Vol 5 Chapter 3 (2/2)
Six thousand years ago – Artosh was being conquered
The Flügel were desperate at this unbelievable yet inarguably
true turn of events
They were God-killers created by Artosh – a sword to eliminate
other races
They would give the throne of the One True God to Artosh – a
sword for this very purpose
But as they saw their Master murdered in front of them, his
lifeless body with no purpose of existence, the one and only
sword lost itsto live
They were a sword that was always swung by the command of
others, so they never needed to h
then – questions surfaced
The race created by Artosh and its acolytes had come up with a
conclusion in their desperation – which was to stop thinking
She did not knoho started it, but she had concentrated all
her strength – and pierced through her own body
They were a tool created to fight for the throne of the One True
God, and since their Master whoive it to was
gone, the tool had no reason to exist
As she saw her sisters piercing theh one by one,
Azrael – the first unit, in pure desperation, told a lie
No, to be precise, it wasn’t a lie
It was just that as she witnessed her sisters piercing themselves
through and losing the lights in their eyes, she couldn’t bear to
tell them
- The orders of the Master were not yet completed
It was impossible, but if, just if, he were to fall in combat – you
must replace me and find out why I, the God of war, fell to an
unknoer – that was the final order of the Master
- It was a coiven to Azrael alone – an order
However she lied and said it was an order for all Flügel, after
which she continued:
- After we attain this goal, the final order of the Master would
be complete
- So when that time comes please let me decide whether or not
we are still of use
…It was a lie of convenience
And despite this – the Flügel began pursuing the
「Unknown」 that had defeated their Master
At the saathered all their
knowledge, as though they were going to transform all the
unknowns in the world to their knowledge
And as time passed, after six thousand years – they still had not
found the answer
Azrael had thought that if there was one person that would be
able to find the answer, it would be Jibril
Those were the Master’s final words, the Final Unit is a special
Unit
But…
- I’m already…tired-nyan…
Part 5
Sora and shi+ro reached the main hall where Azrael may have
been
…It was very dark, so Sora assembled and activated a 「Word
Spirit」
“-「ヒ (hi) 」!” [7]
- Fourteen characters left, just nice
Now they just had to use up the final fourteen, and they could
finish the level with all forty-six perfectly used
“But, we can’t use any more 「Word Spirits」 until then…
sorry, shi+ro”
“…As long as it’s Nii…if your judgement deems it…shi+ro
believes it”
Along with this line that made the brother unbelievably blissful
- 「Light」 lit up the floor
“- We searched for six thousand years, but ere still
unable to find the 「Answer」”
There was an empty throne in the lit floor
Azrael stood in front of it, and –
“Who is ‘we’ referring to? Aside from you, it seems that a lot
of people have understood already!”
Sora said while looking over at Jibril as sitting next to
her with her eyes closed
“Searching for a non-existent 「Answer」, I’m already
tired of floating around without a purpose in this boring
world”
That was Azrael – and the Phantasma Avant Heim located
within her
The two – no, a puppet and an illusion’s confession
“- If the 「Answer」 of the 「Final Unit」 is the same as our
lies”
After a short pause, she looked at Sora and shi+ro with a gaze of
despair deeper than a crater and said:
“We will consider the cause for the Master’s death to be
「Siel race”
“That would be a problem”
“…Jibril is…our…comrade”
The two replied nonchalantly in a relaxed manner, intentionally
avoiding the subject while Sora slipped into thought
“I see, so you guys crae into
your brains just for your so-called 「Answer」, I understand
that part To be honest, I don’t understand theand
emotional drive behind that, but could you just let me ask one
question?”
After which, in the exact same manner as he had rejected
Azrael originally
- He looked at her with eyes that clearly revealed he was truly
bored with the subject matter, and said:
“…Have you ever relied on yourself to think and write
anything -?”
“- !?”
Azrael widened her eyes, and beside her Jibril bent her head
low Jibril was holding onto a book that she treated as a bible, a
book that garnered fans even in Avant Heim
It was a hand-written – observational diary of Sora and shi+ro –
detailing the story of an incomplete future…
“But, I see now If shi+ro and I win, you will help to collect
books for us, and if we lose we have to do an autograph
session, but you’ve actually ers beyond our
knowledge other than this one Jibril actually bet her life
without discussing it through with us, so we’ll have to punish
her later, but –“
- Sora grabbed shi+ro’s ar
“Do you really not knohy Jibril would agree to a bet like
that?”
“- Because she believes that you can reveal an 「Answer」
ill be agreeable with –“
“Look, you idiot! You’re really a huge idiot!! You even dare
to call yourself a sister!?”
Sora yelled – his face filled with 「Pure rage」, and Sora –
yelled again:
“- It’s because she believes in you! She put her life on the line
because she trusts that you, as a sister, would be able to
understand!!”
…
……
Sora and shi+ro focused their strength on their legs –
asse the final 「Word Spirit」
“You can’t even understand so as simple as this, and
you dare to ask her to call yourself her sister!?”
“…It’s just too hilarious…sleep-talk should be said when
sleeping…and…!”
At the saround and jumped
- So fast
It was a jump boosted by the acceleration 「Word Spirit」,
and the two approached at an astonishi+ng speed
However Azrael had the power of a Phantasma within her, and
to her – their movements were as slow as a snail
“…I see, Jii-chan believed in me so much that she even bet
her life…”
She realized that she had failed to understand so as
simple as that, and she wasn’t even able to deduce her
intentions – so…
“- Yes, just end everything…”
Azrael said this as she kicked the ground and lifted off as well
Within the hall where the ceiling was barely a few hundred feet
high, the tould clash in but an instant as they were
traveling at supersonic speeds
- The ending was predetermined, Azrael would stretch out her
hand and grab the would be over
She really couldn’t find the answer in the end, but someone
found it – so – that’s enough
Just end in like this – this six thousand – less years –
“AAAAAAHHHH I’M SORRY I’M SORRY PLEASE
DON’T KILL ME~~!”
…
“- What?”
Azrael bent her head down, and a loud cry echoed throughout
the rooet
She should have caught Sora and shi+ro, but the one that was
yelling was – that, uain?
…Huh? Had she ever asked for her name in the first place?
- It was soirl she didn’t know
- It was a 「Deception Spell」- she understood this just a little
bit too late
The deceiving ic of the Dhampirs – it was a race-exclusive
el at its
maximum ability
If it was just after absorbing a powerful Spirit – blood – maybe
it ht even fool an Old Deus?
But if so, Sora and shi+ro’s wings were – where did they go
after they accelerated -!?
- Azrael’s
She felt a presence swooping by her at a terrifying speed, and
in an instant it was almost as if time had stopped
Everything became slow-motion, and Azrael saw it
Without Plum – without the scarf – the Imanity without their
wings –
As they met briefly, Sora’s fist landed upon Azrael’s shoulder
“- 「縛りプレエデこの世を生きろ」-“ [8]
- Zero characters left
Azrael widened her eyes in shock, but what she was surprised
at wasn’t the 「Word Spirit」 she was hit by
It was – the tere flying at high speeds – ed to
reuise herself!?
“「No restrictions on ht?”
After that brief exchange, Azrael heard a voice that should
have been impossible for her to hear – as she turned around she
confirmed that it was indeed Sora who said it
But – at that sort of speeds, if a human body were to lose its
wings – and hit the ground, they would definitely die –
A sentence that utterly stunned Azrael and yet answered all of
her doubts rang in her ears
“- Approxiame…over”
- Without any clocks nor other tools
Just as shi+ro recited the numbers that existed only in her mind
–
Jibril teleported, and gracefully…respectfully caught her two
Masters
That turn of events made Azrael feel extremely distant, while
the 「Word Spirit」 previously placed on her activated
「Forever burdened」 Within Azrael, even Avant Heim’s
strength was sealed as well
As the colossal ay that could rewrite worlds was
released, the hall and even the landscape began shattering like
glass
Freefalling under such circumstances, Azrael’s eyes remained
wide in shock
She didn’t need to think hard to remember – no doubt, this
feeling was the same as when Artosh – her Master was
conquered – a true sensation of 「Fear」
…She didn’t understand
There were too, too, too s that she just couldn’t
understand
Scary, how scary, how much do they actually know, they
actually could erous bet
No e, make battle plans,
how much I prepare, in the very bitter end it’s still an unknown
–
Within the darkness of all these variable elements, how could
they – how could they possibly step on a silk wire like this
without hesitation?
She had seen so s in quick succession
The freefalling, continuously descending Azrael lost
consciousness –
Part 6
In her dream, Azrael saw her Master Artosh’s memories
The everlasting chaos would only bring strength to the 「God
of War」 Artosh
The Old Deus that fed on battle hunger, hostility, hatred and
blood – the God of War Artosh
And now he and the splinters of his eighteen wings – the
feathers (the Flügel) and his follower the Phantasma (Avant
Heim), with such a small army, one God, one Phantasma, and
one race – waged war on the entire world, and had achieved a
crushi+ng victory
The throne of the One True God was in Artosh-sama’s
grasp…it was unquestionable
A Master like that, had only ever mentioned the possibility of
defeat once
“There’s a chance I ht be defeated”
- You’re joking
“I’”
- Of course
“nobody’s strength is greater than mine”
- Of course
“That’s why there’s so I just can’t understand”
So you can’t understand?
“I can’t understand it, because only the weak are able to It’s
the unknown possibility that I er than I”
- ……
“That’s why I wanted to create – a unit that has the
「I as I am does not possess”
- Imperfection?
“The imperfect unit will use its full power – whether or not it
can exert its power and overcome adversities, I won’t
understand it”
- ……
“But no matter whether I win or lose – in the end they will all
be 「Causes」”
“The first feather of s, first unit Azrael”
…Yes
“When I fall in combat, please be my witness as the loser, and
mourn for me”
- Azrael doesn’t knohat Master saw
But at the same time as he hinted at the possibility of defeat,
the Master wasn’t scared, instead he had appeared like a true
God of War –
Anticipating the appearance of an unknown enemy – and
despite this he strived to overcome this unknown –
A se yet of true happiness
“So, let’s now create this special unit…her name shall be –“
Just like that, the Master Artosh…
He finally produced his last work – the 「Special Unit」 who
became the 「Final Unit」- the imperfect unit
In the end, it was also the unit that was able to witness the
answer at the end of the horizon where even the Master could
not
The Master called out her name
- Jibril
Part 7
“…Senpai, are you finally awake?”
- My body is so heavy, that was Azrael’s first thought as she
awoke
My wings can’t move, and I just can’t seem to be able to use
force – no!
She realized that she had never kno it felt to use the
strength of her own body
How does ?
The so-called earth – is this how it limits the presence of my
being?
Raising her head that felt heavy as a rock, Azrael looked down
at her own shadow
And looking down at her was Jibril – and the two Imanity Sora
and shi+ro
The lowest ranked a the 「Sixteen Races」, the weakest
species looked down at her and said
“You atteame with the status of 「I’m the
strongest」, then you decided it was a crappy game just after a
single loss, now that’s just ridiculous”
shi+ro smiled as well as she heard Sora’s words – however
Azrael couldn’t understand what they meant –
“Now you’re going to replay the game with the status of
「The weakest」, and if you still think it’s a crappy game –
“
“…We’ll play with you…as many times as needed…”
She understood that the 「Word Spirit」 that used on her –
limited her abilities to that of an Imanity’s
The very ss told her this – Azrael bent her
head down and smiled bitterly
- So, she couldn’t fly, she didn’t have ic, and she wasn’t
even able to see spirits
Distance, gravity, all these concepts that she had never
experienced were now tying her down
She rolled to the side, focused her energy on her restricted arms
and stretched towards the sky
- So high, the skies are so high, and the earth so wide
The power that was acting on her body was as if an infinite
wall had been built up between her and the sky and earth
She couldn’t even iine what it felt like to 「Fly」
anymore
Even if one were to tell her she could fly, she didn’t have any
intention to And that scared her
While the two Imanity that were restricted in the same way –
laughed as they soared through the skies, and had said they had
tricked her
“…The taste of the earth…isn’t that bad…right?”
“If you don’t crash to the ground, you’ll never have the urge
to fly again”
They had soared in the skies so freely, and yet they were able
to say that crashi+ng once wasn’t bad
“- Right, you can climb up after you fall down, so there’s a
next time, isn’t it?”
Sora smiled as he stretched his hand towards her – for that was
what they had done all this time
- Finally, in Azrael’sconnected seamlessly
and she couldn’t help but smile
Too late, she was just too late, it was but reasonable that they
called her an idiot, Azrael thought as she grabbed onto that
outstretched hand
“…Senpai’s brain is just too stubborn”
Jibril looked at her with her eyes half open yet caring, and
welcomed Azrael as she stood up
Artosh’s final work – the imperfect unit She was the
「Special Unit」, and the 「Final Unit」
Her imperfections merely meant that – she would strive to be
perfect
Because she was imperfect, she would naturally strive for the
unknown, the future and hope
- Azrael finally understood – the reason why Jibril insisted on
ca alone
“…Jii-chan’s brain is too active-nyan…”
She had destroyed the Elves’ city and brought all those books
back with all s ordered to
She had conquered all the higher ranked species alone despite
being told it was impossible, and had returned near death every
single time
She had deserted the council, left her hometown, and even
brought new Masters as she returned –
It was exactly because she was imperfect – that’s why she
would – becoer than anyone
“…I see, so there really are things that can’t be understood
just through reading-nyan…”
The so-called understanding wasn’t just reliant on
e
It was through actualization, personal experiences, it was only
when it assimilates into your very soul that one can truly
understand so
The thing that neither Artosh nor Azrael could understand -
「The unknown」
That was the 「Possibility」- the characteristic that could turn
the impossible into possible
It was exactly because they were the strong ones, exactly
because they absolutely couldn’t fail, exactly because they
couldn’t lose – that they were unable to understand this
While –
“It’s obvious that when one becoer
perfect…however I…always feared that-nyan”
Only Jibril had slowly understood that every single time as she
neared defeat/
- Whenever they lost, no el or Avant Heim, they
were unable to grasp this imperfection
While – never once faltering in her footsteps, it was no surprise
that Jibril had left
The Flügel – Azrael and the others could only gather
knowledge
Only Jibril freely pursued her curiosity, created knowledge,
and left behind everything she needed to know
She was a truly strong person, yet she was always striving
towards an even greater goal – she even had respect towards
the 「Unknown」
- That could only
“Nyahaha, nyahahahaha…how boring, I’d never thought that
it would be this boring after I understood it”
She looked down, and she could only laugh – which meant…
“Have you finally understood?”
“Yes, I get it now – there’s nothing particular to be
understood-nyan”
- How could she not laugh at that?
The answer that they had been searching for over six thousand
years – in the end there was 「No answer at all」-
“The unknoill definitely never be reversed into
knowledge, because our knowledge will eventually transform
into the unknown, there is no end to this as what may be
coe
today”
It was because that she had never lost, so after her first loss,
she was truly able to fear – the unknown
The more she tried to understand it, the further it shrank away
from her
“So the i is not to 「Memorize」, it’s to
「Learn」- and even enjoy the risk that co to
the situation”
Thus – the only as to continuously strive forward –
“The reason e lost in the Great War was because we
were unable to accomplish that Azrael-senpai, when I lost to
the Masters and kneeled in front of thee my
subservience, Artosh’s final order – was completed”
Azrael looked down and mumbled:
“…Artosh-sama…did I accomplish your final orders as
well?”
- Did she not have to lie anymore?
Azrael looked up at the distant skies once again as she wiped
away her tears
She had never realized that she had the ability to shed tears –
was this enough to appease Artosh-sama?
Sora looked at her face
“…I’ at, but that
expression isn’t half bad”
Finally – Sora spoke to Azrael with a smile on his face
“…May I ask you four questions? Imanity – no, So-chan, shi+chan”
- There was no answer in the first place, they o
back to square one – which s to
confirm
“You both…what do you live for?”
“For shi+ro, of course”
“…For Nii”
“What if one of you were to die?”
“If we die we die together, so there isn’tdeal”
“…Together”
“Why…what keeps you living?”
“I have no idea!”
“…God knows!”
“We don’t have ti,
we’re different from you anyway, life is short”
“…Busy…”
- They didn’t hesitate throughout, Sora replying with a smile
on his face while shi+ro replied rather seriously
But – those weren’t the answers she was looking for – she
could only reference them
So at last – Azrael asked:
“Can I…can I be like Jii-chan as well?”
“That’s impossible, you can only be yourself”
- They replied without hesitation as well, which was to be
expected
She had known that since long ago, but as Azrael began
looking increasingly melancholy, Sora instead –
“But what’s wrong with that?”
Completely cheerful – his smile ithout a doubt –
“Your expression now is excellent, I love it when you’re like
this”
- He spoke with a smile as wide as the skies
…
…Nyahahaha
“The answer that we’d searched for over so long turned out
to be 「Going back to square one」, I can’t take this, even
people who can live forever get tired you know-nyan”
Yes – thinking for oneself, which was their – reply
She had to look for it herself, then find her own answer that
belonged to her and her alone just like Jibril had
- As long as she knew she could accoh
Azrael said tiredly, however –
Suddenly, she heard Jibril apologizing to Sora
“…Masters, I put my own life on the line on my own accord,
and even had to rely on your strength in the end…I offer my
sincerest apolo –“
“Ah~ about that, Jibril”
Sora scratched his head, see where to start
and said:
“This fellow over here doesn’t have the rights to order all
Flügel to commit suicide!”
“-------What!?”
Ignoring the speechless Jibril, Azrael said bitterly:
“Huh? The cat’s out of the bag!”
She stuck out her tongue evilly and laughed
“Banning the act of suicide without permission – doesn’t
actually mean I can order you all to commit suicide! Hmm~
I’d never thought that this lie would go unnoticed for over six
thousand years, nyahahaha ♪”
shi+ro continued even more directly –
“…And even if she did…Jibril belongs to…Nii and shi+ro…”
-
She had dragged her masters in, and had prepared to die –
As Sora noticed that Jibril’s shoulders were beginning to
trehed and said:
“- But if it’s just Azrael alone, she can do it”
Jibril inhaled sharply as she heard that, while Azrael
immediately erased her smile
“This fellow over here bet herself and only herself from the
very beginning, as no matter the consequence she was prepared
to die alone What kind of sister would tell her beloved imouto
to go kill herself? She’s Jibril’s trusted sister after all!”
- Azrael rehed and replied
And that reply wasthan any form of protest
she may have made
If there was an 「Answer」, and if the Flügel could find that
answer, even if she were to exercise her rights for all of them to
commit suicide, no one would want to die Even if there was no
ansith Jibril at the head of them, if they could all find a
reason to continue living, they wouldn’t want to kill themselves
as well anyway
- At that ti was to prevent
anyone fro suicide, would have completed her
mission
“…So-chan, have you ever pissed people off by not
your own business?”
“Yeah, many times, and I pissed them off a lot as well
However I decided long ago that I won’t let anyone die in this
world (game), so –“
- She heard a single clap
“Let’s play a game”
Sora clapped his hands and spoke while laughing
“It would be a pain if we had to start from scratch, huh?”
- No doubt, so let’s play a game
“So, things are siame first”
- It would definitely be an extreame
“We want to ”
- A ga
“As for whether or not we can do it – so, which side will you
bet on?”
…
-…
“Nyaha…nyahahah, nyahahahahahhahahahah!!”
In six thousand years, no, possibly for the first time in her life,
she laughed sincerely
Maybe because her physical abilities were being restrained by
the Ihed too hard to the point where her
stoan to ache
Azrael laughed so emotionally that she even started to cry, and
she raised her head – and then -
- She grabbed onto Sora and kissed him
“Ugh!?”
“…!?”
“What – M, Master!? A-Azrael-senpai!!”
…For a full few seconds, Azrael tongue-kissed Sora and
stopped
“Nyahaha~ if both sides bet that 「It’s possible」, the bet
won’t be valid ♥”
“”…””
Sora appeared lost, while the other two looked at them with
gazes that could kill, and Azrael spoke, ignoring them:
“Weas for ave me a chance to
have fun with you all, and so I’m extremely overjoyed at your
request-nyan But – I don’t yet have the right to walk alongside
So-chan like Jii-chan does”
She waved and turned to leave…she felt the gravity that
restrained her body and continued forward
Her sister worried about her, the Imanity worried about her,
co
suicide
No o on, I would
be relying on them too much, and she smiled bitterly
“But this is fine as well, since I bet it’s 「Possible」 toonyan?
Before the results come out – I’ll try my best to wait
for it, since Jii-chan believes in me-nyan, I hope that you all
can just wait for me a while more”
Part 8
“…Nii…you let her kiss you”
“Just wait a minute here, no matter how you look at it, she
forced herself on ht?”
“You say that, Master, but because of the 「Ten Pledges」 it
isn’t possible to abuse another’s rights, so unless the Master
had allowed it subconsciously there was no other way that
Azrael-senpai could have kissed you”
“Wait a second, if I were to deny a beautiful lady like that
unconsciously that would be disastrous to uy!”
“…Nii is fine with anyone…as long as it’s a girl…”
“You’re ju