Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 4 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 2===

The sun appeared from the eastern mountain range. The clouds in the sky turned from dark gray to the color of dawn. The rising sun's bright rays lengthened the shadows under our feet, adding rich colors to the large amount of river water flowing from the lake.

From the center of the plaza, some distance away, I watched the Great Waterfall of Erlia, rumbling today as before.

By my side were Firill, Mitsuki and Iris.

Lisa, Ariella, Ren and Tia were stationed on the edges of the plaza as though surrounding us.

Since the surrounding roads had been sealed off, there were no other people in sight.

"It will be soon."

Checking Firill's dragon mark whose color change was about to complete, Mitsuki murmured nervously. Since we were farther away from the waterfall than last time, it was possible to hear one another at normal speaking volume.

"Yeah..."

Time was drawing near—the moment to end "my current self" was about to arrive. Repeatedly replaying memories in my mind that I did not want to lose, I nodded at Mitsuki.

My memories with Mitsuki, things that had happened after coming to Midgard—If possible, I did not want to forget any of this.

"Don't worry, Mononobe."

Immediately, Iris made a look as though she understood everything and smiled at me.

Seeing her smile, I felt my shoulders relax a little. Indeed—No matter what I lost, Iris will surely remember it for me.

Seeing us gazing into each other's eyes, Mitsuki coughed lightly.

"Ahem, then let us confirm the plan now. After Hraesvelgr enters visual range, Nii-san will attack with the 'trump card' before it approaches. If Hraesvelgr cannot be defeated completely, everyone will join into attack—Is this sequence correct?"

"Yes."

"Then one more thing. If this plan fails, then what?"

Mitsuki asked me, as well as Firill who was sitting on a bench in the plaza.

"Well..."

I was speechless for a moment. Unlike last time with Iris, Mitsuki had not pleaded with me, "it would be better to kill her rather than let her become a dragon." In the event that the worst-case scenario arrived, what did Firill hope to do—I still did not know.

I looked at Firill. Exhaling lightly, she answered.

"...I don't want to die."

"Firill-san, are you fine with turning into a dragon?"

Mitsuki asked in a cautious tone.

"Frankly speaking, I do feel that becoming a dragon is slightly better than dying. However—Mitsuki, and Lisa too, you probably won't allow it, right?"

"......"

Mitsuki replied with silence and a pained expression.

"Hence, rather than making you suffer that kind of pain from killing me, I'd rather end my own life. Although I don't want to die... I'd hate for things to end up like with Miyako, forcing you and the others to suffer all this time."

Shinomiya Miyako was Mitsuki's best friend who had caught the Kraken's eye and got turned into a dragon. Due to guilt from killing Miyako personally, Mitsuki had suffered deeply the whole time. Defeating all dragons was one of her ways of atonement.

Probably because she had watched Mitsuki suffer since a long time ago, Firill took out a combat knife from her coat's inside pocket.

"That's Hreidmar's—"

I was surprised to see the knife Firill was holding. After I used Hreidmar's knife to block a bullet, I had no idea where it had flown off.

"I picked it up just now."

Firill smiled wryly and ran her fingertips along the back of the blade.

I reflexively reached out, trying to take the knife from her hand, but—seeing the light of resolve in her eyes, I stopped.

"I absolutely won't let you use that thing."

I clenched my fist and slowly lowered my hand. As though squeezing my voice out, I told her.

"...Yes."

Firill gripped the knife's hilt tightly and nodded.

"Ah—"

At this moment, she showed a painful expression.

"Firill-chan, what's wrong?"

Iris frantically asked her. Firill groaned while pressing her hand on her shoulder's dragon mark.

"...It's hot."

"S-Show me!"

Mitsuki frantically pulled her collar to check the dragon mark on her shoulder, only to see the mark glow with yellow radiance completely beyond what it was earlier.

"The dragon mark has changed in color completely. Nii-san, Hraesvelgr is coming."

Mitsuki reported to me then raised her hand to signal to everyone in the corners of the plaza.

Hence, Lisa and the others summoned their fictional armaments and looked at the sky.

"Iris, I'm counting on you."

I looked up at the cloudy sky and extended my hand towards Iris.

Although it was unknown what kind of data I could obtain from Yggdrasil, assuming similar specs as the anti-dragon weapons I had used before, materializing it would definitely require borrowing dark matter from someone else.

Since Firill must act appropriately at the critical moment, I had asked Iris to be in charge of supplying me with dark matter.

However, Iris stared at my hand then shook her head to refuse.

"Mononobe, I feel that it's better for Mitsuki-chan to do it this time."

"Huh?"

"Mitsuki-chan, even while transferring dark matter, you can still give orders to everyone, right? So please, could you take my place?"

Without waiting for my answer, Iris said to Mitsuki.

"Why so suddenly—"

"Please, if it's with you, Mitsuki-chan, it'll definitely succeed!"

Seeing Iris so serious, Mitsuki reluctantly nodded.

"If you say so... Fine. Then please go to Firill-san's side and accompany her, Iris-san."

Mitsuki held my left hand lightly with her right.

Since I had grown taller, Mitsuki's hand felt smaller compared to when we were young.

Just by holding hands, many memories awakened in a chain reaction. This was proof of the times Mitsuki and I had spent together.

Even if some memories had already been forgotten, we shared many many memories, connecting us together as family.

She was always playing the role of the warmth closest to me, the voice most familiar to my ears.

With just that, I felt I could face any trial, no matter what, but—

Iris had yielded the spot by my side to Mitsuki. Feeling curious about her true thoughts, I looked at Iris.

Meeting my gaze, Iris showed a melancholic smile and nodded slightly at me.

"Do your best, Mononobe. As long as you hold hands, you won't lose it, right?"

"Iris..."

Iris probably asked Mitsuki to switch so that I would forget the least about Mitsuki.

Feeling her thoughts and wishes, I shifted my gaze back into the sky.

—Thank you.

Even without holding hands, I could still strongly feel the bond between Iris and me. I absolutely won't forget the sensation lingering on my lips.

"Right now, Nii-san... You feel exactly the same as three years ago."

Immediately, Mitsuki showed uneasiness in her gaze, looking at the side of my face while I was staring at the sky.

"—You're thinking too much. There's no need to make such a worried look. Leave it to me."

I felt guilty inside but I answered forcefully.

However, Mitsuki's expression stiffened further.

"It is identical just as I suspected. Back then also, Nii-san, after you suddenly said leave it to you... Hekatonkheir was driven away. Afterwards, Nii-san, you disappeared."

After speaking in a trembling voice, Mitsuki gripped my hand tighter.

"Nii-san... You are not going to disappear again, are you?"

"No, I want to stay by your side forever, Mitsuki. That's why—You have to hold onto me tightly."

The sun was clearly still at the mountain's edge but another part of the clouds in the sky suddenly brightened.

It was coming...!

Noticing Hraesvelgr's arrival, I closed my eyes and called to Yggdrasil in my mind.

Lend me your power, Yggdrasil! Lend me the power to defeat Hraesvelgr!

—Demand acknowledged, data transfer restarting.

As though it had been waiting for my call all along, Yggdrasil's emotionless voice replied immediately.

Some part of my consciousness connected to it and a vast volume of data flowed in.

"Gah..."

My brain screamed. The internal pressure from the information flowing in was twisting my heart and soul.

My thoughts were in chaos. My emotions were devoured.

Memories—gradually getting distant.

The more information that flowed in, the more I lost in return.

It felt like being forced to watch a movie fast forwarded at several hundred times the speed without allowing my gaze to shift, engraving everything onto my mind.

My accumulated past was gradually collapsing, as though pushed out by the newly written information.

However, I did not know what I was losing. The instant something left me, I had already forgotten what it was.

Even the sense of loss making me want to scream loudly was being engulfed by the flood of information, to the point that even wanting to feel sad was not allowed.

The incoming data was like a tree's roots, gradually invading the deepest layer of my consciousness.

The existence in my mind that was not myself was gradually increasing in proportion.

Enduring that unpleasant feeling of a foreign object, I searched for the information I needed.

Having lost the foundation known as memories, I desperately kept my unstable personality together and dove into the sea of information.

Faced with Hraesvelgr which was immune to all sorts of physical interference, I sought a weapon capable of dealing with that dragon effectively.

Beneath my eyelids, numerous lights kept flashing.

Soul, spirit—I kept searching weapons data, among them included armaments that the modern world would view as occult concepts.

—Match found, anti-dragon weapon Marduk, auxiliary armament.

I heard Yggdrasil's voice in my mind.

Then gradually supplementing the data of the still incomplete Marduk, I looked for the potential to breakthrough the current predicament.

Disconnect!

The instant I obtained the necessary weapon information, I raised my mental defenses to prevent more data from flowing in.

Severing Yggdrasil's circuits, I was liberated from the pressure of information.

My name is—Mononobe Yuu.

Confirming my own name, I opened my eyes and swept my gaze in a circle.

Scattered in the corners of the plaza, the girls wielding fictional armaments—Tia, Lisa, Ariella, Ren—I remembered all their names.

Behind me, holding a knife, watching the battle silently was the princess from the Principaliy of Erlia—Firill. By her side, watching me worriedly was Iris.

Then right now, the girl holding hands with me, I clearly recognized her name was Mitsuki.

However—

"Ah..."

I could not help but cry out.

"Nii-san?"

Mitsuki looked at me, her expression seemed to be asking "What is the matter?"

"N-Nothing."

Despite feeling a vague outline of what I had lost, I still shifted my gaze back to the sky.

Since I had not forgotten the reason for fighting, I should focus my attention on the opponent that needed to be taken out, not think about unnecessary things for now.

But why did I feel so unsettled? Clearly Mitsuki and I... were holding each other's hand.

That cold omen was putting me at a loss what to do. At this moment, I saw the golden light flying in. A brightly shining giant bird appeared, breaking past the clouds. The instant I saw that bird, I dispelled all unnecessary thoughts.

The yellow dragon—"Yellow" Hraesvelgr.

It was the dragon in pursuit of Firill, as well as the enemy that must be defeated.

And now, the method to defeat it was already in my mind.

I had probably obtained it in exchange for something irreplaceable.

Borrowing Mitsuki's dark matter, I constructed the lost weapon for slaughtering that dragon.

"Marduk... Psionic multi-barreled cannon, Noah!"

Pitch-black dark matter was gradually transmuted into a pre-civilization weapon.

On a rotating turret, the double-barreled artillery took on physical form. Since it was a size smaller than the previous weapons, Noah was almost in a complete state after I constructed it.

The multi-barreled design had glowing lines carved on the surface. Moving according to my will, it aimed at Hraesvelgr.

All previous anti-dragon weapons were controlled by a mental link, but I felt an even stronger connection to this multi-barreled cannon.

The vitality inside my body was gradually sucked away by Noah.

Reading the downloaded information, I gradually understood what kind of weapon it was.

The inventors of this weapon had discovered tiny quantities of particles in the atmosphere that interacted with souls—namely, what we now called ether—then apparently found applications for it.

Noah, the Ark going through to the Far Beyond, was a weapon for amplifying and firing the gunner's thoughts. After being compressed to high density, mental waves could cause a slight amount of ether to materialize, thereby obtaining the power to interact physically—

I did not know whether the inventors created this weapon with something like Hraesvelgr as an imaginary enemy. However, since it used mental energy, there was a high chance that it could interfere with Hraesvelgr's spirit body.

Considering this weapon's characteristics, I could predict that the higher the density of ether, the more powerful the shots.

Golden particles were starting to drift down like snow.

I aimed at the source of those particles—Hraesvelgr descending in a straight line—and fired my own spirit.

"—Fire!"

The double-barreled cannon fired shells of light at the same time.

When confronted with positron blasts and antimatter projectiles, Hraesvelgr made no effort to dodge, but now, it flapped its wings hard and halted rapidly in the air.

Most likely, it instinctively detected danger.

However, Hraesvelgr's evasive action was not fast enough. Out of the two shots, one struck the edge of its wing.

Golden feathers scattered.

"...It's working!"

Iris cheered.

But Hraesvelgr regrouped in the air and switched to flying in a spiral.

Although I hit the target and had inflicted damage, it was quite far from a critical wound.

Then I just had to keep firing until I ran out of energy.

Rotating the turret to track the flying Hraesvelgr, I fired consecutively.

"Crash down!!"

I understood that my fatigue would gradually accumulate with the firing of each shell of light. The shells' source was my thoughts—mental energy. The more I fired, the power known as fighting spirit or mental energy, which supported the mind, would gradually deplete.

Hraesvelgr was turning rapidly in the air above the waterfall, dodging the multi-barreled cannon.

I could not hit again, the number of attacks were not enough.

Hraesvelgr was steadily decreasing its altitude. Fluttering in the surroundings, the golden particles were gradually increasing in concentration. If it approached a bit closer, we would probably get enveloped in particles again and lose our ability to move.

In that case—

"Please, Iris, give me your dark matter too!"

Without looking back, I extended my empty right hand backwards.

Since Mitsuki's dark matter was continually converted into energy to drive the turret, I needed Iris' help ''to create another turret''.

"G-Got it!"

Iris gripped my right palm with her warm hand, filling my heart with power—Her dark matter flowed into me.

"Noah—second turret!"

I continued to fire at Hraesvelgr while simultaneously constructing a second psionic multi-barreled cannon next to me.

This strained my mind heavily, making me dizzy.

However, using willpower, I maintained my consciousness that was about to cut off, then I stared at Hraesvelgr in the sky.

"FIRE!!"

The first turret's shells were fired as though chasing Hraesvelgr while the second turret's shells were fired as though blocking the direction of its advance.

Nevertheless, Hraesvelgr twisted its body nimbly. The shells merely brushed past its wings.

—Strike!!

I gritted my teeth and continued to fire consecutively.

I fired nonstop at the light of souls in the sky, but this was still not enough.

The shells brushed past Hraesvelgr's body many times, but were off by a sliver. None were direct hits.

The particles in the surroundings were getting more concentrated. The time limit was at hand.

At this rate, we were not going to make it.

"Firill too... Please!"

I made a final gamble. Although my brain might short circuit, there was no other choice left.

"Eh, b-but... in the critical moment, I need to take my own—"

"Forget about later! If you fight as hard you can now, perhaps there will be a way! If you want to live—lend me your strength!"

"......Okay!"

Clang, the knife fell to the ground. Firill hugged me from behind.

I could feel a voluptuous and soft sensation on my back. Her dark matter also flowed into me.

Normally speaking, I could not possibly handle dark matter from three people, but since weapon blueprints served as an unerring filter, I was able to control and transmute Firill's dark matter as well through this filter.

"Noah—T.H.I.R.D. T.U.R.R.E.T!!"

I had long passed the limit of my processing power. My brain screamed. My head felt like it was going to explode from inside.

However, I gritted my teeth as though trying to grind my teeth to dust, squeezing out power beyond my limit.

The third psionic multi-barreled cannon was gradually constructed. I felt blood dripping from my nose.

Even so, I still clung forcibly to my consciousness, locking on the target with my blurry eyes, firing three multi-barreled cannons at the same time.

"FIRE!!"

Hraesvelgr tried to turn rapidly in a panic, but this time, it was cornered.

Two of the six shots struck directly. The giant golden bird lost balance completely.

—Now victory is decided!

"Fire, fire, fire, fire—!!"

I mustered all my strength, turning the will to vanquish that dragon into ammunition, firing consecutively with the three Noahs.

With every impact, golden particles would scatter, gradually thinning out Hraesvelgr's coating of light.

If Hraesvelgr existed and lived in this world, it must possess a living physical body. The power to manifest souls must also be used while in a living state. This was a matter-of-fact principle.

The coating of light was most likely Hraesvelgr's own spirit. Unlike humans whose spirit was contained within the body of flesh, Hraesvelgr's spirit must be large enough to envelop its physical body.

And that coating of light was gradually getting peeled off. The shells fired by me were shaving off and scattering the giant bird's spirit.

Beneath the outer coating that neutralized all kinds of attacks, what existed were yellow rather than golden feathers.

"If it's now, I think everyone's attacks might work! Mitsuki, give the signal to attack!"

I kept firing the cannons while speaking to Mitsuki.

"Y-Yes, roger that! Everyone—please attack!"

Mitsuki raised her left hand then swung it down forcefully. This was the signal to start attacking.

Stationed in a formation around the plaza, Lisa and the others fired at the sky with their fictional armaments.

Due to my attacks, Hraesvelgr was almost entirely stripped of its coating of light. Everyone's attacks were striking Hraesvelgr directly.

—Kuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

Hraesvelgr cried out in pain. What fluttered in the air were not particles but real feathers.

Losing a wing, Hraesvelgr crashed down towards the waterfall.

Controlling three turrets, I aimed and poured the last of my strength into them, converting it into energy for Noah.

"—FIRE!!"

Dazzling light erupted from the muzzles, firing shells that were several times larger than earlier.

The six spheres of light sank straight into Hraesvelgr's body.

Immediately, a gigantic explosion swallowed Hraesvelgr.

Golden particles were then scattered by the blast pressure.

"!"

I closed my eyes for an instant. When I opened them again, the giant golden bird had vanished.

Yellow feathers and shining particles were falling from the air like snow.

Even after looking around the sky, I could not see any signs of Hraesvelgr.

Victory...?

I could not hear the giant bird's calls or the flapping of its wings. The only noise was the sound of the waterfall.

"...We defeated it?"

Gripping my right hand tightly, Iris asked.

"Yes—It looks like we won."

Mitsuki murmured in a daze.

Scattered around the plaza, everyone cheered and ran towards us.

Seeing this, I finally felt a real sense of victory.

I was utterly exhausted. My vision kept swaying.

But for just a bit longer... At least until everyone returned, I tried hard to stay standing.

"Ah—"

Separating from my back, Firill exclaimed in surprise.

"...What's the matter?"

I asked in my hazy consciousness.

"Grandfather seemed to be there just now..."

I looked at where her finger was pointing, but could only see golden particles that gradually faded and disappeared.

"Oh... Never mind, sorry, I guess I imagined it."

Firill smiled wryly and shook her head.

"No... It's possible that the souls absorbed by Hraesvelgr were finally freed. If you have any words to convey... How about using this chance to say them?"

I encouraged Firill and she nodded.

"Yeah, if Grandfather really is present... I must convey this to him."

She turned her gaze towards the spot where she could vaguely see her grandfather.

Ahhh—No good. My consciousness... already—

Then my vision dimmed and the surrounding noise gradually faded into the distance.

"...Thank you."

The last thing I heard was Firill's word of thanks that took all her strength to speak.