Vol 5 Chapter 3 (1/2)
Chapter 3: Learn
Part 1
(…I rong)
How could she not have expected this – she had went out to get
groceries to prepare sashi+mi as they had promised, and as
Steph brought Izuna to town, she felt extreuilt at her
carelessness
Fear, hateful gazes, scornful insults – those negative feelings
rained down on Izuna alking alongside Steph
She couldn’t possibly not have noticed them with her
Werebeast senses
(Although we are a 「Federation」, it really isn’t all that
easy to accept different races, but still…)
She had a very clear ie of it in her mind
It was true that Izuna – the Werebeasts were conquerors and
tyrants to the Elkians
However that was only because of the 「Ten Pledges」
The troubles and suffering of the Imanity all stemmed from the
fact that they had lost in a game
If it was hatred towards an end result that both parties had
agreed with, itsore losers –
“Why doesn’t Steph-kou hate Izuna, des?”
“Huh -?”
“…Izuna was the one that took away your continent, des; so it
should be perfectly logical for you to hate me, des; but Izuna
caused your grandfather to be called a foolish king as well, des;
so why don’t you hate me, des?”
Izuna looked up at Steph and asked, and Steph’s hand in hers
momentarily froze
How could she be so rude – Steph felt angered at her own
insensitivity
Izuna was too smart
She had faced off against Sora and shi+ro, with the continent –
the fates of the Imanity and the Werebeasts on her back, with
such responsibilities on her
- She couldn’t possibly have read nothing about it in the late
king’s library
The effects her actions could have on the Imanity, and how she
would be treated after that, she had already predicted and come
to terms with those, and the only one who didn’t realize it –
(It’s just ain…)
Looking back, since Steph had woken up – which ht
after Izuna had learnt the Ie, she had covered
Steph with a coat as she slept, which was a rather large change
in her attitude
Why didn’t she realize why her attitude had changed – Steph
got angry at herself once again, although she shook her head
upon looking at the young girl’s uneasy gaze
Since she was asked a question – she had the obligation to
answer
Walking on the streets like this, facing all those hateful gazes
like this
Izuna ht hate her as
well – she needed to sweep away those unihts
from her head
(Yes…that’s right, nor…)
If they were angry at the nobles that had belittled Steph’s
beloved grandfather, must they hate those that had been the
cause of it, the Eastern Federation – Steph didn’t know And
although she didn’t knohy – she could confirm positively
that it wasn’t like that
Suddenly, the corner of Steph’s mouth curled up in a smile
“Why? I don’t know either ♪”
“Is Steph-kou an idiot, des”
“Heh, maybe, but – I don’t think it’s that way”
Steph said this while looking into Izuna’s large eyes
- She was a young black-haired girl with stunningly obvious
ears and a tail that was even younger than shi+ro
She had faced off at an alainst 『 』,
with the orders of the third largest nation in the world on her
back – she had unlimited potential
She was sent, pure and obedient, and she had a
stunning aence as well
Steph sirl, and smiled even wider
“Because Izuna is a good kid, and you’re cute as well”
Steph spoke herthat was the simplest way to
express her feelings
Izuna widened her eyes in shock, after which her hair stood on
end and she averted her gaze expressionlessly
She bent her head low, not allowing Steph to see her face and
spoke weakly:
“Steph-kou’s such an idiot, des”
- Even though she said this, she clutched Steph’s hand
sohter
Steph smiled somewhat bitterly at Izuna’s easily readable
attitude, and just as she was about to step forward once more –
“Ah~ it’s Izuna!”
The two turned around at the sound of that loud roar
Multiple figures cut through the crowd, and rushed in their
direction – those were young kids
“W-what -!?”
As Steph was frozen momentarily in shock, the kids
surrounded them
After which they began cheering loudly
“It’s Izuna! Hoesome! It’s her in person!”
“Hey, Izuna, let’s have a shon! You’re really strong
right?”
“You idiots, you stupid idiots, you need adults to co,
you bald monkey!”
“Who are you people…des?”
Izuna asked confusedly as she was being overwhelmed by the
crowd of children
As Steph was considering how to stop those kids – all of a
sudden, she noticed an animal ear and a tail in the crowd –
Werebeasts were ast them, and she hurriedly asked:
“What are you all doing?”
“We’re playing! Together!”
One of the kids – a young girl with a pair of fox-like ears
replied as though she was just learning to speak
“Are you…friends? With the Werebeast kids as well?”
“Of course!”
Steph asked iirl
asked confusedly with her head slightly tilted as well
And the Imanity boy beside her said happily:
“- We becaames!”
Upon hearing this simple yet pure sentence…
Steph felt inexplicably emotional
In that ti
on
“Let’s have a shon, I definitely~ won’t lose to you!”
“…I’ to buy fish, des I’m very
busy, des”
Izuna looked i
on her clothes and was deame with him
and said –
“…I’ll destroy you painfully next time, des”
Izuna’s mouth curled up in a smile
That especially obnoxious boy punched his fist into the air and
cheered upon hearing that
“That’s great! So it’s a promise! Izuna! You better follow it!”
“I already said we need adults as well, you bunch of idiots! –
Izuna-saize”
Just like that, the bunch of kids disappeared just as swiftly as
they had come
Even after all the co
emotions within Steph had not, and remained like ashes of a
hearth fire
“Heh…the answer turned out to be just like that…”
…The atmosphere around them had turned into that of
confusion without the it
It may be too early…
But in the near future, when those kids turned into adults… the
fact that the races used to hate each other would probably be
treated as a joke
Steph s within her
“It’s not very often that we get to play games – I’m sure it’ll
be more fun that way”
“…Steph-kou, you aren’t an idiot after all, des You’re
probably pretty smart, des”
Steph appeared as if she had just seen a God after hearing those
words
“Ah, Izuna! You’re the only one that doesn’t call me an
idiot!!”
“…But you act like one, des”
Izuna sed her tearfully
- The world would change, was changing, and would continue
to change
If it didn’t feel like it was changing – that would mean – you’re
just not paying attention –
Part 2
The world around theed completely
“Waaaaaahhh, what is this!?”
Sora and others that were flying about in the night sky yelled as
they plummeted from the impact of the explosion and the
strong winds
But co the loudest
a them at that turn of events was Plum
“W-what is going on!? This Spirit power – it’s impossible
even for the Flügel!?”
The burst of energy was so strong that even Plum could feel it
behind the guise of her scarf, and she shi+vered in fear
If it was soic, he would feel
abnor that – this force that shook the earth, this
force that was from another dimension entirely, bent the world
to its desires with its power, switching about the scenery
forcefully – no, it repainted it entirely
“Ah~ Plum, is the situation that bad?”
They didn’t restrict 「Changing the stage」…Sora asked
with that in mind, while Plum replied with a panicked moan:
“It’s not just bad -!! T-this power is from an Old Dei, if not –“
As Pluh her sentence – she suddenly
stopped as she re over
- The Phantas the 「Sixteen
Races」- Avant Heim…
“…I don’t understand, we can’t comprehend it”
- Azrael was floating in thin air
On her face was no longer that angelic, perfect – overly perfect
smile
It didn’t even have that sensation of「I death」one
would experience when being stared at by a Flügel…no…
Sora felt a trickle of cold sweat run down his body, and he
s an overly powerful force – he
couldn’t even feel anything
A power beyond coination, a power that
oosebumps
The existence that had Azrael’s appearance – spoke slowly:
“「Final Unit」- we cannot understand what kind of ideals
you all possess”
She then spoke in a hollow, emotionless voice:
“- Thus, we bequest of you to tell us the answer directly”
「The existence」 declared to them as the scenery finally
settled down Sora and shi+ro were speechless at this turn of
events
The broken skies were dyed blood-red, the swirling sands had
reached even the stratosphere, and the cracked soil stretched
across the horizon
The skies and earth were all cracked, the seas were dry –
everywhere was full of death
Countless splinters of rocks floated around them – those were
the remains of the earth
The Flügel that had participated in the game, and the countless
battleshi+ps that e aura all appeared like a
weirdly shaped fleet of airshi+ps –
“W-what exactly is this?”
Sora asked as he recovered from his shock, however neither
shi+ro nor Plum were able to answer
The Flügel that were still flying about in the air – they had
pained expressions on their faces, seely familiar with this
e before them
- Six thousand years ago – which was the final stages of the
「Great War」
The Old Deus that had created the Flügel collected the
coel, and
unleashed a single blow
And that blow that crushed the earth, split the skies and even
destroyed planets and stars –it was a truly 「Divine Strike」
They were standing in the very aftermath of that strike, and
Azrael spoke with the apocalypse behind her:
“- Previously we fought, and we lost”
And behind that apocalyptic world – a huge piece of sinisterlooking
land appeared
Could it be that this was – Avant Heim’s appearance before
the 「Great War」
That slab of land looked just like a floating whale – and this
flying fortress was not made of cubes, instead it was riddled
with countless cannons and it had a pair of blue eyes that were
filled with killing intent
“- Our Master released his most powerful strike – however it
was 「Reflected back at him」, and ere completely
annihilated, which was how our Master died”
- What had changed Jibril?
“Why did we lose? Why did we lose our Master? Why did we
survive? Why –“
- What had allowed her to discover the reason why they were
living?
Plum frantically attempted to keep herself conscious when
faced with this violent interrogation –
“Why did we survive, as empty weapons of a dead Master?
Answer me –“
“”- 「野砲 (ヤホウ yahou) 」-“” [1]
A bolt of light pierced through Azrael’s chest
In an instant, a glow of light lit up the evening, and the
ihtly after made even the
atmosphere tremble
“…Huh?”
Plum croaked dumbly, and the reply –
“You! Talk! Too! Much! Dialogues must be kept within forty
words, or else you have to include a setting to skip the text!”
“…Don’t underestimate…the impatience ofan STG
player…” [2]
Sora and shi+ro blurted impatiently –
When exactly had they landed on the ground and combined
their 「Word Spirits」- the tere clutching onto a metal
tube
Plu she wasn’t
looking at them
The two had used three characters to materialize a fivemillimetre
Howitzer which spat fire and released a bullet which
travelled at a speed even greater than the speed of sound,
piercing through Azrael, after which the fifteen pounds of
Composition B explosives contained within it blew her body to
bits with an explosion that propelled the pieces at eight
thousand miles per second, which then turned into smoke and
scattered – [3]
“- Huh~~ WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGGGG!?”
Plum cried out as she realized what had just happened, while
the two glared at her and replied: “Skipping dialogue”
“…That guy looks like a prick…disgusting…”
“D-d-do you knoho that was? That’s –“
“Of course, that was Azrael – and the Phantasma Avant Heim
right?”
“…H-huh?”
Sora sighed impatiently, shook his head and continued:
“Azrael is different froel, she has horns,
so I’ she is the full
representative of the Phantash
I don’t quite know the full details”
“…Which means…Azrael is the same as…a Phantasma…”
The two had figured out the situation completely unlike Plum,
and spoke in a rather bored fashi+on:
“…Jibril said it earlier, the Phantasma Avant Heim is an
entirely different world”
Sora recalled her explanation she made as they arrived, and
continued:
“Changing the scenerythe entire world, but
if it’s an independent world of its own, I don’t think it can
affect the outside world entirely Which ed its
oorld (within Avant Heim), but when that happened she
who should have been 「On top of」 Avant Heim appeared in
front of us – which is to say, that was an illusion”
- The fact that they were able to deal dae to her proved that
she was an illusion, as if she was the real thing the 「Ten
Pledges」would prevent the her
“…Alright…Plum…here’s the question…”
Why do they look so happy? Plum didn’t seem to understand
Sora and shi+ro were truly overjoyed, while Sora continued:
“The stage just changed drastically, a scene that looks like
some sort of fortress for a final weapon appeared in front of us,
and we just listened through so final boss-like speech –
and aame there is only
-?”
“…Nine minutes and forty-four seconds left”
“What could this possibly mean? You may noer!”
- Plue Sora and shi+ro possessed
fro question for
her
But – as she saw the approaching thing
Plum with an expression of despair on her face, by chance –
spoke the 「Correct answer」
“…Does it mean it’s The End?”
“Huh? I’d never thought you’d guess it”
The huge, violent 「Binding Curtain」 fired at Avant Heim…
Sora and shi+ro clutched each other’s hands and said with a
smile:
“Basically it’s the 「Final Stage」- the ending’s near!”
“…Clireat performance…♪”
The two stas, left the
huge burst of noise generated from their 「Acceleration」
behind them, then smiled as they fleards the curtain of
binding lights
“HOW CAN YOU STILL BE LAUGHING IN A
SITUATION LIKE THISSSSSSS!!”
They sped forward at extreme speeds towards the curtain of
light that spread across Avant Heim
- Their nuhts didn’t have the
tracking ability that the 「Binding Light」 fired by the rest of
the Flügel had, so it was a curtain that merely relied on its
numbers and speed to crush its opponents – the two smiled
bitterly
“shi+ro, have you figured out the pattern of the curtain?”
“…Almost there…Nii?”
“You know it right? I’es by pure
passion」!”
Sora flapped his wing once more, while shi+ro flapped
according to his beat without faltering
They were like aerial dancers, weaving through the countless
approaching rays of light while whistling a tune, proceeding
naturally –
“Compared to Touhou this really makes me wanna yawn, can
we really rely on Jibril?” [4]
“…If this is what the final boss is like…on’t…the
Flügel…are harder to deal with”
They niht with actions Plum
couldn’t comprehend
Sora and shi+ro could even look down at their hands to make
sure as they dodged the lights
“…Total of 「Forty-six characters」”
“…We’ve collected 「Forty characters」…”
“We’ve used 「Twenty-two」?”
The characters floating on Sora’s wrist were - タ（ta）•シ
（si）•テ（te）•キ（ki）•ル（ru）•エ（e）•イ（i）•ツ
（tsu）•へ（he）-
The characters floating on shi+ro’s wrist were - レ（re）•ヨ
（yo）•セ（se）•二（ni）•フ（fu）•ノ（no）•ン（n）•
リ（ri）•コ（ko） -
They were stocked up well enough, but Sora said instead:
“Hmm~ ハ（ha）、コ（ko）、ミ（mi）、ヲ（wo）、チ
（chi）、ヒ（hi）…we haven’t got these six ones”
“…But we have…the trump”
shi+ro indicated that was h
“- I’ve said it before, I’ve figured out the 「Word Spirit」
I’ to use on her, so I’m short of three”
“…Under these circu characters
is…impossible…”
The fact that they could dodge and weave about the rain of
light was already beyond Plum’s comprehension
But if they were to deal with the Flügel under these
circumstances, it would probably be too impossible for even
them
“…We can’t go on like this, shi+ro, I’m sorry, but we’ll have
to use the trump”
“…Nii, how many characters will you need?”
“Fourteen”
shi+ro widened her eyes, which was a rare sight, and she
exah to read his
intentions
“Fourteen, that’s the least amount of letters we need, however
we lack three of them”
However on Sora’s face – was an expression of pure
seriousness
- A 「Word Spirit」 that needed fourteen characters?
The 「Trump」 that shi+ro mentioned – it was probably a
「Word Spirit」 that could tide theh any disaster
Although it could only be used once – it really should be used
as a last resort However –
“…Mm, I understand…”
Since her brother said he 「Needed」 it, it meant that 「They
needed it no matter the risk」, so shi+ro nodded her head in
agreement
Since she herself had no way to decipher her brother’s true
intentions, which meant her brother was correct – that was all
there was to it - !
- Sora’s left hand and shi+ro’s right hand, the two intertwined
hands – four characters slid and fell off those hands
After which – Sora arranged them and formed a 「Word
Spirit」
He raised his hand high, and –
“-「切断 (セツダン setsudan) 」- !!” (TL note: Cut, split
open)
He violently swung his arm horizontally – and in an instant…
The infinite curtains of light that were hovering over Avant
Heim’s airspace were suddenly cut in half as if by an invisible
sword
- Making iame, which
was the 「Word Spirits」
「Barrier」 and 「Cut」 were tords that could easily be
as they were spelled out
An omnipotent word that could attack, defend, and even both,
one that could deal with all possible situations – that was their
trump
Also the importance and usefulness of the letter 「ン (n) 」 in
word gae
The consequences brought about by the forced to use
that o to Sora’s plans –
- Everything before him was just like a bad joke - 「Split into
half」
space, scenery, everything including Avant Heim itself was
sliced into half – even the cannons
- After that? Just as Plum was about to ask, Sora and shi+ro –
decelerated
“- Huh!?”
Plu landscape
and the interrupted curtains, the Flügel were approaching
“…Nii…co”
“…Eighteen – ht, how many of them have
characters on them?”
“…Six…all present…but…”
- The real question was hoould they collect all of them?
Since they had used cut earlier, they had only 「Fourteen
characters」 left; and according to what Sora had said, the last
「Fourteen」had already been reserved
He had also said, a the 「Six」 they had not collected,
「Three」 were important
Even if they did collect them all, they could only use three
more, and now all they could use on them were「Three」
“- Alright, this is our final bet, let’s go, shi+ro!”
As they said this, the two did a backflip and landed in a
parrying stance – facing the oncoel –
They were just about to flap their wings, but –
“- H-huh?”
Plum cried in surprise, no, Sora and shi+ro felt the same way as
well
Because the oncoel, just before Sora and shi+ro –
they stopped
One of their numbers bowed respectfully towards them just as
Jibril had when they had defeated her
“The two of you need this one right?”
…As she said this, her pal the 「ハ (ha) 」
inscribed on her chest
As though in imitation, five more that had characters on them
revealed them as well
Sora and shi+ro felt confused as they didn’t understand their
intentions, while the Flügel simply smiled and said:
“Because we’ve already had a lot of fun spectating –“
“To be honest it’s really disappointing that on’t get the
handshake, signature, date and sleepover vouchers though~!”
“But since we’ve got the chance to play games with you
both, we’re all content ♪”
“- So, please”
They heard the last one say –
“We’ll leave Azrael-neesan to you, in the near future – our
future Masters”
- Finally…
Sora and shi+ro understood the trap Jibril had laid within the
game
Both of them stretched out their hands towards the characters
while repressing the urge to laugh out loud
“…Hahah, Jibril’s got a few tricks up her sleeve now!”
“…Jibril…oood job…♪”
Sora and shi+ro said teasingly, and touched the final six
characters
“…U-u on here?”
Plu the situation,
while the Flügel laughed and replied
“Did you forget, little bug, that we’re –“
“We are the Flügel, and although we are under the command
of our sister Azrael”
“But e fans of Sora-sama and shi+rosama!”
They were all s Plum down mercilessly with
their words
Sora and shi+ro smiled bitterly as they sent them off, and once
again – flapped their wings and accelerated
They fleards the split open Avant Heim – towards the
place where Azrael was
Part 3
“…It appears others have understood as well…now are you
still going to call me special?”
Jibril said with a bitter smile
Azrael reh underneath that mask
was torment and bitterness
- What was that? What just happened? I don’t understand at all
Azrael continued to ponder the scene that had just occurred in
front of her
A Avant Heim, the tere
gracefully dodging the debris
They were heading directly straight – at theh they
knew her exact position!
No, they did know! They had used a cannon to dispel her
illusion, then cross-referenced the 「Original landscape」 with
this broken and cru land, then deduced her and Jibril’s
original positions, assu they didn’t move – no, they were
sure of it!
- A bitter h Azrael’s mind upon
realizing that
Artosh was killed in the same fashi+on back then
All his defenses were overcome, all his actions were saw
through, all his barricades and obstacles were slipped past by
the enemy, and in the end – her Master was murdered
Why did we lose? Why did we survive! Why are we still
alive!?
………
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
H!!”
“Plu too noisy!!”
As Avant Heim slowly crumbled around them, they weaved
about the countless debris faster than the speed of sound
If they were to htest, they would die –
under those circumstances, the two flew at breakneck speeds,
causing Plum to cry out
“AAAAAH-ARE YOU TWO CRAZYAAHHHHHHHHH!!”
“I’M TIRED OF HEARING THAT LINE! shi+RO!!”
The scenery in front of them crumbled, countless cubes fell,
tunnels were blocked, and turning around was impossible – at
this rate they would crash
“WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”
Pluain, while shi+ro calmly assembled a
「Word Spirit」 beside her
“-「ミニ (mini) 」…”
Eighteen characters remained
The 「Word Spirit」 activated as it came into contact with one
of the cubes in front of them
One of the cubes shrunk, creating a sap, but the crack
was just too sh –
Sora as asse a 「Word Spirit」 at the same time,
immediately pointed at the hole and yelled:
“-「ヘル (heru) 」!!” [5]
- Sixteen characters left
The two continued soaring after passing through that gap as
small as a pinhole
As Plu
adaptability, Sora suddenly said:
“Plum, could you stick out your teeth for a sec?”
“No! I have a bad feeling about this, so no!!”
“Really? How disappointing – I wanted to give you some
blood –“
“Sorry, I rong! I will place my teeth on Sora-sama’s
shoulder, you’ll be able to tell from the sensation!!”
“-「血 (チ chi) 」” [6]
- Fifteen characters left
The blood flowed out fro onto
Plum’s teeth
Plu with her
lips
“Oh, what is this stuff!? This thick, rich, sweet yet bitter
texture and a s sensation
of a soul is flowing through my body! If a comparison needs to
bebirth under
a ht ♥”
- Sora s out some rather
incomprehensible food review
“Are you energized yet?”
“Of course~! My strength is coursing through me! Now I feel
like I can do anything!”
Plu on the
scarf, and floated about in the air
Sora and shi+ro smiled evilly at her cries of joy
“Isn’t that great, so –“
“…You can do…anything right…”
“- Yeah…that’s what I thought as well…”
Part 4