The night sky viewed from the rooftop was special. The Milky Way spread behind the moon beautifully decorated the sky, and the sparse flowing clouds rippled like turbulent waves. Seeing a completely different sight from the white sky he had seen for three years in the mental world, Kenji chuckled and slowly got up.
A meteor swam through the Milky Way and fell. The blue light had already changed to a pure white light, trailing long like a tail.
It was Trinity's night sky. It had been three years since he last saw it directly, but its beauty hadn't changed from before. Was it because only three months had passed in reality? Certainly, his sense of time had been strange lately. Although he was getting more accustomed as time passed, the sensation from when he was in the mental world still lingered in his body.
'It'll probably get better after about another week.'
Thinking so, Kenji lightly placed his foot on the railing.
He turned his gaze. Far in the distance, Trinity General School came into view. Because it was dawn, all the lights in the buildings constituting the school were off, but its outline itself could be seen clearly. Kenji blankly, just blankly stared at Trinity General School, then smiled bitterly and dropped his head.
'I still can't go to meet them.'
Since he belonged to Gematria, he couldn't act freely. Not that his freedom was restricted, but because he didn't want to give Gematria any openings. What if he clumsily acted and went to meet those girls, causing Gematria to take interest? Just imagining it made him nauseous. Of course, due to the contract, they probably couldn't harm those girls, but there isn't just one method, right? They might try to use them in experiments using appropriate bait. For instance... 'me', perhaps.
Moreover, the problem wasn't only with Gematria. It was also unknown what negative influence the dominated fear might have on them... He wasn't sure if it would be okay to shamelessly show his face. He worried that visiting them might only bring bad influence. He thought they might have already forgotten him, and might frown if he suddenly appeared.
...Anyway, his head was complicated. Kenji roughly ruffled his long hair, then let out a long breath and shook off the distracting thoughts.
For now, let's focus on what needs to be done now. Thinking so, he narrowed his eyes.
The place Beatrice headed. Pinpointing the exact location was difficult, but he could roughly trace her trail. Because she had holed up in a place hard to specify. In a normal case, he would have been able to know the exact location.
Fear was more versatile than he thought. He had known for a long time that it was greatly helpful in combat, but that it could also be used for tracking was unexpected. If he just subtly leaves a trace of fear in ink form, he could track it anytime, so the usage method was simple too.
'I was worried she might notice.'
Fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. Well, since he placed it slanted under her shoe, she wouldn't have been able to check unless she looked closely. Given that bastard's personality, she probably didn't even think to look under her shoe. She'd probably have a fit, calling it undignified. Kenji chuckled and lowered his gaze. His black eyes grew even darker.
"Found it."
*
As always, it was a boring day. The only things she had eaten were a few pieces of bread and stagnant water drawn days ago, so she even felt a faint stomach ache. Since it was a pain she was now accustomed to, her face didn't even frown. Thinking so, the officer in charge of a squad belonging to the Arius Branch School jiggled the grenade launcher in her hand.
"An officer like me being on night watch."
She let out a deep sigh and kicked a pebble rolling on the ground.
Originally, night watch duty wasn't for officers but the students' responsibility. But a few days ago, students were collectively injured during training, so officers had no choice but to take night watch. A truly unlucky day. Of all things, the explosives used in training were anti-tank ones, and even those were duds.
But what could she do? It already happened, and she was on night watch like this. Complaining about her lot wouldn't make anything better.
"Kahak, ptooey."
She spat on the ground and rubbed it with her shoe.
Then. Far in the distance, she saw something approaching. She thought it might already be shift change time, but there was still plenty of time left. Moreover, the clothes that person was wearing weren't the Arius uniform.
'An intruder?'
It was a thought that suddenly surfaced, but she immediately erased it from her mind. An intruder at the Arius Branch School. There probably wasn't a word more mismatched. Someone else finding a place even the General Student Council couldn't locate? An impossible thing. Especially since this place was cut off from the outside by an unknown power.
...Then, who on earth is that?
It was contradictory. A person who doesn't match Arius, in a place where there can't be intruders. The officer couldn't understand the current situation at all. But her body moved as trained. *Click*, she raised the grenade launcher in her hand.
"...Halt."
She placed her finger on the trigger. Then the footsteps of the intruder approaching from afar abruptly stopped.
As the cloud covering the moon cleared, a blue light faintly illuminated the ground. Only then could the officer see the intruder's face. Black hair, obsidian-like eyes, pale white skin, a fierce-looking appearance.
It wasn't a face she remembered. The officer's eyes grew sharper. She released the weapon's safety and took a step forward.
"Identify yourself."
"Is 'Madame' here?"
"...Madame?"
An unexpected word jumped out of the guy's mouth. The officer momentarily let out a bewildered voice, but immediately composed herself. Asking if 'Madame' is here. He spat out information no one not belonging to the Arius Branch School could know. Proof he was an outsider. She no longer hesitated and lightly pulled the trigger.
"...Who are you."
"Is she here or not. Just say that."
"I ask for the last time. Identify yourself!" QnVhM0pZejVubTdBNk8yK0ZvQkc2VFc3MjAxZ0FTbEpNV1VtMm5xblMxL3ArQkwwYXc1WGhkZWorckF5WTZaeA
"Actually, I know she's here."
The intruder grinned. His body twisted sideways. At that movement, the officer pulled the trigger all the way. With a dull noise, a grenade flew toward the intruder. But the projectile couldn't hit him directly and slammed into the ground instead. Because his figure had disappeared.
She had no leisure to think, where did he go? In the blink of an eye, her gaze met ominous black eyes.
Damn it!
The officer bit her lip and tried to leap back dramatically.
—She would have, if only her ankle hadn't been caught. A panicked look spread across her face. Meanwhile, the intruder simply pulled the ankle he had caught. The officer's body was dragged toward him.
"Grow up a bit."
The intruder spat that out and struck the officer's neck hard. Then her pupils rolled upward. That was it. The officer's body went limp, and the intruder—that is, Kenji—gently laid her down on relatively flat ground.
He could kill her, but he didn't particularly want to. Although he had become accustomed to killing from dying and killing all sorts of things in the mental world, killing humans was still a bit... He wouldn't hesitate if it was a necessary moment, but there was no reason to do so now. Kenji removed the officer's gas mask to check her face, then got up.
"The trace is..."
The place where the fear reacted. Kenji climbed onto an abandoned building with a familiar movement and gazed toward where Beatrice's response was caught. That place was a giant basilica. Deep inside it, the fear he had hidden on that woman was detected. As the distance grew closer, the tracking became even clearer.
Infiltration... would probably be impossible. Since they had placed night watch even far from the basilica, the inside of the basilica was probably bustling with guards. Even for the current Kenji, passing through there undetected was difficult. It would be much easier and simpler to just smash through while destroying everything.
'Since I entered here that way too.'
How many barriers did he break to get from the Trinity Catacombs underground to this place? Fortunately, he didn't seem to have been detected because of that, but if he was going to be detected anyway, it didn't matter. Wasn't the purpose of coming here in the first place not assassination but to piss off Beatrice? And if he could check what this bastard was up to in the process, that would be good too.
Well, if you ask which of the two has higher value, it's the latter. But still, he was serious about screwing with Beatrice.
Kenji twisted the corner of his mouth, loosened his wrists, then got down from the building and headed toward the basilica. He knocked out all the night watch he encountered along the way. By the time it neared about 10 people, the entire Arius became restless. By now, a large-scale force had gathered in front of the basilica.
They were clamoring about this and that, but Kenji listened to their shouts with one ear and let it go while condensing fear on his palm. The spherical fear rotated, then soon formed a thin ring. He grabbed and burst that ring.
White Lotus Demonic Art, Ink Wheel Revolving Heaven.
The ring exploded. The scattered fear swept through the surroundings as it advanced. Everyone within its range vomited and fell face-down on the ground. It was because of the illusion as if heaven and earth were twisted and their senses momentarily faded. Kenji brushed off the fear residue on his hand, then leisurely walked into the basilica. The forces that should have stopped him were all crawling on the ground.
'Further inside.'
The room where Beatrice stayed was on the top floor of the basilica. Kenji shook off his stiff wrists and climbed the stairs. Those who barely escaped the ring's range rushed at him, but they were no match for Kenji. Their attacks were fierce, but that was it. No wounds had appeared yet.
To that extent, the three years in the mental world had greatly helped him. He had honed his power while having his limbs torn off by monsters drawn from imagination; it would have been unfair if that hadn't been helpful.
Still, there was no helping that his body felt stiff. Although he dominated fear, his body was still a paper doll, so even for him, there was nothing he could do about struggling after using hard-to-handle techniques or a few bullets. Since it wasn't a problem that could be overcome by training his body, this was a disadvantage he would have to bear forever.
'Better than being completely useless.'
Thinking so, Kenji struck the carotid artery of a student who jumped out in front of him. Her body slumped limply, and Kenji leaned her roughly against the wall, then continued moving. Around the time he passed through the corridor. A gun barrel suddenly popped out from around the corner.
—He tore it apart. The barrel crumpled just like that, and the fired bullet grazed his earlobe as it went forward. Blood splattered.
Before he could even feel the pain, Kenji immediately curled his fist and threw a punch toward the owner holding the gun. But, the moment he saw her face, he had no choice but to stop his fist. She also stopped the dagger she was about to swing upon seeing Kenji's face.
"...Huh?"
"...What."
A girl wearing a worn-out hat and a metal mask looked up at Kenji with blank eyes. Kenji also let out a hollow laugh and lowered his fist.
"Why are you here?"
The girl he had encountered in front of a trash can about a year ago had appeared.