Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 13 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 4===

An hour prior to Mononobe Yuu and Areilla Lu encountering Shinomiya Miyako. In a wasteland inside Ragnarok—


"Huff... Huff... Huff..."

I—Mononobe Mitsuki—was panting, sitting inside a building I had sneaked into.

My legs were shaking, unable to even stand. My entire body was breaking out in cold sweat. My drenched clothing felt very uncomfortable.

"Hoo boy, that was so close. That thing was completely different from the other astral lifeform gods. Oh well, I did send it underground as much as I could, so it won't be chasing after us for a while."

Entering the building together with me, Miyako-san spoke in a cheerful tone of voice.

Despite saying it was "close," she had not sweated at all. Despite having run quite a distance, she did not seem tired in the slightest.

—Not human, as expected.

Although it was something I already knew about, after witnessing that immense power of hers, I began to fear her. Yet she looked so much like Miyako.

When looking at her, my heart would get all jumbled up, making it impossible for me to think, so I lowered my head.

"...Thank you for saving me."

In spite of everything, gratitude was warranted after all.

The astral lifeform we had encountered just now as clearly different from phantasmal beasts and monsters. Only through Miyako-san crushing everything in the area were we able to halt the enemy, allowing us to escape to here.

Perhaps that was a god from a bygone age.

"No need to thank me. All I want is to help you, Mitsuki, that's why I'm traveling with you. Well, however, if you feel grateful to me, I wish you'd listen to me more."

Miyako-san sat down right in front of me, speaking in a slightly sad voice. I looked up to see her staring at me with a serious gaze.

"Hey Mitsuki, could you stop trying to save the world by doing something ridiculous like killing yourself? If you do that, you're not going to gain anything, right?"

"......To me, living would be more painful. I am the happiest now as Nii-san's number one, hence, things ought to end here. Nii-san will never kill me to save the world, so this is what you call two birds one stone."

I voiced the conclusion I had reached when I learned "the method to save the world."

ALthough I had no need to find companions, perhaps because she resembled my dear friend so much in appearance, I could not help but talk freer.

"Then if you want to save the world, just pass all of the end matter to me. I will die in your place, if that's what you want, Mitsuki."

"Do you really think I will believe that?"

I answered with my eyes narrowed. She smiled wryly.

"Well, I am aware that I'm not that persuasive. But you could try trusting me. Suppose you lost the reason of 'saving the world,' then you won't want to suicide, right?"

"Well...... No, even without that, I will still—"

I thought briefly, then shook my head at this meaningless hypothetical.

Miyako-san sighed with surprise at my response.

"Man you are in deep. Do you really like your brother that much? From what I can see, he's just a shameful guy who has neither the ability to choose the one girl he likes nor the courage to reject girls."

I could not help but smile at the merciless criticism. Indeed, someone who did not understand Nii-san would might reach such a conclusion. But—

"Nii-san does not lack the courage to reject girls. No matter how strong her affection, if accepting a girl's feelings would lead to her misfortune, Nii-san would give her a clear rejection, even if the girl had yet to confess. I have personally witnessed similar incidents many times."

Recalling the past during elementary school, I spoke. Nii-san might describe himself as unpopular, but he definitely acted with initiative back then.

Back in those days, Nii-san was taking seriously his promise to marry me in the future. But after that, he lost memories due to his deal with Yggdrasil and took on many burdens. But without courage, he never would have abandoned what he already possessed.

"For sure, Nii-san hopes that everyone dear to him can be happy. He is seriously thinking of bringing happiness to me, Iris-san and the others. To achieve this, the only way is to take responsibility for everyone who had turned into his mate."

I replied with confidence. I did not find Nii-san's choice to be shameful at all.

However, Miyako-san asked me with an unconvinced look.

"But with this, aren't you faced with misfortune then, Mitsuki!?"

Seeing her looking like she was about to cry, I felt my heart rend.

"...No, I am happy. Even if Nii-san had chosen me alone and distanced himself from the others, I would have done the same."

Once the Ninth Calamity was destroyed, ''the Nii-san who regarded me as number one'' would no longer exist. This was immutable. Even without any rivals, I probably could not come to accept this.

"Mitsuki, you're so stubborn. If you won't change your mind, I'll stop helping you, got that?"

"Suit yourself."

I did not back down. We stared each other in the eye.

I had already made my decision and had no intention to stop. Neither had I any intention to listen to her sweet lies.

"Are you sure? Without me, you have no way of handling astral lifeforms. You know that, right? No matter what path you take, you'll eventually run into them, so going it alone is not possible for you."

"Hmm.. Indeed, I have no means of opposing beast-like astral lifeforms. However, the one just now was an exception. So long as I choose my enemies, I will be able to break through."

After I answered in a firm tone of voice, Miyako slowly stood up expressionlessly.

"Is that so? Fine."

"Oh..."

Seeing her about to leave the building, I reflexively reached out—But halfway, I noticed it and stopped myself.

Yet even though my hand had not touched her, she stopped at the exit and looked back.

"If you've made up your mind to die, Mitsuki, I have my considerations too. I am going off to make preparations, don't strain yourself."

Looking at her eyes whose emotions I could not read, a bad feeling rose up in my heart.

However, before I could respond, she left the building. By the time I raced out frantically to chase her, she was already out of sight.

I hesitated whether I should go find her, but decided that the risk of encountering enemies on my own was too big.

There was no time for anything unnecessary. In any case, I must move forward—To achieve my objective.

Steeling my determination, I set off in what I believed was the direction of the unknown territory. Although the paths were winding, perhaps due to the end matter within me, I felt as though I was being guided.

Though I had no idea what Miyako-san was planning, all I needed to do was end everything before that.

The destination was near.

<center>*</center>

Flying off from Mitsuki's side, Shinomiya Miyako deployed a gigantic rainbow-colored halo around herself, speeding through the hazy mist.

Approaching astral lifeforms were sent flying before they could touch her.

Were she serious, getting to the unknown territory would be very easy too. She had lent a minimum level of assistance to Mitsuki, hoping to buy time to persuade her.

However, no matter how she pleaded, Miyako still failed to change Mitsuki's mind. Hence, she must take a different approach.

With many things weighing on her mind, Shinomiya Miyako increased her flying speed.

However, she was not flying towards the unknown territory. She was going back the way they had come from.

Ahead of her was the boundary between Ragnarok and the external world.

A heavy wall of mist isolating a world.

<center>*</center>

White mist covered the unknown territory.

On the sea near the white mist, the NIFL battleship, the ''Naglfar'', was moored.

"I wonder... if Mononobe has found Mitsuki-chan."

On the deck of the ''Naglfar'', Iris Freya murmured, looking at the wall of pure white mist.

"Lisa is with him. Don't worry."

Leaning against the railing on the deck, Tia spoke up. Close by, Ren nodded too.

"Yes, Onee-chan is there too."

However, sitting on the deck, reading a book, Firill sighed lightly.

"It worries me that Kili is there too. I feel that she might say something unnecessary and rub Mitsuki the wrong way. I'm so worried that I can't even read anymore..."

Hearing that, Iris hurried over to Firill's side, clenched her fist and insisted:

"Kili-chan will definitely help Mononobe! She won't get in the way!"

"Why are you so certain?"

Firill asked in surprise, causing Iris to reply with a stunned look on her face.

"Eh? Why...? I don't think Kili-chan will want Mononobe to really hate her, right..."

Hearing this answer, Firill giggled.

"Fufu, now that you mention it—That's true. That mischievousness of hers, the tendency to bully those she likes... Perhaps that reminds me of a stray cat. But now, the impression is more of a dog now."
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir_v13_BW07.jpg|thumb]]

"A dog?"

This time, it was Iris' turn to tilt her head in puzzlement.

"Kili is not a dog!"

Tia interjected with doubt on her face. However, Ren seriously made a correction.

"...Tia, that's a metaphor. I get it. The current Kili get overjoyed when Onii-chan asks her for help. She's a dog but in a different way than Jeanne."

Firill nodded contentedly after hearing Ren agree with her.

"Yes, that's it. If Jeanne is a loyal dog, then Kili would be a big dog that likes to seek your attention. Those two apparently worked together for a while, so they might be similar in nature."

"Firill... You mustn't repeat this before any of them."

Ren warned in exasperation. Firill suddenly looked back and forth across the deck then exhaled with relief.

"Great... We weren't overheard. Jeanne is with Shion, right?"

"Yes, Shion has not woken up at all, so she's very worried about her."

Ren replied. Iris also looked all over the deck.

"Eh? Vritra's gone too? We clearly came here together..."

"She got bored and returned to her cabin to sleep!"

Tia answered Iris' question.

"Well... There hasn't been any new developments after all. I can understand how she feels."

Smiling wryly, Firill looked at the wall of mist.

A sudden change—happened right then and there.

Suddenly, the mist expanded from inside. With a strange buzzing sound, a circular opening was gouged out from the wall of mist. After a while, a gust of strong wind blew towards the ''Naglfar''.

"Kyah!?"

The book in Firill's hand was blown all the way to the door of the entrance.

"T-Tia is going to be blown away!?"

Desperately holding onto the railing, Tia screamed.

"Mm... What is going on?"

Lowering her posture to resist the strong wind, Ren looked at someting flying out from the hole in the mist and gasped.

What came out first was a rainbow-colored halo with a diameter of a few dozen meters. Shimmering like aurora lights, the halo had many layers. In the center, a girl was floating.

"Ah—That person is..."

Iris cried out and looked in Firill's direction.

Indeed, among them, Firill was the only one who knew "her."

"...Miyako."

Firill quietly spoke the girl's name. Iris and the others looked into the air with an "I knew it" kind of expression. Soon after Shinomiya Miyako and the multi-layered halo exited the mist, the hole was quickly filled in.

Vuuuuuuuuuuuu...

The bridge had probably identified Shinomiya Miyako too. The sound of engine rumbling was heard from under the deck, accompanied by vibrations. The ''Naglfar'' started to turn around.

Loki Jotunheim's voice was broadcast outside the ship.

"—We will strike using the main cannon Babel Replica. To avoid the aftershock, everyone on deck must evacuate immediately."

"S-Suddenly attacking? Shouldn't we listen to her if she has something to say—"

Iris questioned, but Firill frowned and grabbed her hand.

"That isn't the real Miyako. It's something unidentified, created from end matter. Attacking is the right call. We too must fight."

Saying that, Firill generated her grimoire fictional armament, summoning wind to pull away from the ''Naglfar''.

With the prow pointed at Shinomiya Miyako, the ''Naglfar'' began to hover. At the prow was a cannon whose tip was bifurcated. It glowed with blinding light from within.

"It's identical to Mononobe's anti-dragon armament..."

Looking at the <i>Naglfar</i>'s main cannon, Iris murmured.

"Well, it is a replica of Babel after all."

From the air looking down at the main cannon that was about to fire, Firill concurred.

More than just the main cannon, the entire ship was an anti-dragon armament created using Atla's data as the foundation and actualized using modern technology. It was only natural for the <i>Naglfar</i>'s Babel to be similar to Marduk's original.

"Count down initiated. Three, two, one—"

Loki's voice sounded, conveying the timing of the shot.

Despite being in the main cannon's line of fire, Shinomiya Miyako made no effort to evade.

However, just before the main cannon fired, the rainbow-colored halo disintegrated, fluttered in the air, then recombined in front of Shinomiya Miyako to form a shield.

"Zero."

A black flash was fired. This flash was a supergravitational discontinuity that devoured everything including light.

This destructive power, distorting space and putting cracks on the surrounding scenery, clashed violently with the rainbow-colored halo deployed by Shinomiya Miyako.

BOOM—

A ripple appeared in the world. The ripple spread through the air, causing the ocean surface to drop greatly.

The shockwave also reached Firill and Iris immediately. Their reinforced air barrier was blown away.

"She blocked it...!"

Watching the two powers clash, Iris exclaimed in surprise.

The supergravitational discontinuity had not struck Shinomiya Miyako. The rainbow-colored halo had stopped it.

However, it was not a balanced stalemate. Layer after layer of the multi-layered rainbow-colored halo became distorted, shattered then fell apart.

"No, the attack should be able to break through if it continued—But..."

Firill disagreed with Iris but made a pained look.

It was obvious from a glance. The halo barrier was quite thick.

Sure enough, before the entire halo was penetrated, the black light weakened and disappeared. It was either insufficient energy or the barrel had reached its limit.

"Hey, should Tia attack?"

"I am ready. Any time."

Tia and Ren approached, waiting for Firill's instructions. Realizing she was the oldest among her teammates here, Firill spoke with a stiff expression.

"Wait. Ordinary attacks probably won't work. We will scatter and from three different directions—"

But before she could finish, Firill noticed. Shinomiya Miyako was looking at them.

The rainbow-colored halo gathered over Shinomiya Miyako and contracted. Looking almost like an angel with a halo, Shinomiya Miyako raised her hand.

Instantly, Firill and company experienced heavy weight.

"What—"

It felt like gravity had multiplied, causing their bodies to become heavy. Unable to remain in the air, Firill and the others descended bit by bit, desperately using wind to slow down.

However, they were over the ocean. The only place to land was the deck of the ''Naglfar''.

"S-So heavy, it hurts..."

Tia managed to land on the deck, but collapsed, unable to support herself.

"Tia-chan—"

Landing with Firill, Iris tried to get to Tia's side, but walking was difficult. Halfway, she had to crawl.

"The ''Naglfar'' is also... falling."

Landed on the edge of the deck, Ren looked down at the ocean and gasped. The hovering ''Naglfar'' was being pushed down towards the ocean by an invisible force.

"What... is this? Miyako's power?"

Looking up at Shinomiya Miyako who had raised a hand, Firill wondered.

Next, she met gazes with Shinomiya Miyako.

Shinomiya Miyako smiled faintly then slowly descended to where Firill and the others were.

"Firill, it's been a long time. How are you doing?"

Smiling cheefully, Shinomiya Miyako greeted cordially.

"...Amazing. Really... Identical. But I know you are an impostor. Impostor... Stop acting familiar with me."

Despite her surprise, Firill glared at the Shinomiya Miyako who had landed within speaking distance.

"Indeed, I am an impostor. I am your enemy, born from end matter—remains that had met demise eons ago. However... In spite of that, I am still me."

With a mixture of laughter and sorrow on her face, Shinomiya Miyako raised her hand at the sky.

Next, a black sphere appeared parallel to her hand.

The sphere gradually grew big, forming a dark mass that did not seem three dimensional at all.

"Dark matter...? No, it's normally impossible to generate so much at once. Then could it be—"

Looking down at Firill, who was mustering all her strength just to look up, Shinomiya Miyako nodded.

"Indeed, this is end matter. This is the darkness when all life and matter reach their end. The 'Black Egg of Angolmois'—the realm of death thirsting for new life. This is the 'ninth calamity' seeking to destroy this planet. Unable to use your authority to its full potential, you lot have no way of countering it."

"...Angol... mois?"

Firill repeated the name with a frown. Shinomiya Miyako spoke with pity.

"That is the name of the world that will soon be born. However, that is irrelevant to you. Forget it."

"...You intend to kill us?"

Feeling the despair brought by the expanding dark mass, Firill asked hoarsely. But her question only caused Shinomiya Miyako to snort coldly.

"Kill you? Don't make me laugh. For us—end matter—what else could be more valuable than the living? As such... Absorbing you alive should be obvious."

The pitch black sphere arrived over the heads of Firill and the others. The darkness was descending like an avalanche.

"O catastrophe—Actualize!"

Iris suddenly released a red flash of Catastrophe towards the air.

It was a powerful authority, capable of penetrating time to weather away all creation.

However, the red destruction vanished, swallowed by the darkness.

"How could weathering be effective against that which has met demise?"

Shinomiya Miyako mocked.

"S-Sorry... Mononobe."

Leaving these words, Iris was sucked into the descending darkness.

"Kyah!?"

"Mm!?"

Helpless, Tia and Ren disappeared into the torrent of darkness. Firill called out to the enemy who had taken her precious companions.

"Miyako!!"

However, her voice too was swallowed by the darkness. The deck of the ''Naglfar'' was smeared with a vast swathe of pure black.

Although faint blue lights flashed in the darkness, they were gradually weakening.

"Weak lights—All you can do is illuminate yourself. Sorry, Firill... You are my dear friend, but Mitsuki is my number one."

Shinomiya Miyako spoke to the sea of end matter.

At the same time, she already knew there would be no reply—
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