Editing Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden:Volume 5 Final Chapter (section)

===Part 10===

“''Sheltis!''“

At the same time the elevator arrived at the Holy Hall.

Sheltis hurriedly jumped aside of the light that filled his vision.

“……They’re also in combat here.”

A four-legged medium-sized dragon staggered after receiving a single blow to the head. It received a follow-up attack before it could get up and returned to the gigantic boulder that comprised it.

──Zeadoll.

The guardian of the Holy Hall who swung a mace. He had no idea how long the battle had been going on for but it didn’t seem to have been short. Nevertheless, he had zero injuries. He felt that maybe it was par for the course to say that it was expected that he didn’t even show exhaustion.

However, the enemy force made up of Maha’s creations wasn’t stopping.

Poisonous snakes came from blind spots below, monstrous birds created thunderous noises above and on top of all that, Maha’s clones were attacking from every which direction.

……Zeadoll hasn’t noticed me.

He could easily break through to the Holy Hall’s interior right now. But──

“''……Sheltis?''“

“We’re taking a detour.”

Holding his swords, Sheltis sprinted towards Zeadoll.

“Mu, you are……!”

The guardian sensed his presence and turned around. He didn’t answer him and swung his swords ── he cut down the poisonous snakes closing in from behind Zeadoll and smacked a single poisonous snake up towards a monstrous bird circling around overhead.

The bomb in the shape of a bird reacted to the impact and caused a huge explosion.

The flames and force of that explosion caused another bird to explode. The enemy’s forces were wrapped up in the chain explosions. Maha’s clones returned to gold dust and the poisonous white snakes returned to dirty mud.

The explosions stopped.

The ones standing there were only Sheltis and the guardian.

“……What are you doing?”

The man narrowed his eyes and looked over.

“Should I not have helped?”

“Wrong. I was asking why an intruder like yourself provided assistance.”

“I’m not an enemy.”

He returned the overpowering gaze head-on.

“I said this yesterday but we probably have a common enemy who’s been tricking us. They should be aiming for ‘''Mikuva’s Crimson Eye''‘. If you use the ‘''Crimson Eye''‘, you can discover their identity, right? They should be afraid of that.”

“…………”

“……I’ll fight you later if you want. At any rate, we have to protect the ‘''Crimson Eye''‘.”

Finally.

With an expression of resignation, Zeadoll slowly lowered his mace.

“I will consider your punishment later. Protecting the ‘''Eye''‘ is my foremost priority right now as well.”

Come along.

His massive back seemed to be saying that as he ran off without an answer.

“Some time ago, a completely black man took those along and came here. ……No. The only one who came down the elevator was that man and those enemy forces suddenly appeared around him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t understand how. But while I was dealing with those forces, that man leisurely infiltrated the Holy Room. It is the greatest failure in my life.”

The guardian’s voice shook with indignation.

They ran at full speed to the north of the gigantic Holy Hall. After countless stone pillars flashed by to the side, they arrived at a mechanical door.

“It’s inside here.”

Giiii……with a strange creaking sound, the door parted to the sides.

It was a room filled with every radiance.

Red, blue, green, yellow, white. The grand room arrangement was blessed with fight vivid colors of light. In the middle was an egg-shaped giant crimson crystal. The width was several metres. Its height was close to ten metres. Even if Sheltis looked up, he couldn’t see the top.

“This is ‘''Mikuva’s Crimson Eye''‘?……It’s almost like it’s alive.”

The interior of the crystal was repeatedly flashing like the beating of a heart. It was like the precursor to something being born.

 

“I’ve waited a long……long time.”

 

A black shadow appeared at the summit of the crystal.

“Sheltis, I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.”

A pitch black boot and pitch black shoes with a pitch black rimmed hat.

Amidst all the black, the pale blond hair swaying beneath the hat stood out as odd. <ref>[T/N: I feel like this is a huge plot point. But if I state what I noticed here, it'll be too obvious and feel more like a spoiler if I'm right.]</ref>

……This man is Igun-I?

……What is……this feeling……

The one looking up and the one looking down. Even with this much distance between them, he was suddenly assaulted by a bizarre intoxicated sense that he was locking eyes with them as though they were right in front of him. It was almost like he was meeting with a longtime friend after a long time.

“……I’m happy.”

Igun-I didn’t even try to hide his smile. <ref>[T/N: Interesting point here is that the kanji for Igun-I is written as "blank" (空白) instead of "black" (黒).]</ref>

“You know me. Ahh, that’s great. I’m really happy.”

“I……don’t know you.”

He suppressed the throbbing of his chest and glared at the opponent above.

That’s right, I shouldn’t know him.

But what is this ─── my chest is stirring ─── it’s feels like deja vu.

“That’s fine. It’s fine if you don’t know. It’s fine if you feel it even if you don’t know. Hey, Sheltis, ‘''Nice to meet you.''‘ and ‘''It’s been a while.''‘. I’ve been eagerly waiting the time we would meet in this world.”
[[image:Eden05_291.jpg|thumb]]

……What does that mean?

It’s a certainty that this man is an ally of Maha. But even if he heard about me from Maha, his words are too deep. And why is he so friendly?

“Ahh, I can’t. I was so happy, I almost forgot my job.”

With the words Igun-I spilled, Sheltis finally reconfirmed the current situation.

That’s right, this man’s objective is──

“You……! I don’t know who you are but that’s the Governmental Sector’s treasure. Entering this Holy Hall without permission is one thing, but who are you to step on the ‘''Crimson Eye''‘!”

With a thunderous sound, he struck the ground beneath him with the mace.

“If so, then immediately──”

“You’re wrong.”

“What?”

Zeadoll’s expression changed with the unexpected response.

“This isn’t the Governmental Sector’s property. A single person……this is something an engineer created a thousand years ago. The Governmental Sector just happened to scavenge it. Though saying that to you will probably have no effect. Right, Sheltis?”

With his hand firmly on the rimmed hat, Igun-I was constantly looking over at him.

“Do you want to know; you do, right? What this crystal is.”

“You……would tell an enemy that?”

“If you so wish.”

It was an eerie smile completely devoid of hostility.

“So I’ll tell you. This crystal is the product of humanity’s failed attempt at artificially creating ‘''a certain existence''‘, a shadow of its former self, so to speak. ……You should know the original. It’s the existence known as the ‘'''''Forbidden Crystal'''''‘.”

The {{furigana|floating archipelago|Lagoon}} that he’d accompanied Leon to.

At the hidden research facility, the girl that had been displayed on the screen set up in front of the Yuugenshu.

 

……Shel……tis.

……Is that you……looking at me?

……The one looking…………at the frozen dream of the Garden of {{furigana|Corrupted Song|Eden}}……at the Forbidden Crystal.

 

Why would that name appear here?

“……What do you mean?”

“I’m glad that I’ve aroused your interest. It had the intended effect. But──”

Igun-I smiled.

“It doesn’t look like you’re trying to get the ‘''Crimson Eye''‘ through force. ……Well, I tampered with the contents a bit so I’ll just leave it alone and run away.”

“……Run away?”

“If you want to know, chase after me. Now, Sheltis, chase after me. That is the beginning of everything. ……However, that’s for until after you’ve played with these.”

Igun-I raised both hands to the ceiling.

Like a music conductor.

 

Awaken now, all you forgotten children

Li Xea = F shela, elmei/ x-delis tis, Selah pheno sia-s Orbie Eden

 

Beneath Igun-I, the crimson crystal began changing color.

From crimson to red, red to blue, blue to green. After that, gold and white. Then at the end ── the crystal became half-transparent like frosted glass.

……What is that?

Something was squirming inside the half-transparent crystal. There were two of them. One was black and inorganic. The other was deep purple and had a hazy outline──

“''This is from a thousand years ago……!?''“

As if in response to the shout from {{furigana|machine crystal|Ilis}}, the front of the crystal distorted like a heat haze and the two gigantic monsters alighted from it.

A massive mechanical weapon equipped with pitch black armor.

The other one was a four-legged beast whose entire body emitted a deep purple cursed mist.

“A mechanical weapon and Yuugenshu?”

“''No, this is……''“

{{furigana|Machine crystal|Ilis}} responded to Zeadoll’s mutter.

“''A heavy-arms mechanical weapon from a thousand years ago and……a Yuugenshu. They look the same as they do currently but they’re from before Hyouketsu Kyoukai was erected!''“

“A thousand year beast. I tried using the memories of the ‘''Crimson Eye''‘ and calling it out. I could probably have found something stronger if I searched more but this should be good enough for me to run away.”

Tap. Igun-I kicked off the crystal and jumped into the air.

“I won’t let you run……muu!”

Zeadoll tried to get to where the pitch black man would land but the Yuugenshu stood in his way.

 

■ ■, …… ■, ■ ■ ■, ■ …… ■ …… ■ ■ ■, ■, ■ …… ■

Oe/ Dia = U hiz gazzinis sis wei sighn. Quo zess wiz xes kyele.

 

Mateki.

Before Zeadoll reacted, a torrent of deep purple light radiated from the mist beast.

The particles of light formed a string and the string gathered even more to become a pattern of light. The instant Zeadoll’s foot touched that ring of light ── '''the deep purple light blew up'''.

“……Guu!?”

Assaulted with strong heat and a strong impact and bathed in a curse, the guardian’s large body was blown towards the wall.

“Zeadoll!”

“……How rude of him to launch an attack without declaring his name.”

The shadow of the man stood up sluggishly within the dense cloud of mateki. Maybe his Sanctuary Arts had kept the damage to a minimum but there were nothing like wounds on his body.

“They’re simple phantoms that should disappear in half an hour’s time so do your best until then.”

Igun-I headed out the door with a light smile.

──Half an hour.

This was no time to say such easygoing words. Ymy and Monica were still in Building Two.

“Just fine, I’ll defeat this swiftly and chase after you!”

Sheltis sprinted to close the distance with the mechanical weapon that was drawing nearer to him. It walked on two legs and had a large body close to three metres across with its entire body made of heavy steel.

……As I thought, its movements are dull.

Before the enemy’s aim lined up, he jumped to the side by kicking off the ground with one foot.

The mechanical weapon’s response was a moment too slow and he used that lull to close the gap in one go. The aim is the joint ── his opponent was a mechanical weapon armored in heavy metal so he’d aim to destroy it starting from the places where that armor was thin.

“''Go up.''“

He jumped off the mechanical weapon’s elbow and then off its shoulder. He flew over ten metres high and towards the mechanical weapon’s head.

……I see it.

The blue internal parts were peeking out from a gap in its head’s armor. Even if it was from a thousand years ago, a mechanical weapon was still a mechanical weapon, and its basic construction was the same. If he destroyed the engine, it would become powerless.

“Sink in!”

He swung his right sword down at the gap. The sword’s blade stabbed into the internal parts……

──Clang!

His sword hit something hard.

The sword won’t reach any further than this. Was it stopped by the internal parts shining blue?……no way. Let alone the armor, the internal components which are the weak point shouldn’t have this strength.

“''It’s a shinryoku carved seal. Just like with the Sanctuary Arts, it’s repelling your mateki!''“

“……So that’s it!”

The enemy’s gun locked on.

“''Pull out your sword!''“

“At a time like this……what a troublesome bastard!”

A heavily armored mechanical weapon specialized for fighting against Yuugenshu. It was originally for mitigating the Yuugenshu’s mateki but because his swords were filled with mateki, it was dulling their penetration.

It wasn’t at the level of the Sanctuary Arts, but there was no changing that it was troublesome.

“What’s a good move?”

“''There is a limit to the shinryoku carved seal. You can erase the shinryoku carved seal by piling on enough consecutive damage. Other than that, I’m reluctant to suggest it but it’s the use of mateki. You should be able to nullify the shinryoku carved seal if you use your {{furigana|Seventh True Rhythm|Eden Code}}.''“

“……Then we’ll go with the first idea.”

Somebody from {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}} aside, he couldn’t use mateki in front of somebody from the Governmental Sector.

“Zeadoll?”

Explosive noises continued behind him. The explosive impact and thunderous sound of him being smacked into the pillars, as well as the guardians anguished voice came to him.

“Gu, this…………crafty thing!”

Zeadoll stood up using the mace as a support.

He didn’t look like he had any wounds but his expression was grim. Being smacked into the wall enough that it left cracks, he probably was suffering a light concussion.

 

■ ■, …… ■, ■ ■ ■, ■ …… ■ …… ■ ■ ■, ■, ■ …… ■

Oe/ Dia = U hiz gazzinis sis wei sighn. Quo zess wiz xes kyele.

 

Crack.

The floor beneath the Yuugenshu shook and a ring of purple spread like a ripple on water’s surface.

“''It’s mateki fixation. It’s the type that ruptures upon contact and spreads curses.''“

“So it’s like a mine. Zeadoll, don’t touch that──”

“There’s no use in talking about it!”

Holding out the extremely heavy mace, he stepped on the mateki mine.

An explosive sound. Zeadoll’s large body was lifted into the air.

“Nuuu!?”

He received the curse shockwave and collided with the wall again.

……It’s strange. It’s completely different from the masterful fighting he showed yesterday. He looks just like a bewildered Cadet Guard who’s fighting against a Yuugenshu for the first time.

“It’s the first time I’m fighting a Yuugenshu!”

His stern face became even more like a stone and he rose up.

“……I see.”

There was no way Yuugenshu would infiltrate the Holy Hall. It was a given that he wouldn’t have an opportunity to fight a Yuugenshu.

“Can you move?”

“You should worry about yourself rather than others!”

A rumble came from directly to the side.

The extremely heavy mechanical weapon causing depressions in the ground was approaching vigorously with the intent to strike him down.

He held out his left arm. He pulled it in as close as possible and spun to dodge. He circled around the exterior and hid around the left flank.

──A flash.

But it only caused a small scrape on the flank’s heavy armor. His sword wouldn’t reach as far as the crucial parts.

“Tch!”

Running from the gunfire that was sweeping across in a line, he went around and hid in ‘Mikuva’s Crimson Eye’s‘ shadow.

“''Neither one of us is in a good situation. I don’t want to chock it up to affinity though.''“

“…………”

Calming his breathing for the moment, Sheltis bit on his lower lip.

……Ymy and everyone else.

……I’m sorry, bear with it for a little longer.