Translator: Alpha0210
When Residue first watched the fight begin, he'd thought Kasajin held the upper hand. But after emptying a few cups with Retip and observing more closely, he found that, surprisingly, the two of them were locked in a perfect stalemate.
This wasn't due to any gap in ability or bad matchup between them. It was a result of Kasajin's own choice. That man was approaching the battle in one way and one way only.
"Hmm."
Residue knew the Warrior King Fist was a martial art of considerable refinement. He had no intention of denying that. But it was hard to call it a combat technique perfectly suited to what Kasajin, the Demon King, was now.
The Warrior King Fist held no techniques that made use of horns or wings. It hadn't been designed to fit a frame that easily cleared three meters, nor could it efficiently employ claws capable of tearing through steel.
It was a martial art built for a human with no horns, no wings, and no claws to break an enemy larger and stronger than himself. Because of that nature, against an opponent of comparable strength, or one only slightly weaker, its full potential could never be brought to bear.
In other words, Kasajin was fighting while placing restrictions on himself.
From start to finish the fight had been a fierce, unbroken slugfest. Both of them kept the distance razor-close, one swinging his fists, the other swinging her scythe. A scythe was a weapon that couldn't display its true might in close-quarters combat, near enough to feel the other's breath, and yet Sedi never opened up the range.
Perhaps she had realized that Kasajin was fighting while holding back several of the means available to him, and decided that she, too, ought to shoulder a handicap of equal measure.
'Such considerate little bastards.'
Absurdly enough, the two beings people called demons were weighing the fairness of it all.
Paang!
With the sound of air bursting, the distance between the two opened for the first time. The pair split apart, leaving long tracks across the sand, and regarded each other with lowered eyes.
"......"
"......"
Kasajin took his stance first.
To the eye it looked like a crude posture whose only purpose was condensing power into his fist, but the way space warps and the grains of sand tremble tells a different, ominous story.
Sedi's choice was unexpected. Rather than use the distance she'd just fought so hard to secure, she gripped her scythe and charged at Kasajin with ferocious speed. Combined with her small frame, it made for a perilous sight, like leaping straight into a beast's open jaws, yet it is the correct judgment.
Of the two, Kasajin held a slim advantage in remaining stamina. Not because Kasajin had conserved his reserves well, but simply because their total pools of stamina differed to begin with.
If they poured out every last scrap of strength and collided head-on like this, nine times out of ten it would end in Sedi's defeat. She knew that too, and so she ran.
Kasajin fixed his eyes on the closing Sedi and began to force the impossible.
He didn't halt the condensation of power. If anything, he drove his momentum higher. Right now his entire body is, in effect, one great vital point.
In any case, the one who'd chosen to gamble was Kasajin, so the outcome of this bout likewise rests in Kasajin's hands.
In an instant Sedi's scythe closed the gap and gleamed pale, and the storm of force that had been raging across Kasajin's whole body cut out with a snap.
──.
The sound vanished.
Kasajin's fist smashed across Sedi's entire body. Sedi was flung away several times faster than she had charged in. She looked to have tumbled across the sand dunes dozens of times over.
Pshk.
Then, a beat late, blood welled up from Kasajin's shoulder. From the vicinity of his left collarbone, down that solid frame to his lower abdomen. A long, slender wound had been carved into him.
Sedi shot upright out of the dust. Her head must have split open, blood streaming down freely, yet her condition looks oddly unharmed.
It isn't that they both pulled their strength.
It is closer to force meeting force and canceling out, a scene one often witnesses in a bout fought at full power. To dress it up a little, mutual destruction.
At any rate, a collision that could have shaken heaven and earth had come to an end, and by some miracle neither side has suffered a grave wound.
Sedi walked toward Kasajin. She seemed to have no intention of fighting; the scythe she had never once released now lay tossed carelessly onto the sand. Kasajin, having perhaps bled too much, had slumped down where he sat, his face somewhat dazed.
"What are you looking at?"
Sedi had come near enough to touch him now.
Kasajin, who even then had been staring at something with half-vacant eyes, muttered in a spent voice.
"The desert."
"......"
"...There was a time I wanted to leave this world behind."
The words slipped out, calm and even.
Some focus returned to his unmoored eyes, and they took in Sedi.
"How is Demonsio? It couldn't have escaped the aftermath of the Great Fusion."
"There was a fair amount of damage, but I restored it quickly enough."
"Is that so. That must have been hard work."
Sedi shook her head.
"I don't deserve that kind of courtesy. I didn't do anything. Truth is, I'm a lord in name only."
Then, as if some thought struck her, she laughed to herself and settled down to sit facing him.
"You've got a lot of capable demons over there. The cleanup was very neat. And in the process, I got some help from 'Kasajin' too."
"......"
Kasajin closed the mouth that had been half open.
A moment later, what came through the gap in his lips wasn't a voice but a sigh.
"...The scenery of Demonsio suddenly weighs on my eyes. I wonder why."
"Who knows. Isn't it because you miss it?"
"Miss it? Me? When I spent my whole life wanting to be rid of that place?"
"Don't ask me. I don't know a thing about you, so how would I guess what's going on inside?"
"...True."
Kasajin said in a low voice.
"But you may be right. Whether it's longing, or regret, or some other feeling entirely, I don't know. What I can't deny is that right now my mind has been carried off somewhere else."
Then, abruptly, he made a declaration.
"So, Sedi Trowman. Let it be you who goes to 'The Outside'."
"What?"
"That last blow just now, you eased off on it, didn't you? I could see the scythe's edge had lost much of its sharpness. Had you not, my body might well have been split in two. I'll admit it. You're the stronger of us. And most of the roles I could fill in 'The Outside', you could carry out just as well."
"What's this all of a sudden? Your whole attitude's flipped."
"...In this fight I used nothing but the Warrior King Fist. The martial art of the Magic Warrior King, the shape of the life 'Kasajin' walked, sublimated into technique."
Kasajin gave a faint laugh.
"It suited me terribly poorly. Forcing myself into ill-fitting clothes would have been less unsightly than this. The longer I fought, the more uncomfortable it grew rather than familiar. And yet I kept up my foolish stubbornness. It wasn't an entirely meaningless act, though. Because I got my answer."
"And that answer is to send me to 'The Outside'?"
"It is."
At that, Sedi gave a small laugh and shook her head.
"No. The one who has to go to The Outside is you."
"What?"
Kasajin's brow furrowed, and Residue, watching the whole thing from atop the castle roof, couldn't help letting out a dry laugh.
Because there was something ridiculous in the sight of these two, who at first had swung fists and weapons at each other each insisting they'd be the one to go, now suddenly deferring to one another as though they'd both attained some sort of enlightenment.
"Why? I know of the bond between you and Lukas Trowman. Don't you want to meet him?"
"I do. But here's the thing. Just like you, I realized something in that fight too."
"And what's that?"
"I can't grow anymore."
Sedi said bitterly.
"Where I'm standing right now. This is the highest point the being called Sedi Trowman can ever stand. My peak. I can't even imagine a version of myself stronger than this."
"How can you know that? That kind of thought, I've had it too..."
"No. You're different from me. You've got far more room left to get better."
"......"
"'The Outside' is a dangerous place, but put another way, that means it's full of opportunity. And I don't have the confidence to make those opportunities truly my own. I'm not even going there for that purpose to begin with."
Was it because she had fought so thoroughly, so satisfyingly?
Sedi seemed to have recovered her composure. If out in The Outside she thinks of nothing but Lukas Trowman, then no matter how much power she holds, her presence is nothing but a hindrance.
"So you go. And if you happen to meet my father... well, pass along my regards or something."
"......"
Kasajin gazed at Sedi with a blank face.
Sedi didn't wait for an answer before rising to her feet. And instead of returning to the King's Castle, she set off to the west, toward where Demonsio lay.
Residue took in the somewhat hollow ending and rose to his feet, looking satisfied.
"So it's decided. The last member is Kasajin, then."
"Did you foresee it turning out that way?"
"Not particularly. Why?"
"You don't seem all that surprised, is all."
"It was a bout where either winning wouldn't have been strange, wasn't it. Though the two of them yielding victory to each other at the end was a bit of a farce."
That's all there is to it. Residue added lightly, then looked at Retip and asked.
"Retip, you said the Blue Knight and Agolet headed north?"
"Hm? Ah. Yes, that's right."
Retip faltered, then asked back.
"Don't tell me you're going to them right now?"
"There's a nagging feeling, like a bone caught in my throat. I suppose it's better for my peace of mind to make sure of it... While I'm at it, one more question. Was the Blue Knight's companion definitely just Agolet, one person?"
"Sorry?"
"I'm asking whether there wasn't a little brat about waist-high beside them."
"Ah. You mean that child we rescued back in Meltown. That much I couldn't say."
"...Hm."
Truthfully, if it had been the Blue Knight going north alone, Residue wouldn't have gotten involved. But add Agolet into the mix, and it strangely gnawed at him. It was as if those two, both utterly unpredictable, might cobble together a bomb that lay far beyond anything he could foresee.
And it wasn't as if the two of them had gone strolling off hand in hand to begin with, so checking on this properly seems like the right call.
"There isn't much time left now, is there?"
"About an hour, I'd say. Don't worry. It won't take long."
Retip hesitated a moment, then spoke.
"Shall I come with you?"
"Ha ha. That's a commendable thing to offer."
Residue laughed pleasantly, but he had no intention of bringing company; he quietly rose to his feet, then in a single bound leapt down from the roof and headed north.
Retip watched his retreating figure and murmured.
"...Please, take care."
*
What lay to the north of the King's Castle?
In the past, it had been a place where a transparent surface of water rose ankle-deep. Not a desert, not a snowfield, not dead land. The place where the Corpse Ghost's territory lay.
Of course, the north of the King's Castle now had become an entirely different place from back then. It was a rocky expanse crammed with jagged, misshapen crags, ugly stone peaks jutting up unevenly in every direction.
"...Hmm."
Residue rubbed his chin for a moment.
Had he been here before at some point? That much he couldn't say, but it was a strangely unsettling place. To put it bluntly, the atmosphere grates on him. Not that that is reason enough to halt his advance.
Trudge, trudge. With no time to spare, he pressed forward at a slightly quicker pace.
And before long, Residue came upon a cave. Its size was indeed uncanny. Like a hole punched clean through a great stone mountain. Or perhaps like the den of some monstrously enormous creature.
"A cave, at a time like this..."
The unease he'd felt moments ago now seems to double over on itself.
Residue glanced back over his shoulder. Time really was starting to run tight. Should he have brought Michael or Iris along? ...Well, if the worst came to it, he could always use One Step Through Time and Space to get back.
It seems there won't be any leeway to search the cave to its end, and if a rough look around turns up no one, he'll have to pull out.
Having settled his judgment, Residue stepped into the cave, but the plan he'd thrown together fell apart at once.
"...Mm."
Because seated not far from the cave's entrance was the Blue Knight.
"Hello there!"
The Blue Knight greeted him in a chipper manner, going so far as to snap up a hand, but Residue had no inclination to return it in good cheer.
Instead he tilted his head and asked.
"What are you doing here? Though it does seem a decent enough spot to wallow in misery alone."
"......"
Had she just laughed?
Between the long, cascading strands of her hair, he could see the corner of her mouth curved slantwise upward.
"You know what. I hate fishing."
"What?"
"Strange, isn't it? Fish and food comes right into your hands. Food, the thing I used to love most of all. Even though you can get it, I don't like fishing. Because, fishing means you have to wait, right? Patience is what matters."
"......"
"I've got no talent for waiting. So right now I'm in a pretty good mood. You came much sooner than I expected."
In that moment Residue felt something, a strong sense of wrongness. At the sensation of the flow of air being severed, he turned to look behind him, and the wrongness took concrete form and swallowed his entire body.
The very cave entrance he had just walked through was gone.
Clank.
Pale rose to her feet.
"Let's have a little talk, Residue."
Shing.
A sword in one hand, an odious iron chain wound about the other, the woman spouted her joke of a line and closed in.
*
Iris didn't head straight for the Conference Hall.
With nothing to do, she loitered around the King's Castle for no good reason, and only when there was about an hour left did she finally set off, slow and dragging. She herself didn't quite understand the reason, and only grasped it the moment she arrived.
This is awkward.
"......"
In the Conference Hall, all four of them except Residue had already arrived.
Iris and Anastasia, Kasajin and Lucid. But no conversation was passing between them. Only Anastasia wore the face of someone debating whether or not to open her mouth, while the other two men seemed not the least bit troubled by the silence.
There must have been times in the past when the four of them had gathered like this too.
What did they talk about back then? Probably mostly serious exchanges of opinion about hunting down demigods, though every now and then some trivial banter might have crept in as well.
No. Hold on, it wasn't this awkward the last time they'd met. Why had the mood suddenly turned like this?
Iris thought about the reason, and, with a sour face, could only admit it.
Last time, at least Residue had been there, and that had softened it.
'...More to the point, where is that man and what is he doing?'
There was still about an hour left, but going out to 'The Outside' was a matter of tremendous gravity. Naturally they ought to gather beforehand and lay down at least some minimal guidelines for what to do once they were out there.
...Of course, recalling the sorry way Residue tended to carry himself, it wouldn't be strange if he showed up a solid ten seconds beforehand and flung the tickets in their faces.
Iris felt a brief pang of regret. Back when they'd crossed paths in the corridor earlier, she should have dragged him along by force.
"...That was a good fight."
Just then Anastasia, unable to withstand the awkwardness, opened her mouth.
Kasajin lifted his head slightly.
"Those wounds look serious. Are you all right?"
"They only look dramatic on the surface. The bleeding's already stopped."
"Ah. Really?"
"Right."
"......"
"......"
Since he answered so neatly only to exactly what was asked, the conversation refused to continue.
Anastasia turned her gaze away with an exasperated look, and this time she looked at Lucid.
"Lucid, is your body holding up all right?"
"This is a body whose life processes have already ceased. There's no need to fuss over its condition. It's always the same."
"I, is that so?"
"It is."
"......"
This side got much the same response.
Anastasia clicked her tongue, and in the end looked at Iris and said.
"Hey, listen─"
"Quiet."
But Iris was already irritated on Residue's account, so she cut Anastasia off before the girl could say a word. The silver-haired girl bowed her head, dispirited.
Conversation vanished, and the time passed in silence.
Ten minutes. So far everyone was still quiet.
Twenty minutes. Anastasia began grumbling to herself.
Thirty minutes. Iris's glances toward the door grew more frequent.
Forty minutes, and only then did the expressions of those present stiffen a little.
And then fifty minutes.
"It's strange he still hasn't shown, no matter how you look at it."
Kasajin, who until now had only occasionally answered what was put to him, was the first to speak up of his own accord. Lucid, standing beside him, nodded in agreement.
Kasajin spoke again.
"The last one to see him was Asha, wasn't it?"
Somewhere along the way the nickname Asha had stuck for good.
Anastasia, too worn out now even to correct him, nodded.
"Yeah. He went up to the castle roof to watch you two fight."
"On the castle roof..."
"I went to check. There was no one there."
"Hmm..."
Lucid said quietly.
"Going to look for him now would be awkward too. In case things come to a head, it seems best for the four of us to stay together."
...He has a point.
If they scattered clumsily for no reason, Residue might arrive at the very last second and be unable to hand out the tickets.
They waited for Residue with an anxious air, and time went on flowing.
─And right up until the hour was through, until the time limit ended.
Residue still,
did not show himself.
*****
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