Editing Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden:Volume 6 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 6===

{{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}, floor 11, Cadet Guard residences.

“……It’s scary seeing this.”

Returning to his room, Sheltis booted up the agency terminal at his work desk.

He entered in his member ID that was carved into his badge and windows popped up rapidly on the monitor. Finally, his fingers that were operating the keys came to a stop at the screen showing the mail.

Received mail ‘''1''‘

Sender ‘          ‘

 

“''To all of {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}──''

''I shall teach you a valuable secret.''

''A Yuugenshu has changed its form to that of a person and disguised itself as one of your Guards. In order to draw it out, I recommend exposing all the tower’s Guards to the Priestesses’ baptism spells.''“

 

“One message received and the sender is unknown……this is it.”

“''Yes, it’s the same as the message Kagura showed you. It really did arrive later than hers. Though the motive for that is unknown.''“

“……No developments; that’s a relief.”

He breathed a sigh of relief as he relaxed.

If a second message had been sent while he was training and the name of the corresponding Guard were written ── he had only avoided that worst-case scenario.

“''Even putting the Priestesses’ baptism spells aside, starting with Ymy, Meimel and Syun-rei are also aware of you. If it comes to it, you should be able to deceive the others with their assistance.''“

“……But we can’t solve the root of the problem like that.”

The sender was somebody outside of {{furigana|the floating continent|Orbie Clar}}, meaning they were somewhere on the distant {{furigana|floating archipelago|Lagoon}}. But that sender’s name was blank. It was the same as having nary a clue.

……Somebody outside of {{furigana|the floating continent|Orbie Clar}} who knows of me?

……The Governmental Sector? No, even within the Governmental Sector, there shouldn’t be anybody this well-informed.

“I wonder if my weakness has been grasped.”

“''As long as your opponent’s identity remains unspecified, this will be a one-sided defensive battle.''“

With his weakness in hand, the other party might come to him with negotiations. It was like grabbing at clouds but he also required information on the opponent.

“''I’ll do my best and it seems like Kagura will also render assistance.''“

“Thanks. I’d also like to think of somebody likely but the message is written like this and the name is also a blank space………………blank, ……blank……space?”

…………Blank?

What is this……nagging feeling?

Something……maybe I……am overlooking something really important?

“''What’s wro──''“

“Wait!……I need to concentrate.”

He even stopped breathing as he focused on thinking.

There was no name attached to the mail. It was a blank field without a single character written in it. But what if the fact that there is no name is the most important part of this message?

……Blank……blank……empty…………that basically means bla…………bla……nk.”<ref>[T/N: This is really hard to put into English because the furigana says "blank" when there's more variation. The first part is 空欄 (blank space). The second one is ブランク which is the wasei-eigo (Japanese-style English) form of the word blank, pronounced buranku. Third part is 空っぽ which means "empty" like an empty room. The last little bit is 空白 which is the kanji for Igun-I's name.]</ref>

…………'''There is someone'''.

 

“''Hey, Sheltis, I’ve been awaiting the time we would meet in this world.''“

 

There was just one person. A person who identified themselves as ‘''{{furigana|Blank|Igun-I}}''‘.

The assassin from the unnamed third organization that attacked the Governmental Sector together with {{furigana|Golden|Maha}}. He had confronted him at the floor where Mikuva’s Crimson Eye shone, that pitch black──

“……Igun-I.”

“''Eh?''“

“Ilis, you should remember as well, about that creepy guy we met at the Governmental Sector. He was looking down at us from atop the ‘''Crimson Eye''‘ and, in the end, said he had been waiting for me and wanted to meet me.”

“''He called himself {{furigana|Blank|Igun-I}}……ahh, I get it. It’s the type of joke that I’m not good with. ……But I wonder if it’s really that person. Is there some kind of proof to confirm this?''“

“There’s no proof; it’s really just intuition.”

But he could feel it.

This commotion within him like shivers was telling him that his intuition was correct.

 

“''Chase me if you want to know the truth. Now, Sheltis, please chase after me. That will be the beginning of everything.''“

 

……The beginning of everything.

……What awaits me after I chase him?

“Is this to lure me out?”

“''It’s a problem that we can’t say you’re over-thinking things. Truthfully, I also have my doubts about that person. I’m curious as to who he is.''“

“You’re also interested?”

“''Yes. The truth is, that person, that was my──''“

Immediately after.

The crystal portion that was shining brilliantly in blue lost its light and changed to a dark grey.

“Mm?”

“……No, I won’t say. It’s too much to say for a guess. At any rate, pinning down the enemy’s objective is a silver lining. We may be able to figure out a countermeasure so it’s most important.”

He clenched his fist atop his lap.

And──

“Oh?”

{{furigana|Machine crystal|Ilis}} who had lowered the intensity of her light flashed once again.

“Hey, hey, Sheltis, an urgent mission is being announced by the Guard Regulations Institute. The location is the Biotope’s S vector section……on the bank of a large salt lake. The nearest patrolling unit of Regular Guards is performing an emergency response so they wish for the Cadet Guards to also participate as a supporting unit.”

“It’s by the Instructor’s recommendation so there’s a chance we might be called.”

It was the same as the time the Regular Guard unit was wiped out by Golden Maha. The primary force would be Elite Guards and Regular Guards and Cadet Guards recommended by the Instructor would act as support for them.

“What are the mission details?”

“''It’s the subjugation of a Yuugenshu. It broke through the encirclement……no……but this is…………?''“

Separating from her momentary silence, {{furigana|machine crystal|Ilis}} continued.

“''There was a previous report about this Yuugenshu being sighted. Please wait a moment, I will retrieve the information from {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}’s Yuugenshu list.''“

“……It’s a strong one.”

It was no coincidence that it had escaped once in the past and broken through the encirclement this time.

There was a high chance that it possessed a special type of mateki or exceedingly powerful mateki. To kill it for certain, two or three Regular Guard units would be required for a medium-sized one and three for a large-sized one.

“──”

He held fast to his card-shaped badge that shined silver. An order to gather from the Instructor might be sent to this badge at any time.

……If it’s a strong Yuugenshu, two or three Cadet Guard units might be necessary.

……Maybe Monica’s badge has already been contacted at this time?

“Ilis, how is the retrieval?”

“''I just finished the comparison of the entire list, or in other words, the verification checks. The result of a comparison with {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}’s list yielded one full match. ……But this is troublesome.''“

“The Yuugenshu?”

“''Yes. You remember the area I said that the Yuugenshu was found in?''“

“A large salt lake. You said it was in the Biotope’s S vector section──”

 

“''We Priestesses call that ‘''delayed sin type''‘ mateki. ‘''S vector, eighth class''‘……that’s the common name of the Yuugenshu that Horn-san is chasing after.''“

 

……The Yuugenshu Ymy had told him about that time.

“It can’t be.”

The reason {{furigana|machine crystal|Ilis}} said it was troublesome.

……The one {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}} is chasing after now is the one Horn is chasing after?

……In that case, this is bad.

“If somebody is afflicted with that one’s mateki──”

“''Yes. It is mateki that cannot be purified even with the power of the Priestesses. Before victims appear amongst the Guards, swift subjugation of the Yuugenshu is necessary. In the worst case scenario, we will need to tell Ymy.''“

The problem was Horn Nova.

She should have also received this information. She should be desiring a one-on-one conclusive battle with that Yuugenshu. But even for a Sennenshi like her, fighting a Yuugenshu whose mateki even a Priestess couldn’t purify while not in a calm state was too dangerous.

“……Ilis. Tell Monica to get ready to head out at once.”

He stood up without turning off the terminal.

He once again put on the jacket he had taken off and fastened the holders at his belt.

……I’ll leave the thing with Igun-I until later.

……This takes priority.

“''Are you heading out?''“

“I’ll head to floor 288 first; we need to stop Horn if she’s planning on running off ahead alone.”