Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 4 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 1===

Firill and I, the two of us, were walking in town before dawn.

Although the air was very chilly, it was not a problem as we were fully prepared for the cold. Firill was dressed in a very warm looking coat with a hat made of insulating materials. Prioritizing mobility, I was wearing a thick jacket with a scarf.

Our destination was a plaza that overlooked the entire waterfall—The location of the final showdown against Hraesvelgr.

We were walking to the waterfall from the palace on foot.

"...Will they attack?"

Firill exhaled white breath, lowering her voice to ask me.

"If they know about the dragon mark changing color... They'll definitely come. Because they also want to settle things before Hraesvelgr's arrival."

I inserted my hands into my pockets and answered while looking up at the cloudy sky. Judging from the cloud cover in the sky, it looked like it might snow soon.

"If nothing happens... This would just be an ordinary date, right?"

"If that's the case, it'd still be nice."

"...Yeah, I guess."

Firill chuckled lightly and nodded in agreement.

"Mononobe-kun."

"Yes?"

"If it's a date... Let's hold hands."

Firill drew out her hand from her coat pocket and said that to me.

"Eh? N-No, umm..."

I frantically looked around.

Since Kili herself was also NIFL's target, we left Kili in the palace, but the others were watching us from afar. I asked them to protect Firill from a distance in case a battle broke out and not to worry about covering me.

Iris was among them of course, hence I could not help but worry about her gaze.

"You refuse?"

Seeing emotions of uneasiness wavering in Firill's eyes, I had no choice but to give up resisting. I exhaled.

"It's not that I refuse, but... Your hand will get cold."

"Then let's do this."

Firill reached into my pocket and entwined her fingers with mine.

"H-Hey."

"...Now this is very warm."

Blushing slightly, she smiled.

"Urgh..."

Feeling very embarrassed, I looked away.

The mountain range in the east was began to whiten while starlight was gradually fading.

"This is my first date with a boy."

"That's because you're a princess."

"Yes... Since you invited me, a princess, out on a date, Mononobe-kun... Do you have the resolve to become a prince?"

Firill cocked her head and smiled mischievously while she asked me.

"What—A-A prince?"

Speaking of which, I recalled her saying something similar last time. On that occasion, she had said: "Do not fall for me unless you have the resolve to be a prince."

"You don't?"

Firill gripped my hand harder in my pocket and leaned herself over. her soft bosom made contact with my arm.

"F-Firill..."

Not knowing which part of what she said was serious, I felt rather troubled.

"Perhaps this might be the last chance. Even if it's just for now, if you'll be my prince... I'll be very glad."

Firill rested her head against my shoulder and spoke in a trembling voice.

Hearing her say that, I noticed she was simply feeling afraid.

"It's not the last. I will absolutely find a solution, so don't go talking like a defeatist."

I gripped her hand in return and declared forcefully.

"Yeah... You're right, I'm sorry. After hearing your encouragement, Mononobe-kun, I feel like things will really be fine, but..."

Firill made a gloomy expression and gazed at me quietly.

"Right now, Mononobe-kun, you're making the same expression as Grandfather."

"Same expression?"

"The expression of deciding to protect. It's also an expression that makes others believe they're being protected. However, it's also very ''one-sided'' in feeling. That's the kind of expression it is."

Firill's gaze did not leave my face while she spoke.

"......"

Realizing my thoughts had been read, I looked away, silent.

"For my sake, Mononobe-kun, are you planning to do something?"

"—Nothing much, I'm just doing what I can."

"Really? I guess I've failed to convey my message to you, just like with Grandfather."

Firill spoke sorrowfully. White breath dispersed in the wind.

"......"

I responded with silence again, because I had no idea what to say.

"It's okay, I understand. Right now, I'll let you protect me one-sidedly, but if I survive today as a human... I will take revenge."

"Huh?"

I was surprised by this unexpected statement. I looked back at Firill, only to see her determined gaze staring straight at me.

"I will take one-sided revenge on you... Prepare yourself."

Firill smiled in a domineering manner.

Although cold sweat slid down my cheek, I decided it was a good thing that she was still able to consider the future.

Even though for me, it was going to be a day of hardship.

Prick.

I suddenly felt goosebumps form on my neck.

Like being pricked by a pin, I sensed sharp and subtle killing intent.

I instantly switched my consciousness to awaken the monster of my subconscious, deep in my heart, as a substitute. I awakened the "Fafnir" sleeping inside me.

The line of killing intent was not directed towards me but to Firill.

Anti-materiel armor—Damascus 09P.

Clang—!

I used a small piece of armor plating to deflect the bullet sniping Firill between her eyes.

"Eh!?"

Seeing sparks scatter before her eyes, Firill was surprised.

"Don't worry, I'll end this soon."

To reassure Firill, I smiled at her gently.

"Oh... O-Okay."

Firill nodded, her cheeks reddening slightly.

Then I stepped forward and turned my gaze towards where the bullet came from.

''He'' emerged from around a corner ahead.

The man wearing silver armor under a coat—Hreidmar. A hard luster could be seen under the hood. He was approaching us. As expected, Major Loki must have gotten news of Firill's dragon mark changing in color.

Yesterday, he had overwhelmed me, but for some reason, right now... I did not think I would lose.

There was no longer any hesitation in my heart. Killing him, changing myself, none of that mattered anymore.

Surely, it was because I was going to lose something very important next.

I feared forgetting, fearing to the point of not knowing what to do To think that I still had this much emotions of fear left in my heart.

Compared to this fear, compared to the fear of loss, mere change was nothing to be afraid of.

My consciousness was sharper and clearer than ever.

Behind me, Firill's breathing, the air currents around her, the sharp gazes directed in this direction from various places, the faint sounds of the waterfall far away, the flapping of birds' wings across the sky—

Including the sixth sense, all of my senses were expanding, filling my entire body with a sense of omnipotence as though I ruled the world.

"As long as I'm here, I won't allow you to touch a single hair of Firill's. If you come over, I will use killing methods to stop you."

I declared quietly while Hreidmar responded to me with killing intent.

As though replaying what happened yesterday, he threw a knife from within his coat without any preparatory motion.

But in my current state, I could easily predict his movements. The "Fafnir" surpassing him was controlling my body.

While twisting my body, I used my left hand to grab the hilt of the incoming knife.

Anti-armor weapon—Enlil.

Then using my empty right hand, I created a gun for taking down armored troops, firing a vibration bullet at him.

However, he predicted the bullet's trajectory, dodged the bullet and closed in on me.

I saw him pull out a black gun from inside his coat.

But before he could pull the trigger, I threw the knife at the muzzle.

As the gunshot rang out, an earsplitting metallic sound was heard all around

After clashing with the bullet, the knife spun up into the air.

Then came the next shot—the sound of Hreidmar's gunshot and mine overlapped.

Against his bullet, I used a vibration bullet this time. In my current state, taking his bullet trajectory into account was a piece of cake.

Then two impacts were heard. The first came from the vibration bullet deflecting his bullet. The second came from the vibration bullet, continuing straight to strike his gun.

The gun in Hreidmar's hand was sent flying. Transmitted to his body, the vibrations made him lose balance in his posture.

Without missing the opening, I fired the rest of Enlil's bullets at his body from point blank range.

The monotonous gunshots rang repeatedly.

Striking him, the vibration bullets ripped his coat and caused him to tilt backwards greatly.

An ordinary person would have fainted from the first hit. But despite having been hit by many bullets, he remained standing.

This was not something achievable through willpower or determination alone. Most likely, he had used highly refined martial arts to send most of the impacts to the ground.

But he could not be unharmed after all. For an instant, his movements halted.

That was enough. His life was in my hands now. The killing "Fafnir" did not let go of that opening. Opening its jaws, it buried its fangs into him.

Anti-materiel weapon—Ishtar.

I tossed Enlil away and used transmutation to create an anti-materiel rifle that was meant for sniping.

Goodbye, Hreidmar.

I bid him farewell in my thoughts.

I knew neither his true name, his appearance, nor his voice. But in my heart, I deeply carved the appearance of this man who was so strong that I used to watch him intently, the first human to be killed by me.

I pressed this large gun against Hreidmar's left chest and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The heavy gunshot rumbled. The armor on his left chest was blown away as though exploding, but—

—Boom!

White smoke, resembling steam, shot out from inside the armored outfit with frightening force.

"Gah!?'

Finding my view obscured by the smoke, I let go of Ishtar and pulled away from Hreidmar. Perhaps I shot through a smoke grenade hidden on his body.

I definitely felt from my hand that I had shot him just now, but I still kept my distance from him, staying on guard against a counterattack until the smoke cleared.

In this quiet town at dawn, cold wind blew, revealing Hreidmar's figure.

He was lying on the ground, completely motionless.

Perhaps due to the explosion just now, the front of the armor had cracked wide open from inside.

"...?"

Feeling something was not right, I approached him cautiously, then—I saw that the armored outfit was empty.

"He... escaped?"

Witnessing that scene, I muttered. I did not sense anyone leaving in the smoke just now and judging from the crack in the armor, coming out from there was a bit difficult.

Nevertheless—I could not think of any other possibility apart from that. It was not like ''the armor could have been empty from the start''.

Given it was Hreidmar, it would not be too surprising for him to retreat without me noticing. Since he had definitely suffered a severe injury, I should be able to conclude that he was routed.

"Phew.."

Although this was in hindsight, I breathed a slight sigh of relief that I could take care of things without killing anyone.

The only issue left was—

"Sleipnir! I know you guys are here!"

I yelled at the members of Sleipnir, watching me from various places with their presences concealed.

If I believed what John had said, they were in charge of surveillance and clean up, which was why they had not taken action so far. But I had no idea what orders they were given in the event that Hreidmar was defeated.

"Just as you can see, I defeated Hreidmar! You'd better take care of this thing and retreat!"

I indicated at Hreidmar's armored outfit with my arm then continued:

"If your target is also Firill, then I won't show any mercy. Bring it on if you feel like dying."

Saying that, I walked over to Firill.

"Mononobe-kun, thank you for protecting me, umm... You're very cool."

Staring at me in a slight trance, Firill thanked me.

"It's too early for thanks. The real battle is only beginning now."

Saying that, I started walking with Firill towards our destination, the waterfall.

Even if Sleipnir continued to observe without attacking, I still intended to eliminate their combat ability. In order to focus wholly on the battle against Hraesvelgr, I must get rid of all uncertain factors here.

I advanced without lowering my guard.

After walking for a while, I looked back. Hreidmar's armored outfit was gone and Sleipnir's presence had vanished.

It looked like they had retreated.

Then that left only one thing to do.

Namely, to put everything of mine on the line—to defeat "Yellow" Hraesvelgr, that was all.