes are really fierce, you know? They’re so scary that one direct look is enough to make my heart stop beating!”

“Bunn po...”

“Seriously... She’s majorly frightening! Sometimes I forget to breathe! Maybe it’s like what they say about small animals: when faced with a ferocious beast, they will stop their heartbeat and respiration and play dead? Maybe it’s like that!”

“Taff...”

“Do you understand?”

The Abignon ambassador couldn’t communicate with words she could understand, but he showed sympathy for Marissa, whose pitifulness was now less like a puppy and more like a squirrel or a mouse.

“What’re you yapping about?!”

“Yurlfowp?!” Sophia suddenly appeared. Seeing her, Marissa made a strange sound and jumped.

“H-How did you make that sound?!”

“Y-You startled me!”

“You’re still not used to me?” Sophia worried that she frightened her subordinates, and she sighed a little sadly.

“Um... Major! I, uh...”

“Yeah, good work. You are relieved.” Sophia gave her frightened subordinate permission to leave. Then she looked at the Abignon ambassador. “I apologize, but due to security concerns, no one may leave. And you may not return to the event hall.”

“Bunga?” The ambassador shook his head as if he did not understand Sophia’s words.

“Oh, you don’t understand me? That’s fine, just listen.” Sophia continued talking as if unconcerned. “Ugh... I can’t believe it. Officials confirmed the identities of everyone participating in today’s ceremony.”

In addition to officials from Wiltia and Noa, the guests invited to today’s goodwill ceremony included people connected to foreign embassies stationed in Berun. The purpose was to emphasize to all participants how strong the ties were between Noa and Wiltia.

“We told the foreign embassies that only the people named on the invitation would be admitted, and they must come with an introduction bearing the ambassador’s seal. And the number of attendees we counted today matched the number invited.”

“Bun... ga?” The ambassador tilted his head, and Sophia continued.

“But I didn’t notice that even if we checked who went in and out, we wouldn’t detect if the number of people inside decreased.”

The Wiltian government had sent invitations to the various embassies, then registered who would attend and created a guest list. Based on that guest list, they handed out passes bearing thin transmitters and required all participants to wear them.

“We were expecting two participants from Abignon. But only one is currently on site. Where is the other one?”

“..................” The ambassador from Abignon didn’t say a word. But that wasn’t because he didn’t understand what she asked. He understood but clammed up.

“What does this decrease mean?”

The Abignon ambassador’s face contorted at Sophia’s words.

“Wiltia’s soldiers are more skilled than I expected.” He spoke with a slight accent, but he was fluent in the Wiltian language.

At that moment, the ambassador’s back swelled.

“...!” At the disturbing sight, Marissa opened her mouth with a silent scream. Something sprang out from the swelling on the ambassador’s back.

“Graaahhh!”

It was a human being. But he was very small and had long arms like a monkey—long mechanical arms. And he used them to attack.

“I knew it! A mechanical soldier!!”

Sophia drew her beloved short sword hanging from her waist, and at the same moment, the mechanical soldier attacked, using claws like assassins of long ago. Metal clashed with metal.

“Tch!” Sophia narrowly dodged one attack, but the claws tore her sleeve.

“I am surprised you noticed. Few would.” The ambassador from Abignon smiled fearlessly.

“Well, it’s not the first time I’ve battled your kind!” Sophia flashed her own smile at the two opponents who had split from one body.

She had fought a mechanical soldier from Greyten during the incident involving the airship Defairedead.

“No matter how well-crafted mechanical soldiers are, they don’t look like a human being. Something is always unnatural about their bodies, so they dress in clothes that hide their silhouettes.”

The mechanical soldier Sophia had fought was a contemptible man calling himself a priest. In order to conceal what he was, he wore clerical garments.

“I don’t know what kind of clothes you are wearing, but... Is that traditional Abignon garb? Anyway, it would certainly hide any physical abnormality.”

There were various types of mechanical soldiers. Some had mechanical arms or legs, and some had both. Some were mechanical from the neck down.

“I’m surprised to learn there’s also a two-in-one!”

The Abignon ambassador contained two mechanical bodies that combined into one: one large and sturdy, and the other very small. The smaller one had used some sort of mechanism to enlarge his body to blend in earlier during the ceremony. Then, after committing his crime, he combined with the larger body.

If the larger man attracted attention, no one would suspect him of being the killer. And if someone saw the smaller one, no one would suspect he could hide inside the other’s body. And if he disappeared, everyone would simply think he had fled the scene.

“I am surprised how much you understand.” The large mechanical soldier disguised as the Abignon ambassador smiled as if truly impressed.

“Well, we sort of cheated.”

There were three hints. One was General Douglas’s assertion that the killer was a “monkey.” The second was that the signals from the thin transmitters carefully prepared by Daian had overlapped.

“But the finishing touch was this.” A small fragment of metal rested on Sophia’s fingertip.

Lillie found it piercing a victim’s body at the crime scene. It was a piece of the small mechanical soldier’s metal claw.

“Is this aluminum alloy? Heh... That’s very rare.”

Aluminum is light, easy to manipulate, and resistant to rust, so research into various applications, especially weaponry, had been underway since the time of the Lion Emperor. But using aluminum in weapons presented one challenge. Aluminum is too soft.

“If you make a weapon with this, you have to mix it with other metals to create an alloy. But that process is expensive, costing about as much as the same weight in silver.”

For that reason, application in weapons for mass use was still far away.

“However... for example... when the amount needed is far less than for a tank or jet, and you want to make the most of its characteristic lightness, it’s the perfect material for mechanical soldiers.” Sophia grinned as though she was a famous detective who had solved the crime.

Lillie had taught Sophia all this. Humanoid Hunter Units also contained aluminum. Otherwise, it was hardly ever used. Furthermore...

“And aluminum wouldn’t set off the metal detectors at the entrance.”

Metal detectors using magnetism were installed at all of the entrances and exits of the ceremony. Anything metal, even a fountain pen, would set the detector off.

“That’s how we knew that mechanical soldiers on an assassination mission had entered.”

That was the third hint.

“You have foiled us. But we won’t allow you to catch us!!” As the large man waved his arm, the smaller one sprang from the blind spot behind it and attacked.

“Kyaiieee!”

But he didn’t attack Sophia. He was headed for Marissa, who had missed her chance to escape and now stood rooted in place. And he didn’t intend to take her hostage. A soldier knows when involving one’s troops is necessary to capture or eliminate an infiltrating enemy. And the mechanical soldiers knew that.

“You will be our shield!!”

The guards at the event were only equipped with a small caliber pistol. Whether a human being was alive or dead, its body could block bullets.

“Whoa...” But before the small mechanical soldier could close in, a fraught voice interrupted.

“What?!” By the time he cried out in surprise, it was already too late.

Lillie zoomed in like the wind, grabbed the little mechanical soldier’s head, and bashed him to the floor.

“Gurf?!”

Defeat from a single attack. A mechanical soldier was a strong opponent against regular humans but it wasn’t fast enough to beat a humanoid Hunter Unit.

“What?!” The large mechanical soldier couldn’t believe Lillie was so much stronger than he and his cohort. He recoiled, and offered an opening.

“Hyaaah!!” Sophia’s glare, known as the Dragon Slayer, didn’t miss that opportunity. “Take this!!” She smashed a fist into the left side of the large mechanical soldier’s chest.

The move was from ryuku, known as the bujutsu of the east. No matter how tough the flesh or how thick the armor, the force of the blow alone would inflict damage directly to the heart.

“Nfffgh?!”

But what made this move so devastating was that the trauma to the heart disrupted the heartbeat. The larger the opponent, the more wildly the robust heart would beat, threatening to burst out of the body, which was wracked with intense pain so it couldn’t even stand.

“Gaaah!!” Blood spurted from his eyes, nose and ears, and the large mechanical soldier fell where he was.

“Whew! That’s taken care of!”

The two fallen mechanical soldiers were barely breathing. They would be tightly bound to prevent them from attempting suicide, and then turned over to the appropriate authorities.

Abignon was a small nation. And to its north was August. Each year, August expanded further south, but with Wiltia’s backing, Abignon had attempted to preserve its sovereignty. However, many within Abignon sided with August in hopes of benefiting themselves. This time, August had used such people to send assassins.

But they won’t be quick to admit it.

Sophia realized she had done all she could do.

“Hilde! That’s enough! Come out now!”

Hilde—who was holding General Douglas—appeared from behind a door. “Okay...” She was warned about the killers from Sophia, but found it hard to believe. “Such soldiers... really exist, huh?”

“Even if reality seems unbelievable, look straight at it. If it’s happening before your eyes, possible or not, you have to deal with it. That is a soldier’s philosophy.”

Daian often unbalanced Sophia, but she was a veteran with experience on the battlefields of the Great War. Hilde was in the Schutzstaffel, but she lacked combat experience, which made a big difference.

“The way I see it, the girl with you is even more unusual.”

“Oh...”

Sophia was looking at Lillie, who had swiftly ripped the limbs from the two mechanical soldiers, and was now tying them up.

“That’s no mere student.”

“Um...”

No matter what explanations were offered, no student would have such combat abilities.

“Oh, I get it. So that’s it...”

Sophia had an idea who, or what, Lillie was, and not just because she had encountered her during the rebellion. Earlier, she had crossed paths with someone similar. But, she had been even more unusual. She recalled the silver-haired girl she met through her former subordinate; a man who was like her little brother.

She’s sort of the same, isn’t she?

But Sophia sensed this girl, Lillie, was slightly different. Lillie was less extraordinary than the silver-haired girl.

“Um... Major? Uh...” Hilde spoke hesitantly. “Lillie is, um... my friend. That’s all. Uh...”

“I know that.” Sophia wouldn’t ask any further questions.

The Wiltian Foreign Affairs Ministry had cleared Lillie, so she probably fell under the dominion of some public institution. Besides...

“I get the feeling someone I know may be behind this.”

“Huh?”

Sophia thought of the grinning face of that clown who posed as a sorcerer.

“Well, Corporal Haven, I got you into some trouble. Are you all right?” She called to her subordinate, whose relaxed manner had caused the mechanical soldiers to let down their guard, but there was no response.

“Eep...” Corporal Haven apparently found the situation too much to handle and had fainted.

“Well, at least she’s all right.” Sophia was just pleased that her subordinate wasn’t injured. “And that wraps this up!”

“Yes, it does.”

“Skwawk!”

Sophia, Hilde and General Douglas voiced unanimous relief.

“How nice! Even General Douglas is pleased!” Calmly, Lillie relayed the penguin’s message.

“Even I can understand him this time!” They had captured the assassin, so even without a translation, Hilde could tell General Douglas was reassured.

“Oh, right!”

But she didn’t expect what Lillie said next. “He says, ‘The other General Douglas would be pleased, too.’”

“What?!” Both Hilde and Sophia froze in surprise.

1730 26.04.921—

Deep in the countryside of Haradin...

After analyzing what was behind the Door, which turned out to be nothing, Daian was shocked. He sat down in a rocky area and thought in silence.

It was unusual for him to be speechless. His acquaintances—Sophia, Blitzdonner and Rebecca—only saw him wearing his flippant, clownish smile. But now he looked downcast as if facing the darkness of the void.

“What... does this mean?”

He had come to analyze this Door in order to prove one thing. The last words spoken by his mother, who had named him Daian.

“Those two destroyed Europea. The Saint and the Devil.”

Daian wanted to uncover the truth behind those words.

“Major?”

“Yes?” Blitzdonner, the Apuvean agent dressed in red who had accompanied Daian as his bodyguard, stood behind him.

“Would you listen as I think aloud?”

“I don’t mind, but am I worthy of a scholar’s high-flown thoughts?”

“It’s all right. You just need to listen. I don’t care if you’re a tree or a rock.”

“Don’t be sarcastic.”

Silent thought often doesn’t go anywhere. Some people need to organize their thoughts as they take a walk or lie in bed. And this talkative genius organized his thoughts through dialogue.

Perhaps this was because his knowledge was acquired through conversation with the one he called mother. He had ripened his thoughts by speaking them out loud and hearing them with his own ears. But to do that, he needed someone to listen.

“Do you know why the European Empire fell to ruin?”

“That was because... you know. They awakened God’s wrath. Didn’t they?”

It wasn’t known exactly why the great empire disappeared a thousand years ago. But people created a legend to explain it. It was the tedious story that the empire fell because it had awakened God’s wrath.

“Wrong. Well... actually, it’s the truth. But strictly speaking, it isn’t correct.”

Europea had been destroyed. It was the truth that it was destroyed because it incurred the wrath of God, but it wasn’t the correct answer.

“It was God’s wrath, but it was the people of Europea who created that god.”

“Is a god... something you can make?” Blitzdonner didn’t look convinced.

People usually believe that God created people, not the other way around.

“What is the definition of God? Something eternal? The creator of all things? Something that uses a strange and mysterious power? Those aren’t incorrect answers. But the answer should be simpler.”

What is God? The answer varies by religion, by sect, and even from person to person. But there was one common characteristic.

“God is infallible. It is absolute. People expect this from a god and it is the necessary element of divinity.”

God is not human. So God does not make the mistakes that humans make. If to err is human, then gods do not err.

“God is the unfailing regularity of the sun rising and setting, the seasons changing and the laws governing all things.”

“So how could people create something like that?” This discussion was beyond a military man’s comprehension, so Blitzdonner was puzzled.

“The people of Europea thought that human beings were made in God’s image, but were incomplete, not perfect copies.”

Human beings are different from animals. Animals evolve and they adapt to fit their environment, but human beings develop reason and dominate their environment. If human reason was a fragment of God’s reason, then it could provide a clue.

“Each person both resembles and is very different from God. But what if you combined hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people? What if you gathered the pieces of God inside each person?”

They connected the spirits of all people to create a massive accumulation of information. No matter how difficult or foolish the question, all that information could provide the perfect answer. In fact, there would be no need for questions. They could rely on that god for everything and act, live and die as it directed. Because it would be absolute. But, it still might differ from God.

“They couldn’t be certain that it would always provide an absolutely correct answer. It just had to be able to convince them. In that sense, it really was like a god.”

God is the object of all human faith.

“But why would that god destroy Europea and the people who created and believed in it?”

“Because they incurred its wrath. They killed the girl God loved.”

“You’re not talking about Saint Europa, are you?”

Saint Europa was part of a foundation myth shared across the continent of Europea. In the beginning was God. A girl stole his heart and he proposed marriage to her. God bestowed many gifts upon her, but she spurned his offers.

God spoke. “I shall give you the whole world.” And the girl’s name was Europa.

“All the royal families of this continent claim to be descendants of Europa. And they claim the right to rule the entire continent. But no one actually believes it.”

It was just a myth used to reinforce the divine right of kings.

“Yes, that’s right. Myth isn’t reality. But what if something that the myths are based on actually happened?”

Something called a god must have existed. So the girl courted by God and named Europa could also have existed.

“Are you saying that girl should rule the world?”

“No, that isn’t right. But, unlike in the myth, God got angry.”

“Hey, wait. In that case, are you saying...?” A wild idea crossed Blitzdonner’s mind.

His idea was so wild that it didn’t come close to the sophistication of Daian’s question about the Saint and God.

“I think you’re right, Major. Indeed, you are the famed playboy of this life!”

“No need to make fun of me. Are you saying... that the part about God getting angry is...”

“Yes, Saint Europa rejected God’s advances, so he got mad and destroyed the world.”

“Hey now...” Blitzdonner needed a better reason for destroying the world. It was like a child’s temper tantrum.

“Why did she rebuff him, anyway? God is absolute, right? He doesn’t make mistakes, right? Then...”

“Yes... that’s right.” Blitzdonner’s questions were exactly the response Daian wanted. “The jolt from an absolute being, a god, making a mistake is what destroyed the empire. Because the Saint...” Having pursued the matter this far, Daian’s thoughts now went deeper.

“Yes... that’s what’s strange. What if that was inside the Door? But, why 150 years ago? Why so recent? Did it waste away and disappear sooner? But isn’t it weird that it was there? That means... and I hate to say it, but... there’s a contradiction! But if so, it would explain everything! And in that case...”

“H-Hey, Daian?” Daian, muttering with a ghastly look on his face, was so agitated that Blitzdonner, a stalwart veteran, swallowed in trepidation.

“Try looking at it this way... What if the Saint and the Devil were already free?” Another voice joined theirs.

“——?!” Turning around, they saw Fianna, who they thought had left in anger much earlier.

She wore a gentle expression and a self-assured smile. She looked like a different person.

“Who... are you?”

No. It was as if her very existence changed and her contents had been replaced. Blitzdonner sensed this change and a sweat broke out on his forehead and his mechanical arms and legs were trembling.

“Wait. Just... hold on.”

Soldiers face whatever is before them without waiting to make sense of it. No matter how impossible something might seem, if it happened, it must be real. Thus, this unbelievable situation was reality. Blitzdonner understood that, but this was too far removed from reality.

“You’re impressive, Sorcerer. I knew you were the only person who could get this far.” Fianna slowly split down the middle. Her voluptuous body opened and fell away, like machine parts.

“Oh... is that what’s going on?” Daian understood this bizarre occurrence before Blitzdonner did. But he didn’t think like a soldier. As a scientist... No, with his knowledge as a seeker of truth, he grasped the nature of this strange being.

“You came too close to the truth, Sorcerer and Crimson Hawk!”

Standing before them now was a girl in a black and white dress. She had purple hair, red eyes, and she was chillingly beautiful.

“You must be... the Saint.”

“Yes. I cast down the European Empire. And I am the one who is going to kill you!” The girl answered Daian with a smile worthy of the Saint she claimed to be.