Neighboring World’s Revelation (Apocalypse Now) Hello, hello.
……That is to say, it is me. Major Higoromo Hibiki, a battalion captain or something like that.
Immediately before the end of training, we would launch a surprise attack early in the morning.
With this, we would sweep past the barbed wire and attack the fortress with the fastest speed and smallest amount of sacrifices.
Although I intended for it to be like that, we had been seen through. Despite having said that, it was clear that we reached past the barbed wire much faster than last time. Everyone was looking onto me with respect.
“Now, let’s charge through!”
Someone there marching was blowing a trumpet.
“Everyone, attack????!”
With rifles up, all members on hand invaded the fortress. Then??they encountered.
“Ara, ara, ara. This really must be a coincidence, right?”
They saw an oni.
They saw a demon.
No, they saw a God.
To phrase it bluntly, they saw Tokisaki Kurumi.
……Of course, this wasn’t impossible. As long as she wasn’t part of the rebels, it was possible for Kurumi to be on Banouin’s side.
However, she was the type of person to view this matter as too troublesome.
Hibiki stared……she shouldn’t be concerned about the power struggle between these two major factions.
“Alright, Major Higoromo Hibiki. It’s so wonderful that you’ve been promoted. An S-rank producer in the Ninth Region, being a Major here, Hibiki-san’s talent really took me by surprise.”
Not good, she looks completely livid.
Even though she was giving them a full smile, she was so angry that there was the illusion of a furious aura standing behind her.
This feeling of anger was more terrifying than even murderous intent. If it was the latter, it would just end with, “Ah, I’m going to die”. But even she couldn’t guess what sort of punishment Kurumi would employ when truly angry.
“That is to say, I’ve also decided to give it my all.”
The <Zafkiel> in both her hands was different from usual. Although its old rifle appearance remained unchanged, there was something resembling a poorly bright yellow pump added to the tip of the muzzle.
“I’m slightly disappointed with this design, but that’s the proof of it being good entertainment as a toy, correct?”
While saying so, she pulled the trigger on her short gun.
“Hegu!?”
The poi paper on the helmet of the Quasi-Spirit standing next to her was precisely shot down. It seems that <Zafkiel>, like the other weapons, was shooting water bullets rather than the usual shadowy bullets.
Certainly, Kurumi also had the poi paper attached to her body. It looked a little cute.
But there was one more problem.
“Kurumi-san, yes!”
She raised her hands up for the time being.
“What is it, Hibiki-san?”
“Your swimsuit looks great!”
“Yes, thank you very much. So can I take that as your last words?”
Kurumi smiled slightly.
Hibiki also smiled a little.
She then took a deep breath.
“Everyone withdraw????! There’s a self-conscious bomb here! And one that can continue to explode indefinitely!”
“Ufufufufu, what precise instructions. So then Major Hibiki, I’ll have to chase after you!”
“Gya! It’s a Romeo and Juliet scenario, but one where Romeo is coming to kill you????!”
“And who is Juliet here?”
Kurumi began to move. The soldiers that raised their guns at her were shot down one by one.
Soldiers with their poi paper struck automatically fell down while raising the white flag.
In this war, this was regarded as a dead man that could no longer participate in any subsequent battles.
“Uwaa, having Kurumi-sama behind as the enemy is the worst!”
Ace of Spades, who was a conspicuous easy target, desperately fled.
“Uwa, I really have the worst luck, the world’s first class in being unfortunate???!”
As Hibiki was crying and screaming from being targeted by Kurumi, they stumbled across Banouin’s soldiers who also activated their Unsigned Angels.
“Ah!”
There were many non-lethal Unsigned Angels and Higoromo Hibiki’s fell into that category. Her ability was <King Killing>??the super heretical ability to swap identities and replace the target.
In that split second, Banouin’s soldiers transformed into Higoromo Hibiki and were shot down by Kurumi’s <Zafkiel>.
“Ah, isn’t using <King Killing> too cowardly!?”
“Uwaa, despicable or not, I’ll do anything to survive!”
Hibiki cried out, causing chaos while swapping appearances with Banouin’s soldiers.
Additionally, conscious that this was now a withdrawal battle, she was also protecting her own soldiers while retreating.
This was causing Tokisaki Kurumi to grow more and more upset.
“Stand??still??for??me! Hey, you don’t know anything about my hardships!”
“S-Sorry! Even though I don’t know what you’re angry about, I am sorry!”
“I don’t want to hear a half-hearted apology!”
“Sorry! And also once more, <King Killing>!”
“The boat is ready!”
Hearing what Ace of Spades had said, Hibiki confirmed that she was herself again.
“Alright, get in and retreat!”
After jumping in, she immediately swung her head to the right. As expected, water bullets from
<Zafkiel> were still coming from behind.
Kurumi pouted from Hibiki eluding her by a single thread.
“Wait for me!”
“I won’t wait to be killed!”
“I won’t kill you. How about choosing life rather than death!?”
“No way??!”
“This is like the relationship between Tom and Jerry. The only problem is that Tom, the cat, is by far the strongest.”
Ace of Spades muttered with a grim look.
Hibiki wondered if that was just a normal relationship between cat and mouse.
“……Reach won’t make it now. Fine then, run away! I’ll solve this war by myself!”
“P-Please remember! This war has only just begun!”
The entire army retreated, including the boat Hibiki was riding on. Only the Quasi-Spirits that had their poi paper struck down remained while raising a white flag saying, “I’m dead”.
“I will absolutely not forgive you!”
The sound of Kurumi’s resentful voice reached Hibiki’s back.
“You lost??!”
Jugasaki barked out. Hibiki lowered her head and apologized to everyone including Jugasaki,
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t expect Kurumi-san to be so serious! It was completely out of my calculations! Everyone, I’m so sorry!”
“But......it really was impossible. Because that was like a typhoon, waterspout, firestorm, blizzard, and avalanche all coming together at us.”
Ace of Spades tried to comfort her.
“That much huh.”
Apart from Hibiki, Ace of Spades was the only one who knew about the true terror Kurumi could inflict. Her whispers proved most persuasive.
“Major Hibiki, please remain firm!”
“It is fine, yet our battalion’s loss rate is 20%!”
“Uuu. 20% means……8 people died.”
“But is that Tokisaki Kurumi really so strong?”
Hibiki nodded towards Jugasaki’s whisper. Immediately afterwards, the powerful soldiers that had seen her strength up close also agreed.
“Just like a calamity in this world.”
“I see……so the prize money on her head did nothing but bring unnecessary trouble on ourselves.”
“Ha……but why was she fighting so seriously?”
Hibiki tilted her head while confused. Ace of Spades muttered in a low voice.
“Could it be……a worried friend angry at being left out while you were off spending your time in idle amusement? Degozaru.”
Having slanted her head, Hibiki couldn’t process those words at first.
However, as Hibiki gradually started to understand the meaning behind those words, her face slowly turned red.
“S-So that means. Is it possible Kurumi-san was overcome with worry that I, Higoromo Hibiki, would suffer a miserable defeat and have to crawl back to this mob-like military force like a dejected loser!?”
“Why are you phrasing it that seriously!?”
Hibiki let out a strange “pya” sound as she collapsed onto the surrounding soldiers’ arms.
“U-Umu. ……This time, I have a hunch we’re only going to fail……”
As Jugasaki said regretfully, Ace of Spades nodded in agreement.
“……No, it won’t. If Kurumi-san is here, I will try to come up with a solution……”
Hibiki, who had collapsed from feeling too much joy, spoke while fluttering her feet.
“Can you do that?”
“The target of Kurumi-san’s anger seems to be only me. Alright. Then, there should be a way!
Probably! Maybe! So??”
She took in a deep breath.
“We will hold a Tokisaki Kurumi countermeasures meeting!”
Hibiki let out such a voice.
“Ara, ara, ara. You seem quite angry.”
“Not??at??all. Not??even??a bit. I’m??not??angry??at all.”
Kurumi was lying down on the tatami mat and speaking in a prolonged tone. Kareha giggled a little at seeing this sight.
“I’ve heard already from Yui, but your friend is over on the other side?”
“Not just on the opposite side. But also actively participating. And even promoted to Major.”
“Oh my. What a capable person.”
Kareha was so amazed that she covered her lips with her hand.
“That’s right, I was surprised as well.”
“……So she is your friend.”
“……”
Kurumi fell silent. After all, in the first place……no that wouldn’t be wrong, but. Kurumi believed that there was no one who could be called a friend for herself. And even if there was, it would be gone now.
She didn’t lead such a naïve life that would easily allow the existence of a friend to come in.
However, in this Neighboring World, it wasn’t the case that she always maintained a lonely height apart from others.
In any case, it wasn’t something she would deliberately seek out. But at the same time, she also wouldn’t go out of her way to make enemies in this world unless there was deliberate ill intent involved.
Additionally, when Hibiki tried following her, it was her who also allowed this.
So, if she considered it like this……
“Ah, opps. So Hibiki-san is your former friend.”
Finally reaching such a conclusion, Kareha laughed even more.
“That’s funny coming from you. Have you noticed so far?”
“Not really, I’m not aware at all.”
Kurumi recalled that she once called Hibiki a friend, but that was just an excuse to get her into a haunted room. Hibiki also ridiculed this by saying, “I’m only a friend when it’s convenient!”
Even now, if she were to say with an evil smile that Hibiki was just a pawn she was using, no one would probably be convinced.
“Forget it, she’s a friend. A friend. Yes, yes. ……Ah, so that’s why I am angry.”
“Everything is fine, so just don’t pass over each other. Or do you already know that it’s too late?”
“I have a feeling you’re speaking from experience.”
“Really?”
Kareha grinned. Suddenly those words came out from Kurumi’s mouth. But this wasn’t speculation. It was an inadvertent thought that passed after speaking with both of them.
“Could your friend perhaps be Jugasaki-san?”
Kareha fell silent and narrowed her eyes.
Apparently, her guess had landed right on the mark. Kareha lowered her head as her smile disappeared. She took a sip of her tea as if trying to evade the question.
“Who knows……”
“Even if it’s not my place to speak, aren’t you two the ones missing each other?”
“……That’s my own business.”
“I’m a little bit interested. What’s going on? I’m a just a freeloader, so I can keep a secret.”
“……I can’t trust you.”
“At this point you might as well have confessed. At this point, when you phrase it like that, I already know it has something to do with Jugasaki Retsumi.”
“Mu.”
“Would it cause a scandal for you to have interacted with the rebel leader in the past?”
“I didn’t say there were interactions. Just……”
The words came to a stop here.
Kareha narrowed her eyes and hesitantly opened her mouth.
“……You said that you won’t tell anyone?”
“I won’t say anything. I’ll even swear on my Angel <Zafkiel>.”
Those words more or less touched on Kareha’s heartstrings.
Fuu, she let out a sigh.
“Then let me tell you an old story.”
In this manner, while still speaking in her strange dialect, Banouin Kareha began to speak??
……The Eighth Region Hod was neither nearly as peaceful as the Ninth Region Yesod nor as wild as the Tenth Region Malkuth. Rather, it can be seen that Quasi-Spirits from the Tenth Region Malkuth constantly flowed into the Eighth Region Hod.
Since the Ninth Region Yesod valued idols as much as at the same level as the laws of physics, Quasi-Spirits could do nothing there.
So even if they tried a full-scale riot there, the cheers and singing voice of idols would lead to their system of values being shaken or lead to banishment.
In contrast, the Eighth Region Hod was neither as stable nor bloodthirsty as the Tenth Region Hod.
It can be described as an incomplete region. All that was here was the wind, summer, sea, and sky.
Kareha Banouin chose to become the Dominion of the Eighth Region Hod.
“With your strength, you’ll be able to do something about it.”
Kagarike Haraka, the oldest Quasi-Spirit, backed her up with this. She led the Quasi-Spirits who flowed in from the Tenth Region Malkuth, made regulations, and defeated those who resisted.
But she didn’t kill them. Rather than letting the losers perish like in the Tenth Region Malkuth, she chose to protect them.
And then her little sister Mizuha tried her best to act without really understanding anything. She healed their injuries and did her best to calm them down while singing a song.
She gained allies.
Gradually, the number of allies also increased along with those that followed behind Kareha.
The number of people coming from the Tenth Region Malkuth decreased and the Eighth Region Hod ushered in a period of peace??but then the number of allies who turned into Empty also increased.
As Kareha exhausted her head while troubled over this, a young girl appeared before her.
“Banouin Kareha! Compete with me!”
She shouted like that.
She would one day become……the girl called Jugasaki Retsumi. Moreover, a girl that was once an Empty.
“That girl was once an Empty?”
Kurumi interrupted. Kareha narrowed her eyes while giving a nostalgic look.
“After completely being defeated in the Tenth Region Malkuth, she arrived at the Eighth Region Hod just before she was about to die. But still, compared to now, 80% of her dazzling blonde hair had been bleached white.”
Laziness and malaise attacked every Quasi-Spirit who turned into an Empty. Energy, dreams, and even hopes were shaven away.
That was a powerful scream to overturn all of that.
Of course, Banouin Kareha didn’t hold back at all. Using her Unsigned Angel fan, she fought back to her heart’s content.
The next day, she tried again as if nothing had happened.
Then rather than fighting Kareha, it was against Kareha’s subordinates. Although she lost again, she was clearly stronger than last time.
Losing, losing, losing, winning, winning, winning, and winning again.
As victories gradually accumulated, it became impossible for anyone other than Kareha to defeat her, and eventually even Kareha was defeated.
Even though the Dominion Kareha already anticipated this, the girl who had regained her brilliant blonde hair smiled and said, “Let’s fight again next time”.
“……In any case, I feel uneasy. You should at least demand something from me now.”
As Kareha said that, the girl spoke.
“Give me a name!”
So then, she said Jugasaki Retsumi in a half-joking manner, but that name was surprisingly accepted.
“Good! A great name! It’s super cool!”
And so she made the name Jugasaki Retsumi her own. She seemed to especially like that strange name.
Since then, she became a friend who constantly challenged Kareha.
Sometime she won, sometimes she lost.
However, Jugasaki’s blonde hair kept shining so long as she didn’t get tired of losing or winning.
Just like a sun that never sets.
“You were beaten black and blue when first arriving at the Eighth Region Hod.”
“Don’t be concerned about me!”
Before even noticing, she had settled in Banouin Castle without permission. Rolling about like a fickle cat, greedily enjoying the refreshments that Kareha provided.
“Hey, how long can we be like this?”
“……What is it?”
“I feel worried about becoming an Empty again.”
“If you looked like this right now, wouldn’t it be unlikely to change into that?”
“It feels similar to how you’re only grateful for being healthy after catching a cold.”
The wind blew in a season that was constantly summer.
“In front of such good weather and beautiful scenery, why do we have to die?”
“Rather than dying, isn’t it just disappearing?”
Hearing what Kareha had said, Jugasaki shook her head.
“Listen, Banouin. That’s death. No matter how you try to hide it, that disgusting feeling is death.
Turning into an Empty and lightly fading away, all that is just a pretense dodging the issue.”
“……It’s like you say.”
Jugasaki’s opinion was both half-correct and half-incorrect.
“So then Jugasaki-san. What do you think after seeing this?”
Kareha grinned as she peeled off the disguised wig. Half of her gorgeous hair was still black, but the other half was glistening silver.
“?????”
Jugasaki was staring blankly at Kareha’s hair for a while. Slowly, while staggering, she approached Kareha, grabbing her whitened hair.
“Hey…..that hurts.”
“When did this start? When?”
Jugasaki’s eyes were burning with the feeling of not accepting any lies.
“……When did it start? Even I’m not quite sure about this.”
Kareha turned her head to the side as if already having given up a little. Hearing her say those words, Jugasaki grabbed her by the collar??staring into each other’s eyes.
“I’ll die.”
“You can’t die.”
Both of them were silent for a moment.
Jugasaki let go of her collar and took a deep breath in.
“Then one last thing. What is your wish? Is there anything that you’ve done that makes you feel alive?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
With a fearless smile, Banouin Kareha informed her.
“During the moments when seriously fighting against you??”
And so, the story came to an end.
Kareha suddenly raised both of her hands as if surrendering.
“……So that’s why this war has begun?”
“Because that child is too stubborn.”
Kurumi raised her eyebrows at Kareha who was still grinning.
“However, that child was serious about helping me through fighting. It’s normal to not win.
Because if I lose, I might die.”
An evil smile.
A smile that expressed controlling her was unbelievable fun.
Speaking of good or evil, her behavior was undoubtedly evil.
“……Give me a moment.”
“So you’re angry as well.”
“I’m angry because of being underestimated.”
But Kurumi revealed an even more evil smile as she pointed her restored <Zafkiel> at Kareha.
“??My <Zafkiel> can express special powers through consuming time. Each one is considered inherently incomparable??to everyone’s Unsigned Angels.”
“……What is that supposed to mean for example?”
“That’s right. For example??looking into your memories to see what the truth is.”
Kareha looked upset for the first time.
“Alright, that’s out of the question. It won’t work because of your expression, so it’s out of the question. If I’m trying to play a villain, I at least need to threaten to kill the people you love.”
“……If that can be done, I wouldn’t be having such a weary time.”
Kareha whispered off into the distance.
“So in the end, what do you want to do?”
Kareha hesitated. Even if she lied to this girl in front of her, she would be easily exposed.
So it would be the same regardless of what she said.
The question would be……what she would do and what will happen afterwards. Surely it will be a huge gamble.
“I, actually??”
In an absent-minded tone, Kareha told her the truth that wasn’t known to anyone.
While listening, Kurumi’s smirk gradually disappeared.
“??That’s it, that sort of feeling.”
“……Is that enough for you?”
“Yes.”
Muttering briefly, Kareha gently touched Kurumi’s <Zafkiel>. It was an act that she would generally abhor, but Kurumi allowed this.
She pointed <Zafkiel>’s muzzle in-between her eyebrows.
“Now that you’ve heard me out, you can do it. It’s easy for you to shoot me.”
“??I won’t shoot you. It’ll be a waste of bullets.”
Kurumi moved away <Zafkiel>’s muzzle. It was statement showing that she won’t harm Kareha.
“That means you will assist me?”
“……No way. Either way, you have no plans on opening the gate to the Seventh Region Netzach, correct? Well, I will take the time to clearly judge you. In the event that you were expecting me……”
While muttering, Kurumi slightly narrowed her eyes. Kareha froze. A chill struck her back as if instinctively telling her it was a crisis.
With even the slightest mistake in her choice of words, Kurumi would take her life.
However, that was also exactly the desired situation to win. Kareha drew attention of the disaster known as Tokisaki Kurumi and then needed to try her best to survive.
“……I’m very grateful to you.”
“I’m not interested in killing people who want to die. But I have killed people before who wanted to live.”
“I see.”
Kareha softly smiled, but also with some disappointment.
“The greatest bout in my lifetime. Ah, scary, scary.”
“Then tremble all you want in your sleep tonight. I will protect you tomorrow.”
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“I’ll be acting on your behalf. You still need to talk to Mizuha-san.”
“……Thank you.”
Kurumi waved her hand as if saying it was fine before leaving.
Being alone, being alone, being alone.
Taking in a deep breath, it felt as if the fresh air was about to replace all of her cells.
Weaving her Reiryoku to create a tub, Kareha filled it with water to soak her feet.
“It’s cold.”
The sensation of coldness permeated her bare skin. The feel of her blood freezing soon quickly disappeared with the heat from the sun. All that remained was lukewarm water against her skin.
However, Kareha thought that this was the feeling of being alive.
In the end, living was immersing oneself with warm water and dying was drowning in cold water.
However, during the moment of drowning in cold water??that’s when the desire for life becomes strongest.
Of course, that wasn’t a truth applicable to everyone.
At least Banouin Mizuha would think so.
Jugasaki Retsumi recalled the pain of half becoming an Empty.
All of the Quasi-Spirits didn’t consider Empties a big deal. It is said that there is no more suffering, ugliness, pain, everything just disappeared.
Wrong, that wasn’t it at all.
This was some sort of disease. A feeling of being so weary that even a single finger couldn’t be moved anymore.
Decaying eyes that lost any sense of fear or desire to live.
“……Commander Higoromo (promoted once again), was it also the same for you?”
After Jugasaki revealed her past as an Empty, she asked for Hibiki’s opinion. Hibiki was also once an Empty. Before meeting that girl, she was convinced that she would eventually disappear.
“It might not have been that bad for me……ah, no I don’t mean it like that. But maybe it is because I had become even more of an Empty. Fatigue means pain, but being an Empty even releases you from that pain.”
“Is that so……”
Few Quasi-Spirits could recover after entering the late stages of becoming an Empty. Jugasaki and Hibiki were part of the rare exceptions.
“Then how can that White Queen keep Empties in that hollow state and manipulate them……”
“That……I don’t know.”
A life that loses the will to live would eventually perish. Yet those touched by the White Queen were both fanatical and willing to die.
“The White Queen’s evil hand is creeping into the Eighth Region Hod. To temporarily stop this war to secure the region??”
“It can’t be done.”
Both of them sighed together.
If the war ceased, it would undoubtedly increase the number of Quasi-Spirits that become Empty.
“Well, let’s leave that alone for the time being. First we need to plan our combat strategy.”
While saying so, both of them stared at the operations map.
“Kurumi-san is like an elusive phantom. She can fly through the sky and shooting her down would be quite difficult.”
“That should be fine. The Eighth Region Hod is too windy. It’s difficult to fly well. Flying securely at low altitude means shooting will be no problem.”
“Although it’s just a prediction, Kurumi-san will likely come after me. Probably she’ll only chase me down completely.”
“You look quite happy, Commander Hibiki.”
Hibiki’s expression loosened. The fact that Tokisaki Kurumi was angry and chasing after her was already her greatest possible expression of friendship.
To be frank, she couldn’t help but feel her heart grow more excited.
“Yup, I understand! This is what they call a yandere!”
“How rude, I’m not a sick person!”
While it may appear to look like being a yandere, it was distinctively different for Hibiki.
“Leaving that aside, should Commander Hibiki serve as bait then?”
“I really want to do that, but I wouldn’t even last ten seconds as a decoy.”
“I suppose so.”
Hibiki already deeply understood that when describing Tokisaki Kurumi??her abilities can only be explained as nonsensical.
In the Neighboring World, the only person who handed the White Queen a defeat.
Even if Hibiki tried attacking back continuously with a single-handed gun, <Zafkiel> would shot through her poi paper as she awaited death.
“Anyway, you can only run away if you encounter her. If you use <King Killing> to transform into someone else, it is fine if it’s an enemy, but that would also mean incurring heavy sacrifices on our side.”
“Yeah. If you would do that, I wouldn’t have promoted you to Commander.”
“To sum it up, for you to encounter her means instantly having to run away. Then the only hand that we can play here is……”
“Something like myself, a playing card.”
Suddenly, Sergeant Ace of Spades, Hibiki’s personal assistant, popped out.
“Well, Ace of Spades-san could launch a surprise attack……no, that wouldn’t work. It would only last the moment when Ace of Spades-san appears. If it’s Kurumi-san, she could take care of it right away.
“I’m completely flat, which means standing out……”
“……Hmm?”
Then, Hibiki turned to look at Ace of Spades again.
“Excuse me.”
“Gozaru?”
Hibiki grabbed Ace of Spades’ shoulders and started shaking her. Of course as a playing card, that just means grabbing the reverse side.
“Commander Hibiki-dono???”
“……Just once, it might succeed.”
In fact, this situation was strange. Carte À Jouer’s whereabouts were unknown and only Ace of Spades had joined the rebels for some reason.
When crossing the barbed wire from the beach, Ace of Spades’ position should have been seen by Kurumi.
In other words, she didn’t realize the existence of Ace of Spades. Even if she noticed, she would pay it too much attention. After all, even Kurumi wasn’t all-powerful God.
“……Alright, Sergeant Ace of Spades. Let’s startle Kurumi-san together.”
“My older sister has an evil look on her face. But this sounds interesting. Count me in on this strategy.”
Ace of Spades also grinned.
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