Gravity fluctuation (29)
"What a mess this is. The damage I suffered because of you impurities is tremendous."
It was Cystus who spoke as he drew back the black smoke.
I kept a wary eye on the black smoke, watching with tense eyes. I didn't know what he had done, but its power had suddenly grown much stronger than before. It was possible it had been like that from the beginning, and he had just been holding back his strength until now.
"...... Why are you doing this? This much?"
"Reason? Do I need one? I don't prefer to answer a question with another question, but let me ask you something. Why are you hanging on like this?"
When I made a face as if asking what the hell he was saying, Cystus nodded.
"It's the same logic. If I explain my reason, would you accept it and meekly accept your fate? No, right? If that were the case, this situation wouldn't have happened in the first place."
"......."
"I don't want my plans to go wrong anymore. That's why I've decided to end this now."
His tone was such that he could end things at any moment if he wished. I was angry at how matter-of-fact Cystus sounded, but I couldn't strongly deny it was possible.
Cystus, who controlled black smoke that blocked all kinds of attacks and pulverized everything it touched. Unless I found a way to deal with that, there was no way to stop him.
- Lee Hyun-woo. ...... Just a little longer, a little longer. I'll find a way to make an opening, somehow.
Licorice began to control the slowly crashing ship by disrupting the system. She seemed unable to touch the weapons system—for the armaments were unresponsive—but instead, she tried to crash the ship directly into them.
It was a medium-class ship, not small in size. The blunted bow began to punch through the dust cloud and slam down.
"Pointless tricks."
But with just a wave of Cystus's hand, the ship's life came to an abrupt end. The black smoke cut through the air and began damaging the already half-destroyed ship from the inside, resulting in a massive explosion.
Hacking is only possible if there's something to hack. If, as now, there's nothing left to control because it's already destroyed, hacking skills are useless.
Cystus, with a spectacular explosion behind him, looked at me quietly. It was as if he were studying me.
"You're still empty inside."
"...... What's that supposed to mean?"
I didn't want to talk, but if I wanted to buy even a little time, I didn't have a choice. Even then, it might be pointless. Still, I had to stall. Otherwise, all that awaited was death.
"It means exactly what I said. You have no soul. You just drift along, moving your body by instinct."
Cystus raised a hand. The pureblood supremacists, waiting for his signal, brandished their weapons.
"If you can't understand, that's fine. What comes next would be a meaningless 'if' anyway. Restrain those impurities. Kill them, if it comes to fighting. After all, death here is not a true end but another beginning."
As Cystus dropped his hand and spoke, every pureblood supremacist nearby began to attack. Fortunately, there was ample cover in the vicinity.
Wreckage of the pureblood supremacist group's crashed ship was scattered everywhere, so by pressing my back tightly to it, I could shield myself to some extent.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Bullets rained down. I ducked my head at once, barely avoiding instant death, but I couldn't do anything in this situation. Even Nadia's power loader was hesitating under the sheer firepower.
Even lifting my head would get it blown off. This wasn't the level a few grenades could solve. I needed the kind of force that could push them all back at once.
"Licorice! Just fire straight away!"
- Then get down lower! If not, you'll all be caught in it!
Following Licorice's instructions, I ducked even further. The power loader covered me. It was an attempt to minimize the shockwave soon to hit.
The missile pods, arranged neatly, suddenly opened all their hatches. At that moment, dozens of small missiles fired simultaneously.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
A chain of explosions occurred. Even though they were small missiles that the power loader could fire, the firepower was never weak. With dozens of them, it was enough to devastate the area.
Thick dust billowed up and, blown by the wind, began to clear. Outlines of things appeared and disappeared again and again.
"......."
"......."
Nadia and I kept our tension without daring to open our mouths. We could guess that more than half of the pureblood supremacists had disappeared in that attack.
A big achievement, clearly, but with their numbers being replenished and with Cystus still alive, I couldn't allow myself to relax.
Eventually, the dust almost cleared. A low voice cut through the silence.
"The prophecy has already come to pass. As the prophecy dictated, this place shall become Heaven. It shall be our paradise."
Behind that came a sound like a swarm of insects moving together. The unnerving, buzzing noise began to fill the surroundings.
"The Holy Tree becomes a giant and watches over us. The era of purity has come. Now, the world shall be reborn."
Faith. Only faith filled that voice. It went beyond blind belief—it was utter fanaticism. Faith is inseparable from human life.
Faith in a religious god, in humans, in one's comrades, in oneself. Whatever action we take, faith is an indispensable element.
Maybe that's why. Faith is tested far more frequently than anything else. Even after enduring for ages, one moment of discord can invalidate all that has come before. Length of endurance doesn't guarantee strength.
But the pureblood supremacists were different. They worshiped what they called the Holy Tree as if they were brainwashed. To them, everything but that worship was falsehood. The only real thing was the Holy Tree.
That's likely why they could carry out the massacre. If you weren't in their circle, you were treated as a lie.
Cystus, who had blocked the explosion with black smoke, looked around with emotionless eyes. Dozens of pureblood supremacists had been vaporized without a trace of blood left behind.
"You killed a lot at once. These weren't people destined to die in a place like this."
"You insane bastard......"
So, we, and everyone we'd seen, were just people it was okay for monsters to slaughter mercilessly?
"To you, we must look like monsters. But isn't it strange? No matter how much times change, conflicts never end. In fact, it's only natural for conflicts to occur."
"...... Are you saying what you're doing is justified?"
"'Justified,' you say... No, rather than justified, it's a natural act. Isn't it? What we've caused is nothing but a natural commotion."
"Yet you killed countless people with monsters."
It was a cunning argument. The big and small conflicts Cystus mentioned still existed, and likely would in the future. As long as human desires clashed, they would never disappear unless we lost our emotions.
But that didn't mean I could ever condone the pureblood supremacist group. Their conflict was of a different order, and whatever the reason, such conflict deserved condemnation.
"Foolish. Those impurities weren't killed by monsters, but offered as sacrifices to possibility. For the future in which our species could become something greater. In their own way, they proved their worth."
The more we talked, the more dangerous it felt. The black smoke threatened as it hovered nearby. The battle wouldn't end. A ringing, as though my eardrums had been damaged, wouldn't go away.
"In any case, you'll never understand us. Especially you—a mere toy of Lobelia."
Suddenly, the black smoke rushed forward. It gathered itself perfectly, then shot out; Nadia quickly reached out. With her shield already spent, she grabbed a piece of ship armor instead.
Kwagagak!
The armor, touching the black smoke, was ground away and failed in its role as cover. Still, it bought us a few seconds. Nadia and I quickly retreated.
Now the cover was worth nothing. No matter how much we pulled the trigger, the bullets couldn't reach Cystus. Even grenades couldn't penetrate the black smoke.
Swinging the plasma cutter wildly, its energy just dispersed in vain. The weakener didn't work at all. Everything we did vanished into the black smoke.
In contrast, all of Cystus's attacks hit us directly. The power loader's arm was severed first. Before the arm hit the ground, the second arm went too. Then, both legs were brutally cut off.
Only the cockpit was left, dumped unceremoniously to the ground. As if to increase the damage, he threw it hard from up high so it crashed down. Maybe the impact made Nadia lose consciousness, as nothing happened inside. The mechanical giant lost its limbs and its motive force.
"Nadia! You son of a...!"
Putting all my weight on my legs, I desperately swung my weapon. A blue streak traced through the air, but then vanished. It lost its form the instant it touched the black smoke.
A clash of black and blue, ending in the victory of black. The black smoke snapped the plasma cutter in two and pierced my thigh. As if to incapacitate me, it pierced my forearm and the other thigh too.
"Kgh...!"
With the pain of tearing muscles, I couldn't stand anymore. I couldn't resist. That thought rose in my head. I'd felt this before, fighting Blue Eye, but never so strongly as now.
The fight ended in an instant. The difference was so great I could barely put up a struggle.
'To think the gap would be this wide...!'
This was no mere torn blood vessel. I could feel the black smoke lingering inside my body. I hastily chewed on top-grade medicine, but nothing got any better.
Step, step. The one who had incapacitated Nadia and me with only a few gestures walked toward us calmly. He kicked the cockpit, causing the front glass to pop open.
Inside, Nadia, blood flowing from her forehead, dangled unconscious. Carry, too, seemed to have some kind of problem, for its power was off.
If Carry had been conscious, maybe an emergency escape could have been attempted, but when I realized even that was impossible, despair filled me.
"Nadia! Wake up! Please!"
At least Nadia had to escape. Even calling on all my strength and shouting, Nadia barely stirred. Not until Cystus walked right up to her.
Right then.
"Die!"
Nadia suddenly opened her eyes and swung a military machete she'd been secretly gripping in her hand. The blade drew a perfect arc straight for his vital spot. It was powerful enough—if it wasn't Cystus—she could have killed him in one swing.
Crack!
The machete was stopped in mid-air. Black smoke, blooming from Cystus's back, grabbed the blade. Clang—a metallic sound as the blade snapped.
Realizing her surprise attack had failed, fear filled Nadia's eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut. Cystus grabbed Nadia by the neck and lifted her.
"K-ugh...!"
"No!"
"Don't worry. I don't intend to kill you right now. Both of you have information we want. We have to make up our losses as well, don't we?"
Nadia flailed, clawing at Cystus's arm. She kicked her legs and struggled fiercely, but soon her resistance weakened as her airway was cut off.
My insides burned, as if a blazing fire was swallowing the remaining ashes whole each time I exhaled.
"Stop...!"
"Stop? You have no right to demand that. You haven't proven your worth."
"You son of a bitch!"
"I told you, you're defective. That's the price for failing to abandon your false body."
"...... The price?"
I ground my teeth. Who the hell did he think he was? Why did he think he was in the seat of judgment? The answer was all too simple. Even my fevered brain could grasp it at once.
Because I was weaker than Cystus, because I'd failed to make something called a core, because, as he said, I was defective. That's what led to this situation.
- ...... No. W-what can I do...?
Licorice muttered in a shaky voice, unable to find an answer to the situation. I couldn't expect outside help.
But then what?
Should I make a core myself?
Do I know how?
No. But what I do know is that I have to.
No. No. It was all things I didn't know. I didn't even know myself yet. Not just my past as an experiment, but fundamentally who I was.
I'd kept moving to know that. That was why I resolved to go to Earth—to know myself.
"...... Prove my worth? Who, and to whom?"
With difficulty, I braced myself against the ground and stood. Blood poured from my wounds, but I didn't stop. My body had always been tough. I believed it would hold out despite these injuries.
When I managed to stand, Cystus tossed Nadia aside. Like discarding trash—without a hint of emotion—she rolled on the ground.
She gasped for air, coughing harshly. A pained groan followed. Maybe I should be thankful—other than the hand marks on her throat, there were no serious injuries, just a cut on her forehead.
Cystus clicked his tongue at the slow-to-arrive pureblood supremacists. Apparently, no matter how strong he was, without a method of transportation, he was as stuck here as we were.
Which meant, if Albatross, Griffin, Licorice, Celestia, and our side's forces kept hindering, Cystus would be isolated too.
That's why I hoped they could hold the pureblood supremacists back.
"Licorice, block them off at all costs."
- ...... Okay. And Roxy's alive. The shuttle's wrecked and can't fly, but with the Beta Series loaded inside, the plan is to hijack a pureblood supremacist ship or an armed shuttle. I'll keep looking for another way, so just hang in there. Please, don't die.
I ended the call without even answering. I stared at the enemy before me.
"You do have some spirit."
"...... I've always been tough, you know."
"But that's all you have. Mere endurance doesn't change your situation. I think it's time you learned that lesson."
"Giving up now would make all the time I've endured feel wasted."
I replied calmly, taking up my stance. The bleeding didn't stop. The dizziness was already setting in as blood kept pouring out.
The black smoke rushed at me as I barely got to my feet. At first, I thought it was the ultimate in nanorobot technology, but now I knew. It was one of the supernatural powers I'd seen at the underground research lab.
Perhaps wanting to torment me, the black smoke used only blunt physical force, not lethal power. I didn't die, but the pain just dragged on and on.
I tried to resist, moved my body again and again, but every time I fell. My desperate swings cut only empty air, not black smoke.
With my injured body pushed to the limit, moving so violently only worsened my wounds. Too much blood drained away, and drowsiness hit; I could barely breathe.
As the wounds in my body split even wider, it became unclear whether I was breathing or not. It hadn't been long, but I already felt at my limit.
How much time had passed? Even a few minutes? How much longer did I have to last? Would there be an end to this struggle?
Negative thoughts consumed my mind. Still, I stood again and again. If I fell, Nadia would be next.
He'd said he wouldn't kill us, but that didn't mean anything. Being dragged away as an experiment was never a good option.
"Haah... haah......"
"What a waste. It's such a waste that I have to kill you. Change your mind even now. Then I'll guarantee survival for both you and the beastkin. This is my final offer."
"...... Cystus, you have to kill me. If you can't kill me now, I will kill you. I guarantee it."
I grinned faintly. My suit was shredded, exposing my skin. The biting cold penetrated my wounds with sharp pain.
I wanted to curl up right now, but it was thanks to the pain I stayed conscious. Even if my flesh froze, I had to endure.
"There's nothing as pathetic as a stubborn boast with only words. That's your predicament."
"......."
"Did you think it had to be you? That you alone could resolve this? How arrogant. More arrogant than anyone."
As I staggered and took a stance, Cystus frowned. He slowly raised a hand. Now that I wouldn't yield, he seemed to make up his mind, and the black smoke regained its killing intent.
'Ah.'
I thought: with the next attack, maybe I'll die. Maybe this is the end for me.
With my worsening wounds, my mind went hazy. Reality blurred—I could see, but in another way, I was seeing a different landscape. My focus was all wrong.
On one side, I saw the black smoke shooting at me; on the other, I saw a blue meadow. Reality and illusion overlapped.
I stood on the boundary. I forced my eyes shut, then opened them again.
And in that moment, time stopped.
***
Somewhere outside the range where the gravity fluctuation was applied.
"Ah, at last!"
Lobelia cried out, trembling in ecstasy. This time, her role was observer. She had been watching the Maker, a creation of Mother breaking free from forced control, when she caught sight of Lee Hyun-woo.
The seeds of rupture she had sown were sprouting. Unlike the history that had passed so far, the future now branched off into a new direction.
Lobelia burst into laughter as if truly delighted. Unable to contain the feeling, she hugged herself.
"Look at that! It's blooming! It may look shabby at first, but soon it'll blossom brilliantly!"
It wasn't the first time she'd seen such a budding bloom. But that was a story from the distant past. It was the first since this timeline began.
The pureblood supremacist group believed the budding individual they'd created was already in bloom, but that wasn't the case. At best, it was an incomplete blooming.
Even if Mother gave them a name, it wasn't true blooming. In order for a bud to flower, many conditions had to be met. It wasn't enough for the bud to be filled with energy.
The true blooming condition for a bud was narrative. Without sufficient story, even after leaving the bud behind, it was meaningless. In the end, it was destined to be pushed out by the real thing.
「I don't know if this is the right thing to do.」
「.......」
Blackout watched the observed scene with a negative gaze, and Whiteout curled up, making a low whimper.
"That's not for us to judge. All we can do is observe."
「That's too much intervention to just let slide. ...... I recommend stopping now. If it goes wrong, a backlash you can't handle might come for you.」
"Eons are plenty of time for some to change their minds. Do you think this trick is mine alone?"
「......!」
"The flow is different from before. Not all Mothers share the same intentions."
Lobelia looked up. Her eyes could only see the ceiling of the ship, but she could feel them. Numerous stars gazed back from afar.
Some, enraged at their plans going off course. Some, shutting their eyes, refusing to intervene. Some, quietly nurturing other intentions.
「...... I understand the meaning. But he won't leave you alone. We may not be able to block him. Though it's impossible for now, it's rare for an ability to be triple from the start. What will you do when that time comes?」
"Well... I suppose I could let myself die once. I was pretty harsh anyway. At any rate, that's not what matters. The time for choice is here."
Lobelia shrugged, saying her life wasn't important. She resumed observing Lee Hyun-woo and Cystus.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
What's going to happen to Hyun-woo?
We know there's a power hidden in his body...
But how will it manifest?
From what I remember, he has psychokinesis...
【「(°ヘ°)?】