The Unexplored Summon Blood Sign:Volume5 Chapter3

Status: Incomplete

3/12 parts completed

   

Stage 03: The Door to Hell, Who Will Unlock It?

“It’ll be okay.”

“It’ll be okay.”

(Stage 03 Open 11/12 17:00 “Outbreak of the War (Critical Point)”)

The Door to Hell, Who Will Unlock It?

Part 1

Another month passed.

The season had changed from fall to winter.

But that may not have mattered much at the tropical wandering land or in the perfectly air conditioned underground world.

At some point, that vast space’s name had changed.

Now everyone called it the Queen’s Miniature Garden.

“…”

It was an official change at this point. No one paid any attention to the initial Fifteen Siblings Project. Not Kyousuke and the other children and not the adults who managed the official facilities. Everyone had been blinded by the unbelievable discovery of the White Queen.

Even if they failed to slowly complete those 15, they could achieve their goal with the Queen.

Or perhaps saving the human race no longer mattered to them.

The adults had stopped even looking at the Relective Graph.

This was not just distracted driving; they were not even holding the steering wheel.

And it went without saying what had happened to the lines representing the depths of their bonds.

There were even strange rumors about the Cheshire Cat spending every night making strange surprise attacks or the Queen of Hearts reaching out to the injured workers to create worshipers.

“Is something the matter, brother?”

In the cafeteria, the Queen herself asked a puzzled question while holding a spoon in her fist and doing battle with a large bowl of cereal and milk. It was hard to tell if she really did not know how to use a knife and fork or if she simply wanted Kyousuke to look after her.

Kyousuke realized his own tastes had changed while eating with her.

Or rather, he was a precision guided missile that constantly made “corrections” as he approached his target. He had never been someone fixated on the act of ingesting nutrients.

“It’s nothing.”

He hid everything and smiled vaguely.

(…It’ll be okay.)

He did not know what he was hoping for, but he still held those words in his heart.

He felt like a prisoner waiting for his execution. Nothing happening did not bring him peace. The heads of the three major powers were observing everything and they could decide to take this lifestyle from him at any time. And he knew that time was coming eventually.

Once the go sign was given for killing the Queen, the Miniature Garden and the wandering land on the surface would instantly become the world’s harshest battlefield. One side was the leaders of the three major powers and elite summoners and vessels gathered from around the world. On the other side was the strongest of the strongest who towered over everyone at the top of the Unexplored-class. After a direct clash between those sides, it would be difficult to keep things as they were. All of this was an egg that would hatch into great justice. But once it broke, it was obvious what would happen to the puny lives clinging to the shell.

How could he say it would be okay when he was one of those pushing it in that direction?

He had done nothing to protect the 15 or the White Queen.

He still could not see where he really stood here, but he clenched his teeth and made a wish.

He truly wished with all his might.

(It’ll be okay. No matter what happens below the surface, nothing can happen as long as I have exclusive access to the Queen. No matter how tense the atmosphere grows, it won’t lead to tragedy as long as it doesn’t explode.)

It was almost impressively comical.

It was like he was desperately working to deny the doomsday written of in a book of prophecy.

No matter how much he tried to twist the meaning into what he wanted, he could not change the words as they were written.

“****.”

“Yes?”

“Promise me. I know you might be sick of this after so many times, but please.”

“Yes, of course. I will say it as many times as you want, brother.”

The White Queen giggled and raised her right hand for the vow.

“I will not hurt anyone. If that is the condition I most follow to stay with you, then I will throw out my position as the strongest or as the peak by fully disarming myself.”

But he knew deep down that this would not last forever.

By avoiding an explosion, the internal pressure would only continue to grow.

And it would eventually reach the point that it would produce an unthinkable disaster.

Part 2

Kyousuke was worried.

He was worried beyond belief and had trouble breathing.

“It’ll be okay.”

Kyousuke could not bring himself to mention the details and only bit his lip, but Shigara Masami told him that in her examination room. When she wore the entirely unnecessary stethoscope, it was a sign that she was willing to let him consult with her.

But her words were meant differently from Kyousuke’s good luck charm.

The Government developer known as Madam Professor had more to say.

“It’s true something hideous is underway in this Miniature Garden. And it is sure to eventually be discovered and develop into a great disaster.”

She did not forcibly reject anything.

She was saying it would be okay despite it.

“I didn’t have the power to stop it on my own. In fact, if I had tried to stop it by force, it would have destroyed the barely-maintained balance and brought disaster to the forefront right away. So I may have no right to act like I know what I’m talking about here.”

“What does that mean…?”

Did she have some connection to the plan to kill the Queen?

Was she really only a developer in the Miniature Garden?

“But it’ll be okay. Humans might have a weak side, but they also have a strong side. Things might be tending toward the evil side and we might be drowning ourselves in a vast ocean, but we will notice at the last second. We will notice and stop ourselves. Because humans have both the power to continue on and the power to stop.”

She did not get into the details, but she was not running away from it either.

It felt like she understood things on an even deeper level than Kyousuke and yet decided it was best not to discuss it. But this did not come from a shallow pride in the advantage she held by knowing what he did not. Her words contained the human warmth that he had nearly forgotten and that he had thought had withered away within the Miniature Garden.

He had to ask.

“…Was it you?”

“?”

“Were the tarot cards your decision? Did you see **** as someone who dove into this ‘other world’ from her original world and did you think we could control her in that framework if we all approached her properly? No, did you think we would be able to end this without killing her…?”

Shigara Masami smiled gently.

But she did not nod or shake her head.

“Don’t forget, Kyousuke-kun. I might look like a saint to you. You might find yourself relying on me because of my obvious kindness. But this isn’t anything special. It isn’t something that can only exist inside a chosen person. This is an emotion that everyone should have.”

“…”

“For example, do you know the head of security, Elvesta Toydream?”

He could not answer.

The guards all wore gas masks and hid their bodylines with explosion-resistant jackets, so their sexes and ages were unclear. And due to their heavy equipment, their gaits and mannerisms seemed inhuman and hard to read. It would be difficult to distinguish one from another.

Shigara Masami laughed before continuing.

“He is the heir to the Toy Dream Company, a giant entertainment corporation, but the more he studies fairy tales, the more they frighten him. He is a summoner who will eventually oppose that kingdom of dreams and fantasy. …But he enjoys making sweets and he is never satisfied with a cake until he decorates it with a chocolate plate or a sugar sculpture doll.”

“Ah,” said Kyousuke in his T-shirt and shorts.

They had sometimes found mystery desserts in the kitchen refrigerator. He remembered Biondetta and Kyoumi fighting over them back when things had been more normal. No matter how evenly it was divided, the battle over the sugar sculpture doll would never end. Even though the white chocolate plate saying “Eat Me” actually tasted better.

“Do you see now? There are things you don’t know because you can’t see them, but that doesn’t mean those people have no kindness. I believe anyone can convert their kindness into strength. Even if they seem to be making everything worse like Akura Taisaku. So it’ll be okay, Kyousuke-kun. You can’t assume that this is your only safe space. That rejection will cloud your vision and actively make things worse.”

She had never said who had decided on the tarot cards and added in a trick to try to save the White Queen.

But even if he did not know their name or what they looked like, they did exist. Someone had hoped for that and acted on it. Someone like that existed inside the greedy group of both adults and children who were influenced by the Queen’s power.

Shiroyama Kyousuke was not alone.

The environment could hardly be worse, the 15 and the White Queen were about to burst, and Kyousuke himself was part of the group that had set things in that direction, but there was someone praying for a future that matched his own hopes. A future where no one was hurt and everyone was smiling.

“…”

Kyousuke decided to figure this out a bit at a time.

He did not know what was driving this nearly hopeless situation.

He wanted to oppose the 15 who were tumbling down and he wanted to oppose the truly powerful who were working to kill the White Queen. It did not matter how ridiculous, hopeless, or unrealistic it was. He still wanted to try for a path where no one had to fall and where everyone, including the Queen, could be together.

He wanted everyone to understand each other.

He wanted to lend them his strength.

He would not be fighting the adults of the Miniature Garden. He would refuse to fight a war against the truly powerful. He just wanted to speak with everyone some more.

Did they really have to acquire the White Queen?

Did they really have to kill the White Queen?

Was there really no other way?

After throwing out all their preconceptions, couldn’t they search again for a resolution that satisfied everyone?

“…I want a boat.”

Kyousuke’s words sounded like a joke.

Shigara Masami tilted her head and he continued.

“Even if the world ends today and every last continent sinks into the ocean, I want to be able to pull everyone back up. So I want a boat.”

“Ah ha ha! If you really want one, you can order any boat you want over the internet. Kyousuke-kun, how long has it been since you arrived here? You might not be aware of it, but your electronic bank account must have quite a fortune inside. …Since we’ve been doing so many awful things to you.”

“…”

“So what will you do? If you really haven’t touched your account at all… Wow! With a fishing boat, you could head out for some deep-sea fishing!! But that might not be the best idea. Oh, what about a cruiser? They’re pretty fashionable.”

She made a variety of suggestions while checking various websites.

She seemed to be enjoying the search more than she cared about the boat itself.

Speaking with her made him feel like he was walking into a hypothetical future. His imagination spread its wings and he felt like he slipped into a parallel world.

“Oh, what a pretty white boat. So what are you going to call it?”

After filling in all the data needed to register it, Shigara Masami asked him that.

Kyousuke thought for a bit in his T-shirt and shorts.

And he made a choice that proved he was prepared to throw out all of his preconceptions.

“The White Queen. That would be perfect.”

He would not be her enemy any longer.

Shiroyama Kyousuke would live alongside that name.

(After all, she’s the one that stopped it.)

He quietly thought to himself.

He thought about the days when they had pretended to fight to the death in the round Mock Battlefield. The Jabberwock, Humpty Dumpy, and the Hatter had sent their Materials after each other, torn away each other’s dignity, and looked down on each other. Those days had gone away when the White Queen had arrived.

(I mean, she hasn’t done anything wrong!)

The Queen of Hearts and the Hatter were definitely feeling cornered.

But that was an issue with how they interacted with her. If they did not think of the White Queen as someone to outdo in some way or another, then their pride would not be hurt. Kyousuke could tell because he could approach her like normal. It was not about telling them to break their fangs or pull out their claws. If they stopped thinking that strength was everything, the Queen would not wear at their hearts. That was all there was to it.

(I mean, all of the damage around the world until now only happened because people failed to summon her in her perfect form!!)

The plan to kill the Queen was meant to stop the disasters occurring around the world, but those were the result of the supposedly intelligent people who tried to summon her with insufficient knowledge or techniques. So didn’t the fault lie with those people for not adding in safety measures, rather than with the Queen? They could not even control her fingertip or one of her hairs, but they arrogantly thought they could control her in her entirety. If not for that, they might have been able to smoothly stand in the same field as Kyousuke.

In that case, what was there?

What reason was there for the White Queen to be killed!?

“Kyousuke-kun.”

Kyousuke’s shoulders jumped when his name was called.

Madam Professor’s eyes seemed to see right through him.

But she only spoke with a thin smile.

“I don’t know what’s on your mind, but I like that look on your face. If you were 10 years older, I might have fallen for you.”

“…”

“I can’t see directly into people’s hearts, but that isn’t a look people get with something bad in their heart. If you need something, just tell me. I’ll do everything I can to support you.”

He wanted tell her everything.

But he was a liar, he had deceived everyone, and he had failed to tell anyone that the entire Miniature Garden was a grand farce.

So he silently steeled his resolve.

And he thought to himself again.

What did it matter if he was trapped between a rock and a hard place?

He would not let anyone hurt the White Queen.

He would save everyone: the people in the Miniature Garden, the truly powerful who were watching from outside, the summoners and vessels gathered from around the world, and even the Queen who was closest and yet farthest away.

He would end this chain of fruitless conflict.

He swore it.

(There has to be at least one person.)

He knew it was foolish.

But if he did not create a foothold here, the world would never open up for him.

(There has to be one giant idiot who’s arrogant enough to wish to be a king of not killing!!)

He recalled the very first tarot card.

Yes, the Fool led to the truth of the world.

(This isn’t about her strongest power or her charisma. There has to be at least one person who just wants to be with the Queen and just wants to make her one of his friends!!)

Part 3

In the darkness hidden a thin layer away, someone muttered two simple words.

They had happened to hear a wish that could never be.

They knew the boy could not shake this desire even though he knew it was ridiculous and that this hesitation would reduce his lifespan on the battlefield.

So they spoke with both irritation and sorrow in their voice.

Those words contained the pain of readily accepting something oneself while having it rejected by someone else.

“…You fool.”

Facts

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