Editing Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume2 4th Play (section)

===Part 3===

Kelberk Research Institute? What business did Kate-sensei have in there?

Looking at the unfamiliar words carved on the signpost, Ada frowned inwardly. Ahead, she could clearly see some sort of large institution. That was probably the research institute.

Chibi-kun, be careful. Just when Ada mouthed those words, Neight tripped on a rock protruding from the road.

Ah…… The boy let out a quiet shriek.

“Who’s there?”

Kate, who had been walking in front of them, suddenly turned around.

Oh no, this is bad. Ada quickly hid behind the nearest tree.

“I-I’m sorr— Ugh!”

No, be quiet! Ada forcefully covered the mouth of Neight, who had been about to apologize loudly. But it was too late. The teacher ahead of them raised her voice.

“Over there, who are you?!”

Did she have a feeling that she was being followed? The teacher’s words weren’t a question, but had the tone of a command.

“A-Ada-san. What should we do?”

……What should we do, huh?

“I’ll wait five seconds. You’d better show yourself by then!”

Hey Sensei, if you say it like that, who would—

“If you don’t come out, I’ll use a Recitation to pelt every tree in this region with large pieces of hail—”

“Wha…… W-Wait, time-out! Sensei, don’t act hastily! Look, it’s only me. Sensei’s cute, cute student!”

There was silence.

After a moment, the teacher spoke in a tone of disbelief.

“If you’re the true Ada, then I think you should show yourself to your teacher right away!”

‘If you’re the true Ada’…… So she already knew who it was.

Letting out a loud sigh, Ada stepped forward from behind the tree and onto the road.

“Okay, I get it. We lose! Hey Chibi-kun, you come out too!”

“A-Agh! ……Ada-san, it’s not nice to suddenly kick me!”

“Neight-kun as well? Just what are you guys doing?”

Their homeroom teacher gazed at them with a look filled with half amazement, half surprise.

“No, Sensei, it’s just a chance meeting. We were just taking a stroll.”

Ada tried as hard as she could to show a deceptive smile.

“U-Um. Ada-san was curious about where Kate-sensei was going, so—”

“Ah, Chibi-kun, you traitor!”

Losing to pressure, the innocent boy beside her quickly spat out the truth. 

“Hmm. Ada will always tell me the truth, right, Ada?”

“U……Um…… How should I put it……”

—Sensei, you look too scary holding a catalyst and threatening us.


<div align="center">***</div>


“So this is the research lab?”

Glancing around the room, Zessel crossed his arms.

It was a gigantic research laboratory. All kinds of lab equipment could be seen around the room. There was also a translucent tank filled with a chemical solution. One thing they all had in common was that each single thing was damaged in some way. Furthermore, there were also the figures of a few staff members who had been turned to stone.

Staff members who had turned to stone could be seen everywhere around the research institute. In other words, this situation had affected the entire institute.

Had it been a dispute between staff members? Or perhaps—

“So it was an attack by a person we don’t know about.”

Enne muttered in a quiet voice. Without blinking, she gazed steadily at the words written before them.


'''''Lastihyt ; One who lingers at the throne of the defeated'''''<br>
''Lastihyt ; miquvy Wer shela –c-nixer arsa''


A white limestone pillar towered in the center of the main room. On the monument that was built with expensive stone, engraved in scarlet paint were distorted words in the Serafeno Musical Language.

“Lastihyt. Is that something’s name?”

—No, this is……

“A person’s name.”

Zessel quickly ran closer to the stone monument and brushed his fingers over the stone like he was rubbing it. A few flakes of paint peeled off. No, it was something that had been used to replace paint.

It was dark red. So it’s blood, huh?

“Two years ago…… No, it was earlier than that, more like three years ago. Xins was searching for someone with this name.”

“Xins was?”

Narrowing her eyes, his colleague turned to look at him with an uncomprehending face.

“I never heard the reason why. In fact, I didn’t know anything about it other than this mysterious name.”

He looked away from the words written in blood that was turning darker.

The hallway continued farther inside the institute. According to a floor plan taped on the wall, beyond here seemed to be innermost, most spacious room.

“Let’s hurry. We shouldn’t linger for too long in here.”

Leading the way, Enne walked quietly down the hallway. Zessel, who had been about to follow after her, suddenly stopped his footsteps.

A mechanical noise echoed several times throughout the laboratory.

“The door buzzer?”

Someone was coming. It was probably a teacher from Tremia who had come looking for them.

“……That’s not good.”

Hiding in the entrance hall with baited breath were dangerous Recited creatures.


<div align="center">***</div>


“—So because you were suspicious as to where I was going, you followed me.”

After hearing Ada’s confession, Kate exaggeratedly covered her eyes.

“But I was curious! Both Enne-sensei and Zessel-sensei aren’t inside the branch school, so I thought you were going to look for them.”

Ada lied confidently. ……Honestly…… Whether it was a lucky guess or a good sense of perception, she was sharp only during troublesome times like this.

“So, what’s so special about this place, Sensei?”

Ada pointed casually at the Kelberk Research Institute ahead of them.

“It’s the research institute of someone I know.”

“Yeah, I already know that much. What I’m curious about is the reason why Enne-sensei and Zessel-sensei aren’t at school. I was thinking that Kate-sensei coming to a place like this must mean this place is connected somehow.”

Whether there was a special reason— Ada spoke in an indirect manner that feigned ignorance.

“Honestly, even I’m not too sure about that.”

Kate turned her gaze back to the road ahead. The institution surrounded by dark grey walls was clearly visible.

Kelberk Research Insititute, Fidellia branch. It was the research institute that had manufactured the <Egg> and brought it to Tremia Academy.

Zessel and Enne should be here. It would be dangerous for Kate to allow the students to accompany her any farther. But…… Since they had already come here, what should she do? Even if she told them to go back right now, she had the feeling that they wouldn’t leave.

Also, there was one more thing. In case the worst situation occurred inside the facility, there was a possibility that someone would be needed to relay the situation back to the branch school.

“……Promise me one thing, you two. When I tell you to leave, no matter what happens, you must follow my instructions.”

Both students nodded. After confirming that, Kate stepped onto the property of the research institute.

“Um, is it okay for us to just enter like that?”

“The institute is affiliated with Tremia. Tremia’s teachers and Kelberk’s research staff are allowed to come and go freely in both facilities.”

……But even so, what was with the silence?

Not a single person could be seen around the institution. The unnatural silence made the three of them feel like their ears hurt.

—Were Zessel and Enne really in there?

Kate pushed the buzzer by the institution’s front door. Through the door, she could hear the sound of the buzzer echoing inside.

“……Is nobody there?”

“That’s kind of hard to imagine.”

As if responding to Neight’s doubt, Kate pushed the buzzer once again.

A few seconds. A few dozen seconds. There was no response from inside. In fact, they couldn’t even hear the sound of staff members talking inside the research institution.

“Hey Sensei……”

Ada continued speaking while peering at the door’s keyhole.

“The door seems to be unlocked.”

Placing her hand on the door handle, she twisted the handle and pushed. With a creaking noise and a small puff of dust, the door moved.

“Just like that.”

Kate let out the breath she had been holding. Although she sighed at losing her last chance to tell the two students to go back to school, another part of her felt differently. Was it determination? Or maybe anxiety?

“I’ll open it.”

Those words weren’t directed at the two people behind her, but were meant for Kate herself.

Slowly, with a screeching sound like things rubbing together, the door opened. The three of them stepped into the dim entrance hall.

A strange scene lay ahead of them.

“……What are these?”

Lined up in the entrance lobby were about a dozen oddly-shaped stone statutes. Her face distorted with astonishment, Kate walked forward. Stone statues. And not just one or two. What all of the statues had in common was that they all wore some sort of pendant around their neck.

No, that wasn’t it. Those were the nameplates worn by the staff of the research institute. Why were these statues wearing the staff’s equipment? It was like——No way.

The chilling thought that crossed Kate’s mind made goosebumps rise on her back.

“You two, stay away from the statues!”

“Eh?”

“Sensei, what’s wrong?”

Ada, who had just been about to touch a stone statue, and Neight, who was walking down the hallway leading out of the left side of the entrance lobby, spoke simultaneously.

“It’s dangerous here, so return to the school right away! Neight, come back here!”

Although he had a doubtful expression on his face, Neight jogged towards Kate.

But as if it intended to block him……

Something grey fell down from the ceiling. It was something long and thin that wriggled back and forth. In front of the boy, it reared its head—

“A snake?!”

The boy’s footsteps stopped in front of the two-meter-long grey snake. Why was such a thing in this institution? No, this wasn’t the time to wonder about that.

“Sensei!”

From behind Kate came Ada’s shriek.

“I know! Neight-kun, step back!”

The snake eyed the boy, about to attack. Would she make it in time? From her suit pocket, Kate took out a manmade sapphire. A blue Recitation light shone from the catalyst she held in her hand.

But before she could finish her Recitation……

“No! Sensei, behind you!”

The girl behind her let out a scream even louder than her shriek before.

……Eh?

Kate felt a slight pain coming from her legs. At the same time, both of her legs became unable to move, as if they had turned to stone.



Only the one who stood farthest in the back— Only the one who stood closest to the exit, Ada, could completely understand what had just happened.

—The mysterious grey creature that had fallen from the ceiling was a single, large grey snake.

Neight and Kate’s attention had naturally been drawn to that one snake. No, Ada had been like that as well. Her gaze had been focused on that one snake. But right now, there wasn’t just one grey creature.

Ada heard the sound of something crawling on the ground. That sound came from beside the teacher’s feet.

……Eh?

Large amounts of ash were piled up on the floor of the research institute. Those had moved. Or more accurately, the things hiding underneath them had moved.

Lizards?

These lizards had sharp claws and limbs that were longer and thinner than those of the lizards she normally saw. Moreover, it wasn’t just a single creature.

Two, no, three? With clearly hostile looks in their eyes, the grey creatures crept up beside the teacher’s feet.

Kate-sensei was— No, she was too focused on the large snake.

“Sensei!”

“I know! Neight-kun, step back!”

The teacher responded, holding a catalyst and focusing her gaze on the large snake.

No! That snake is just a decoy! The true danger is—

Ada regretted not bringing her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}, but quickly dispelled that thought.

No, she wasn’t an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}. Right now, she was a student studying to become a Reciter, so she should use some sort of Recitation. But……

……But, what should she call out?

Thinking about her arsenal of Recitations, Ada was speechless. She specialized in White Recitations, which contained few offensive creatures. But that didn’t mean none at all. However, none of the offensive creatures was within her power to call out.

……She couldn’t do anything with her Recitations.

“No! Sensei, behind you!”

All she could do was shout at her teacher. The teacher hastily turned around, but Ada’s warning was too late. In the blind spot beneath Kate’s feet, a lizard brandished its claws, aiming for her ankles.

The instant those claws struck Kate’s feet, the teacher’s feet changed from how they looked before.

Without even the faint sound of dust floating in the air, Kate’s feet instantly turned grey and froze in place.

“Kate-sense—”

But.

Before the situation turned like this, the teacher had probably foreseen the chance of being turned to stone. She didn’t seem to be surprised that her feet had been deprived of their ability to move.

[[File:Tasogare_v2_195.jpg|thumb]]

“Don’t come this way!”

Kate immediately stretched out a hand in Ada’s direction. In her other hand, the gemstone catalyst emitted a radiance that lit up the dark entrance hall.

——[{{Furigana|Ruguz|Blue Song}}]——

The teacher threw the catalyst at the floor. Instantly, from that spot on the ground, a large sheet of ice rose up in the entrance hall. It separated her from the group of grey creatures. Ada was fine, but Kate had also separated the petite Neight on the side with the creatures.

“S-Sense—”

“Ada, go report this to the teachers at school! Hurry!”

“B-But!”

“I’ll do something about Neight-kun. While the wall of ice is up, those creatures shouldn’t be able to chase you. Take this chance and distance yourself from this research institution!”

But there was no way that Ada would be persuaded by such a plan.

—Couldn’t she do something?

Was that truly the right thing to do? She couldn’t even be sure that it was the best option, but pressured by the teacher’s desperate manner, she ran away.

“Sensei, Chibi-kun! ……I’m sorry!”

Ada ran through the entranceway and fled outside. Was it a trick of the wind, or had it been planned by the teacher? The instant after she ran outside, the door that had been open now slammed shut. She couldn’t see the situation inside anymore and couldn’t hear any screams or other sounds. 

“I’m sorry…… I’m sorry…… I……”

—I’m an idiot.

I’m a hopeless idiot.


The girl fled through the entranceway. The safety of one student had been secured for now, making Kate feel at ease. Only one more student remained.

Turning to face the remaining student, Kate yelled loudly.

“Neight-kun, head down that hallway!”

The boy who was confronting the huge snake hurriedly raised his head.

“But Sensei…!”

“I’m—”

I’m fine. I’ll be safe. I’ll definitely follow behind you. Kate could only think of those clumsy words. Those words of consolation definitely wouldn’t be able to urge the boy forward.

Therefore, instead of nodding, Kate took out a lidded flask from her pocket.

“Neight-kun.”

At the very least, she could show him a smile. He was someone who aspired to be a Reciter and she was his teacher.

“……I’m sorry I was such an unreliable teacher.”

Once again, Kate threw the catalyst at the floor. The drops of liquid sparkled as they scattered over the floor and turned into a blue {{Furigana|Recital Gate|Channel}}. A wall of ice that reached as high as the ceiling— It separated the boy from the area where the large snakes were gathered.

With this, he should also be safe for now. But in return, all of the grey creatures’ gazes turned towards her. ……That was fine. She was……fine with this.

“Kate-sensei!”

“Run toward the inside of the institute. I don’t know when the help that Ada went to ask for will come, so stay quietly hidden until then!”

“But—”

“……I’m truly sorry for being so unreliable.”

She wanted to protect her student, but it was all she could do right now to become bait.

Like I thought, I’m still…… not qualified to be called a teacher.


<div align="center">***</div>


……It happened again.

Her own powerlessness made Ada purse her lips.

The scenery constantly streamed by. How long had she been running for at a full sprint? The lack of oxygen gave her a headache. Her heart felt painful and her lungs were screaming. But even so, she continued to run.

Right now, the only thing she could do was run.

—Once again, she didn’t do anything. She only ran away.

During the school’s recital contest, when the chimeras had attacked, she had run away.

She wanted to be a Reciter and not a {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}}, but she had always been scared of that part of herself. ……No, she had been pretending to be scared.

As a Reciter, she couldn’t do anything. If she had been an {{Furigana|Exorcist|Gillshe}} at that time and swung her spear— At least she wouldn’t be the one being protected. She should have been protecting them.

But she had wanted to try living as a Reciter. As a result, her friends had gotten seriously injured.

‘For Chibi-kun, it’s because of that, right? You want to become a Reciter because you want to complete the Recitation that your mother left you.’

‘……Chibi-kun might get angry, but I can’t do something like that.’

‘For just a little while, I wanted to try going down a path other than what my heritage decided for me. The truth is, my mother has qualifications as a Reciter, so I was interested in Recitation schools ever since I was young.’

But if that’s true, then why was she practicing with the {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}} even now?

‘……Because I don’t want to regret it.’


During the recital contest, she had felt a sense of powerlessness. This time, she didn’t want to have the same regrets.

She didn’t want to have that dream anymore.

Therefore, even now, she hadn’t discarded her {{Furigana|Exorcist Spear|Gil}}.

—But now, she was……

She had left behind both Kate-sensei and that young boy, then ran away by herself.

……Dad— I—

I…… What should I do?!


<div align="center">***</div>


“Hurry, Enne!”

Zessel ran at full speed down the dim hallway.

The light fairy’s radiance lit the path ahead of him.

They had heard the sound a few minutes ago. If a teacher from Tremia had come to this institution looking for them, then that teacher should have naturally stepped into the entrance hall.

……But, it’s strange.

They should already be getting close to the entranceway so they were prepared for an attack by the grey Recited creatures. However, they hadn’t seen even one yet.

Leaving behind the whirlpool of doubt in his mind, Zessel turned the last corner that led to the entrance hall.

“—!”

The first thing he noticed was a gigantic wall of ice that stretched up to the ceiling. Beside that were countless lumps of ice scattered and rolling around. Trapped in those blocks of ice were the familiar grey Recited creatures.

And mingled in with the blocks of ice was— The figure of a person lying on the floor, completely still.

The person wore a familiar suit that Zessel had seen many times around the campus.

“Kate!”

While thinking of the worst case scenario, which sent chills up his spine, Zessel ran to his colleague’s side.

He quickly lifted her up. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Zessel felt not the material of the suit, but the feeling of stone.

“…………Ah……”

With her eyes closed, Kate let out a small sigh. The fact that her shoulders, back, legs, and half of her body had already turned to stone made Zessel extremely concerned.

“Enne, hurry!”

“I’m already doing it!”

Particles of light rose up from the large area from Kate’s shoulders to her back. Color faintly returned to her body.

“…..Hey, this is……”

The feeling of coarse stone disappeared. But what remained afterward was— a cold, slippery feeling. ……No way.

Zessel lifted his hand from Kate’s back. Stuck to his palm was a large amount of blood. —Oh no.

Now that the stone that had been stopping her bleeding was gone, her bleeding became worse.

“Sorry, but I’m going to take off your suit.”

Zessel took off Kate’s suit jacket and pulled up the back of her shirt. The wound was small but deep. Was it the large snake’s fangs that had injured her back? The problem was, the position of the wound was close to her heart.

Using some cloth to stop the bleeding, Zessel then wrapped a bandage over the wound and around Kate’s shoulder to fix it in place.

“You’re well-prepared, aren’t you?”

While conducting the Reverse Song, Enne glanced at Zessel.

“For Red Reciters, if the situation becomes desperate, we can use our own blood as a catalyst. But the bleeding that results isn’t something to joke about, so I always carry medical supplies with me.”

But for this wound, would such a simple emergency treatment work?

“……There’s……”

Faintly, with her eyes closed, Kate moved her lips.

“There’s…… still…… more.”

More?

Zessel reflexively looked around at his surroundings. The hallway was scattered with ash. Underneath the burnt cinders, something was wriggling.

—Did it hide because we were coming?

“Damn, we don’t have time to deal with you right now!”

Zessel ground his teeth at the fact that his partner, the Blue Reciter Mirror, wasn’t here. Airtight places were a Red Reciter’s weak point. If he were to call out a large flame to defeat the enemy, he would be caught in it as well. In the worst case, the whole institution could burn down.

—So it’s forcing us to go farther into the institution? A group of Recited creatures blocked the entranceway, their escape route.

“Zessel, what do we do?!”

“I’ll carry Kate on my back. Run in the direction of the emergency passageway!”

The path they ran down led to the large room in the very center of the research institute.

Something was in there. Zessel was almost completely sure of that.