Editing Ultimate Antihero:Volume 2 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 9===

The one who called out was the sister of the <Holy Path Church>, at the same time she was also a student like Sumika and the others at New Tokyo Sorcery Academy, Lily Hoegaarden.

The girl was staring at Sumika with her eyes that were the same red as her hair.

“It has been a long time since we talked like this isn’t it?”

She said that with a bright smile tugged on her lips.

It was a calm smile that really suited Lily’s mature looks.

In contrast Sumika returned her words with a confused expression.

“…Yes it is. Our classes are different even in school, so we didn’t really meet with each other, besides… honestly I don’t know how I should call out to you.”

”What. You girls are acquaintances?”

“Yes. Since we were children, we were friends when I was still in the <Holy Path Church>.”

“That’s unexpected. So you were a Christian.”

Sumika nodded a little reservedly towards Shiori’s surprised words.

“…It’s something in the past. My parents were Christian, so when I became aware of the things around me, I was already one. Well a [second generation] like me is a common pattern.”

“However you suddenly said that you are going to aim for the <Evil God User> and quit the church.”

Lily inserted her words covering over Sumika’s voice.

Her tone sounded blaming.

“Even after witnessing that repulsive power just now, I wonder if you are still planning to continue saying such nonsense? Cut it out already, open your eyes. That kind of abominable power, is not something that the human race who are the people of god should touch.”

No, the girl in fact was actually blaming.

When they were children, her friend turned her back on the god that they worshipped and dirtied her hands with the power of an evil god.

“Come back to the church, Sumika. And then repent for your error. God’s generosity will surely forgive you.”

But Sumika shook her head towards this counsel.

“…I’m sorry, but I cannot listen to your counsel, Lily.”

This old friend of hers was thinking of Sumika in her own way, she understood that she was trying to lead her back to the church thinking of her sake.

In these few years since Sumika had left the church, Lily had always been like this.

For that reason, Sumika came to avoid her.

She tried to not get involved with her as much as possible.

For what reason―

“That time at <Walpurgis Night>, I understood clearly. …That the god we had faith for, at the very least he is not a god that will protect the things that I want to protect.”

The ten days of nightmare, where a demonic dragon so gigantic it covered the whole sky, burned everything to nothing until beyond the horizon.

She couldn’t forget that even if she tried, that hellish scene.

But… even so the god that Sumika and the others believed in at that time didn’t reach out his hand for the humans.

Despite that many people who died.

Despite that many people praying for salvation.

―Those wishes, wasn’t answered by god.

The one who protected them, protected mankind was not god, but a lone young boy.

That time when she saw that, Sumika decided.

She wouldn’t rely on god anymore. She would protect the things she wanted to protect with her own strength, with her own actions.

Even if, she had to make use of the power of a evil god.

“That’s why I won’t go back to the church. Because it has none of what I’m looking for.”

Sumika clearly displayed her determination of rejection.

Looking at that unshakable attitude of Sumika,

(Well, seems like that’s that.)

Though Homura who was watching the conversation of the two from the side.

Although it was only the personification, Sumika was the <Grim Bullet> that employed the power of evil god, though imperfect.

Sumika’s determination, her tenacity and hard work that worked out such sorcery with her own efforts, was something substantial.

Homura who made use of the power of the same evil god understood that.

At this late hour, the heart of this girl wouldn’t be shaken only by words.

And then he guessed that fact was also conveyed to Lily.

How would Lily react in regards to this answer of Sumika?

Would she obediently pull back, or would she not give up and tenaciously try to persuade Sumika?

―As for Homura, he wanted her to quickly give up.

The time was already past noon.

Perhaps because he was playing with the children, something that he was not used to, so his stomach was hungry, he wanted to quickly have lunch.

That was why he took a peek at Lily’s reaction from the side wishing for her to just quickly give up.

And then, he was taken aback from an unexpected reaction.


“Uuuuuuuuuuu<nowiki>~~~~~~~~~~</nowiki>–“
 

Of all things, Lily’s face was all red until her ears, she raised her eyebrows and from her red eyes, large drops of tears spilled out like a river.

“Sumika you idiooooottt-! E-e, even though I’m this worried for you-! Why don’t you understand<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>!?”

Her calm atmosphere until now was thrown away to who knows where.

Lily sobbed like a petulant child and hit repeatedly *poka poka* at Sumika’s chest.

And then,

“Hic…-! Sumika in the past, was not a child like this-! UUuUu! ―Everything is all your fault!”

Lily’s temper flew from Sumika to Homura.

“Eh, me?”

“Just who else is there!? How dare you drag my best friend to the path of evil, this heretic!”

“No, I don’t remembered ever dragging her anywhere y’know. She just came along as she pleased.”

“That’s the same thing! In the first place if you didn’t exist then Sumika wouldn’t step on the wrong path! In other words your very existence itself is evil! Just by entering their sight you gave the children bad influence, you are someone that mustn’t come into the sight of children!”

“Hey, don’t describe people like an indecent book.”

Besides, if Homura didn’t exist then humanity wouldn’t have been able to survive past <Walpurgis Night>, so this was not a problem of stepping on the wrong path or not.

Such rebuttal almost came out from his throat, but Homura restrained from that.

Even if his argument was correct, this kind of person would surely not lend him her ear.

Thereupon,

“But I won’t give up! Because even now I think of Sumika as my best friend. If your best friend mistakens her path, then even if she fell into disgrace temporarily, a true valued friendship will lead her back under the true god even forcibly. I will lead back Sumika under god’s benevolence without fail. For sure! …I will never hand over my best friend to someone like you!”

After yelling everything she wanted to yell, Lily left that place while leaving behind an angry remark, following after Alfaro and the children.

Seeing off her back, Homura made a fed up deep sigh.

“……Somehow I just got caught up in something messed up just now ain’t it?”

“At least be careful so you don’t get stabbed in the back.”

“Gehh―”

“Err, please don’t take it that seriously, Homura-san. That girl… since she was a child she has the habit of getting a temper if things don’t go her way. She was just getting too excited. …It’s hard seeing her crying loudly like that each time I rejected her, so recently I avoided seeing her as much as possible but…”

“…What a difficult friend.”

“Bu, but, she is a good child that is really kind you know?”

“I know that.”

“Eh…”

Homura’s quick answer made Sumika’s eyes open wide in surprise.

That reaction of hers made Homura’s expression a little sullen.

“That ain’t something that should get you that surprised. Even I got eyes here.”

Her friend in the past whose path differed from her, yet even now she still continued to worry for that friend.

Even after being refused so many times.

It was not something that could be done just because.

Putting aside whether her actions were correct or not, Homura didn’t hold a bad impression towards that girl who expressed her anger straightforwardly at him for Sumika’s sake.

Rather, he even thought of her favorably.

―Though it was the truth that she was troublesome.

And then, after Lily was gone―

“Master-“

In the timing that seemed like they were passing each other, after Shoggoth devoured the kraken, Chikori who fell into the sea from that was now returning.

However,

“Master! Leader! Big trouble, this is big trouble-!”

It seemed that Chikori had a strange circumstance.

Chikori swam in the sea with only her face coming out from the water surface.

For some reason her expression looked panicked.

Just what in the world made her that panicked.

Everyone thought in doubt but,

“What’s wrong? Did your swimsuit get washed away?”

“Eeh!? Chi, Chikori-san! If that’s so then you must not get out from the sea like that!”

Now that the kraken had vanished, the big trouble that Chikori said mustn’t be something that serious.

Both Homura and Sumika, and also Shiori were thinking like that.

However―this thinking was mistaken.

“Hmmm. My swimsuit is fine though―”

The next moment, all present opened their eyes wide in shock.

Why was that? It was because in the hands of Chikori who got out from the sea with a splash was―


Carrying a woman with emerald blonde hair wearing a dress, that looked the same age as them.


“…Somehow, I picked up a girl inside the sea here.”

“ “ “Haaaaaa!?!?” ” ”

That situation which was outside their expectations, as expected, made all present raise their voices in surprise.

“Eh, eeeh!? Wh, wh-wh-what is the meaning of this!? Just who in the world is that person!?”

“I don’t know. I found her when I fell into the sea.”

“Is that girl still alive?”

“Yes. But she fainted.”

“…Did she got washed away from somewhere? Or else―”

“Th, that kind of thing currently doesn’t matter! A, afnhyway let’s give her CPR quickly! Chikori-san, quickly bring up the girl to the land―”

Sumika gave out commands even while she bit her tongue from getting too flustered.

Chikori nodded and she made a small run towards the location of the three while holding the girl.

But, in the middle of that―

“u……nn, -“

The girl’s body stirred in Chikori’s arm.

And then after she painfully brought her eyebrows closer, her eyelids opened slowly.

“……E, eh… I, just what…..”

“Ah! Leader! Looks like she is awake!”

“Really!?”

Sumika too rushed closer to them from what Chikori said.

When she looked at the girl, certainly the girl’s eyes that were the same emerald like her hair was moving in confusion.

The movement seemed unreliable. But the light of her eyes were unexpectedly steady.

Looks like she didn’t seem to be in a condition of heavy injury that could affect her life.

Sumika was relieved at that.

“I’m glad-. You have recovered your consciousness haven’t you? Is there some place that feels hurt on your body?”

“Ye, yes… I’m fine, but, …who are you all…?”

Perhaps because she was surrounded by people that she didn’t know when she woke up, she looked troubled.

There was also a little fear mixed in her voice, but she was speaking articulately.

Then, rather than arranging ambulance or anything else in a panic, she should prioritize calming down the girl.

The head of Sumika who finally calmed down from thinking too much made that decision,

“Yes, sorry for our late introductions. I am the leader of the 101st trainee platoon of New Tokyo Sorcery Academy, Hoshikawa Sumika. And then the one that right now is carrying you is a member of the same 101st trainee platoon, Ichinotani Chikori-san. She was the one that discovered you floating inside the sea.”

First Sumika made clear of their identity.

On top of that,

“My apologies, but may I ask your identity?”

Sumika tried to ask the information that would be necessary for arranging an ambulance.

But in regards to Sumika’s question, the girl was

“…Tokyo…”

After the girl mused over that word with a tone that was slightly off in pronunciation, suddenly her eyes turned bright.

And then she jumped down from Chikori’s arm, rushed to Sumika, and grasped Sumika’s hands.

“My! What you were saying is that this is Tokyo right!?”

“Ye, yes. That’s right, but?”

Sumika showed her confusion towards the girl that was suddenly getting lively while returning a nod.

Just what in the world made her become that happy?

(By any chance… is she a stowaway?)

Currently when all countries were in an alliance as the <United World Government>, it was a case that had almost never happened.

But it didn’t mean that it didn’t exist.

Especially in the life sphere other than Japan, the power of the <Holy Path Church> was even stronger than the government depending on the situation.

Occasionally, there was also believers that worshipped god of another sect that got washed away into Japan that was comparatively free in its religion.

That was why from the reaction of the girl, Sumika guessed that the girl was that kind of stowaway.

This guess of Sumika was half right.
[[File:Ultimate Antihero V2 c13.png|thumb]]
The correct part was that the girl was really a [stowaway].

The mistakened part was―

“I’m glad-… When I was eaten by the kraken I thought that was it for me already. I don’t know how things got this way somehow, but in any case it seems that I managed to arrive at the human world safely.”

“Eh――”

…beginning from the point where Sumika thought that this girl was a human that came from another life sphere.

When the girl was carried by Chikori it was hidden by the long hair and Sumika didn’t notice, but now that she looked really carefully, the ears of the girl were strangely long and sharp.

Correct, just like the elves that came out in the fables.

Most of all, if it was only that then it might be only a mere peculiar body trait.

What clinched it, was what was on the girl’s back.

At that back, something that looked similar like <Air Raid> that the magicians used, transparent four pieces of wings were growing there.

It was a part that a human shouldn’t be equipped with.

“Yo, you, do… don’t tell me, are you a demon-!?”

Sumika move several steps back from agitation while asking.

On the other hand the girl was,

“Yes. There is no mistake that I’m an existence that all of you humans call as demon.”

The girl confirmed that without hesitation and with a smiling expression.

And then she straightened her back and pinched her long skirt, before bowing in an elegant gesture.


“Nice to meet you all, humans, everyone.

I am the one who served as the queen of the [Fairy race] in the demon world, my name is Elfiena.

On this occasion, ―wishing of forming an [alliance] between us the [Fairy race] and all of you humans, I come here as an envoy from the demon world as the representative of the two million [Fairy race].

Please, can I ask to trouble you all to lead me to meet the leader of the human race?”

The girl introduced her name, while also saying many outrageous things.

Hearing those words, not to mention Sumika, even Homura was at a loss for words from the shock.

That was obvious.

It has been a century since the demons appeared in this world.

And this is the first moment, where for the first time a resident of the demon world brought interaction without hostility towards the human race.

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==Translator's Notes and References==
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