Editing Godhorn Tech:Volume1 Chapter3 (section)

===Chapter 3 Part 3===

The central hall, currently an audience chamber, was falling apart.

The din outside was fading away and a painful silence was sneaking in.

Or so it seemed.

“The Icicle Bullet is coming,” said Eliza Silverstorm, ignoring the biting chill entering through the large crack torn in the outer wall as if by a diagonal slash of a claw. “It left its border patrol to come here, to the center of our kingdom.”

“Y-you must be joking!” Celina Bodenburg could not believe what she was hearing. “That ice weapon derailed my Schwarz Schütze just by crashing into it from the side! Do you have any idea what happens if that breaks through the outer wall and plows through the closely-packed homes and shops of the castle town!?”

“Wait, wait, hey, wait!! Can’t you attack that sexy knight to get her to stop?”

The radio’s suggestion was rejected by Alicia Blueforest.

“Those White Seidr knights said the decision comes from a majority vote and we simply don’t have enough time to deal with all of them!”

“This kingdom is done for if the Icicle Bullet makes it here,” shouted Helen Clockgear in alarm. “The castle walls, the castle town, and the castle itself will all be swept away, along with every rioter in between!”

Miyabi thought quietly about the issue.

“…”

“Koo,” sadly cried red Alma with a hand(?) on its mouth.

Eliza bit her lip, but she did not hesitate.

That knight had lost her order, her companions, and her lance, but she was unbroken as she lowered her head here. Lowered it toward a simple boy with no official title of his own.

“Please.”

Receiving support took courage too. Plus, she did not have the power to stop him if he did betray her here. But she took this step regardless, using her great willpower.

“Stop the Icicle Bullet. Please use your power to protect the Arsenal Kingdom!!”

“Heh. If I was gonna say no to that, I wouldn’t’ve gotten involved in the first place.”

That settled it.

Miyabi Blackgarden rushed out through the tear in the castle’s wall.

“The Icicle Bullet is on its way.”

From this height, he could see it on the snowy plain stretching out beyond the castle town and castle wall.

Waiting here at the castle would mean sacrificing everyone in the castle town. The people there were packing the streets and speaking out against their poor treatment, oblivious to the approaching danger. If the snow sleigh was allowed to reach the castle town, it would result in an uncountable number of dead.

Miyabi looked back and spoke to Alma, Alicia, and the others.

“We can start by crossing the roofs to reach the wall outside the castle town. We can discuss a plan then!”

They practically jumped from building to building.

He created Bypass Bridges and Layer Stairs to make shortcuts and occasionally passed directly above the rioters covering the surface. The rioters were half drunk on rage, so they had failed to notice the danger. Although noticing it would only lead to a panic.

Miyabi’s party ran back to the gate they had initially entered through.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I was so exhausted after the first time, but it’s going so much faster now.”

“Experience makes people grow,” said Celina. “This shows just how much of it you have accumulated.”

They rushed out through the thick gate.

The boy jabbed his control sword down into the snowy ground and a large magic circle floated up at his feet.

Eliza had sworn she would show the king the error of his ways and save the rioters and other knights who were throwing stones and directing their weapons toward her. And she was not just saying that; she had risked her life to fight that fight all on her own.

Miyabi thought that made her super cool, so he was intent on doing this her way.

The kingdom was foolish, but he would protect it for that proud chosen knight.

“Control sword, connect to the horn core. Lucifer Horn, tactical open.”

Speaking the words was all well and good, but how could he actually stop this thing?

“What am I supposed to do now!?”

“That thing’s ramming power knocked over the supposedly impregnable Schwarz Schütze.” Celina best understood the gravity of that statement and she tried to express the threat with her gestures and body language. “I doubt your laser or bombs will be enough to stop it. You might hit it with several blasts, but as long as its basic shape remains, its momentum will keep it sliding across the snow!!”

“You need to work smarter, not harder,” said Alicia. “Fortunately, we know what direction the Icicle Bullet is coming from. You can create several walls and trenches to block its path.”

“Even thin paper can block a bullet with enough layers. And several used stockings together can make a good substitute sink strainer in a pinch,” cackled the philosopher’s stone. “So stay focused and build a solid wall!!”

That dreadfully white weapon looked so distant.

It was charging toward them. The white mass growing near the horizon had to be all the snow being knocked into the air.

This was a battle between Godhorn Techs.

It was creation versus destruction.

It was a head-on clash.

Noticing something, Eliza Silverstorm shouted “Watch out!!”

A great boom shook their surroundings.

The Icicle Bullet had yet to reach them, but it had weapons other than ramming. The explosion spread sharp spines of ice rather than flames. The blast was big enough to freeze mammoths by the dozen, not to mention humans.

“The Icicle Bullet’s greatest attack is the full-speed ram using its own weight,” explained Eliza, its original pilot. “So to ensure that attack hits, it rules the battlefield with the support of its many other weapons. That freezing magic is a good example. It is used to hold the target in place long enough for the ram to hit. It can also use divination to take aim…so…it…can…”

Miyabi bristled and shouted back when she trailed off like that.

“If it’s got some kind of secret, you’d better tell us now!! The fate of your kingdom is on the line!!”

“It has…”

“Yes? It has what?”

“That Godhorn Tech includes a Perfect Divination Slide Rule that uses Seidr magic! So it will never miss!!”

He stared blankly for a moment.

She had squeezed her eyes shut and blushed to make this confession, but he had no idea why it had been so hard for her. Was this some great secret of the knights? But Seidr was in their name.

Then he noticed Alicia and Helen refusing to look him in the eye either.

There was more to this.

“Th-the thing is, Seidr magic is an extremely accurate form of divination, but…”

The glasses woman fidgeted and poked her index fingers together in front of her large chest.

She said the rest as quickly and quietly as she could.

“Seeing a vision of the future requires detaching your mind from reality, but letting the spell song take over and guide you into a trance makes it very hard to restrain the, uh, feelings that naturally occur in the body, so um, uh, it is a very dangerous form of divination with an unavoidable side effect of being left in a mood that, shall we say, makes it hard to get to sleep at night, so as strait-laced as this knight might look, she must actually be filled with barely-contained unfulfilled desires!!”

Miyabi stared into the distance, entirely forgetting their dire situation.

He recalled what the chosen knights in the castle had said.

“The Icicle Bullet was granted to the White Seidr Chosen Knights as a whole.”

“Uh.”

“But it was left in Eliza’s care because she was the most ''compatible''???”

“~ ~ ~”

Eliza blushed and tearfully clutched her large lance as this secret was revealed. She could no longer even get her voice out. But with the Godhorn Tech stolen, her mood would not change for the time being.

And now was not the time to be thinking up a new nickname for her.

“Enough!!” shouted the Knight of Masked Horniness. “The Arsenal Kingdom itself is being targeted this time. It might not matter as much against a stationary target, but don’t assume the ramming is the Icicle Bullet’s only weapon. Even its secondary weapons can splatter a human across the snow easily enough!!”

Helen knew all too well that no blade small enough to fit in a human hand was going to help, no matter how skilled its wielder was with swords or magic, so she was growing increasingly anxious.

“W-we’re running short on time!” she shouted.

Miyabi knew that.

He had sworn to himself he would never abandon this knight who was strait-laced in the extreme, so he raised his hand and spoke quietly.

“Lucifer Horn…take care of this.”

What they needed was an obstacle.

Preferably, a large one made of several layers.

He stepped in front of the others, stabbed his control sword into the ground, and gave the command. The Lucifer Horn’s massive form swooped by overhead and its laser tore across the ground behind it.

It flew sideways to tear a few cliffs into the ground.

It also melted the snow to create a muddy marsh. The Icicle Bullet was designed to slide across the year-round snow, so this could actually help slow it down.

But not stop it. He looked back and raised his voice.

“Hey, Eliza! The Arsenal Kingdom is a kingdom of steel, right!? And with those huge walls around everything, you must have plenty of stone too.”

“Y-yes. But we are weak when it comes to magic. What of it!?”

“''I’ll be borrowing that''.”

He slowly inhaled and then spoke.

“Contract Owner: Under Lilith, grant me the power to move the Palette Dice!”

Giant obstacles appeared in rapid succession, weaving through the gaps left by the straight trenches and deep marsh.

Metal spikes more sinister than a rose vine’s thorns curled around to catch at the Godhorn Tech.

Countless upside-down anchors jutted up from the deep snow to tear at the bottom of the ice weapon.

Chunks of stone formed ramps that would send the snow sleigh airborne, throwing off its balance.

It was like an athletic obstacle course or a brutal off-road horse-racing track.

He created more and more, building up their power little by little, but none of it helped relieve his anxiety!!

“Here it comes, Miyabi!!” warned Helen.

It had begun.

The colossal Icicle Bullet charged in with fearsome acceleration. Bright lights flashed across it and the explosive booms arrived a moment later. Explosions of ice erupted much too close for comfort and a few of the makeshift walls were shattered. Ironically, the delay between the light and sound when the Icicle Bullet fired its weapons told them its distance, just like midsummer lightning and thunder. The massive Godhorn Tech seemed like an artillery shell itself.

Alicia shouted over at him while holding her bangs down against the blowing wind produced by the snow blasted into the air.

“It broke right through your trenches! Don’t fail to recalculate, boy! Thoughtlessly creating more cliffs and marshes won’t be enough to slow it down!!”

“Kh.”

A direct hit from this would literally break through an entire kingdom, bring down the central castle, and physically destroy everything.

The rolls of metal thorns were torn and the forest of anchors was crushed.

It even froze the marshes of thawed snow with its magic, all so it could continue onward at full speed.

“Miyabi!! Um, uh, look!”

He heard Celina shouting to him.

And that was not all.

Just as he was preparing to send snowmelt into a crater to create a new marsh, his peripheral vision noticed Alicia doing something.

But it was too late.

Why?

Because the color white filled his vision as the Icicle Bullet grew closer.

“Ah.”

Only once it was this close did he truly grasp that it was made of ice. The Icicle Bullet was a giant sleigh. The true core of the device were the two blades keeping contact with the ground, but they were made of ice. It really was a gigantic sorcery weapon. Every part of it was supported by magic.

Time seemed to have stopped.

But he did not have time to get his voice out.

It hit him.

The Godhorn Tech’s ramming attack crashed into Miyabi Blackgarden from dead ahead.



A dreadful cracking sound filled Miyabi’s mind, but he felt no real pain in his head. He was past even thinking about what had happened to his body. His torso may have been torn in two for all he knew.

No.

He had apparently gotten caught on the Icicle Bullet after it hit him. It was a colossal sleigh and its blades were made of jagged ice. The ice blades looked like frozen conifer trees laid on their side and he was caught on one of them. It must not have been made to attack a target as small as a human.

But this was still deadly. More than half his vision was dyed red.

''My adventure didn’t last long,'' thought Miyabi.

He was just some village boy, not a legendary hero. When people died, they just died. He was no more than a rookie, so there was only so much he could accomplish when the Lucifer Horn was simply plopped down in his lap. He may have already known that deep down.

He had not wanted to learn this.

He wished he had been killed instantly, so he could avoid this realization.

And yet…

“…yabi…”

He heard a voice.

It was so weak that he normally might have thought he was imagining it, but it was very real.

A voice was calling his name.

“Miyabi, wait.”

It was falling apart.

It was a desperate thing, stripped of all pride and vanity.

It was the awkward voice of someone who had cast aside her image of a powerful knight to bet everything on this boy.

The girl, Eliza Silverstorm, was crying.

“Don’t leave me all alone! Please don’t give up on everyone in my kingdom!! Miyabiiii!!!!!!”

With a dull cracking, Miyabi Blackgarden gathered all his strength to force his eyes back open. He had been hit by the Godhorn Tech and caught on the mass of ice that formed the sleigh’s blade, so he could not even imagine how much damage his body had taken.

But the control sword remained in his hand.

When he looked down at that limp and bloodstained hand, he just about laughed at his own foolishness. His body had regained its focus before his mind had.

''Fight.

''Fight to the end so you can wipe away her tears.

He could finally hear his own inner voice.

''You were about ready to give up on everything after nearly dying just the once, but this girl risked something even more important than her life to bet it all on you. And you’re just going to die without living up to that trust?

''She protected her king.

''She was separated from the rioting citizens and from the other chosen knights in identical armor.

''Didn’t you decide you weren’t going to abandon her to the isolation she found after staying true to her values? She put all of her hopes in you, but you run into one little setback and you’re ready to give up on life and move on to the afterlife, leaving her behind here?

''How can you do that?

''Can you really let yourself be that selfish? Miyabi Blackgarden, what kind of person do you want to be!? You carry the powers of destruction and creation and that lets you do just about anything, but you’re going to let this world restrict you!? You aren’t even going to try to destroy the barriers and you’re just going to accept the limits placed on you!!!???

“Ugh.”

So.

He jabbed with the control sword in his hand. But not into the ground. He jabbed it into the Icicle Bullet’s ice blade.

Hence the ''dull cracking sound''.

“Again…Lucifer Horn.”

The Lucifer Horn bomber was undoubtedly the strongest as it harnessed the unbelievably brutal power of a Wicked God horn. But it was up to Miyabi Blackgarden to decide ''how that power was used''. That was a “power” that came from the boy himself.

First, he would ''destroy''.

Destroy the horrific conclusion caused by the misunderstandings between the king, the knights, and the people, even though they had all wished the best for the kingdom and happiness for its people.

Then he would ''create''.

Create a world that this girl, who was weeping after abandoning her pride and status to stand up for what she believed in, could face with her head held high.

[[Image:Godhorn_Tech_v01_bw24.png|thumb]]

If he could accomplish that, the boy would accept this crystallization of humanity’s lowly sins, which included building a weapon out of a Wicked God horn. He would accept this incredible power that could even destroy the world.

“Control sword, connect to the horn core. Lucifer Horn, tactical open.”

So he forcibly opened a control magic circle on the surface of the Icicle Bullet where his control sword had stabbed into it.

And he roared toward the heavens to become ''the person he hoped to be''.

“Here’s your target, Lucifer Horn!! Attack here nowwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!”

Something separated from the Lucifer Horn’s wing up above.

It was a massive bomb.

But something happened before the bomb could drop to the snowy ground and detonate and before the Icicle Bullet could attempt to defend against it.

A thick beam of light dropped down to follow after the bomb.

That was the sorcery weapon loaded on the Lucifer Horn from the beginning. It pierced right through the falling bomb, detonating it in midair.

A thick shockwave dropped down like a suspended ceiling.

The entire Icicle Bullet sank down into the snow.

Then another beam of light tore across the ground from the side. The snow sleigh’s massive suspension had already been compressed to absorb the previous impact, so now it audibly snapped.

The snow sleigh’s right side sank even further.

Conversely, the left side sprang upwards, breaking Miyabi’s bond to the jagged ice blade.

He was thrown from the Godhorn Tech and rolled along the snow for dozens of meters.

He heard the castle wall breaking, but that was all. The Icicle Bullet failed to pierce through, only managing to partially embed itself in the stone.

It was too soon to relax.

(What happened to that absurdly strait-laced girl?)

“Miyabi…”

He heard a sobbing voice.

Of all things, that ridiculously honest girl was standing in front of the gate all on her own.

She had her arms spread to act as one final barrier.

Miyabi noticed her legs were trembling.

(Yeah, of course she’s terrified.)

At this point, it actually angered him. She might be a chosen knight or a White Seidr or whatever, but how had she still not figured out that her strait-lacedness had long since reached lethal levels? What would she have done if he hadn’t managed to divert the Icicle Bullet’s path a little right at the end there? Her slender body couldn’t possibly defend against a ram from that Godhorn Tech.

He honestly did not even care what state his own body was in.

He only wanted to give that ridiculous girl a piece of his mind. He wanted to tell her to at least try to look after her own life. Because seeing her do things like this was why he had felt the need to join the fight himself.

But after a second, he laughed.

…He realized she must have felt the same way he did.

They were both reckless in the extreme. He had refused to give up even after the Icicle Bullet hit him head-on, so he was probably the very last person she wanted to hear criticizing her actions here.

“Gasp, pant.”

He was sticky with blood.

He was certain this had taken years off his life. He did not even want to know how many bones he had broken. But he had never let go of the control sword. That effort had meant more wounds and a strong blood flavor filling his mouth, but he had refused to let go. He slowly stood up, unable to keep his body straight.

“The Icicle Bullet…stopped?”

That thought finally occurred to Eliza Silverstorm.

Before even thinking about her own survival, she felt relief that the king, her colleagues, the kingdom’s people, and the companions she had fought alongside were all safe.

Miyabi swore to himself he would call her an idiot later on.

“I-it really stopped? Sniff, sob. Everyone’s…safe now?”

“No, not yet.”

But Miyabi had reached a different conclusion.

The tall stone wall was vibrating along with an ominous rumble. Needless to say, this came from the Icicle Bullet with its head buried inside that wall.

This was not over yet. The battle had not been won. Any headpats or rebukes would have to wait.

“Koo!” cried red Alma while rubbing against his leg.

“It’s only stopped for now. The knights’ majority vote is still in effect and it hasn’t been given a stop order. It will resume moving if left like this.” He spat some blood into the snow and lifted his control sword. “I have to deliver the finishing blow. Is that okay?”

Celina bitterly looked away. This may have reminded her of the agony when it had been her.

Finally, Eliza got out a scratchy voice.

Her eyes were already red and a tear dripped from one of them as she threw out her own pride.

“Yes.” Strength filled her voice as she overcame this final barrier. “Yes, go ahead! If that will protect the king and the people!! If it will remove the discord between the king and the knights and allow us to stand up as a unified kingdom once more!”

She likely had something she wanted to protect even if it meant tearing herself to pieces, so she could keep going no matter how injured she was.

She was stronger than anyone, so she would never lose her shine, even without the Godhorn Tech.

She faced forward and spoke with conviction.

“Do it. That knight’s lance deserves to be broken now that it has lost its luster!!”

“Got it.”

He stabbed his control sword into the snow.

A magic circle opened and he faced the colossal weapon once more.

Was this destruction?

No, he was creating a new path for this girl and her kingdom.

“Sorry, Icicle Bullet.”

He felt like he had to say this.

Even if this was the embodiment of destruction that had left him so badly injured.

“This wasn’t your fault. Thank you for listening to everyone’s commands all this time. You did a great job.”

That monster had faithfully obeyed without once breaking its promise, but now it vanished into the white beam of light that dropped from the heavens.