Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)
A BOMB, A BOOK, AND A GREY TOWN – PART 1
January 20, 2016Tgurneu
“Colio Tonies”
Someone said in the darkness
Colio Tonies raised his face He couldn’t see anything He peeled his cheek off the stone floor
His chest hurt, and the sound of ould pass through its back whenever he breathed The inside of his ue he could feel that so off It was iht state of mind to care about that
When he triedcame of it His arms were bound by some sticky wet rope Both of his hands were crushed under his body that faced upwards, and he couldn’t er
“Colio Tonies What are humans?”
It was a ures around Next to Colio on the stone floor was an antique gra copper disc The ramophone’s speaker
Facing that, Colio answered
“Hust God’s children They are the ones able to connect the lights of Heaven and Earth Using love and freedom, they weave the tapestry of happiness with their lives”
Colio no longer understood what he was saying He just had to say it
He had a feeling he hadn’t eaten anything since the noon of the day before yesterdayHis memories were fuzzy, so he couldn’t remember if he had actually eaten or not
His bound wrists hurt His skin was sodden with sweat and his uncovered flesh began festering
He couldn’t feel his fingers He didn’t even know if he had fingers
“Continue, Colio Tonies”
“A wounded human must be helped
A suffering human must be saved
A lonely human must be loved”
“Why is that?”
“It is because all humans were born to become happy They were born to be loved”
“I’ll ask once again What are humans?”
“Those with the right to gain all the happiness of this world Those ill love, be loved, be satisfied, will not suffer, and gain supreme bliss for their entire lives”
“Good”
Colio continued his conversation with the gramophone
The contents of that conversation were already decided in advance He was not allowed to say anything other than as decided He was also not allowed to think of anything other than as decided Colio had no value to the gramophone
“So, Colio Tonies Why do you act like this?”
“Because Colio Tonies is not a human”
“What is Colio Tonies?”
“Colio Tonies is a bomb”
“Colio Tonies is a bomb”
“Colio Tonies is a bomb”
Suddenly, Colio realized so at him The door to this stone room that could contain only two people had been opened at some point, and a lone man entered
Colio’s right shi+n ached The ainst the stone floor, his bones creaking in pain Just when he thought his foot was going to be separated from his knee, now his hip was kicked Colio’s body rolled across the floor like a pencil He weakly raised his neck while lying down
At soramophone had stopped This time, a man had inquired him directly instead of it
“Colio Tonies What are you?”
“Colio Tonies is a bomb”
Colio’s answer seemed to please the man
“A satisfactory answer”
As he said that, the rooht, raised a pained cry
“Seeh”
The h, Colio wasn’t able to understand His body ached and tired He didn’t want to think about anything, nor did he want to feel anything
“Colio Tonies I will tell you the reason you were born”
The voice said to Colio as lying on the cold stone floor
“You were born in order to kill Hamyuts Meseta Repeat after me, Colio Tonies”
Despite tiring and aching, Colio accepted the man’s words Who was Hamyuts Meseta? Why is she to be killed? Hoill I kill her? There were all sorts of things he didn’t understand, but he had no problems with that
“Colio Tonies was born in order to kill Hamyuts Meseta”
Thenext to Colio said
“Once again, repeat”
“In order to kill Hamyuts Meseta”
“Once more”
“In order to kill Hamyuts Meseta”
“Kill Hamyuts Meseta”
“To kill Hamyuts Meseta”
The rope binding Colio’s wrists was undone Feeling pain when his skin ca air, Colio frowned
“Kill Hamyuts Meseta”
“To kill Hamyuts Meseta”
Colio crawled and rose on his feet
“Kill Hamyuts Meseta”
“To kill Hamyuts Meseta”
Colio ramophone had already stopped, theto Colio
“To kill Hamyuts Meseta”
Inside the empty room, Colio muttered to himself
That was Colios Tonies’s earliest memory
A wind canant wind stank of dust Colio Tonies awoke by this smell In front of his face was a wooden bed that s on top of it Colio realized he ake
It was bright outside; it was lass , an even smokier sky and clouds could be seen
He hadn’t drea time
It was a dream of Colio’s earliest memory
To kill Hamyuts Meseta From the day he had learned those words, half a year had passed
Colio stretched his body inside the dusty bed
It was a narrow roo just three beds There was aColio was lodging in this room full of spider webs
“…If I’ my body hurts”
A voice said Next to Colio’s bed, twoColio knew both of their na in bed, half naked, while Relia Bookwatt sat next to hi at Hyoue’s chest
“Does it hurt when you bend forward?”
“It always hurts when I ”
Hyoue groaned in pain When Relia looked at it, he grimaced
“Ah, you’re right It is festering”
“Yes I’ve been feeling strange since last night”
Relia’s bed was tidied up It seemed the both of them already woke up earlier
“What’s wrong?”
Colio asked Relia
“Hyoue feels bad”
Relia said
“He’s festering Maybe some dust entered the hole in his chest Doesn’t seem like it happened to me… what about you, Colio?”
As he said this, Colio put a hand on his chest His chest was thin and skinny such that he could feel the texture of his ribs
In the center of his chest, a little right to his heart – Colio’s hand could feel a large stone
Colio carefully stroked the stone embedded inside of him
Now that he thought about it, he was feeling so the pressure on his lungs, he became breathless
“Maybe I think it’s because of the outside air”
“Oh I think so, too”
Saying this, Relia unbuttoned his grey shi+rt He exposed his chest that looked just as unhealthy as Colio’s
In the e stone was embedded
“Because the air here is bad… look Dust is gathering between the stone and the flesh We should have wiped it before”
In order to bury the stone inside, soed out Their skin was cut like a dissected frog, and a gaping hole opened in their breast Some of their ribs have been removed
After e the stone, they covered the skin that was torn open and sewed the stone to the skin with nails The stretched dead skin becaap between the torn dead skin and their ribs and dead muscles alloind to flow in
A clay-like reddish brown stone was ie as a fist
Bare copper wire stood out on the surface like blood vessels It was padded by nails and metal pieces around it
A vacuum tube was adhered to the bottounpowder that could explode at room temperature
“If youto happen now, but…”
Relia said anxiously while stroking the stone Both Relia and Colio knew the clay-like stones were filled with highly explosive unpowder ignited, everything in the proximity would be reduced to ashes
Relia had a bomb embedded within his chest
“We’d better be careful If one of us explodes, we’re all going doith him”
Hyoue said His chest also contained the same bomb as Relia, of course
“Ah, right”
Colio who said this was the same
The three men who had bombs inside of their chests looked anxious
“Hyoue, does it still hurt?”
Relia was stroking Hyoue’s bomb Hyoue moaned as if about to vomit
“…But, it became a bit better If I rest for a bit, it’ll be fine”
“I see, well, for the meantime I’ll wipe your wound And afterwards…”
Trying to continue speaking, Relia’s words stopped short
Colio knehy they did
“Relia, there’s no ‘afterwards’”
Colio said Relia’s expression didn’t change
“Oh, right”
“Let’s quickly kill Hamyuts Meseta before my bomb is broken”
Hyoue said with a frown
“Right Let’s quickly kill Hamyuts Meseta”
Colio repeated after him Relia repeated it as well
“Let’s kill Hamyuts Meseta”
“Let’s kill Hamyuts Meseta”
“Let’s kill Hamyuts Meseta”
The threea chorus
“Have you calmed down?”
Relia said Hyoue nodded and lowered the hem of his shi+rt
The three were seated on their beds In the roo in, there was al other than the beds There was not a table or a single chair
“If you begin festering again, wipe it quickly”
Relia said
“Okay”
Ast the three of them, Relia had tentatively acted the role of a leader
There was no special reason for this – perhaps because he was the oldest, or because he had soht he was in his twenties But he couldn’t tell for sure
With his fearless, strong eyes, Relia naturally became their leader
Hyoue was older than Colio, but should be younger than Relia – around seventeen or so He had no special features to the extent Colio had trouble re his inconspicuous face This boy who had the complexion of a sick person always looked fearful even while just sitting
Aest He was probably around fifteen years old He was the shortest of them, and he looked even s
His long bangs concealed his eyes and the hair on the back of the head reached the nape of his neck When looking fros on his head
His face was as glooed with soht
The three earing khaki-colored pants and grey linen shi+rts As they were not ironed for years, the clothes rinkled and faded
On hangers by the beds, three brown jackets faded in a si Besides their different sizes, they were exactly the same product
“What are we doing now?”
Relia said to the two
“We’ll kill Hamyuts Meseta”
Colio answered So Relia asked again
“So, what are we going to do for that?”
“…”
Colio hadn’t thought of anything
“For noe’re just tourists”
Said Hyoue
“Let’s go sightseeing”
Colio and Relia looked at each other
“Right”
“That’s good”
As they said that, the three of them slowly stood up
The three e they had at the inn was s for each of them
“Should we bring this?”
Colio asked
“I think we should only take e need”
Said Relia
“Right”
On the inside of the cloth bag, written characters could be seen
‘Kill Hamyuts Meseta’
Inside the bag were things like a change of clothes, maps, a diary, a wallet, a pen and ink Words ritten on the pen’s handle
‘Kill Hamyuts Meseta’
On theritten in red
‘Kill Hamyuts Meseta’
He used the diary every day That was also true of Relia and Hyoue The diary’s contents were the same every day
‘Today I haven’t killed Hamyuts Meseta’
Soe It wasn’t Colio’s writing
‘Today I exploded with Hamyuts Meseta’
For now he took out theelse
“What about the knife?”
“I don’t know, just bring it”
Relia said
There was a knife in a hidden pocket inside his pants Colio found the knife inside And even on that knife’s blade it ritten:
‘Kill Hamyuts Meseta’
“Let’s go”
Relia said
The three slowly left the room
They left the inn and went into the town
Colio’s eyes reflected the white-tinged grey sky, as well as the black-tinged grey town
The three were in a town known as Toatt Mining Town
With 5000 people living in it, it was a small town
Toatt Mining Toas on the western edge of the largest country of the world, the Ismo Republic, and located in the e
The toas surrounded by a hugeon dry Great Plains to the west, and a vast ocean to the east
Besides the port city to the east, there was no inhabited place within one hundred kilometers there It was as if the creator of the world had, byTown in the middle of nowhere
There was only one reason a toould be created in this place
It was because this place had aout Books from
Most people who lived in Toatt Mining Toorking toinvolved with Books The toas supported by Books
Toatt Mining Toas already bustling in the
A herd of people exited their houses, headed for the mines
Carrying their work tools such as pickaxes and hand drills in a knapsack on their shoulders, the bodies of the rained by the smells of dust and machine oil
They were heading down the h the soil and rocks in order to look for BooksIf they were to successfully dig out Books, they would be able to feast on so And if they didn’t find any Books, they would probably have to sip on some bean soup
Most of thearound toere those kinds of people Colio and the others alking ast this smell of machine oil and coals
Tracks crossed the h the the mine cart, headed towards the mountains
From the opposite side aas it passed along the track
The ether
“We are miners Moles are our friends, and roots are our allies
Is the mine heaven or hell? Scary Armed Librarians are behind us!
If we find the Book of that beloved girl,
Let us give her a kiss…”
Thepassed Colio and the rest and disappeared
The track led to a station at the town’s entrance The Books were then taken by train to the neighboring town, and from there a boat would take them to the Library
Colio and the rest cao
“Hey, what is that?”
Hyoue asked
He was pointing towards a group of chi from the mountainside
Since they were far away, they couldn’t see it very well, but they appeared to be very large chirey smoke that covered the sky
“What horrible smoke”
Hyoue said Indeed, this town had the smell of ashes no matter where you went As the sky became white, the whole toas dim
“Inside thewithfor Books inside the soil”
Relia said
“Can nothing be done about that smoke?”
“Who knows… probably, those Library people are too busy”
Commented Relia
A town of coals, steaines, dust, smoke and Books
That was Colio’s i Town
A BOMB, A BOOK, AND A GREY TOWN – PART 2
January 22, 2016Tgurneu
They went out of the main street into an alley
A variety of shops lined up both sides of the narrow road
Rye breads were displayed at the front of a bakery and old clothes and wooden shoes for the workers in thestore
A ss like soup and baked potatoes for theout Books Manytheir bellies while standing
In front of the various items
At the end of the road only beggars who couldn’t work at thechildren could be seen
The three were aih this crowd
“Hyoue, Colio”
Said Relia alking in front
“Have you ever read a Book?”
Colio didn’t say anything It was Hyoue who answered
“No”
“Me neither”
Relia said this as he continued walking Colio and Hyoue followed from behind
“But, you o”
“I ht have, but I don’t know about it”
Hyoue shook his head Colio hadn’t said anything, but he thought the same as Hyoue He had memories of only the past half year
He woke up in the dark stone room, found out that he was a boain happiness Then, he came to this town the day before yesterday so he could kill Hamyuts Meseta
He would kill Haoal He met up with Relia and Hyoue on the train headed here
“Hey, shall we chat for a bit?”
Relia suddenly said
“…Huh?”
Colio replied
“If we just shut up while walking, it would seee”
“…That ht be true”
Colio looked around Right now, he felt no signs of any people walking around toatching them
But it ht be bad for them to appear suspicious
However, he couldn’t find a conversation topic Killing Ha Colio knew of
“What should we talk about?”
Colio asked, and Relia answered
“Let’s talk about the Gods”
“The Gods?”
“I heard a story about the Gods some time”
Relia said this with a nostalgic tone
“When was that?”
Hyoue asked
“I don’t know It was probably long ago”
“Do you have memories which were not erased?”
Colio and Relia were surprised Relia said while looking back,
“Don’t you have any?”
“…I don’t”
Hyoue said
“Me neither”
Colio answered
“…I see”
Relia’s face looked a bit lonely, but he didn’t say anything more about that
“Anyway, let’s chat So we can kill Hamyuts”
Said Colio
“Right… where should I start from?”
Relia thought for a bit, and then started talking
“I also forgot al Like where and when I’ve heard this
I just still have soe
A long ti and the End appeared in this world
First, the Overseer of the Beginning and the End had used the chaos to create the sky, earth, and sea This took about a million years