Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 3 Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Crimson Catastrophe

Part 1

I, Mononobe Mitsuki, have a secret.

It happened two years prior during the Kraken battle.

Confronted with an increase to two Krakens, standing there blankly in shock, I... heard a voice.

—Don't worry, Mitsuki.

It was the voice of my best friend who had just turned into a monster.

Reflected in my eyes were only the two Krakens—each consisting of an ominous purple eyeball with countless writhing tentacles of silver. Shinomiya Miyako no longer existed in this world... But I heard her voice.

—Calm down, draw your bow, aim.

I felt as though in a dream. There was no sense of reality. Witnessing a scene that I did not wish to admit, half of my thinking had halted.

In that kind of state, I did as the voice instructed. While I was drawing my fictional armament of a bow, the dragon mark under my clothing felt hot as though it were burning.

I even had an illusion as though the heat from my dragon mark was flowing into the arrow I had nocked.

—Okay, shoot! Kill it... Mitsuki!

"Ah..."

The voice escaped my lips with overflowing emotions.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

I screamed while shooting the arrow. I shot at the monster that had robbed me of my best friend.

Using its tentacles to cover its purple eyeball, the Kraken took on a secure defensive stance.

However, my arrow easily penetrated the silver tentacles, embedding itself into the Kraken's eyeball inside.

Then a blinding flash of light erupted between the tentacles, expanding. With a giant explosion, the Kraken's core was destroyed. Originally blotting out the sky in the area, the tentacles instantly went limp and fell onto the sea.

Watching that scene, I finally came to my senses.

"This was... my doing?"

I murmured blankly to myself in disbelief.

"Miyako...?"

What was the voice just now? I yelled at the air, but the voice did not answer. Even if I perked up my ears to listen, my ears could not hear my best friend's pleasant voice.

Finally, I looked down at the writhing monster on the sea. The remaining Kraken—the thing that used to be my best friend.

"Was it Miyako!? Did Miyako—"

Did her consciousness remain? I cried out hoarsely, crying out until my throat hurt.

The Kraken's eyeball turned in my direction while the silver tentacles extended with astounding speed.

"What are you doing!?"

Just before the attack struck, Haruka-san knocked me away, saving me.

The voice was my hallucination after all? A miracle of that sort could not possibly happen.

"—Mononobe Mitsuki! Shoot again!"

"Huh...?"

"If it's the attack you used just now, it should be capable of defeatin the remaining Kraken. Only you can do it—So hurry!"

"But... That is Miyako, right?"

I asked in a trembling voice

Even if it no longer had a consciousness, even if it no longer called to me in a gentle voice, even if it was just a monster, it used to be Miyako.

My best friend, Haruaka-san's younger sister, but I had to—

"...No time to hesitate! If you don't hurry and kill it, someone else might turn into a Kraken too!"

"But... But!"

"This is an order! By my will, not yours! I will take full responsibility!"

Tears fell from Haruka-san's eyes.

Then my memories turned blurry.

I remember drawing my bow with trembling hands, aiming with tearful eyes, screaming with unrecognizable words, shooting the arrow.

However, what I was thinking back then, what feelings were in my heart, all this seemed vague and blurry as though they were behind fog.

It was probably my mind's defensive mechanism to maintain my sanity.

Once everything ended, someone hugged me tightly.

I lost consciousness without seeing that person's face, so even now, I had no idea who it was.

For no particular reason, I thought it should be Haruka-san but I had no concrete proof.

However, the bosom covering me was extremely soft and warm, that hand caressing my head was very gentle. Those feelings lingered clearly in my memories.

After waking up in Midgard's infirmary, I was subjected to a hearing.

I explained everything in as much detail as I could possibly recall, but there was one fact that I could not bring up.

—The fact that I had heard Miyako's voice, it was something I could not bring up no matter what.

It was very likely my own hallucination. Also, as soon as something like that was revealed, it would surely turn into an inspiring story.

Everyone would probably spread the rumor like this—Miyako must have entrusted her power to her best friend, Mitsuki, to allow herself to be killed after turning into a Kraken.

I could not tolerate my actions to be beautified like that and forgiven.

I wanted to be condemned. I wanted to suffer.

However, everyone at Midgard was very kind. Smiling, they encouraged me, supported me, forgave me.

Only one person was willing to be angry at me.

The only person to denounce my crime was the girl named Lisa Highwalker.

Part 6

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