Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 10 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 3===

I saw her fragments.

People gathered around aged wooden tables, having meals in a lively setting. Two adults, five children. Probably a married couple and their children.

Laughing cheerfully, the man was a fisherman. He was recounting fun anecdotes from his experiences on the sea. Smiling, the wife chimed in with her husband. The children listened to the man, the ambiance was lively.

The girls all looked a bit similar to Ariella.



I saw her despair.

On a burning street, people kept screaming. A giant glowing bird had descended upon the scattered disarray of human corpses.

While the giant bird spread golden particles, the deceased came into view with vague outlines.

It was like stepping foot into the land of the dead. Witnessing this world, she called out to the figures of her family.

But before she could meet these souls, the deceased were devoured by the giant bird. They disappeared.



I saw her hope.

It was inside a dark house somewhere. Furniture and tableware akin to junk. The cracked walls were covered with graffiti.

But it was there that she found herself surrounded by a large family again.

All of them were young children. A variety races. They looked like they had no blood relation with one another.

However, they were definitely bound by bonds rivaling that of real brothers and sisters.

Although it was a bit of a hassle to have everyone relying on her, she found a shred of satisfaction in her torn heart.



I saw her transformation.

A D's proof appeared on her body. Despised by her trusted companions, she was cursed and denounced as a mortal enemy by the children she saw as her family.

By the time she knew it, the world had been turned upside down. Everything was unrecognizable. The end loomed into view.

Her daily life of fighting dragon-worshiping cults and looking after children was cut short. Exiled to another place, she started a new beginning. It was a sterile white box, neither dirty nor broken. In other words, a certain man's laboratory. The man had a daughter, a young girl who always followed him silently.



I saw her resolve.

It was out at sea. On a gray, completely unadorned deck, she—Ariella—had a reunion with a past comrade.

"Lieutenant Shelley, I see. My, you've really made something out of yourself."

Ariella mocked the woman dressed in the NIFL uniform.

"...I will become captain imminently. And one day, I will become the chief of NIFL's Middle Eastern Fourth Branch that was established using our organization as a foundation. Naturally—the prior assumption is that I do not end up killed by you here."

The woman replied calmly then leaned back on the ship's railing.

"I think you've gotten the wrong idea. I've no intention of seeking revenge from you. Rather, you saved me so it'd be wrong for me to hate you."

"All I saved was your life, right? Before selling you off, I already knew you might face treatment even worse than death—I still exchanged you for money despite knowing that. Hence, I already prepared myself to be killed as soon as I was ordered to make contact with you."

Hearing this, Ariella smiled wryly.

"As luck would have it, I was sold to a place much better than you imagined. I no longer had to worry about food and even found new family."

"...Is it the red-haired girl with you?"

"Yes, she's called Ren. My most precious little sister. I'm willing to do anything for her—Still, I've always remained quite concerned about the situation of my former family."

Saying that, Ariella gazed deeply into the woman's eyes.

"Your request... asking me to be a spy. No problem, I accept. However, I have a condition."

"—Very well. So long as it is within my authority and life to give, I accept any conditions no matter what."

Looking at Ariella squarely in the eyes, the woman nodded.

"In that case, there's no problem. My demand is definitely something within your power."

Ariella shrugged lightly and told the woman her condition.

"I heard that Ds can make money at Midgard by accepting requests to generate resources. I'll hand all of that money to you and I hope you can use it to let the children in the organization go to school."

After hearing Ariella's condition, the woman stood there in dumbfounded amazement.

"What... Are you serious? Those children threw rocks at you for becoming a D, don't you remember? They no longer see you as family. Even if they receive your kindness, they won't be thanking you."

"Even so—They're still family to me."

Ariella replied without hesitation.

This was not hypocrisy or charity but simply—her genuine wish.



I saw her determination.

"—Seriously, is there no other way?"

Alone in a corridor, Ariella asked stiffly with her ear pressed against her portable terminal.

'Yes, rather than Gray's unilateral decision, this is the outcome of a majority vote between major developed nations. We must obey in order to allow her to continue existing as a good sovereign.'

What was heard from the portable terminal was the voice of Shelley who had reunited with Ariella previously.

"But Gray possesses an authority that can control mankind, right?"

'Of course, Gray could also realize her will forcibly, but the result is still the same when you uses this move. She will have ''no choice but to control the world''.'

"..."

Gritting her teeth, Ariella fell silent.

'Hence, you must accept this request. If you refuse, we shall resort to underhanded means if necessary...'

"...Like the time with Iris?"

After Ariella questioned quietly, the other side answered with a moment's hesitation.

'Indeed, we will threaten you like last time. Using those children at the organization as hostages, the ones you are currently supporting... Yes.'

"—How underhanded."

'We are perfectly aware of that.'

Listening to the woman's voice of self-deprecation, Ariella sighed deeply.

"Fine—I accept. Although I don't think you're the kind of villain who'd really use children as hostages, I can't take the risk. Also... For the sake of protecting those children's future, it looks like I can't avoid a battle against Gray."

Despite knowing this was a choice that would destroy her own happiness, Ariella still accepted it.

Resignation and fighting spirit—These two emotions overlapped in her heart. Ariella committed her determination to fight.



These scenes, which I had watched, turned into golden particles and disappeared into the deep darkness.

Adorning the darkness like a starry sky, the golden color gathered together in a vortex, turning into the shape of a human.

It was Ariella—

Given form by the particles, the girl looked at me, who was floating in the darkness.

"Entering another person's heart without permission, Mononobe-kun, you're really quite lacking in delicacy."

After Ariella said that, I realized it. This was the world inside Ariella's heart.

This was probably the amplified effect of the resonance caused by the same-kind transformation combined with Ether Wind's action on the mind.

"Sorry, but it's thanks to this that I found out a lot of things. I've also come to learn why you accepted NIFL's request to be a spy for them, Ariella, and why you have to kill Charl—"

Using my mind to control my body's outline, I landed in front of Ariella. My body was also giving off golden particles, wavering unsteadily.

The duration of this conversation was probably limited until the natural dissipation of all the Ether Wind I had generated. Extremely short.

"All for the sake of protecting your family at the anti-dragon organization, right?"

Hearing my question, Ariella smiled wryly.

"Yeah, but you need to concern yourself with this, Mononobe-kun. Since what I've set out to do has already failed, it's just an excuse. The other party in the deal, Captain Shelley, is an upstanding woman."

Hearing her answer, I understood Ariella's true intent.

"Really... So you wished to be stopped—That's why you wanted me to save you."

'Stop me—Save me.'

Those were Ariella's feelings that I had overheard via Ether Wind during the underground battle. That was why we could stand in her way without hesitation.

"Eh? I never said that, you know?"

"—I heard it. The voice of your heart. Ariella, you must have heard my declaration to never give up, right?"

After I said that, Ariella took a step back, extremely flustered.

"B-Back then—Mononobe-kun, you really were..."

Were she in her physical body, Ariella probably would have turned bright red in the face. She lowered her head shyly

But after a slight while, she continued speaking, still with her head down.

"But... Although I hoped to be stopped, I also wanted 'to succeed' just as much. That's why I deeply regret getting touched by you and transforming. I'm very angry at myself for feeling relieved."

Ariella clenched her fists tightly and forced these words out.

"In other words, Ariella, you hope to fight?"

I asked. Otherwise, she would not have felt emotions like regret.

"...I'm not just protecting the children who are taken hostage ''now'', but also protecting the ''future''."

Ariella nodded lightly before looking up.

"No matter how much Gray—the principal—struggles, it will turn into a world that she has no choice but to control. And once she exercises her authority, all conflict will be gone from the world."

"What's wrong with that?"

I asked the question that Charlotte had not answered. I could not think of any reason why world peace was bad.

"—Certainly, those living prosperous lives for want of nothing would be very happy for this kind of peace to persist. However... What about those who are suffering under tyrannical regimes, unable to escape misfortune no matter how they struggle against the state's rules?"

"..."

I took a deep breath after listening to Ariella. I was aware of the type of people she had brought up. I had seen them many times on the battlefield. Even so, the thought had not occurred to me until she mentioned it. This meant that my value system was already using a peaceful country's as the standard.

"I hate war too, but I believe there are things in this world that must be overthrown with the use of force. A revolution is probably about to break out in the country where I used to live with my family. Of course, there's no guarantee that life hereafter will be happy but for those children, it's their only remaining hope."

I was overwhelmed by Ariella, staring at me resolutely.

What she shouldered, what she protected, was of such magnitude that it exceeded my imagination. However—

"Even if that's true... Do you mean to tell me that killing Charl is the only option?"

Unable to accept, I asked. Ariella nodded sadly.

"Yes. Well, initially I thought about letting the principal rule the world then saving my country. But after hearing from Captain Shelley about how the principal's father had stopped nuclear war, I knew it was impossible. The principal's authority isn't something that can be adjusted so precisely. It's more simple and terrifying than that."

"Simple and terrifying...?"

I repeated Ariella's words as a question. Fear and revulsion appeared on Ariella's face.

"Dominance is no easy task. Most likely, neither the principal's power, or the one held by us, Mononobe-kun and me, are things that can be unleashed in full."

Ariella's words conveyed and intense sense of crisis with slight pity and compassion mixed in her voice.

"The principal... surely knows this too. But she has no choice but to do this... She can't stop it herself. Like me, she's definitely hoping for someone to stop her. That's why I have to stop her."

Ariella clenched her fist hard. Although there were contradictions in her words, I knew she was sincere.

Next, at this moment, her outline wavered while the golden particles began to thin out.

"—It's almost at the limit."

"Looks like it."

"So I'll be your mate once I wake up from this dream...? All the unnecessary things mixed inside me—a certain 'something' born to kill humanity—I feel like it's already growing faint. I'm sure I can't stop the principal anymore."

Smiling wryly, Ariella looked at her dissolving hands.

"Sorry..."

Having deprived her of many things, all I could say was that.

"No need to apologize, Mononobe-kun. Although there are regrets, I do feel very relieved after all. But I still can't accept this."

As the particles grew dilute, Ariella's expression became distorted.

"I'll surely struggle with unsightliness. So, if possible, please don't let Ren see my unsightliness."

Ariella looked like she was about to cry now, but her figure vanished before her tears could fall.

At the same time, I could feel my own outline turn vague and ambiguous. My consciousness was about to be pulled back.

Shining brightly, the golden particles flowed past the scenes I had just witnessed—the sea of Ariella's memories—receding into the depths of darkness.

My consciousness instantly returned to reality after I could no longer see anything.

Before my eyes was Ariella's shocked face with the extended fingertip of my left hand touching her forehead.

The conversation in the dream had apparently taken place in an instant. Her body was still enveloped in blue light.

Originally blank, her face blushed slightly while my figure was reflected in her eyes of killing intent.

"Ooh..."

Her expression distorted itself as just now. A weak sound came from her lips.

"Ariella!"

Before she could do anything, I hugged her tightly first.

"...! Ooooh! Ahhhhh!!"

She struggled hard to shake off my arms, but I continued to embrace her with all my strength.

Finally, her resistance weakened and her groaning turned into sobbing.

"......Sniff...Sob...Guh..."

Ariella buried herself in my chest. Crying, she desperately tried to suppress her sobbing.

These were tears of regret. Having made contact with her heart, I understood very well.

"Onee-chan!"

I heard footsteps and Ren's voice behind me.

To calm down Ariella before Ren arrived, I stroked her slender back gently.

"...Mononobe-kun, you're really so kind."

Feeble words from Ariella's lips reached my ear.
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