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Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi:Volume4 Chapter4
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==Chapter 4 - An Episode Concerning a Certain Big Brother & Little Sister== ===Part I=== <span style="font-weight: 400;">The brother and his friends piled up the stones. Living and Dead, they all carved out pieces of the earth and placed them gently on the top of the mountain.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They had different dreams, and moved the stones to achieve them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In time, the masonry gradually became more sophisticated.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">More and more people got involved, and more people joined to manage these people.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There were people who designed plans to ensure the stones were stacked efficiently and functionally.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Joining them were people who fed them, carpenters, Dead, and hunters protecting the Dead.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Eventually, the pile of stones became a tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Different people, different dreams, nurtured the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Many of them found heaven there. Fathers piled stones, mothers cooked meals, and the children would gather and play. They wished for such days, and the tower was the first to fulfill their wishes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tower then fulfilled the dreams of many engineers. They had dreams to create wonderful arts, and the tower granted them the grand task of ‘building heaven’, gathering their great talents.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tower greedily swallowed their dreams and grew taller. It began to realize new dreams.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tower was a tomb.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was heaven, it was hell,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was the everyday, it was the extraordinary,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was the past, it was the future.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was now the world itself.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And so the World Tower became a place to dream.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The brother and his friends continued to pile stones on this day.</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The story was written on the empty main street nobody passed by again.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai and Alice returned to Julie and the others, stepping over the white chalk.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"This place is weird."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai said as she walked to the luggage, ignoring Julie who was waiting at the entrance.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"We've known that from the beginning."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"</span><b>No,</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> you don't understand. This place is weird. It's really not normal."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She gently moved the luggage and found Celica hidden inside. Celica was in a good mood and gave a </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘dawww</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">’ cry as she offered her hands to Ai. Ai carried the baby, and felt her soft warm touch on her cheek.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"… What did you find out?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…I'm not sure, what exactly did I hear…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">After that, Ai fell silent, lost in her own thoughts, while Celica slapped at Ai’s cheek, feeling ticklish.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">What happened? </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie shot Alice a look, but Alice too was in a similar state, looking down, pondering, and did not look up. </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">What’s wrong with you two? </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee waved her hands in the air above them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mr. Alice."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Suddenly, Ai looked up and asked,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Are you okay?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Yeah, I'm fine…what about you?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai stared into Alice's eyes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm fine too."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…What are you guys talking about?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai quickly emerged from her sea of thoughts and looked at Julie.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"The tower is said to grant wishes."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…What do you mean?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I don’t know the specifics…and I don’t know what’s going to happen."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai chewed her nails anxiously.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"But </span><b>they believe</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. There’s a group of people in this tower who really believe that their wishes will come true."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Are they ability users?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice took over,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"An ability user doesn’t need such a tower. If their wish is that powerful, they could have fulfilled their wish a long time ago without needing such a thing."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice said as he holstered his guns back on his belt.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"There are only rather ordinary people here, you know. They have the same desires as those with ability users, but the world wouldn’t grant them that. There are hundreds, thousands of them…this tower is a cushion for them. They can’t have a ridiculous dream like ‘I want to go to heaven!’, so they have this dream, ‘this tower will lead to heaven!’, to ease their hopes, and that’s how they believe. It’s such a place."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…To summarize, what is it?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What I’m trying to say is…maybe your dream can come true, Mr Julie."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai took over. She concluded so.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">…My dream?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie thought she had said it out loud. The words however did not come out of her mouth.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"………Say, if it's that dangerous..."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee raised her hand tentatively and spoke up.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Shouldn't we just go down? No, I don’t mean giving up now, I’m just saying we should go down for now. A strategic retreat. …"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"We can't do that."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Is that so?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"If that's what you want, Miss Dee. Go ahead."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No, I can’t do that now, you know? I just heard that we can fulfill our wishes here. "</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’m not taking responsibility…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai said, but Dee herself did not seem too worried.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"—Anyway, Mr. Julie, are you okay?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai raised her head as though she was hit.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……I mean, what situation will be considered dangerous?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It’s not dangerous at all. It’s just to fulfill a wish. "</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai said, took a single breath, and hesitated.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mr Julie, there’s something I haven't asked you before on purpose, right?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Who knows?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie tried to play dumb even at this moment.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…It’s about that incident on that hill, when I decided to save the world."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was the moment when they buried Hampnie Hambart. That moment at dawn when it all began.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"When I swore back then, you said you would help me, right?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Yeah."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Why?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…There's no why. You're my friend's daughter. I'm supposed to help you—"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Enough with these words."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai cut off the idle chat.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm sorry. I didn't really believe it when you said that you’ll help me achieve what I vowed to do."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai smiled.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I knew there was a catch in your vow, like ‘until we get down the hill’, ‘until we find a town’, ‘until I get stubborn’, ‘until I start to act a little dangerous’, I thought there would be a time when you would abandon me."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…That’s what you thought?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes. I always thought so…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Tahaha, she laughed, trying to misdirect.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"At Ortus, at Gora Academy, and now, I'm thinking, 'How far will this person go to accompany me’."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"How far will you follow me?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Until you give up on your dreams."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ahhh, I knew it."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She giggled.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I see. You never believed that I could save the world after all, Mr. Julie. I guess. You never did, I guess?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Ai"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You thought I would give up on my dream at some point, didn't you?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Ai, listen to me."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You came along not because you agree with my 'dream to save the world'. You’re following me so that the moment I give up, you’ll be with me and help me through my disappointment, aren’t you?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You didn't care about my dreams, you just wanted me to be happy."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You're really an adult…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…That's harsh."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm sorry…but I have to get this clear—"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No, I wasn't talking about the question."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie gave the usual, bitter smile.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It’s harsh to be told by a kid ‘you’re really an adult’. Really harsh."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What? I don’t know if I understand…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Of course you don’t."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The big man tried to give an enlightened smile.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Erm, I don't want you to misunderstand me. I'm not accusing you of anything, okay? I just wanted to ask—"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I understand."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie said.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And he suddenly hugged Ai.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai was frozen in the embrace of the big man.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"………Heh? Eh? Eh? Wh-what’s with you all of a sudden?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I thought I understood you very well…but it doesn’t seem to be the case…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai finally cowered.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"E-erm, Mr Julie? Erm, that’s not it. I'm not done asking yet. If ‘saving the world’ isn’t a dream for you, then there’s something else you wish for, right?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Another wish?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai cowered even more, as though she was about to be thrown out.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You helped </span><b>us</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, because you think of us as your daughters, right?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai hugged Celica tightly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"… You're really still reeling from the loss of your wife and daughter, aren't you?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You still want to meet them, right?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai was sandwiched between the two heat bags in Celica and Julie, but she was stiff and cold, unable to trust the temperature.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm sure that's the specialty of this tower. I'm sure this tower will grant it to you."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Ai."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just that I don't know what will happen if this wish is granted. That’s why—"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ai."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie’s rugged arms patted Ai’s head delicately.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm not leaving."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"—But."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm not going to leave you."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie repeated the words again and again, as though to make up for all the times he did not say so and caused her worry.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But Ai said,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"—I don't believe you."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With those words, the tears finally spilled over.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I-I still, can't believe, those words, after all……sorry, I'm really, a helpless kid. I really can’t, believe, those words…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The green eyes sank into tears. The tears fell onto Celica’s face. The glittering tears landed on the cheeks, and the baby narrowed her eyes incredulously.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Because!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She lifted her. The teardrops scattered quickly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Because you! You’re! Always! Hiding things from me!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hiding?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This came as a surprise to Julie.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In turn, Ai was driven further to despair.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ah, I guess…you never thought about it at all…I’m like a fool…I was the only one worried…troubled…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ai…?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mr Julie… how many Gravekeepers have you killed?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie’s throat rumbled. Ai looked up at him with a dark stare</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…When you escaped with your dead wife, you definitely encountered a few Gravekeepers…you killed those Gravekeepers, didn’t you…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ai…that's…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What's with that look? It looks like you forgot about it? Did you forget about it?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"If…I had met you back then …"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai glanced up at Julie.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Would you still have killed me?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">As for Julie.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He did not remember the expression he showed back then.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But surely it looked hideous.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai took one glance, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">I made a big mistake,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and lowered her face.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…………………………I'm sorry."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And then tears spilled down her face.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……I’m sorry…that’s how……I, am…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She covered her face and shivered.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Argh! Goodness! Dammit!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie started shouting out of a sudden. Both Ai and Celica widened their wet eyes in shock.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"My bad! I've killed Gravekeepers before! I didn't think anything about it! I just thought of it as murder! I never thought that you would be bothered by it! I'm sorry! I confess! I did kill Gravekeepers!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie stared firmly into Ai's eyes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">'If I had met you back then, I might have killed you. I admit that."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…I see…aha…I'm rather relieved to hear that, I guess…?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You're way too practical a woman. You try to be prettier, and I guarantee you'll have a hard time in the future."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He got down on one knee, pointed at her and admonished her, almost exactly the same as when he used to speak to his daughter.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The old him was often a little resistant to do so, yet this time, he did so on purpose.</span> [[Image:Kamisama v04 Illustration 07.jpg|thumb]] <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Dammit! You brats are really weird! What’s with the quick thinking!? Is this what it means to be young!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"M-Mr. Julie?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You guys are living too fast dammit! You don’t need to worry about such problems that quickly! You can spend five years, or ten! Take it slow! I won't be able to keep up otherwise! Do you understand!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Eh? Erm? Ermmm?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You know, adults take a long time to come to terms with things! And yet, you guys come to conclusions quickly, quickly, quickly, without caring whether it’s convenient to others!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">You brats!</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Julie patted Ai on the head.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"E-erm, what are you trying to say…?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ai."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie looked into Ai's wet eyes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’ll be your father."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…………...……………………………...Yes?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Goodness me…we should be taking such things slowly, and speak up when we're in such a mood. But you guys are always so anxious and charging forward…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"E-erm, Mr. Julie."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Not Mr Julie."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He patted his chest.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Call me dad."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"………………………………………… No, thank you."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Don't be shy."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’m not being shy. I refuse."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai's wet eyes were completely frozen, emitting a cold glimmer.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I see…well, whatever, I'm going to consider you to be my daughter. Noemi, you and Celica are my three daughters, my pride and joy."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"......What about Celica's older sister, Ulla?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mmm. Right. That makes four sisters then."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……Are you serious about this?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yeah."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"......Please don't be silly."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm not kidding. You wouldn't believe whatever I say anyway."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……Yes."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Then it's your turn to be defeated."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie laughed. The sadness was gone from his smile.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You'll see. I'm not going to abandon you. I don't care if you don't believe me. I don't care what you think. But I’m doing this. Just like you'll never give up on your dreams."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"......!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">When Ai heard the words, she raised her head vigorously. Her tears scattered in the air with a rainbow glow.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You won’t?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"............................................................How can you ask such a thing......?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai slumped, and Celica looked up at her with concern, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">What's wrong?</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> As though asking so. Ai shoved with her right hand, breaking free from the grasp of the big man, turned her back away from him, and looked back slightly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…………...………………………....Not that I don’t want to."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Really? Then you’re going to call me dad, starting today—"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Don’t wanna."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai rubbed her tear-stained face against Celica's nightgown, to the latter’s disgust.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"So? I don't know what the situation is, but will something happen if I climb this tower?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…I don't know."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I see. But even if it's dangerous. I'm coming with you."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai was silent.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Are you embarrassed?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wha! H-How can you ask such a thing, Mr Julie? You’re not delicate at all! You're the worst!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Sorry, sorry."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie picked up the straw hat, put it on Ai's head. And lifted up Celica instead.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai pulled on the straw hat with both hands, and hid her face.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Let's hurry."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She spun the shovel around and carried it on her shoulder.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Got it. </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie replied, and carried Celica again.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"The one in most danger should be Miss Scar."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tower remained tall, and the stairs remained endless.</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They kept climbing.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai climbed the stone steps before her, one by one. She kept climbing, occasionally stepping on the guiding white chalk that appeared before her.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The eighth floor contained a treasure trove of gold, silver, and treasures, just like an ancient king would have wanted. No one was interested, and they kept climbing up.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The ninth floor contained an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant. Julie and Alice drag Ai away from there.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tenth floor contained a beautiful palace resembling the private chambers of the gods. The graffiti showed no concern for where it was, for an arrow was left on the king’s portrait.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The peak of the tower did not appear to be coming soon, and the stairs just went on and on. The white graffiti continued to appear, with no end in sight.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The eleventh floor was a city of all kinds of weapons.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The twelfth floor was a city that was exposed to all kinds of weapons.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The thirteenth floor was filled with the smell of gunpowder, the pattern of bullet holes, and a burning city.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They went up.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Fourteenth floor, a sky habitat. Fifteenth floor, a palace of the earth. Sixteenth floor, a thousand year city. Seventeenth floor, the foundation of the nation.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They went up. Up. They kept going up.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Each level began to twist and turn in bizarre ways, and eventually they gradually took on a kind of ‘warmth’. The artificial atmosphere eased, and there was an increasing scent of these floors being used by humans..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But there was no one there.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The eighteenth floor was a forest, with its unbelievable amount of greenery and loud animal noises that would stun anyone.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The nineteenth floor was a pile of rocks, where Ai’s foot blister burst.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The twentieth floor was a doctor's office, right on cue, where Ai got treated here.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The twenty-first floor was a laboratory, where Celica's milk powder ran out.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The twenty second floor was a pasture. Julie was given fresh milk from a goat with children.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">All of this was accompanied by a sign of white chalk ‘This way to XXX!’.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Twenty third, twenty fourth, twenty fifth, twenty sixth, twenty seventh…</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They kept moving their feet up the tower. Whenever they felt tired, there would be a peaceful path lined with trees, along with words of chalk ‘do your best! It gets a lot easier on the next floor!’. Whenever they thought they were dirty, ‘Next floor is the hot springs!’ the sign would appear. The moment they thought they were running out of food, the words ‘Next stop, the shopping district!’ and it would become reality.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The group went up, focused on moving their legs, hoping for the day when Celica would turn her head to the side. They climbed up, praying that the day would come sooner.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"~~!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They kept climbing</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"~~! ~~!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…! …! ~~!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They kept climbing."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They kept climbing.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ai!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Woah!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Suddenly, Dee appeared before Ai, and shouted something.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They then found that Celica was bawling.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Heh? Huh?—Sorry Miss Dee, I think I got carried away…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No need for that! Wake up the other two!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Heh? Why are you panicking so much…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Just do it!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai looked behind her in surprise. Alice and Julie too appeared to be groggy and just climbed up the stairs. It was then that Ai realized that this was what had happened to her.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mr Alice, Mr Alice, Mr Julie, Mr Julie."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She said as she slapped them back and forth, twice for Alice, three times for Julie. Celica was still crying.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Oh?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Good morning, Mr. Alice, Mr. Julie."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No, I'm not sleeping—wait, woah!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice~!</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Dee clung to Alice, looking teary.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm sorry. I'm sorry Celica, I didn't notice. What's wrong? Are you hungry?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie began to coax Celica. The baby finally stopped crying.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Somehow, it feels like we were in a daze, huh?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yeah. We have to be careful."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Just ‘be careful’!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee angrily lashed out.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What floor do you think we're on?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No, we don’t."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ah, it says so right there."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They were just about to reach the next floor, and the number written in chalk on the side said, as usual.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Eh?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…What’s going on?"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Welcome to the </span></i><b><i>eight hundred and twenty eighth floor</i></b><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">!’</span></i> <b>Eight hundred and twenty-eighth floor</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">?</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"T-That can't be right, right? Hahaha, what is this…another prank …?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Y-yeah, it is. Hahaha. There's no way…this guy has been serious lately, but now he's starting to play pranks again. Hahaha…haha…haha…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Following that were the words ‘it’s true!’</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">‘You can have a look from there.’</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There?</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Right after they saw those words, a strong wind blew with a 'roar'.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You guys, look here!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie shouted. There was a window on the other side of the graffiti, and the wind was blowing in through it.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Was there a window there to begin with?</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai suppressed her doubts and rushed to the window, pushing her face into the narrow space filled with Alice and Julie.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The sun was shining brightly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The mist was clear. No, it was not just the mist—</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The clouds were far below them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"This is impossible…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie muttered, stunned.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"We didn’t climb this high— "</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They merely hoped.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They kept going, hoping to be faster.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Realizing this, the group shut their mouths.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai realized then that she still underestimated this tower.</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Countless wishes gathered and intertwined.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tip of the tower continued to grow.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The brother and the others no longer needed materials, and the wish to ‘pile up stones’ alone got the tower to grow taller. They each had their unique dream, and piled up stones to make them come true.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">At some point, the tip of the towers began to branch out and scatter. The tower builders began to see different scenery based on their own dreams.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">For those who desired the tip, they saw the spearhead.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">For those who desired eternity, a closed circle.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">For those who desired the end, the end as they wished it to be.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">People continued to rise up the tall tower. The tower swallowed them up and formed more branches. People wished to decorate their own branches, and made their dreams come true as if they were flowers.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tower grew thicker and thicker, and became a huge tree with ten thousand branches and leaves.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And the tower became a tree.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The world tree blossomed at the time of flowering. The branches and leaves were filled with the dreams of the people. Hundreds of flowers bloomed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The flowers fulfilled these dreams, and granted rest to those hands that moved the stones, those feet that ran, and those souls that yearned.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">However, at the top of the tower, there were still those who piled up stones.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Those who, even with the power of the tower, still had unfulfilled dreams.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The brother's wish remained unfulfilled.</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee was strongly opposed to this, but the group went further up the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Since that level, even though they were tired and sleepy, they tried not to eat anything from the tower. In particular, they avoided anything that appeared 'too good to be true'.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">‘There's spring water over here!’ there were words in chalk next to the morning dew they drank from. ‘There's a hot spring over here!’ They washed their towels in the drain. Every time they did so, the chalk waters looked a little dejected. Like ‘the water’s so good…’ or ‘the hot spring feels so good…’ they could not let themselves enjoy such luxuries however.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This tower would grant wishes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai and the others thoroughly realized so, and they resisted with all their might. They spent the night on the cobblestones beside the feather quilt and washed their faces in the drainage of the bathtub.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Still, the tower greedily began to grant wishes. Ai and the others ignored them and climbed up the tower, ‘hurry, hurry’…so they chanted in their hearts and climbed up the stone stairs before them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And the tower began to grant that wish too.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Before they knew it, the blackboard in their minds was being marked with lots of X. There were at least a thousand of them, but Ai ignored them and moved her feet, staring at the stairs in front of her. Fatigue and thirst overtook her. Each time, the tower placed a safe, modest meal and clear well water before them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The group ignored them all.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">However, as if to mock the group's efforts, the tower began to grant more wishes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Their bellies, which were supposed to be hungry, were filling up before they knew it.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Their throats, which were supposed to be thirsty, were quenched before they knew it.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">No matter how vigilant and careful they were, the tower was always ready to swallow their wishes and make them come true. It started granting wishes, starting with the smallest of them, as if trying to swallow them all.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And then, finally, the tower began to grant Ai's wishes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">One thousand, two hundred and thirteenth floor.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a village there.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Ah."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The village was surrounded by slopes on three sides, and had a plateau to the north. It was a peaceful village with small fields and houses. A hidden village where forty-seven residents live peacefully.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A village that no longer existed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Her village.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Every…one…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai had a hallucination of forty-seven people there.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Anna was there, Yoki was there, so were Joanna, Dora, Yuki, Zel, Manuetta.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And there was even someone who was not present back then.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mom…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Amidst the ears of wheat, her mother of the past was standing there, smiling. Ai ran through the street of the village where she had spent twelve years. She ran to a place that had become a memory in just a few months.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Next to the mother was her father.Not Hampnie Hambart, just Kizuna Astin.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Dad!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A few more steps. Just a few more steps, and she could get to their side, to the place they could not achieve no matter how they prayed or did. Just three more steps and I'll be there. After that thought, another two steps. One step.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Zero.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Dad! Mom!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She thought it was some kind of cruel trap. What she saw was a fake, and the moment she immersed herself in it like this, this trap would ensnare her and shatter.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She thought that was fine.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And yet, the people in front of her were real.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ai, it's been a long time! You've grown so big!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mom!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Hana Astin hugged Ai. She had the same golden hair and green eyes as Ai, but the expression on her face was completely different. She had the smile of a mischievous child.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yo, you’re still the same old self. Looky look!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"D-Dad! Please stop!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Kizuna Astin patted Ai’s head roughly, and she got angry. The exchange was too nostalgic for one that only existed in dreams.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Dad…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Oh?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mom…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes yes, what now?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The two of them answered, and Ai was very elated.</span> [[Image:Kamisama v04 Illustration 08.jpg|thumb]] <span style="font-weight: 400;">"</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">～～～～～～～～</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Oops." "W-What's wrong, Ai?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai cried as they wrapped her in their arms. They had everything. Her mother’s fine scent, the smell of her father's cigarettes, the warmth of her mother, the coldness of her father. The response when she called for her parents, one warm, another harsh.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They were all before her at this point.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Have you calmed down?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"… No."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Pfft—You're such an honest girl."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The mother smiled happily, overjoyed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Are you two…real?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Who knows?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The father cackled mischievously.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">" What about you, Ai? Are you real? Or are you a fake?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You can't say it. But I can. I'm real."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That’s right. I can answer that too. I’m real. "</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"So..."</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And so, Ai was shoved away.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Dad! Mom! What are you doing!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Don’t what us, you idiot? What the hell are you? Are you really Ai's imposter? Look, I'll tell you something, the real Ai Astin wouldn’t come to such a place, because she is the person who’s going to save the world."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Kizuna Astin smirked as he placed the hand that had pushed her away on his hip.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That’s cruel of you."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Following up, Hana Astin took her husband's arm and tugged at him.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You don't understand, do you? Ai-Astin is the kind of girl who gives in to temptation. The truth is that she is a very ordinary, tearful and vulnerable girl…She's the kind of girl who cries whether she's happy, joyful, or sad…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The mother crouched down and wiped Ai’s face. The latter sniveled into the handkerchief.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"But then she'll definitely stand up for herself."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">" Go on, my daughter. You're a little young for heaven."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai wiped away her tears.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Good answer, my daughter."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Kizuna Astin chuckled.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Live well in hell."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And Ai returned.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She ran down the village streets in the opposite direction, in the opposite direction of her memories, of time, and she could not allow herself to look back. Absolutely not.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Goodbye…."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She said without looking at their faces. She ran off, leaving teardrops behind instead of herself.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Eventually, a mist envelops the area and concealed the reality. Ai did not stop however, and kept moving forward.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">One had to wonder how long she ran, and in this mist where she nearly lost her sense of self, she heard a voice.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Somewhere in there, someone was bawling, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">waah, waahhh.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Somewhere in there, someone was shouting, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai! Ai!</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai focused on running to the direction of the voice, and then,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She woke up.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ai!"</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Before her were everyone else’s faces.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Woah."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie, Alice, Dee and Celica were calling away, trying to get Ai back.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Thank goodness! Really!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie hugged her violently and stroked her head. Ai widened her eyes in bewilderment.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I-Is everyone fine?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Everyone looked away awkwardly in unison.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…No, we all got swallowed up by this—we only recovered thanks to Celica’s crying."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I nearly got swallowed. Thanks Celica."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Celica finally stopped crying, and exhaled with a relieved, "Daw…".</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"But this little pipsqueak is really the only one who's stable."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…She’s definitely not unhappy with her life.""</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm jealous…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Daw!" The baby shouted, as though she was going all ‘goodness, you lot’</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Thank you for your help …."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai rubbed her cheek and gently kissed her forehead.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…………………Well then."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was someone staring at the scene.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"….What’s going to happen? It seems like it works, and yet it doesn’t…does it, or does it not?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Miss Dee?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee muttered to herself, feeling frustrated. She shriveled in the air, tapping her forehead, ignoring everyone else’s voice as she was absorbed in his thoughts. And then,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Okay, I've decided."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Huh… what is it?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I decided my plan—now then, sorry about this, but can we all just get out of here and give up on Scar, please?</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Are you talking about that again…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Oh, my bad. Sorry again, but I'm serious this time."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai stared at Dee with startled eyes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What do you mean?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"The tower is going to collapse."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Eh? Wh- Why!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hm? With explosives and, uh, various powers."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm not asking you how! What's the reason? Why!?"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">That's because,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Dee replied matter-of-factly,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I want to destroy it."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The ghost laughed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Why…?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai's flustered mind sobered instantly to deal with the situation at hand. So too did her body.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hmm? You don't understand, Ai?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I don't!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What other reason can there be?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee spread her arms wide like she was an actress..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It's because this place is violating the world. This tower is pregnant with eternity. I can't allow such a thing as a tower that grants wishes to exist. The world will never end. It will go on and on in vain."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The dark eyes stared at the top.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That’s why I want to blow up this place."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee Ensy shot a hostile look at the sky.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Actually, I wanted you all to do this."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She floated up and stared at the group.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"The way I see it, there’s no way you can keep going. So it's plan B."</span> <b>"You were going to have us do it?"</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes, I was going to ask Ai to save those at the top of this tower, just as she did with the Idol of Murder at Ortus, and her speech at Gora Academy. I wanted you to save them and turn this tower into a meaningless piece of junk."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The ghost's body softly blurred and drifted to the ceiling, reflecting a place somewhere far away.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was the top of a tower, where some boys and girls were still piling stones.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That’s what you like, don’t you, Ai?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee, the ghost, the Witch of the West, laughed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai was speechless.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Is that why you've been following us—?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That's a lot of reasons, and they also involve Alice."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"In other words, you've been manipulating us?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You didn't see it coming, did you? It's the ghost style. If I ‘want someone to come here’, I won’t be all childish and tell him ‘come here’. That’s my ultimate."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee stared sarcastically at the white chalk on the wall and spat at it.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ghost would ‘whisper’.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ideally, the subject would think ‘I thought of this idea by myself’. It’s great if I can get that person to think he decided and acted on his own."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That’s.."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In hindsight, who suggested the connection between Celica's crying and Scar's direction in the first place? Who was the one who took the scouting route at every turn? Who was to blame for not being able to catch up with Scar the day before Scar entered the tower?</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Truth be told, why did Scar come to the tower in the first place? Probably because someone whispered to her that she could go there and revert to being a Gravekeeper. Taking a step further back, why did Scar have the chance to be whispered to? Wasn’t it because Ai was trapped in the Gora Academy. Now, why is that?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee Ensy Stratmitos whispered. Whispered. Whispered.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"So, you did all of it…?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Nope. Ninety percent of it was you."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But that last ten percent extended like a spider's web, tangling around the whole thing.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"The truth is, I was going to keep quiet about it if it all worked out. It failed though, so I’m telling you now. Are you mad at me? That makes me a little happy."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…It doesn’t matter. Please stop..'</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hmm?"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Boom!</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The shovel was pointed at the Ghost.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"This is the place of people’s dreams. I won’t allow you to destroy it."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"… Hmm."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Please do not destroy this tower."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’m doing it."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Oi, Dee."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice looked at the duo, and voiced out,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’m asking you too…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"For what?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"At least wait till we get back Scar…please don’t, for my sake."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Why do I have to give leeway to the enemy?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The ghost did a quick somersault into the distance.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"'You know what? Don't get me wrong. I already decided on this. I’m just giving you advice. This is not negotiation.."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee looked at Ai rather worriedly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Once they arrive at the tower, they’ll destroy it."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Miss Dee!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Don't make that face."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee sneered. The corners of her mouth were lifted up. She grinned like a vengeful spirit, a grudge, a demon.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It’s pointless to plead or appeal to me now. Ai, I’m telling you that I’m destroying this tower no matter what happens. Give up on Scar and leave this tower."</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">I don't care if you die,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> so she uttered, showing worry for Ai this time.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’m fond of you guys."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Same here."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Woah. Yay. Great minds think alike."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was an innocent smile. Dee showed the same smile as when they celebrated Alice's birthday in the wilderness.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Miss Dee…please…don't do this…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I told you I can't."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Miss Dee!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Nope. I'm not listening."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee covered her ears in annoyance, put her feet on the stone steps, and sank down.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"See you in two days. I'll see you under the tower, I hope."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And with that.,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The ghost sank into the stone pavement.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There were still dozens of branches growing at the top of the world tree. There were no flowers at the end of them, for their dreams were unfulfilled, and they were still piling up stones.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was no anxiety in their eyes. The people at the forefront were those who were really driven by blind belief, and they believed that their wishes would come true if they kept piling stones.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—You still haven’t fulfilled your wishes?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the </span><b>brothers</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> said to his companions.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—What kind of arrogant thing did you wish for?</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—I wish for my little sister’s revival. So, what did you wish for?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They laughed at each other and answered each other's questions.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—The resurrection of all the Dead.</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—The fulfillment of an unfulfilled love.</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—For death to be gone.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">All of them were impossible wishes, like a childish tantrum.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—And you?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The question went to the last one.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was a boy who was stacking stones without rest even at this moment.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was the boy who started piling up stones to begin with.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"For me."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The brother answered.</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They could not be bothered anymore.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee had said she would act two days later, but the concept of time remained unreliable in the tower. Ai felt that it would not be strange for two days to become two seconds, or two years, for it was just a tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They kept climbing.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The air got thinner. And thus, their equipment felt heavier and heavier.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This time, the group wore these equipment obediently. Before they knew it, they realized that the most dangerous thing was to be made to wish. Oxygen tanks, air pressure suits, and fluffy innerwear, they all appeared at the most convenient moment, and each time, the white chalk guided them all ‘the thing is here!’ Convenient as it might be but when they saw that there was a full set of equipment for baby use ‘this air pressure suit can be worn by babies too!’ they were no longer dumbfounded by such words, and instead, were bemused.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They went up. Their legs were light. No, it was more than that. They had to be careful with every step, for fear that they would bounce.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Gravity was weak.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was daytime, but they could see stars outside. The stars glittered in the black night sky. It was the starry sky of autumn, the complete opposite of the current season.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai, however, was no longer moved by such things.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tower was a place of myths at this point.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—You still haven’t fulfilled your wishes?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And so, Ai started to hear the words of the gods.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Reality began to converge with the paranormal.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai ignored them and focused on moving her legs up the stairs before her.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—What kind of arrogant thing did you wish for?</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—I wish for my little sister’s revival. So, what did you wish for?</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—I want to die with everyone.</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—I want to be with him.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They laughed at each other, making jokes. They talked about their dreams, like children.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—And you?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The question went to the last one.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was a boy who was stacking stones without rest even at this moment.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was the boy who started piling up stones to begin with.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"For me."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The brother answered.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Me?"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Yeah, what did you wish for?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And then the words went out to the last one.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—What's wrong? Tell us what you wished for. You’re the one to put the first stone. What’s your wish?</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Yeah, let's hear it.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The gods were chanting.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The imagery of another place overlapped with Ai’s vision.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was a space with many towers lined together. Each tower had a boy sitting on them. Their towers formed a circle around the boy in the middle.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Let us hear it. Let us hear it.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">—We started after seeing you, you know.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yeah, I thought of giving up several times, but I got the courage to continue every time I saw that you didn’t give up.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tell us your dream. Your dream must be grand and laughable, right?</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite being surrounded by everyone, the boy remained unfazed and continued to pile stones. He swung his fingers that were dyed black all the way down to his fingernails, naturally grabbed a block of stone, and gently placed it at a higher place..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Then the boy replied.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm not wishing for anything."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The gods were silent. It was a silence that seemingly lasted for a thousand years.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—What did you say?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I just piled up a bunch of rocks, that's all."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He piled another one.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I didn't wish for anything, I didn't have a purpose. I just decided to pile up the stones until I disappear"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">—Chatter chatter.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The gods whispered amongst each other, and one of them asked, representing the others.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">—Why did you do that then?</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I had nothing else to do."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A stone, and another.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Then, you were just acting like a kid, ‘you piled stones because there are stones’?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That’s right."</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Are you saying that we put our dreams into your image and were encouraged by you?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Well…I'm sorry, I’m not really sure."</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—How did it happen?</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The surrounding chatter got increasingly louder.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—We didn’t think that the one who piled stones more earnestly than anyone else didn’t have any wish at all…</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Are you angry?"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—No.</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Nobody’s going to be angry about such a thing.</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Nobody of that little mettle would be at the front like this.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The chatter stopped.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—We just feel sorry for you.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Sorry?"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—That's right.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">One could hear sobbing. The crying struck the towers like a storm, and the tears flooded and coated them.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Our stones are finished. Ahh, look—</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The indigo cherry blossoms bloomed on the tower of the boy who said this, and flew out from their circle.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—It doesn't matter how impossible the task is. If you stay in this tower, it will come true one day—</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The jet-black hazel grass bloomed abruptly.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—But you have no dreams to begin with, and none to be fulfilled—</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Steel roses bloomed abruptly.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—Even this amazing tower can't make a wish come true if there’s no wish—</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Caramel tulips bloomed abruptly.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—So you will never stop to pile on stones—</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The poppies of flesh bloomed abruptly.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—But we’re too far away from the ground to give up—</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Twin Rafflesias bloomed abruptly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The extremely vibrant flowers of dream bloomed as if to celebrate the boy, and then left, leaving behind a single petal.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The petals wrapped the boy's tower, forming thousands and thousands of flurries. They rained down on the master of the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But there were no flowers in his tower.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—I thought we should pray together, but we can’t escape the dream that’s scorching our bodies—</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The flaming Casablancas bloomed abruptly.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—'You will be the only one after this'—</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The World tree bloomed abruptly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tree was adorned with thousands and thousands of flowers of dreams, and Its majesty towered over the sea of the human world.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the world tree lacked perfection. It stretched to its peak, but the oldest branch had no flower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But, again, it did not matter to the boy.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He just piles up the stones.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With his pitch black hands,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With a wishless heart,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">On top of a tower, with petals flying,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alone.</span> ===Part II=== <span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, each piece of stone lost its bond, and the tower began to break free from the yoke of gravity. Ai, Alice, and even Julie gave up and no longer complained as they stepped on the fluffy floating stairs.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Miss Scar!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai shouted. The air was too thin, and even though she had shouted with all her might, her voice was too feeble, it was terrifying.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Miss Scar!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They were about to reach their limit, the limit no human could break through even with the power of the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The walls loosened. Through the gap, the world begins to show itself.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Billions of tiny stars.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And one big green star.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The spiral staircase had gaps between each step, and while on it, Ai paused for a moment to take in the view. With her right foot up and her left foot down, she pushed up her goggles and looked at the world that appeared to be at night even though it was day.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Lightning flashed in the distance, and the aurora swayed in the polar caps.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And Ai saw it.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There were other towers around the tower, thousands and thousands of towers, stretching out like treetops.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There were lots of people there. People who climbed towers, people who built towers, people who lived in towers.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was that old man. He was giddly chatting with someone, an old woman close to his age.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was that young man. The young man was laughing while surrounded by an old couple and an unfamiliar girl.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was that girl who had fallen in love with the Gravekeeper.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a woman who wished for heaven.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a young man who wished for hell.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They all existed in the tower, one by one, fulfilling their wishes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai had the urge to cry when she saw this scene. She did not envy nor feel jealous, but she felt a little unbearable.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The air was loose. The oxygen was thin. Her vision was shockingly clear. All the sounds were distant, and instead, the sounds inside her body were loud. They had no idea if they were going up or down anymore, and their bodies naturally floated up. Every time they blinked, stars twinkle beneath their eyelids.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A shooting star passed by before their eyes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">No matter how clear the night sky was, it was impossible to see a meteor shower at zero distance.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">That was the limit.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The rainbow aurorae. A blanket of stars. Murderous ultraviolet rays flying around in a haphazard manner.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Anything beyond was not a world for the Living.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">At the very least, it was not a place for those who wanted to live on.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But one would suppose they all crossed over..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">All the people floating around them must have crossed this place.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Those who piled the stones,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And those who ran up the stone steps,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">—And the Gravekeepers who followed them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The surroundings of the tower showed the fate of those Gravekeepers.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This tower would grant people's wishes. </span><b>Only</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> people's wishes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Gravekeepers were not included in this.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There were satellites drifting around the tower. They were the corpses of the Gravekeepers, expressionless and emotionless as they crawled into the world of stars. They, too, had crossed the divide.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">For the sake of burying the Dead.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Without hesitation, they ventured into such a place where it was impossible to go on.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But that should be the case, the way a Gravekeeper should be. Even if Death was before them, that it was self-destructive, meaningless, that there were hundred, two hundred reasons not to go, they would continue on without concern. Such were the Gravekeepers.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai stopped. She could not continue any further..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">At that moment, she knew that she could not be a Gravekeeper.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And there was Scar, too.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Miss Scar."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Ai."</span> [[Image:Kamisama v04 Illustration 09.jpg|thumb]] <span style="font-weight: 400;">In response to Ai’s call, the face buried in Scar’s lap was slowly lifted up. Her messy bangs tumbled down and hit her cheeks.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar sat haggardly on the last step of the stone stairs. The thin air made her pant, but she was not fatigued because of it.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ai…is something the matter…?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She stood up, hobbling to her feet with her shovel acting as a cane.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"We’re here to pick you up."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…That will not be necessary."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar turned her back to Ai and faced the aurora. She looked up at the world of Death with bloodshot eyes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I am…a Gravekeeper. I am going with them…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Over there were all the dead Gravekeepers.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Scar!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie shouted.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Don’t! What about Celica?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar shivered and stared at Julie and Celica, who was at his chest.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Scar!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie went next to Ai. Scar pressed her chest, and said with a voice filled with love and hate,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"P-please do not do this. Do not bring that child close to me! When I am with her…! I feel unbearable…! It is scary!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Scar!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Please do not come!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar put his right foot on the top step. Her eyes looked towards the darkness there.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I am…a Gravekeeper! I am a…Gravekeeper, just like them!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">I have not malfunctioned! Yes!</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Scar shouted.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was not a smile on her face.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was merely anguish, madness, anxiety, hope.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Those were all human expressions.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You can't…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai said.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You can't do this anymore, Miss Scar…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…That is not true…look. I shall die for my mission now!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It’s impossible for you to do this anymore…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Your attempts…at persuasion…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’m not persuading . I'm just stating the facts."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Nonsense!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You </span><b>hesitated</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai said.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You only had one chance. You left us, climbed the tower with the other Gravekeepers, came to this place, and the moment you arrived here, you should not have hesitated. You would have moved forward without hesitation, but you couldn’t. You can’t think of yourself as a Gravekeeper anymore…no, that aside."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai lifted her gaze to stare into Scar's eyes and the beads of water between them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Gravekeepers don't cry."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar stared blankly at the water beads floating before her eyes, and blinked away. </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This has to be a mistake.</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> She wondered.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Each time she blinked, the tears turned into droplets that drifted through space.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ah…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar's face winced.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ah, is that, so? I, see…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Her hands grabbed her delicate chin. The fingernails grazed the old wound on the right eyebrow, and caused blood to .</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Blood and tears. The fluids of two colors floated in the air, blended together, and spun around nearby.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I, cannot, remain, my old self, no matter, what I, do now, I suppose…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…ten."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar's eyes were, strangely enough, clear.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But the skin and flesh surrounding the eyes were severely contorted, showing her mental state.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Henceforth…what am I supposed to do ?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ahhh.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was then that Ai knew she had this expression on her face back then.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Forty-seven Dead, a hill of graves, the end of winter, the taste of nosebleed in her throat after she got kicked away.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Back then, there was Hampnie Hambart's fiendish smile ‘what do you want to do for yourself’.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Perhaps that was the expression she had when she saw his smile.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was only one word to describe it. Lonely.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar was lonely, in pain, and bawling like a child.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Her expression resembled that of a newborn baby bird.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Ai."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The little bird asked.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"How can I live…in the future?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai was certain of one thing. Scar would probably accept whatever she said.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">If Ai told her to die, she would; if Ai told her to live, she would.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was the same as what Ai did back then.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai closed her eyes and recalled back to that time. She remembered what Hampnie Hambart did for her back when she was in that state.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Like hell I know, you idiot."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He said.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"—I don't know anything about that."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He rejected her. He did not say something awful like ‘you should carry that heavy burden yourself’, but said something worse instead..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You ask me about that, but what can I say?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar showed a look of betrayal.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Please decide on your own. Miss Scar, for yourself."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I do not have such a function!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That’s not true."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai said.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wasn’t it your choice to escape all the way here?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ah—"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You abandoned Miss Celica, decided on your own, and escaped all the way here, didn't you?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"!!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Her face winced in guilt.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"And over here, you have nowhere to escape….didn’t you arrive here because you decided and acted on your own?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai took a handkerchief out of her pocket and used it to wipe away Scar's tears and blood.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a brand new expression on the freshly wiped face.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Please think about what you want to do. If you wish to go back to being a Gravekeeper, please do what you have to do."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Can…I?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes, but of course, I think we'll complain ‘please don’t do anything too crazy’."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai combed Scar’s messy bangs and gently stroked the scar on her right eyebrow.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"But that’s not important now."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Please decide for yourself. "</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai said, and seemingly abandoned Scar as she turned her back on the latter.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar was still trying to cling to her back.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Scar!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But the moment she saw Julie’s foot step up, Scar let out a little whimper.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Celica was at his chest.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Celi…ca…!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar's face contorted. She wanted to reach out to her beloved daughter, but she could not. The hand remained there.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She stayed. She did not run away.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Scar!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie hugged Scar together with Celica. Scar froze up, and stared with trepidation at the baby that was forced towards her.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But her hands betrayed her,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She hugged her daughter.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Celica! Celica! Celica! I am sorry! I am so sorry!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The baby returned to her mother again, basking in the torrent of tears.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Scar!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie shouted again. Scar heard his call for the first time, and this time, turned to look at the platform her daughter was riding on.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ah, Julie…when did you?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That's why I can’t stand these Gravekeepers…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The big man shook his head.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Argh! You know, Scar, Ai said that, but I don’t think that’s the case! Taking responsibility for one's own actions? That’s just talk! It's impossible and meaningless for ordinary people!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wait!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Look at her! She can’t do it either!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai was speechless.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"A person’s happiness has absolutely nothing to do with self-freedom!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">So!</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Julie stared ferociously at Scar, who was in his arms.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Shut up and follow me!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"—"</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Ai and Alice were speechless.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar too widened her eyes and looked up at the big man. "Julie?" She whispered. Perhaps she had expected a different answer.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie was gasping for air as a reaction to his vigorous shouting, and Scar was dumbfounded the whole time.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Taking advantage of the pause, Ai and Alice looked at each other.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"……A love confession…?"</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"…How’s it not?"</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It may look like it, but it's not!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I don’t understand adult relationships…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Not at all…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That's not what I'm talking about!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ju-Julie? Erm—"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar finally snapped out of her confusion and tried to say something.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Not listening!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Kyaah!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie said, carrying Scar in his arms.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wa-wait a minute, what are you doing, Mr Julie!? Miss Scar has the right to choose!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Like hell I care about that!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The middle-aged prince charming confidently announced.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Can free will feed you? I don’t care about such things! I'll do my best to make you happy regardless of that! Prepare yourselves! That's what I call the existence of free will!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ugh!? I can't argue with that!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gahahahaha, </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">the man in his thirties guffawed, his laughter spreading through the thin air. Celica were the only ones directly shaken by his vibrating chest.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Come on! Let's go home!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie shouted.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar watched her eyes at that fact. She was in no mood to think, and had no time to do so. Julie however wanted her to answer, "Hm" and brought his face closer.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar opened her mouth, unsure as to what answer she had derived.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The answer was—</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Yes."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She affirmed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Alright! Let's go!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie smiled when he heard the answer, and took a step down with Scar in his arms.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar was a little surprised. She did not expect herself to give such an answer.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(Well, this is fine.)</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scar hugged Celica tightly, while Julie hugged her. She curled up, surrounded by people on the inside and outside.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It did not feel bad at all.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She felt that she could survive today, at the very least.</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Starting from that moment, the destruction of the tower began.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wh-what the!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tower shook. The impact of the explosion traveled through space and up to the sky.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was two days later.</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Well, it’s exactly two days now."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee Ensy Stratmitos, drifting through the mist, raised her chest and gave an undaunted smile.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…This tower sure is unpleasant no matter how many times I look at it."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Before her eyes was the World Tower piercing the sky</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Now then, everyone, cheer after me? Ohhh~"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She turned around and punched her right fist lightly..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Oh…oh…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Come on, come on, a little louder please. ‘Ooohh’!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ohhh…oh…ohhhh …"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a crowd trudging sluggishly out of the mist.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was nothing in common for them. Amongst them were Dead, Living, deformed, ordinary, beautiful, grotesque, independent, and ‘selfish’.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"But are you sure, Ghost? Aren’t there some people inside? Like the ones you’re worried about…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A man with scars and bandages on his hands asked.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes, they’re in there."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That's troublesome…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A maiden in a bright red dress said.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You want to save them?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Of course…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A young man in a tuxedo and a 10-gallon hat said.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You guys too?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee asked all the members. Most of them nodded.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm impressed. </span><b>You people who really want to save the world</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee giggled.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Well, why don't some of you go save them?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He shook his head.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"A small sacrifice is to be expected before a great salvation."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hmm? What about you?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"They went in on their own, didn't they? That’s their responsibility."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What about you?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The others too accepted this argument, but for different reasons.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Teehee," Dee sneered. "Teehee."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Okay. So, please. That's where evil is, heroes of justice."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ghost rose, and drifted to the side of the 'selfish' Dead.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She whispered.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Now, guys, take it down."</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ahhhh…ahhhhhhhhhh!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She whispered in the ear of a rotten and ‘selfish’ Dead, almost kissing his rotten ear as she spoke up close..</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Whispers of Evil.’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She would whisper words directly to the Dead who no longer remembered the words of others. Their rotten brain would accept all the words of the ghost without the ability to discern.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ahhhhhh!"</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A hundred rotting Dead charged towards the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Are the lot of them useful?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The man with bandages on his knuckles asked.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"They’re broken, so let them be broken. The world will be a cleaner place."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…I see…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Enough of this…Broken Fist?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Got it."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The bandaged man began to run past the slow trudging Dead, swung his fist at them the moment they instinctively leapt at him, and hurried to the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Crumble—!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He swung his right hand greatly as though he was lifting something heavy and as he ran forward</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Down!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kwaaaannn!</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> There was a sound akin to a battering ram rocking through the mist. The giant tower trembled at the blow from the puny human.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Dust Believer."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Then I'll go too."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The bright red dress caught fire. Her hair burned, and so did her skin. She was burning. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and then into ashes, showing white bones.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Kerakerakerakerakerakerakerakera!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The white bones broke apart and burst into flames. The skull cackled in the flames. The bones of the flames soared up in a red lotus, drying up the mist that guarded the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"BBB."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"This is for you. That is for you. And this is for you."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes." "Yes." "Yes."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The man in tuxedo handed the children tins of chocolates. The children hug them happily.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Now then, goodbye."</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Bye bye!"</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The children ran towards the tower while holding the chocolate tins. They ran through the entrance, picked their favorite spots, and opened the chocolates..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Explosions.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ignition..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The man watched it happen, shed three tears from his right eye, and took a deep drag on his cigarette.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. That’s for three people. Next. Next. Next goodbye."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The children stepped forward. There were still more of them. Worry not, for there was enough chocolate tins for every one of them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Purple Soul Jars."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Kuararara!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Kuwaba!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Rarakuara!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Bakuwa!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">An army carried a flag of coffins atop a tree, and yelled out loud. They were the Dead soldiers who were starting to enter the selfish phase. The only Living among them, a girl in an obviously ill-fitting military uniform with the Major's emblem, shouted.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Rairararararara!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Rairararararara!"</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The old corpses charged into the tower with brand new weapons. The military maneuver was so well drilled, it was unlike anything the rotten heads could do..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Fists, flames, and explosions drilled into the tower and made several large holes in its walls. The tower spewed out its contents from there like a spray of blood. Food, treasure, water, trees, all kinds of treasures spilled out and were consumed by the violence.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Good, good. That's the allies of justice. That's what I'm talking about."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee was alone, drifting through the mist with a smirk on her face, only to show a worried look.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I hope everyone can come down here soon…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was a worried look, unbefitting of the person who had created the disaster.</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The stones trembled. The already loose connectors became looser, and the large stones began to spin in the air.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wh-what the!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie, holding Scar, shouted.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai knew at that moment that it was two days later.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It's Dee, isn't it?"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">That's right,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Ai nodded.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Impossible! Didn’t she say it’s two days later?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Then it's been two days, isn’t it?"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Right? </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice nodded.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What the hell is that? How’s that possible!? Logically, it hasn’t been a day!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Adults sure are thick-headed. Just accept it, old man."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I wouldn’t be suffering this much if I could do that, you idiots! Don't underestimate us thirty year olds!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai jumped and drifted in the air to escape the tremors , "Not bad" and Alice immediately replied, imitating her. Julie looked at them with even more dismay.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Our children sure have such soft brains…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Well..."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai mimicked a certain someone and repeated, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Well, well, well.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Well, time to put our bets."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Right."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The two of them exchanged looks.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Then I'll stay here by myself. Mr. Alice will bring you all down."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'll stay here alone. Bring everyone else down."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Sparks flew.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You were thinking about that after all! Please stop messing around!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You’re the one messing around! What other choice next? Do you know what’s going to happen after that?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wait, wait, wait, you two."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie frowned, looking like he had a headache. Celica patted away at his eyebrows.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What are you talking about? Why are we talking about one of us staying? We're just leaving, right?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No, not yet."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Nope, not yet. ""</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They both look to the heavens above.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They could still see a hallucination of the boy there, still piling stones.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"We can't leave without him."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yeah."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Our kids sure have guts…I got my hands full."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Julie sighed, holding the weights in his hands tightly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Speaking of which, how are you going to get there?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Like this."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice fumbled his hand into the back of the rumbling stone steps.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ahh, there it is. Just as I imagined."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He pulled out a pressure-resistant suit with a gas cylinder that covered his entire body like a diving suit.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this place."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I-I can do that too!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai too put her hand in the same shade "Huh? Huh?" But she could not find what she wanted, and shouted "Why!?" It was then that she noticed the lack of chalk. The graffiti that always appeared coincidentally had vanished.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"W-why!? It's not fair, Mr. Alice! How did you do that!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You can't do it. Just let me handle it."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"B-but!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Enough already."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…You may die."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’ll just die, right?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice said as a matter of fact.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…That’s!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Just joking, just joking. I don’t intend to die at such a place."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…But."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I promise you that I </span><b>definitely </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">won’t die."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…If you dare lie, I’ll make you swallow…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Sure."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"A whole…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Eh!?...Are you talking about a fish!? …No, whatever, it’s all the same…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice gave a wry smile and picked up the pressure-resistant helmet.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wait for me to come back. I got a favor to ask too."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"A favor?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yeah, I need your help with something."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai smiled. It was no exaggeration to say that was her life's work.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Well, I don’t have a choice then. I’ll accept it."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Thanks."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Then Alice smiled and said,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"See ya!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He said, and was about to cross the divide.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Then,</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘You guys don't have to go.’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A somewhat familiar sounding voice rang.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Neither Ai, Alice, Julie nor Celica had heard of this voice, yet it seemed so </span><b>familiar </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">for some reason.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai looked at the wall where the voice came from. There, she saw white chalk writing there, ‘You guys don't have to go’.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The group was stunned as they stared at the white chalk that had suddenly appeared. The white chalk gradually increased its presence before everyone's eyes, and eventually, the white hands, shoulders, waist, legs, and finally the dreamy face of an unrealistically beautiful Dead appeared.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Dead girl beamed and tucked the white chalk in her hand into her pajamas pocket.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">‘You guys don't have to go.’</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a strange qualia in her voice, and Ai felt a strange familiarity in it.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Alrighty.’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The girl moved as immaturely as her age, passed both Ai and Alice, and easily crossed the divide.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Someone.’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The girl grinned.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Someone has to tell him, you know. Like, ‘that’s enough already’.’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You..."</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘But that's not what you're supposed to do.’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai did not know what the existence of this girl was.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And neither did Alice, nor Julie, nor Scar, nor Celica.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘That’s my role.’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They only knew that she was in the midst of a very important destiny.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Thank you. Thank you for coming to this tower, and climbing up it without a wish. Thanks to you, I've finally found my way up here.’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And with that, the girl bowed her head.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Thank you—but that’s enough.’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She lifted her face, showing a smile.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Please wait!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai wanted to save that smile.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wait! Listen to me..."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She wanted to help the girl.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘It's okay.’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The girl refused.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Because these people really aren’t related to you people…’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai stopped at those words. She had to.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She really wanted to help the girl,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She wanted to lend the girl a helping hand,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And yet, the girl said </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘it’s okay’</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She said it was fine.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘See you!’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And she left.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Bye Bye!’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With the same smile on her face, she walked up the stairs.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai just stood there dumbfounded, acting as an outsider as she saw the girl leave. The girl bounced up the floating stone steps one by one.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She had gone to a place where Ai could not go.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And then, eventually, she could not be seen.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Big brother! That's enough!’</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With those words, the tower stopped.</span> ===Part III=== <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gogogogogo,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the tower was about to collapse. The tremors were so violent, and the walls started to collapse, the ceilings were starting to be caught by the weak gravity, and collapsed one after another.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wawawawawawawah!!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hurry hurry hurry hurry~hurry[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] ([[User talk:Teh Ping|talk]])!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The group hastily dashed down the stairs. Ai and Alice jumped down the stairs two steps at a time, while Julie jumped down in three steps. Scar hugged Celica tightly in her arms, while Julie held Scar tightly so that she would not fall.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I-I-It’s impossible! We’ll never make it!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You idiot! Don't say it's impossible! If you think you can, you can! If you think you can't, you can't!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"T-that's right!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yeah! You get it? Keep it to heart once you understand! Keep repeating it!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes!…If you think you can't, you can't. If you think you can't, you can't. If you think you can't, you can't. If you think you can't…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Don't repeat that part[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] ([[User talk:Teh Ping|talk]])!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tower seemed to be collapsing faster than before.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It-it’s really impossible!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai burst into tears. The stairs were no longer in the shape of stairs, and they did not feel like stone steps at all.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Tch! No choice here…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice came to an abrupt stop on the place which appeared to be either falling or landed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"D-Do you have a plan?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yeah. It's a last resort. Old man! Take care of that!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is he going to do?</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The moment Ai stopped in her tracks.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice gently carried Ai.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Alright!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Huh?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He approached the window.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai had a bad feeling about this.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY!!!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Oh?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee puts her hands over her eyelids and stares at the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Looks like a critical hit. Is it gone?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The tower, which had simply withstood the attacks of her friends with its own mass, began to collapse. The overly huge chiseled stone blocks appeared to be falling really slowly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Did Ai and the others make it in time…"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Haa…</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee let out a sigh. She looked up at the tower, thinking of offering a silent prayer.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hmm?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And at the far end of her sight, she saw something.</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Woaaaarrrggghhh!!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’re falling! We’re falling!</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wind! Cold! Rocks! Windows! Rocks! Scary! Scary Scary Scary!</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">There's nothing under my feet! There's nowhere to put my hands! Nothing but thin air to hold me up, and I don't feel like doing much about that!</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The wreckage of the tower fell in a very helpful manner. There was rubble, tables, tea sets, a bunch of colorful magazines, a private car with its parking lights flashing, a house they would like for themselves in the future…and there were three neighboring houses falling opposite!</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They were definitely falling really fast, but the ground in the distance did not seem to be getting any closer.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There were beautiful stars shining green before them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wow, so pretty."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai beamed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"This is no time to be escaping reality!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Of course I’d want to escape reality now!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She twisted her body dexterously, and escaped from Alice's armpit.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You idiot, Mr. Alice! You’re the worst! You don’t think at all! You stupid! How can we possibly survive from such a high place!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Woargh, it hurts! Stop it, you idiot!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai quickly learned how to glide. She spread her limbs wide and adjusted her angles accordingly to control her descent, and then began to tangle with Alice in the air.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Idiot! Idiot idiot idiot! Mr. Alice's an idiot!</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hey! Idiot! Listen to me! Come here!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Don’t wanna!…I'm at least going to crash in peace where this idiot doesn't exist…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Enough already! Just get over here!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice waved over in a breaststroke, and ignored Ai's flailing as he took her hands.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They held hands and spun in a circle as they fell. Ai was relentless as her face remained blank as ice.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I~diot i~diot, Mr Alice you i~idiot. Fool, Dumbo, you mother anteater"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA………you're really the worst."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…So that’s how you are when you’re so stressed out?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai looked at the stars below her.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…The only thing better is the view."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Sure is one hell of a final view."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A karate Chop.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Well, it's a good last view, isn't it…?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was windy, and they were talking with their faces upside down.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…I’ll probably die, right?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai chuckled weakly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’ll, probably, die~♪"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice, who heard the "I’ll, probably, die~ song’, asked,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What will you do after you die?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……That’s a weird question."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No, no, isn’t it a normal question nowadays? It’s almost no different from ‘what are your future plans’."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai looked at the ground that was still far away though inevitable, and said what was on her mind,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Well, I don’t know what’ll happen to me…?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Oh? That’s surprising. Someone like you didn’t think of this before? "</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Because…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai looked at the distant ground in the distance. It felt so surreal.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm half Gravekeeper, half human."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"So?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Do you think there's any afterlife for me?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"—Ah."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice looked away awkwardly once the possibility occurred to him.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was no ‘afterlife’ for the Gravekeepers. Once broken, they would never wake up again. They would just return to the earth.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I used to think, ‘That's better’. I thought it’d be better to return to the earth without struggling to live."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"But now…I have a dream."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Surprisingly, she was actually not scared at all.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I don't want…to die."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It however did not mean that she wanted to live that badly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She just did not want to die at this moment.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai inhaled a breath of air high up in the air.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She shouted.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…I really wish to live a little longer…."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But they were at an altitude of 1,000 meters, where the temperature was eight degrees Celsius, the wind was blowing from the east at a speed of 20 meters per second.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was no way she could survive.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…All the more reason to think of what you want to do after death."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Haa, there’s not much time for that…it’s coming."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Nope."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Then Alice chuckled.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Not necessarily!"</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span></p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ohhhh[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] ([[User talk:Teh Ping|talk]])!?! Ohhhhh[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] ([[User talk:Teh Ping|talk]]) 15:08, 21 December 2021 (CET)!!!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What's the matter, Ghost?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hey hey! Look at that!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee spun around and pointed in the air, and everyone around her looked up into the sky.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What is it?" ""A bird?" "A plane?" "No, I don't hear any propellers."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee pointed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It’s Alice and Ai!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">First, Alice found a torn rope in the junk floating around him—something that was part of the tower’s structure, and tied himself tightly to Ai (Ai resisted, of course). He dug his hands into the junk again, and pulled out the item he wanted with great ease.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes! This is it! This is what I wanted! "</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What's with the ragged cloth…?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Don’t call it ragged! It’s more valuable than any silk right now! It's an angel's wing!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With that, Alice put the bag on his back and immediately pulled on the cord that extended from his side.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It’s a parachute!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee shouted, jumping up and down and waving her hands. The wings of yellow cloth fell softly through the mist, and she could see Alice and Ai beneath. Not too far behind them was another blue parachute, where Julie, Scar, and Celica were attached to it like a monkey carrying its family.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Oi~! Ai~! Alice~! It's me!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee waved her hand, then realized that she should just fly over, and tried to go.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But before that.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Gyaah!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Rakra! Kura Kura!!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Kuwaa!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The wreckage of the tower rained down on the comrades in the area.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hey, Ghost! Where are you! Find shelter...for us..."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ahhh, that’s so troublesome! Figure it out for yourself!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She said as she circled the tower, and it so happened that there were no fallen rocks near where Ai and the others were planning to land.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Okay. Just right. Everyone, let's go!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">+</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice stumbled at the last moment.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai, unable to move, sneered,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You're horrible! And I had a different opinion of you just now! Correction! You're the worst!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Like, what can I do? I've only used a parachute once before!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Woahhh~~! Another thing I don’t want to hear! You risked our lives for that!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It's fine, right!? I saved you anyway! What the hell! You should be a little more grateful!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Thank you very much!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You're welcome!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">While the two of them bickered away, Julie landed on the ground without any trouble. He ran gently across the ground to kill the inertia, cut the rope before the sail got tangled, and stood on the ground.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Are you okay?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Y-Yes."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And then he lowered Scar, who was in a princess carry.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Huh? Why’s Mr. Julie being so cool…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Enough already, just stay where you are! Ahh goodness! It’s all tangled together!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The two of them continued to bicker and argue until Julie cut their ropes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">When Ai was finally released, she badmouthed Alice and stood up, looking around.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dust was flying in the air.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a smell of gunpowder.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And the world was spilling out of the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Every possible item that made up the tower was being thrown out like a cracker. Stone, bricks, water, food, creatures, buildings, furniture, guns, and corpses.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">One could see the ruffians who had caused this phenomenon In the distance, crying out as they were pelted by the rubble. On the other hand, no debris was falling upon them. It was no wonder, for they were of different status. The tower would never hurt those involved with it.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But that was only the beginning.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The mist was about to clear.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Oiii~! Aii[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] ([[User talk:Teh Ping|talk]])! Alice[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] ([[User talk:Teh Ping|talk]]) 15:08, 21 December 2021 (CET)!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The hordes of ruffians charged towards them, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">pew, </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">and Dee, leading the way, was the first to drift over, circling them happily.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I was so worried! You guys didn't come out for a long time. I thought you were doomed, but—"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Please don't come near."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The angry glare was fixed on the ghost. Dee stopped four meters away.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Oh my…Ai, are you still mad at me?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Of course I am!</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm sorry…but what else can I do? My priorities are different. My first priority is to ‘end the world’. And you're my ‘enemy’."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee smiled, and simply surmized.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The result left Ai speechless.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You're useful enemies, but your importance can’t be compared to my dreams."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee laughed, whistled, and looked up at the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"….Phew. I guess we managed to save the world today."</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">I've done my job,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that was the face shown.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee was immediately hit by debris. But this ghost remained unconcerned, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">tch, </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">and clicked her tongue.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She looked at the debris of the tower with hatred in her eyes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The once magnificent murals were reduced to garbage. All the gourmet food were soaked in mud. Beams that were perfectly balanced were in flames. Revolutionary design structures fell apart.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And there were corpses.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was raining corpses.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Living corpses, the Dead corpses, the Gravekeeper corpses.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">All of them fall to the earth.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee let the entire tower shine through her body, and mocked it with an icy expression.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…What World Tower? What miracle? Aren’t you like this inside after your belly got cut up? It’s all just filthy rotten guts, a pile of wreckage. a pile of garbage, a waste of time, a waste of bones."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee Ensy Stratmitos sneered.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Suck it up. There is no heaven."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"—!"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Pak!</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> A slap echoed in the wilderness.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Everyone heard such an auditory hallucination.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In reality, it was just a small hand flailing through a white porcelain cheek.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I dare you to say that again."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Her green eyes blazed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Tell me where those people have gone. Tell me! Tell me what this tower is! Tell me!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"They're not going anywhere."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee said.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"And this is just a bunch of junk."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She stared into the eyes of the ghost, hoping for a single trace of lie within them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But she could not find any.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"This place was heaven…a heaven they created, a heaven they built with their own hands…can't you just believe in that…?""</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"If that's what you want to believe, sure. Don’t force it on me."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee said with a disgusted look and floated about fifty meters away. Her comrades too had caught up with her.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Miss Dee!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’m not listening."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alone in this hell, Dee drifted, unaffected.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Now then, what shall I do next? How about a fight? It does seem to be trending this way."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Miss Dee…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Say, Ai, you know what I mean…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee Ensy Stratmitos sneered.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm such an existence, you know? I can't help it. I'm your enemy. …"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee laughed with sadness, contempt, and a little bit of pity.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Just give up on me…"</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Maybe,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Ai thought. Even if it might seem ridiculous, she wondered if Dee put so much effort planning this for this moment.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Perhaps Dee had planned all of this just to break Ai’s heart.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">If that was the case, all the more she could not succumb.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Miss Dee…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Begging for your life? Okay, I'm listening."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No, that’s not it. I’m just declaring something.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"?" Dee prompted with a glance.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Miss Dee, I will still save you."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai carried the shovel and took a bow with her hand on her chest.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No matter how much you hate the world, no matter how much you try to destroy me, no matter how much you try to be my enemy. I will stand by you."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee froze on the spot.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I refuse…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She shuddered.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Don't be silly. What do you mean 'save'? It's none of your business. …"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I know."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Huh, like hell you do!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ghost approached. She smiled and leaned towards Ai like an intimate friend.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ahh, deary me, you’re so cute, Ai. So cute it’s infuriating. You’re smart, straightforward, and you’ll climb up even after falling. How cute. But it’s so infuriating."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ghost's face winced in agitation.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ahh, I've decided now. Let's fight after all. Let's kill each other. No, our side here is already dead, so I don’t think it’s a fight till death? Should this be called Dead killing Living? Revenge? Vengeance? I don't know. Anyway, it’s just to maintain balance."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ghost's hand caressed her cheek.my cheek. There was neither feeling nor warmth.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'll kill you, Ai-Astin. I’ll gouge out your heart and cut off your head. Then I'll listen to you again. Do you still want to save the world after all that? </span><b>I'll ask the head </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">after I cut it off."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…I’ll refuse that."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Aha, you're not sure? If you're not sure, then your dream is a fake."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In fact, Ai was not worried about whether she could harbor such dreams, but whether she could move after she died.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee softly floated back about fifteen meters. Just then, the deformed caught up with her.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Everyone, that’s the enemy."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Enemy? Enemy, you say? Where’s the enemy? Is that the enemy?</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The ghost whispered, telling them the way to save the world was to defeat that enemy.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Do it."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Uooooooooooahhhhh!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! Gyagyagyagya!!!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bullets flew, blades, flames, explosions, attacks loomed like a maelstrom.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai braced herself, grabbed her shovel as she readied herself to intercept. She shouted and stomped her foot.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But before then, someone jumped before her.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang! And thus echoed the sound of an explosion akin to firecrackers.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">All the bullets lost their power and fell to the earth.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Alice?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee asked incredulously.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What are you doing?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"What am I doing, you ask? When you're shot at, you fight back."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"They’re not even aiming at you. Don’t get in the way"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"No can do."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He ejected the casing. He reloaded.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I’ve decided on this one."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">When Dee heard those words, she froze.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You’re lying …"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It's true. So I guess you'll have to let me off the hook here."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I don't believe you …."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee whispered.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">" I don't believe it! Do it, everyone!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The murderous will loomed ago, and Alice met it with his will to live. With that will to save, he shot down the murderous will.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Equal numbers of bullets were fired from both camps. They collided at the center point and formed a mountain. The flaming skeleton tried a sneak attack, but was shot precisely at its sacrum and was blasted away. The tendons of the groaning Dead were severed and they fell to the ground. The bloodied fists collided with the bullets, and were immobilized.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But the stalemate lasted only a moment.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He ran out of ammo.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice finished reloading almost instantaneously and began firing again, but this one moment of delay was enough to cause the colliding bullets to loom towards him. It was miniscule, but certainly starting to tilt.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The second time.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The third time, and each time he reloaded, the killzone loomed towards the two of them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That’s too little bullets! Pomson! Are you saving ammo!? Focus on them!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition, Dee knew Alice's abilities well, and gave appropriate instructions.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Alice's ability can't hold them off for long! her mass! Use your anti-material weapons!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Woah. That’s bad."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Boom! A cannon-like gunshot sounded, and a bullet was fired like a cannonball.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice aligned the firing lines of his right and left hands, redirecting the trajectory of the shell just a little bit.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But even that was too late.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai tackled him in the side.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mr Alice!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Shocking, even though he was out of position, Alice was still firing. He took advantage of the gap created by the blow to push the killzone further away..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">However,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Okay~ everyone, don’t panic. Just focus on what's in front of you. They’re almost out of ammo. Ten, nine…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dee was not talking about the gun, but the total ammunition Alice had. He was able to run out of bullets.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Five, four…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Probably! Not! Though!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hmmm, some tough talk from you…. Two, one…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The count reached zero.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The hammer of the revolver In Alice's hand hit a blank. The slide of the automatic gun slid and di not retract..</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was a pile of empty shell casings at their feet, and a group of warriors licking their tongues out of the corner of their eyes. The Ghost saw that their demise was near, and showed a tragic face. Scar hugged Celica to protect her, while Julie protected Scar.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The surroundings contained a mixture of the remaining mist and dust. There was tower debris that fell slowly, along with debris of dreams, and Vinyl sheets flying like a kite.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice's hands released his beloved guns. The overheated guns fell onto the casing as though they were dead.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Kill them."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Woooooooohhhh!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And then, his hand plunged into the wreckage of the tower that was still raining down around him. There was a mug full of fluid, a blizzard of thousand bandages. He weaved his hands through the scattered junk.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The warriors fired in unison.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The bullets were closing in. There was no place to escape, the barrage was like a wall.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was no place to escape.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Alrrriiiigggghhhhtttt!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">At the same time, his hands burst into flames, knocking all the bullets out of the air.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In his right hand was an assault rifle with thirty-two rounds of ammunition.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And in his left hand was a submachine gun with sixty-four rounds of ammunition.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Huh?"</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Everyone present was stunned.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There was no way Alice was going to miss that opportunity. He finally broke through the wall of bullets and shot down the firearms of the enemies.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wh-What the hell is that? I've never heard of Alice having such an ability!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Of course! I just! So happened! To pick them! Up!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Once the guns ran out of bullets, Alice immediately discarded them, swung his hands in the air again, and guns fell into his grasp again.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Th-that’s a foul! That's cheating! It's just a coincidence! There's no such thing as coincidence!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"There is! That's what this place is for!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The panicking Dead resumed shooting, and fired double the bullets they did.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You guys~! I knew you guys were saving your bullets! You should have done so from the beginning15:08, 21 December 2021 (CET)!!!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice did not bother to grab the gun anymore. He merely reached his hands into the storm of guns raining down of him, and stroked the trigger. The bullets fired in such a way all reach their intended targets however.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Buzzer Beater’ and "The Tower".</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Their powers were truly on display</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A pile of guns began to build up at his feet. The empty machine guns fell to the ground, and the automatic ones unable to escape the recoil were jammed and flew away after just one shot.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice gritted his teeth and let his arms flail like two snakes. His muscles stretched and contracted incessantly, heating up and causing steam to rise from his back.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He fired.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He kept firing.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And after a while.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The gunfire ceased.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wh- Why are you stopping? You're one step away!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ghost whispered hurriedly to her comrades.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It’s impossible."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It's not impossible. Look!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">At where she pointed, Alice was completely battered. The fingernails of his hands were completely cracked, and his fingertips were peeling and dripping blood. His eyes were hollow, and he had probably passed out.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But he just would not let go of the guns.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It’s impossible. Ghost."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Dead packed up their gear. The Purple Soldiers started their roll call. The fists were sheathed in the bandages again, the flames were extinguished and the bones were covered in clothes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"That's a war god."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"So what!?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Actually, we really wanted to seize this chance to slaughter such a guy, but,"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the Dead raised and showed his gun.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was out of ammo.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I didn't think </span><b>we’d be the ones out of ammo</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You still do! There’s more there!!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s the minimum for dealing with Gravekeepers. I can pay you the toll down the river Styx, but not these bullets."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">At that moment, the sky turned white.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Silent thunder struck the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Many, many strikes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hiii, the Gravekeepers!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Damn it. What the hell is this place? Is this reality?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Dear Ghost! I'm sorry, but we're going to have to leave you here! Kuraba!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ah! Hey, come on! You guys!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Dead began to escape. Dee looked at both sides, twice,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ah goodness!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Eventually, she left the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She did not bother to insult.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Lightning struck the tower. Many Gravekeepers emerge from the pile of rubble and begin to bury the corpses scattered around as naturally as attending someone’s deathbed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But Ai did not bother to look at them.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mr. Alice, Mr. Alice!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She kept yelling the entire time, but Alice continued to grab the guns and did not let go. Ai tried to wrestle them away from him, but they were stuck to him, as though they were ingrained as part of him.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mr Alice! "</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…………Ah?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, there was a reply. A weak fire lit up in his hazy eyes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It's over! You can let go now!"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…Heh? What………wait, ahhhoh …?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice looked around, looking completely dehydrated, and seemingly realized his predicament as he immediately let go of the guns in his hands.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And then he collapsed.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Mr Ali—"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm exhausted———————"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">He pointed his bloody hands to the sky "I'm dying—" and yelled.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"……I want to drink beer……"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"You can't do that. You're underage."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Just kidding. I don't want to drink it. It's too bitter."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice seemed to be really agitated, laughing and making jokes that were not funny at all.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai sat down next to him, relieved.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">She was really worried that Alice had died.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Where's Dee?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"She ran away with her tail between her legs."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hahaha, serves her right—what about old man and the others?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"They went to find the car."</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Buh buh!</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> I a horn could be heard in the distance. They looked over and saw that the blue car was running with all its parts intact.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Wow! Amazing! How did you find us?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Oh, you're good, old man. You're surprisingly soft-headed. "</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"? What does a soft head or a hard head have to do with finding a car?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"It does now."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Then Alice thrust his hand into the air and grabbed a leaf that had fallen into the air, bringing it to his mouth.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The sound of a grass flute echoed in the area.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It was a somehow sad song.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai stared at the tower as she listened to it.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There, the tower was collapsing. The thunder of the Gravekeeper danced wildly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And it was about to end.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And then,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Ah."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…— ♪.."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Petals.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Thousands and thousands of various of petals began to fly out of nowhere.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Indigo cherry blossoms, jet-black hazel, steel roses, caramel tulips, flesh poppies, twin Rafflesias.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They were all blooming and falling.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"So pretty…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yeah…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">All kinds of flowers were in bloom.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But Ai was a little dissatisfied.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"…There’s no mountain lilies…"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Do you like them?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yes."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I see—no water lilies either."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Do you like them?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yeah."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Besides those flowers mentioned, there were all kinds of other petals dancing together.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">And at the end of it all, softly.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A twin-cornered cherry blossom flower gently fell.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The two of them were lying on top of those petals.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They looked at the tower.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It had almost collapsed, and lost its power.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"When we were on the tower…."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice pointed at the tower with his fingertip that was stained reddish-black with blood.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"I said that when we get down here, there’s something I want you to help with, right?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice said, blowing his bloody grass flute.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Do you remember?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai just nodded her head.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">I see,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Alice confirmed, but did not say further, and remained silent for a while.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai sat down and waited without prompting.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Say, Ai—can you help us?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice said.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Us?"</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Yeah."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alice said. There was an ashamed look on his face.</span> [[Image:Kamisama v04 Illustration 10.jpg|thumb]] <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">"Please save our class 3-4."</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Saying that, Alice Color smiled bitterly.</span> <noinclude> {| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;" |- | Back to [[Kami-sama_no_Inai_Nichiyoubi:Volume4_Chapter3|Chapter 3]] | Return to [[Kami-sama_no_Inai_Nichiyoubi|Main Page]] | Forward to [[Kami-sama_no_Inai_Nichiyoubi:Volume4_Afterword|Afterword]] |- |} </noinclude>
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