Editing City Series:Volume6a Chapter3 (section)

===Part 3===

[[Image:City_v06a_099.jpg|thumb]]
After a casual swing of Gelegenheit’s blade, Hazel saw the entire hallway – from ceiling to floor, sliced through in a clockwise circle. Only a severing line remained along the hallway’s wall and ceiling.

The single Text she heard came from empty space, not from Berger’s mouth or from Gelegenheit.

<My Destiny does not yet bring death.>

That was all.

That was all it took for the three magic bullets to pass behind Berger and Hazel.

“Eh?”

Hazel tried to question what had just happened, but Berger pulled on her hand.

A moment later, the magic bullets hit the glass door behind them.

She turned toward the loud noise to see light and explosions blowing away the door.

…''They didn’t hit us!?

She looked and saw the black blade had vanished from Gelegenheit in Berger’s hand. He flipped the hilt around in his hand and flicked the Phlogiston Tank with his thumb. The screw holding it in loosened and he removed it from the weapon.

“You used it up already? But those things will run a radio for a full year.”

“I cut through our destiny of death. That’s worth at least a year of radio, don’t you think?”

He pulled on her hand and crossed over the heated wreckage of the door to run outside.

The full moon shined in the sky overhead.

They had crossed the courtyard and passed through that building, so they were now by the trees lining the road out front. It was a wide road with black cedars on either side. They were only 200 yards away from the main gate onto campus. Climb the metal fence there and they were out in the city.

Hazel’s breath was visible in the chilly air as she worked to run faster.

Her right eye felt that chill more strongly.

…''Is that because I’m still not used to the prosthetic?

She rubbed her eye, assuming the faint piercing pain was due to the cold air.

Then she looked to Berger running alongside her and asked the question on her mind.

“Dog, what did you mean earlier?”

“About you being a naughty girl?”

“No! Why are you so fixated on the idea of people not wanting to run away? And…” She hesitated but decided to ask. “Who is the person who vanished from your life? Who is Eryngium?”

She fell silent after that.

…''I probably shouldn’t have asked that.

She said “sorry” and looked away from him. She focused on running.

Then she heard a bitter laugh from him.

A moment later, she heard a sound like shattering glass.

…''What was that?

By then, it was too late.

<The Hero holds everything in his hand.>

The scene in front of her changed. She should have been looking at the main gate dead ahead, but then the black cedar trees and the sidewalk on the left suddenly rushed in toward her.

“Eh!?”

“Hazel!”

Berger’s voice sounded so far away on her right.

Her sensitive inner ear as a cat told her something was wrong.

At some point, she had turned 90 degrees to the left.

…''What!?

But it was too late to do anything about it.

Her running legs hesitated for a moment and she stumbled on the curb before the sidewalk.

“–––––!”

Her skinny body grew airborne and she flew head-first toward the trees. Dry cedar leaves were falling from those winter trees.

…''This is going to hurt.

Her thoughts remained oddly calm as she tried to curl up.

But then something caught her in midair.