MaruMA:Volume07:Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“Huge ditch straight ahead!  Evasive maneuvers to the right!”

“Roger!”

“A small herd of nocturnal animals closing in from the north!  Reduce our velocity and pass through them!”

The super-compact, magic-powered telescope – most likely invented by Miss Anissina – was very effective for travelling at night.  I was sitting next to Josak in the driver’s seat functioning as the rallying navigator.  If we avoid the bumps and ditches in the road, that will reduce the risk of one of our wheels flying off.  Even if we’re only temporarily gaining ground, it’s an effective way of driving.

“Get close to the center of those lined up rocks and pass through them with a hard left… The snow’s started to pile up for real, huh?  If it keeps going like this, the wheels might get pulled off and we won’t be able to move.  We did pass that one carriage getting repaired back there… ah!”

“What’s wrong?”

I reflexively take my eye away from the telescope.  I saw something I should not have seen.

“I, I saw it.”

“Yeah, what?  Desert turtles mating and giving birth?  If you see something like that during puberty then you’d toss and turn in your sleep, huh?” No.  It wasn’t some secret of the wild like that.  What I saw was something that would be a jump scare in a TV show about ghosts: a clear image of an occult girl.

A girl with a white face, white clothes, and white hair was standing all alone in the still-gloomy early morning hours.  On top of that, there was bright red blood flowing from her forehead and she was giving me a resentful stare I could see even through the lens.

“Whoah, there must have been an accident or something!  What do we do?  What do we do if we end up cursed for the rest of our lives?  Please go and pass on peacefully into your next life!”

“Shibuya, this isn’t a Buddhist country.”

For someone who moved the planchette on the Ouija board all on their own, I’m someone who is incredibly weak against ghosts.  Just the other day I went through a horrible experience at the summer training camp for my grass-lot baseball team when I heard rumors that a ghost comes out at the lodging house we were staying at.  A stain on the wall looked like the face on BOSS coffee cans and red, metallic-smelling water came out of the faucets… and there was no water in the toilet.

“Oh, it looks like she’s still there.”

“What!?  You can see her too, Murata!?”

“Anyone can see her.  And anyway, that girl isn’t a ghost.”

Josak drew the reins taut and the sheep carriage gradually slowed down.  The girl from before was standing silently at the spot where the carriage came to a complete stop.  She had near-white, cream colored hair and large, pale blue eyes.  She was white from head to toe and only the color of the blood was prominent.  It was a general appearance that I had seen before.

“It’s true… she’s not a ghost.”

She was wearing an inappropriately thin outfit for this cold weather.  When I lifted a lantern from my navigator seat, I saw her thin legs and bare knees.  There was even a grey shadow on the piled up, powdery snow on the ground.  Judging from her face and the length of her legs and arms, she’s probably around a kindergartner.  Even though it’s the early morning, why exactly is a young girl like her outdoors in the dark? “Hey you, why are you out here in the dark?  Where’s your home?  Are your parents around?”

I jump out of the military tank and try to get a background check.  The girl had thrust her fingers into the wool of a nearby sheep and was lovingly petting its warm skin.  The injury and blood on her forehead had dried out quite a bit and was not as serious of an injury as I thought it was.  I wonder if I can do something with the healing magic that Gisela (kind of) taught me.

“How’d you get that?  Let me see.  It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.”

“… me,” the little girl grabbed my sleeve with dust and soot covered fingers.  “Help me, mister.”

“Eh?”

This isn’t the time to get depressed over being called ‘mister’.  We can’t just leave this young girl here and we also have to treat her injury.  Above all, these girl’s parents must be worried right now.

“I wonder if you just wandered out here.  Hey, where’s your house?  Where did you come from?”

The little girl pointed out where she came from silently.  Murata, having jumped out of the cargo hold, snatched the telescope away from me.

“… There’s smoke.”

“So that means she’s a lost child at the scene of a fire.  We need to go wait by the scene and meet up with your parents.”

There was grey smoke rising into the snowy sky in the direction that the girl pointed in.  It is strange that there is a house out here in the wilderness, but for now I need to bring her back there.  I set the sobbing girl on my lap and we drive the sheep on.

What was burning wasn’t a house but a two-storied building with a tapered roof.  There were a dozen soldiers surrounding it, but unfortunately this is a dry wasteland with little water.  They seem to be having a hard time putting out the fire.  The flames are only getting stronger and there is absolutely no sign of them going out.

What has me concerned is that I don’t see anyone that seems like they could be her parents, grandparents or some sort of guardian.  There are around thirty children gathered together in the corner of the fence surrounding the area.  They are all frightened and huddled together, but not a single one of them cried out.  They are simply gazing at the sooty smoke and the triangle roof with tears flowing steadily out of their eyes.  In the driver’s seat, Josak mumbled to himself.

“… No way.”

I didn’t have time to ask him what he was about to say.  The girl in my lap had attempted to run to her companions.  All of the children hold out their hands in unison.

“Chucky!”

Child’s Play!?  Let’s put that aside for a moment because I’m really surprised that I recognize some of the children.  The two girls holding the youngest children protectively are the beautiful twin sisters that were with Maxine.

“Oh I see!  I thought they looked familiar.  All of the children look just like The Splatter Sisters… Wait, that means that they’re all…”

“Children of shinzoku.  He probably knows.”

There’s something unpleasant in Murata’s tone.  After getting the sheep to a safe place, Josak comes back to us in a rush.

“I know it very well.  This place, I mean.  I was in a church like this in the past as well.”

The girl named Chucky jumped into Freddy’s arms.  Freddy briefly yells ‘why!?’  She is speaking in single words and short phrases even now so it sounds like she’s angry.  Freddy probably wanted to say this: ‘Why didn’t you escape?’

Josak’s eyes were far away and vacant as he watched the soldiers extinguishing the fire.

“They’re probably raising children of shinzoku here in isolation.  Just like what they did to us children with demon and human blood.  But the situation is a bit different with these children.   If they are children of shinzoku, then there are some among them who were born with strong exorcist powers.  There are definitely some among them who will become excellent exorcists.  In other words,” a small explosion occurs inside the building and a part of the roof collapses. “They are extremely valuable… commodities.”

“Commodities?”

“They can become soldiers for their own country or they can be sold off to foreign countries as exorcists.  Children in this situation aren’t rare on this continent.  Especially those with shinzoku blood… In that respect, the demons had it easy, yeah?  Most of us didn’t have even the tiniest fragment of magical power.”

Josak added that last part in a deliberately light tone, probably because I had fallen silent and he was taking my mood into consideration. Children are treated as ‘commodities’.  Right now, I’m in a country where that’s perfectly normal.

A Shimaron soldier frantically carrying water yells behind him that a staff member is inside.  The precious children had escaped, but it seems that the humans working at the facility haven’t made it out yet.  I know that they don’t have enough water, but even so, their firefighting skills are lacking.  Even though there is nothing left to fuel them, the flames in the completely burned out and collapsed areas still have not gone out.

“That’s weird.  The left side of the roof is completely charred to carbon.  How long is it going to burn?”

“Ah that’s right.  Shibuya, this is your first time, huh?”  Murata crosses his arms over his chest with his eyebrows furrowed together.  Ordinary old me can’t imagine what sort of memory from the past he’s reliving inside his head right now.  “This particular flame can’t be easily extinguished with water.”

This isn’t my first time.  I’ve heard a description like that before.

“Hey Wolf, something like this happened before, right?  Flames cast by a skilled person that couldn’t be put out with normal water.”

“Yeah.  When that village of foreign humans was attacked.”

My friend from Earth makes a surprised face.  It’s not like I told him everything that happened in The Great Demon Kingdom.  Murata doesn’t know how much EXP I’ve accumulated so he shouldn’t know what level I am right now.

“Which means that it’s likely that a wizard used sorcery to set this inextinguishable blaze!?”

Wolfram gives an exaggerated sigh.

“First of all, it’s not ‘wizard’ it’s practitioner.  Second, it’s not ‘sorcery’ it’s magic.  Third, are there any demons around besides us?”

“No.”

“Which would mean that I, as a flame practitioner, am the one manipulating this fire?  Are you serious?  Knock it off, Yuuri.  Use your head a bit.  If you keep on not thinking about anything just because you’ve got The Great Sage by your side, your brain is going to atrophy itself into a spongy mess.”

That’s an affliction from modern Earth.

“This is obviously a flame from human exorcism.  There is a genuine exorcist nearby who is burning this facility with all their might.  They’re most definitely chanting a mantra at this very moment so that everything burns to the ground.”

Like he said, I tried using my brain.  Because I’ve only focused on developing my muscles, my brain works slower than everyone else’s.  If it’s like he said, then we just need to catch that exorcist and shut his mouth, right?

Look for someone, someone not just carrying water, the exorcist manipulating these flames.  Otherwise, this fire won’t go out for a long time.  Eventually, it will spread beyond the building and burn the entire area.

Like I was in slow motion, I slowly begin to scan the area for a person with strong exorcist powers.  I wasn’t using a theory or any reasoning.  It was simply me feeling out a person who can use a strange, hard to describe power as someone who had a similar power.  I’m not sure if that’s possible.  However, I should at least be able to find a hint as to who it is.

My eyes meet the resilient gaze of one of the twins.  Glitteringly bright golden eyes and jet black eyes like a starless night.  The magic stone at my chest heats up.  It’s those eyes.  They are the only ones who have them.

Aw man, please let my conclusion be wrong.  However, incredibly short prayers are never answered.  My guess was spot on.  She was commanding a great power with her faintly moving lips.  Even now that I’ve spotted her, she is making no attempt to stop burning the building.

“Freddy!”

To be honest, I have no idea which is which.  However, seeing that she reacted when I called that name, she’s probably Freddy.

“Stop this, what’s the point of this!?  Stop the spell right now and command your flames to be put out by that water!”

She shakes her head, sending her near-white hair swaying around her head.  A refusal.

“Think about it, Freddy.  What do you want?  Right now you’ve come to a foreign country for the first time to participate in a tournament and are burning down a facility like the ones in your own country and trying to kill the people that work here.  Where’s the point in that!?”

“Not to you.”

It has nothing to do with you.

Nothing to do with me?  Murata turned his head to the side to see her defiant, golden eyes.

“… It’s that kid..?”

“That’s right.  Hey Wolf, how did I stop the fire back then that was about to burn that village down?”

Lord von Bielefelt makes a funny face after being suddenly asked this nostalgic question.

“You don’t remember?  Rain.”

“Rain?”

“That’s right.  You made a record-setting downpour occur and quickly put out the fire.  Wait, you, you’re not thinking of putting out that exorcist fire are you?  These are entirely different circumstances than last time.”

Murata continued Wolfram’s words in a cool voice.

“Those children are shinzoku and this isn’t demon land but human lands steeped in the elements that obey exorcists.  Even if you manage to use magic in this land, it’s unlikely that you will be able to go up against those children.  On top of that, if you lose control and it goes on a rampage, the one who suffers that damage will be you.  I don’t want to put you in danger using a plan with a low likelihood of success.”

“A low likelihood of success?”

If we’re measuring it like that, I’m always at the lowest line.  I let out a meaningless laugh and I’m filled with baseless confidence.  The magic stone at my chest got even hotter so I clutched at it from above my clothes.  Even that seemed to add to my strength.

The white snow that had started to accumulate on my ears, neck, and cheeks was strangely comforting.  It felt like it was soaking through my skin down to the center of my body and neutralizing all the poison within it.  I feel like I can do something now.  I feel like I can control what usually ends up being an explosion.

“There aren’t any idiots who won’t try swinging their bat if the likelihood of hitting the ball is low.  If you don’t swing, you definitely won’t hit it.  Even if you get lucky and get to walk, if you don’t put pressure on the opponent’s pitcher you won’t get any balls.  Rather than watching as three strikes pass me by, I’d take wholehearted swings at empty air.  I don’t care if I get called an electric fan.  I’d rather take a bold swing than watch a great ball go by and regret it as I sit on the bench… maybe I’ll get to first base due to a pitcher’s error.” A familiar man jumped into view at the edges of my field of vision.  It was Maxine with his soldier-like posture and gallant walk.  He’s always where I don’t want him to be.  I suddenly feel like cursing.

“Why is that guy here?”

“He might have stopped his carriage and made camp around here.  If Jason and Freddy are here, it means that the two of them snuck out without him noticing.”

Cropped Pony seemed to understand everything immediately and made his way towards the twins.  I also run forward in a panic.

“Stop it, Maxine!  Don’t touch them!”

“Shut up!”  He only lifts a hand in my direction and keeps his gaze on the twins.  “Did you forget your debt to me for buying you out of this place and run away in the middle of the games!?”

Buying them out…?  So Jason and Freddy are originally from here.

Maxine grabs Freddy’s clothes and pushes her down to the snowy ground.

“Stop!”

The adults are blown away at the same time as the shout.  The other twin’s golden eyes are ablaze as they lock on to a new enemy.  Jason’s power protected her sister.

“He promised that he would give this place to us if we won,” the girl yelled at me as her uncontrollable tears rolled down her face.  “He said that if we won we’d be granted any wish!  But when we came past here today… buyers had already been found for Amy and Dana and Heather and Andy.”

“Freddy.”

“He promised us!”

I claw at the ground unable to get close to Freddy.  I can’t even touch her to help her sit up and calm her down.  Murata grabs my shoulder. Nigel Wise Maxine unsheathes the sword at his waist.

“Stop, Maxine!  They’re children!”

I shake off the fingers holding me back.  ‘I’m against this,’ come words not in a voice.  It’s okay, I have to be able to control it by myself eventually.

I’m the only one that can move myself.  The one who can give orders to Yuuri Shibuya isn’t Murata or that person.

It’s me.

Anticipating that my surroundings would become pure white, I close my eyes to protect against the brightness.  I struggle to keep my feet on the ground like I was standing at the center of a blizzard.  I can’t hear that woman’s voice anymore.  No one has been guiding me for a long time. If I stretch out my hand, there’s no one to depend on.  I can’t even feel the warmth of anyone standing by my side.  It’s an uneasiness like walking through white darkness while holding my breath.  In a spot much farther than before, Freddy stands alone in the distance.  She’s being hit with a wind that seems strong enough to knock her over, but strangely there is no sound.

This is strange.  It’s different than usual.  ‘The Man’ with the strange way of talking isn’t appearing.  There’s no enthusiastic BGM playing in my ear and I don’t feel as if I’m holding a fan in my right hand.

It’s just the girl and I facing each other in the pure white darkness.

Is this what it is to control myself?  Self-discipline?

“Listen to me, Freddy.  I know how you feel… no, I’ve never went through anything like that, but it’s awful when someone breaks a promise.” Contrary to my uncharacteristically rational words, my thoughts were running wild.  This is me!?  This is me in that Rampage Mode!?

“But violence doesn’t solve anything.  Hear me out, Freddy; I want you to be brave.  I don’t want to defeat you.  I want to save you all somehow.”

“Lies.”  The little girl gave a small shake of her head.  Her anger isn’t as strong as before. “… I don’t believe you.”

“I want to put out the fire, Freddy.  There are people in there.  They’re people you know, right?  You might have talked and played with them.  They might have made your food.  Is taking their lives really what you want to do?  I promise, Freddy.  If you put the fire out, I’ll take all of you away from here.  I’ll take you to a much better place.  Isn’t what you and Jason wished for a more fun place to live?  I’ll take you so come.  We’ll definitely find it.”

I slowly stretch out my sixteen year old hand.

I don’t know how much I can do.  But, I’ll do it.  As far as I can go.  After an irritatingly long time, Freddy grabbed my fingers.

“I’ll definitely find a place for you.  I promise.  I won’t leave you halfway.”

Upon seeing the giant dragon that materialized out of thin air, Murata silently closed his eyes.

He is slowly understanding why he was born for this king’s reign, for this Demon King’s era, as Yuuri Shibuya’s friend.

The snow turns into a torrential downpour and the flames go out instantly.

However, he was still wary of the shinzoku.  They are only troublesome beings for demons.

If things go bad, they can be angels of death.

While using this terrifying amount of magic, his friend is only kneeling exhausted in front of him.  Where did that energetic, intimidating, and charismatic image from last time go to?  Yuuri himself seems to have noticed the unusual change as well and is attempting to hide his unease with frivolous banter.  However, there is no energy in his voice.

“… You know, it’s like there’s something weird with me.  I seem to have turned into a cool guy.”

“To me it just looks like you pulled yourself together a tiny bit.”

There’s even a bit of unease in Wolfram’s teasing.

Ken Murata looked up at the lightening sky and tried to find a sign of a good omen.  However, before he could even see its color, the grey smoke obstructed the gaze of his dark eyes.

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