Part 6
Two people were speaking.
A three story atrium space formed a large square directly above the production line. It was the production management room that monitored the entire line. The primary wall was made of glass, but there was little meaning in looking below with the naked eye. The countless consoles and LCD screens by the walls were more important.
However, these two were not monitoring the products.
They were monitoring the smokestacks.
One of them was Yasuzumi Hayato.
The other was Benikomichi Fuuki.
"We've used up 80% of our inventory now. It's about time, mistress. We had set the dissemination amounts with room for having a bit of 'fun', so we should be ready to go now. The plan will succeed even if we start a little early."
"Most likely. But this took longer than I thought. A lot of it caked onto the inside of the smokestacks."
"It's still enough. We only have an early weather map, but it should be accurate. The rainclouds are changing form in a way that blatantly ignores the normal rules. It will form the giant magic circle just fine."
A short silence followed.
The student council girl who was also an assassin's vessel sat directly on the edge of a console rather than in a chair.
"Now we've taken a different path than 'him'."
"My dad took the wrong path. That's why he died."
"I'm still not certain of that."
"Then I'll show you the truth, mistress. When this plan succeeds, we will have a world without death."
"A world without death, hm?"
"The idea itself is simple, but the effect will be truly impressive. Every single human problem will be solved all at once. That will be our victory."
"Just to be sure, the Artificial Sacred Ground really will cover the entire planet, right?"
"And permanently. We can start with the Northern Hemisphere. The rest will either go along with it or fight it. And if they fight it, we can just ignore them and let the flow of time drive them to extinction. And once the Southern Hemisphere has gone extinct, we can use factories there for a second dissemination to truly cover the entire planet."
"And then all of humanity will be contained in their own protective circles."
"That circle protects the summoner from all external threats and all internal threats such as illness and their own lifespan. It only lasts about ten minutes with a normal Incense Grenade, but our method is different. It will be permanent or at least semi-permanent because it's a plain and universal incense that can affect anyone."
"But the protective circle is made from a portion of the Material's power. Even with an Unexplored-class, protecting all six or seven billion people on the planet won't be easy."
"Unless we use that."
"Do you really think we can control that?"
"How many hypotheses do you think we have worked through to that end, mistress? Our method is perfect."
Assassin Hayato smiled thinly as he leaned against the door.
And a mere five centimeters away, on the other side of the door, Shiroyama Kyousuke silently eavesdropped on their conversation.
It was far too unrealistic.
Their master plan was so megalomaniacal he wanted to laugh out loud.
A world without death.
Next to Kyousuke, Librarian-chan was unsure how to react as she whispered to him.
"(This is a joke, right? A world without death? What are they talking about? It was enough of a surprise to hear they were assassins, but this is just too much.)"
"(The problem is that it checks out on a theoretical level.)"
Kyousuke tilted his smartphone on its side and held it out toward the door as he answered.
"(Unlike a vessel, a summoner doesn't need any inborn talent. That means anyone can become one. If they designate a large number of people as summoners for a single ceremony, set up an Artificial Sacred Ground over an extremely wide area, surround them all in protective circles...and set that up to continue indefinitely, then everyone on the planet will be made artificially immortal.)"
They did not have time for a detailed investigation here, so he was recording everything he could.
Based on the voices, at least one of the people speaking was near the door or leaning against it. If Kyousuke opened the door even a crack, they would notice, but if they moved from the door, Kyousuke wanted to record a video of them speaking.
Even now, he could hear the young boy and girl speaking on the other side of the door.
"That is of course powerful, but also fickle. She is a lot like a plasma fusion reactor with no guarantee of safety."
"But placing everyone in a protective circle without giving them a vessel requires a bit of risk. And I have separated her mind from her body, mistress. I doubt she can wield her power of her own free will at the moment."
"I just hope she really can be contained within the framework of human understanding."
"Power can be controlled. That is true even of a sun and of a black hole. Mankind had its victory over the monsters from the moment we defined the Third Summoning Ceremony. This won't be a problem."
Their universal incense was not limited to a specific summoner and could not summon a normal Material.
They had a Material that could create protective circles for all seven billion people on the face of the earth.
The extremely high power needed for that was too much for even the average Unexplored-class.
(What? What are they talking about?)
An unpleasant sweat began to pour down Kyousuke's face like his skin was being roasted.
It was possible he already knew the answer.
It was possible his entire being simply wanted to reject it.
A moment later, a lovely face appeared on the smartphone screen he held in front of him. It seemed to be peering in from the side.
".................................................................................................!!!???"
He just about lost sight of the current situation and screamed.
It took all his strength to hold his breath and silently back away.
The small screen displayed a girl with waist-length silver twintails and a pure white outfit that resembled a wedding dress.
She was an incarnation of benevolence.
She was a symbol of sanctity.
She was a personification of radiance.
She was an absolute white that did not allow for even a drop of impurity.
She was the strongest of the strong that far surpassed the Regulation-class, the Divine-class, the Unexplored-class, and even the Three.
"(The White...Queen!?)"
The "White" Queen who Wields the Sword of Unsullied Truth (iu – nu – fb – a – wuh – ei –kx – eu – pl – vjz).
She had exceptional power even among the Unexplored-class that existed beyond the gods of legend. She alone held the name of "absolute". And she was the Material that was always found at the center of conflict on a global scale.
She was a monster that would smile as she trampled over all the human good and evil that mankind had spent so much time and effort building up.
Her strength had also driven people to madness.
Kyousuke was not about to treat those assassins as victims because of this, but the Queen was the one behind it all.
Despite his extreme panic, Shiroyama Kyousuke still stood in front of Librarian-chan who simply stood there in confusion.
But something was not right.
Confused, Kyousuke looked back and forth between the smartphone screen and the actual scenery.
The smartphone definitely showed that greatest and worst of the Materials, but no one actually stood in front of the door.
It was like a strange sort of ghost video, or...
"(Is this...AR?)"
The Queen gave a sparkling wink and blew him a kiss on the screen.
"(Materials don't show up on digital cameras and sensors. The network shouldn't be able to recognize you.)"
"..."
"(What method did they use?)"
"(The End of the World...hm?)"
In Toy Dream 35, Azalea Magentarain and the rest of Guard of Honor had caused trouble using the old concept of the fairy's spring.
The End of the World was another well-known concept that had thoroughly permeated the minds of normal people who knew nothing of the summoning ceremony.
There were stories that miracles, objects, foods, or other things no human could reproduce could be found beyond the sea, beyond the mountains, beyond the sky, or anywhere else people could not reach. In most cases, it was said that arriving there or returning from there would conquer death.
Which meant...
"(If it can be called the End of the World, it can't be somewhere touched by human hands.)"
"(Where exactly is it?)"
The White Queen seemed to be enjoying herself.
Kyousuke narrowed his eyes a little. He knew he was only looking at an image displayed on the screen, but he still moved silently to better protect Librarian-chan. He knew the Queen was liable to order him to kill his vessel just to make him suffer. And if he refused, she might very well use every underhanded method available to overturn all assumptions and kill the girl herself.
Depending on the situation, she was a much more pressing threat than even the assassins on the other side of the door.
"..."
The world was clearly ending when the White Queen was the sensible one.
The White Queen smiled on the small screen as she gave the answer.
Her slender finger pointed straight up.
Part 7
Toy Dream OP-01 to Toy Dream OP-07 were all civilian space stations.
But there was one other station that had been used only in the early demonstration experiments and was currently abandoned. OP-XX.
It now silently orbited the blue planet as a giant coffin.
Part 8
"(How could this happen?)" muttered Kyousuke.
The White Queen did not seem to mind.
"..."
"(Like I can believe that. If you wanted to, you could use an explosion in orbit to crash the entire station into the earth.)"
It did not matter where exactly the Queen was.
She could smash the entire world to pieces as long as she had appeared somewhere in the world, wherever that might be.
Kyousuke agonized over the fact that no one seemed to understand that.
Did Yasuzumi Hayato and Benikomichi Yuuki really think they could control her?
"(But the End of the World, huh?)"
That phrase may have contained a small hint of hope.
Even if they were his enemy, he hoped beyond hope they would actually control her.
Never mind the fact that he knew that was hopeless.
"(That was just an empty theory. It seems to make sense, but I doubt it would actually work.)"
"(Again, it wouldn't work.)"
"..."
The fact remained that the White Queen was here before his eyes.
Even if the method was wrong, she remained in this world by force.
Who was the truly frightening one here? Hayato and Benikomichi Fuuki for carrying out the plan or the White Queen for going along with it on a whim?
Kyousuke refused to believe it so easily.
For one thing...
"(Why are you helping humans? A space station? The End of the World? If you wanted to, you could easily break free of that manmade cage.)"
"(That doesn't explain anything. You're the strongest of the strong, so I can't imagine why you would obey anyone else.)"
A sweetness even more concentrated than gum syrup could be seen in her carefree smile.
There was affection there, but also something unhealthy that felt like it would burn his chest if he so much as licked at it.
"(Why are they trying to create a world without death? Do they have a good enough reason to explain your cooperation?)"
"(The salvation...of all mankind?)"
Librarian-chan had fallen silent for a while.
She did not want her sister's ghost to appear all over the place and she herself had nearly been killed by that ghost.
But were the people in this factory really doing anything wrong?
A world without death.
An age in which everyone was immortal.
If that was possible...
"(It would lead to hell on earth. Do they actually understand that?)"
Kyousuke's words stabbed into Librarian-chan's chest.
He had likely been speaking to the White Queen, but it had been enough to tear away Librarian-chan's naïve thoughts as she listened in.
"(Civilization is built on the assumption that people die. For example, people don't commit crimes because they're afraid of being executed. Countries don't start wars because they don't want a ton of their people to die. That's just how we think. When you get down to it, people go along with civil rights and environmental protection because the alternative could threaten their lives. But all of that will crumble in a world without death. ...If that age arrives too suddenly, all the safeties we've put in place will fail. Kind metropolises will transform into post-apocalyptic ruins in no time.)"
The White Queen sounded like she was questioning his sanity.
And she continued in a graceful, insane voice.
"(This is on another level entirely. This planet truly will be covered in desert.)"
"(But this time no one will be able to die as it happens!! This could lead to an age in which seven billion starving people crawl around a desert planet! And it will continue for centuries, millennia, and all eternity!!)"
"..."
Librarian-chan could not bring herself to speak.
She finally understood why Kyousuke had called it a living hell.
A world of no restraint and no benevolence. All cities would crumble, all nature would vanish, and only scorching deserts would remain. Nevertheless, they would be unable to die and forced to crawl around as dried-up mummies, searching for even the slightest puddle.
Death would become an unreachable hope.
It truly was the hell seen in picture books.
And instead of being sent to hell, hell would come to this world.
"(You knew it would turn out like that, didn't you?)"
"(You knew, but you didn't correct their mistake! You just smiled and pretended to obey them as they dreamed of their paradise without giving it any real thought!!)"
Her intoxicated voice was that of a dreaming maiden.
The loveliness of her face and voice made her unbelievably hideous to Kyousuke.
When people did evil deeds out of malice, one only had to remove that malice. But the White Queen could not be persuaded or threatened. She could not be controlled through external stimuli.
"(What are you talking about?)"
Kyousuke looked to the door.
He had thought Hayato and Benikomichi Fuuki would attack if they noticed him here.
But he had been wrong.
"(It can't be...)"
"It can't be!!"
Part 9
A moment later, more than three hundred plastic explosives attached to the factory's primary columns and rebar detonated all at once.
Part 10
Rather than being crushed, the building seemed to have been blown to pieces by firecrackers pointed straight up.
Hayato was more than five hundred meters away as he held the wireless detonator, but pieces of concrete still fell near him.
There was no disguising this as something else, so firetruck and ambulance sirens were sounding here and there.
He spoke with a composed look on his face.
"It's over."
"That's right," replied his vessel Benikomichi Fuuki.
They had blown up a factory filled with more than a hundred of their men, but they did not seem to care.
Then who were the two people inside the factory's production management room?
The answer was simple: body doubles.
"It's sad losing someone to speak with. After all, she could perfectly disguise herself as me. I've never met anyone who understood me so well."
"But these were the final sacrifices. It all leads to the world without death."
And it was thanks to those sacrifices that Shiroyama Kyousuke and his vessel had focused so much on infiltration that they let down their guard in a way.
The sacrifices had been necessary.
They had been mankind's final sacrifices.
As far as they could see while monitoring from a distance, Kyousuke had not set up an Artificial Sacred Ground. That meant the Material and protective circle could not have saved them from harm. Summoners could cause damage exceeding the laws of physics, but they were normal humans if they did not follow the proper process. Normal explosives would kill them like normal.
The standard Incense Grenade was set to detonate three to five seconds after pulling the pin, so it was too late to start once the explosions had already begun.
They had either been torn to mincemeat or they were crushed beneath the rubble.
"Whatever the case, the necessary amount of incense is already in the air. We just need to buy another dissemination factory within five years."
"What do you think, Hayato? We didn't get enough work out of the factory, so it's hard to say its products reached all mankind. ...I doubt we made the connection there."
"It doesn't matter if we didn't. Creating our immortal group comes first. After that, the passage of time will put us in control. Everyone else will only have two options: be exterminated or join the undying. Then our world without death will be complete."
Hayato stopped speaking for a moment and then forced out some more.
"Okay, mistress. Let's add the finishing touches."
"Yes," replied the vessel girl. "We've sprinkled the oil on the straw. Once we set it alight, no one can stop us."
Part 11
The entire area had become a pile of rubble.
It had originally been a giant factory, but that had thoroughly crumbled into a pile over ten meters high.
The scene looked hopeless at first, but there was a surprising escape route.
The inside had not been entirely crushed, so it was now something like a vast labyrinth
"Dammit..."
Kyousuke cursed as he crawled out into the rain that had resumed pouring outside.
He held Librarian-chan's limp form in his arms.
A few dozen firetrucks and ambulances were gathered out front. Their red lights were flashing all around. The pressure that should have kept them away was no longer functioning.
With Librarian-chan still in his arms, Kyousuke turned back toward the pile of rubble.
"How many people were buried alive in there...?"
Even now, the White Queen was laughing.
She had already left his smartphone's screen.
A life-size version of the White Queen stood next to Kyousuke as an image projected on the raindrops.
"The Rainy Screen, hm?"
He received a response from the directional speakers that were used to make the voice data sound like it was coming from the projected image.
The White Queen clasped her hands behind her back and moved her chin in needlessly close.
When she passed right through Kyousuke, the Queen puffed out her cheeks.
The bombs had been set up to destroy the massive factory's most important structural points. But that meant the blast spreading within the factory was not evenly distributed and it was thus weaker in places.
Kyousuke and Librarian-chan had quickly hid in one of those "air pockets" to escape the danger.
But not even Kyousuke could make those calculations on such short notice.
Searching out all the bombs in that instant would have been impossible. Without help from the White Queen who had seen where the bombs were in advance, he would not have even had the necessary data for the calculations.
"Were you hoping I would thank you? After you just let this happen?"
The White Queen projected on the night rain spoke with the expression of a girl opening a homemade lunch in front of the boy she had a crush on.
To her, this may not have been much different.
"..."
If they could stop that ignition, they could prevent the world without death from being constructed.
"Rain and factory smoke, linking the people who bought the character goods with the factory's activity, the End of the World, and the final ignition..."
Kyousuke muttered to himself and the White Queen waved her index finger in front of his face.
The Queen's image grew badly distorted with static. That continued for about ten seconds before returning to normal.
Kyousuke heard a wet sound like a child's rain boots scraping against the wet asphalt.
He slowly turned around.
Since Librarian-chan was unconscious, he could face this ghost without seeing it through her emotional filter.
He found a small silhouette quite nearby. A broken umbrella hid the face of a girl in a bloody raincoat who was between ten and twelve. She was the Rainy Girl. She was Librarian-chan's sister and was supposedly plotting to kill that girl who rejoiced at being able to live on her own.
This was not the same as the fake Rainy Screen.
This was a mistake that appeared in the world itself.
He could only see her lips and they were moving silently.
Librarian-chan had been terrified from beginning to end, but when he calmly observed her, he could read her lips.
This is what she was trying to say: Save my sister's world.
When had this ghost realized the truth?
And to how many people had she tried to tell the truth?
She had not been appearing to kill Librarian-chan.
Even after death, she had been wandering the earth in order to protect her family.
"I'm not that perfect. I just thought the Rainy Girl's actions weren't focused enough for me to accept what Librarian-chan said at face value. If I hadn't heard this here, I might have taken Librarian-chan's side and helped eliminate the ghost."
At the very least, the summoner and vessel advocating a world without death had seen the Rainy Girl as a danger. They had gone as far as bugging Librarian-chan's house or modifying the communications equipment nearby.
They had not directly killed Librarian-chan because the Rainy Girl had been fixated on her sister. It was a lot like the relationship between Kyousuke and the White Queen. If they got rid of Librarian-chan, they would no longer be able to predict the Rainy Girl's actions. That was why they had left her alive.
Ghastly wide eyes peered out from the gaps in the torn umbrella.
It was true that ghost did not look normal.
Given how she had died, some might have screamed as soon as they saw her face.
But that was not the girl's fault.
That did not explain why that girl would be malicious.
In the end, the Rainy Girl had only been focused on the nearby people she cared about. But no one had noticed and she had become the star of a ghost story.
The White Queen seemed to be enjoying herself.
She asked despite knowing the answer.
And that was why the boy responded as if to confirm what she already knew.
He had been asked to save someone and Alice (with) Rabbit could only give one answer when he had heard those cursed words.
"My answer is of course, 'as you wish'."
Investigation Records of a Certain Pair of Twins 03
When people fall asleep on the last train or on a train that begins deadheading, they go missing and never return. But for some reason, the fact that people are vanishing never ends up in the news.
The rumor had branched off into a number of forms, so some had a less frightening conclusion: a reunion with a forgotten first love, the return of a runaway pet, or the discovery of a lost treasure, but that only made it less credible.
I started to drift off on the train and suddenly woke up to find I was the only one onboard. I was too scared to see if anyone was in the driver's compartment up front. As I trembled in fear, I blinked and suddenly found myself back on the train full of other passengers. I thought I had just woken up from a dream, but what if I have been wandering through a dream ever since? Or...?
As the planner viewed the scene, he complained into his cellphone: 'Your huge-ass sign is in the way, so no one can see our advertisement from the station.' When the construction workers checked the plans back in their office, they all tilted their heads. There shouldn't have been a giant sign there, so what was this guy seeing?
Meinokawa Higan woke up to someone violently shaking her shoulders. She shrieked when she realized it was a middle-aged worker and not her "sister".
The man with stubble on his chin just looked annoyed.
"How long are you planning to sleep? I'm amazed those cleaning brushes whirring around outside weren't enough to wake you. If I hadn't done one last check through the cars, the shutters would've closed and you'd have been trapped on the monorail."
"Eh, ah!? Um, where's my sister...?"
"Your sister? Oh, please don't tell me there's someone else hiding in here."
The annoyance in his voice suggested he really knew nothing about that.
Higan shook her heavy head and pulled out the cheap cellphone that matched the one her "sister" had. It was already past ten and both calling and emailing received no response.
"Hey, can you get off the train before messing with your phone? I really want to lock up and get home."
"O-oh. Sorry."
"I can't believe this. Now I have to check back over everything for that sister of yours."
The worker complained as he left the monorail. Higan started to follow, but she nearly "fell". Unlike at a station, the switchyard had no platform and thus there was a one meter drop. It was easily overcome if you knew it was there, but it could lead to a broken arm if it caught someone off guard.
The man supported her with surprisingly quick movements.
"Watch out! If there's an accident here, I might be held responsible. Please give me a break!!"
"S-sorry."
He was being a little cruel, but from his perspective, Higan was a step away from being a trespasser. No one would want to be responsible for the actions of someone like that.
She moved away from the worker and looked around.
Monorail cars hung down from the parallel rails running along near the ceiling. There were also garage-like shutters and large maintenance equipment. It was a vast space, but it was all indoors and the rain could not get in.
There were a few other men and women in work uniforms, but it was a small number for such a large space. It felt more like they were the few remaining workers rather than the full workforce. They might have been "closing up shop" as it was called.
And there was no sign of a shrine maiden outfit's noticeable red color scheme.
Higan walked around unsteadily, left the switchyard through a door, and entered a narrow passageway. She felt around as she continued. Finally, she opened a stainless steel door and stepped outside.
She was nearly blinded by the bright decorative lights.
Toy Dream 35 was always filled with colorful lights, but a special event known as the Rainy Screen was underway to keep guests around during the long rain. That was why a "surface" of light burned into her eyes like a movie screen.
"Where did Renge go?"
The girl had not been in the switchyard, but Higan did not know where she had gone. She had no idea what to do, but then an odd sound reached her ears.
"...ga..."
It was strangely scratchy and she did not even realize it was a voice at first.
But...
"Hi...n..."
"Ren...ge?"
As soon as she said that, she heard another sound.
The disturbing sound reminded her of rubber scraping against the rainy road.
"..."
Meinokawa Higan silently turned around.
She did so ever so slowly.
And there she found...
Facts Summoner Hayato and Vessel Benikomichi Fuuki are pursuing a world without death that will be created by a worldwide Artificial Sacred Ground and seven billion protective circles. If all mankind is placed inside a protective circle within that semi-permanent Artificial Sacred Ground, it will theoretically create a deathless world that rejects all external and internal death.Hayato's group used the factory's smoke to place a special substance in the westerlies. And by placing the factory's products in people's hands the world over, they forcibly involved them in a portion of the summoning ceremony.The Material at the core of the plan is the White Queen. Her body is in space and her mind alone can walk freely on the earth. Thus, she is currently harmless. However, it is unknown if that balance can be broken.The current system of society is built on the assumption that people die and civilization will quickly collapse if people suddenly stop dying. Hayato's group either has not realized this or is trying not to think about it.In a system not reliant on the Artificial Sacred Ground, Materials can be picked up by cameras and sensors.The Rainy Girl ghost had noticed some of what was going on and was trying to give a warning to protect her sister and the small world around her, but that warning did not reach anyone.To create the world without death, Hayato must activate some final ignition.The White Queen super loves her super super brother. But that super super super love is super super super super scary.