Legends are born from killing armies.
Myths are born from killing legends.
Tonight... a myth arrived.
Kairo's lips trembled.
"Kairo, prepare. It's not Aurthur, it's a woman," Akira said, taking the stance.
But there stood Kairo, who stopped breathing simply by her presence. For the first time since the massacre began... Zenith Kairo forgot how to smile.
"Kairo!?" Akira's face turned pale, seeing Kairo that scared.
THERE EXISTS A SILENCE SO ABSOLUTE...
...THAT EVEN MONSTERS REMEMBER THEY WERE ONCE PREY.
"Mo... Mother VESPER," Kairo said, his voice shaking and scared.
"Akira, if she is there to fight, we can't win," Kairo said slowly while turning.
"What? But we must—" Akira didn't complete, as she understood Kairo's gesture.
KSHHH!
In that small room where even movement was limited due to Kairo, Akira lunged toward the woman on the doorstep.
"SWITCH," Kairo shouted.
Kairo and Akira switched places, but the moment they switched, their bodies felt such a pressure that moving was now secondary; even survival was impossible.
"Zenith..." the woman said. The pressure on both of them increased 5 times.
"How ungrateful are you? Trying to kill the person who taught you to fight," the woman continued.
"You were my sensei, but seeing you as the tamed ones of Aurthur, you lost me," Kairo shouted in pain.
POP! POP! POP! POP!
Blood erupted from every pore of Akira's and Kairo's bodies, which could no longer withstand the pressure.
"Keep your mouth shut, boy. You are not in a state to argue with me," the woman said plainly.
"SETSUNA VESPER, KILL ME! THE FACTS DON'T CHANGE!" Kairo shouted before spilling blood.
"First of all, Vespers are untamed beasts which cannot be tamed by anyone. Second, leave the place and don't return with any motive again," the woman said in a commanding tone.
"I am leaving you only because my loved one wants to be in TENKOKU (HEAVEN REALM), so thank her after returning," the woman said, lowering the pressure.
"..." her lips parted. "And remember the name Pearl Vesper," the woman said, returning.
"Kairo!" Akira said in a very slow voice.
"Don't worry, she's gone for now," Kairo said, spilling blood.
"I am not saying that. What I am saying is that when she came, I could still use Mitsuya no Sabaki (Three Arrows of Judgment)," Akira said, falling to her knees.
"So what? What do you mean?" Kairo said, turning slowly towards her.
"You know that I can use it only if I am fighting for the weaker side in the fight, never on the stronger," Akira said, losing consciousness.
"So what do you mea—" Kairo stopped as he realized.
"So I want to ask if you know her..." Akira took a pause. "...WHAT KIND OF BEAST IS SHE AND..."
"VESPERS ARE??" Akira fell to the ground.
"I am also finding that answer..." Kairo also fell to the ground.
"For a very long time now..." Kairo murmured one last time.
[Cut]
[A dark hallway in the aircraft]
Tak... Tak... Tak...
A white light which fell on the ground only showed the way there, but currently a pair of pure white shoes—which were cleaned like the cleaner's life was decided by how clean they were.
Sizzle...
June was smoking a fresh cigarette she had just lit.
"Didn't know you started smoking," Vance said from behind.
"No, sensei, it's not what you think. It releases stress and restores flux. It only has the shape of a cigarette, but it is not a cigarette," June explained in a hurry.
"Oh! That explanation was needed, but I didn't come here for that. I came here to say 'Thank you'," Vance sensei said with a warm smile.
"Sensei!! You don't have to thank me, you just have to order..." June shook her head in denial.
"But there is a question: why hide from Zorian and everyone about Judicium Eternis?" June asked.
"I have said Zorian is the light; I don't want him to be part of the dark, nothing else," Vance sensei answered flawlessly.
"You are one of the very few people who no one could argue with, but entering the Commander's mind and obliterating his memory, then adding new memory, drained me well," June said and took a drag from her cigarette.
"Just the Commander's? Hasn't Zorian given you a problem?" Vance sensei asked in curiosity, waiting eagerly for the answer.
"No, sensei, my technique Kyoku Kaizan (Memory Tampering) works completely fine on weak people and doesn't cause me any trouble," June giggled, taking a drag again.
"Maybe you are right, he is still weak even after all that in Osaka," Vance sensei said with sadness on his face.
"But there is an exception," June giggled.
"Of course, the GENIUS OF THE DARK is everywhere," Vance sensei giggled.
The door in the front opened at the exact angle that a person couldn't enter properly, but a figure still crossed the door from that angle.
The man stood inhumanly tall, wearing a round pair of glasses. He wore a pitch-black kimono underneath a white-colored Haori, with scholarly cut hair.
No greetings. No introductions. No attempt to command attention.
Yet every pair of eyes had already found him.
"Go on," his voice was almost bored.
"I'd hate for my arrival to change anyone's answer," the man continued.
No one continued.
"I am leaving, sensei... Sorry, I don't like to socialize," June said, turning towards the man.
"It's fine, I am here to meet Vance only, but..." He took a pause and came one step closer to her. "It doesn't mean you are an introvert, but IT MEANS YOU ARE UNDERCONFIDENT." He smiled.
"What do you mean..." Vance sensei stopped June.
"You should go, I will take over from here," Vance sensei said while turning toward June and back to the man.
"So what brings you here..." Vance sensei asked after June left, "SŌREN SHIKYŌ."
"Actually, I was on my evening walk when I found two bodies nearly exsanguinated, and being a good human being, I brought them here," Sōren replied calmly.
"You know I am too strong to fall into the trap of words you make, and I also know how good of a 'human' you are," Vance sensei mocked Sōren.
"Fair enough, I can't decline the fact. How smart are you," Sōren instantly agreed.
"Noo!! I don't like this Sōren who accepts, I like the Sōren who bets his respect on coincidences and calls himself a mastermind," Vance mocked Sōren even harder.
"Oh Vance, you always get me wrong, I never said I am a mastermind..." Sōren cleared his throat. "I don't predict people, I REMOVE EVERY OUTCOME THAT DOESN'T BELONG TO THEM."
"Finally you are back, Sōren, aren't you?" Vance sensei giggled.
"That's not the question. Vance, the question is: DOES THIS AIRCRAFT HAVE ENOUGH BANDAGES TO HOLD A TORN HEAD TOGETHER?" Sōren said with a smirk.
As he said this, before Vance could react, a worker's pen, its center of gravity shifted by the way it sat in his loose pocket, slipped free. It struck the floor—
—and remained standing upright.
"What do you mean?" Vance asked, shifting his position.
The movement of his foot sent just enough force through the floor for the upright pen to slide across the polished surface. It came to rest directly in front of the door, which Sōren had left open at an odd angle.
In that same instant, another worker came rushing toward the doorway with a heavy load in his arms. Unable to see the edge of the half-open door, his shoulder slammed into it.
The impact threw him off balance.
His hand shot forward on instinct.
TOO LATE.
His foot came down exactly where the pen stood.
His weight drove it upward.
The sharpened tip pierced straight through his head.
Silence.
The door, the room, the voices—everything fell deathly still.
For a heartbeat, even breathing seemed to cease.
Then chaos erupted.
People dropped everything and rushed toward the fallen worker, shouting his name, scrambling to save him.
Only Vance and Sōren remained where they stood. Neither moved.
"Now you know, Vance," Sōren said without even turning towards the dead body.
"What..." Vance sensei forgot how to smile.
"First, you are still not smart enough," Sōren took a pause.
"Is there a second?" Vance sensei asked, his eyes locked on the dead body.
"You call it a coincidence because you only notice the final move. I WATCHED THE FIRST ONE," Sōren said and turned to move.
"You didn't come here to open a door at an odd angle and throw a pen to kill a worker," Vance sensei panicked. "S... So what are you here for?" Vance sensei stammered.
"I am here for two reasons. I will tell you the first; the second will reveal itself with time," Sōren said, continuing walking.
"I am satisfied with one," Vance sensei said quickly.
"Heard the game has new players, just to see them..." Sōren stopped walking.
In front of him stood Vance, no longer shocked but leaking his flux.
"I may not be smarter, but if it comes to my student, everyone here knows what I am capable of," Vance sensei said.
"Typical USHIMOTO'S effect. But I am not here for the prophecy, I am here for USHIMOTO ARASHI," Sōren said and vanished.
[Somewhere in Japan]
Kora-karan~
The wooden door slid open as the aroma of rich broth, grilled meat, and fresh noodles wrapped around Setsuna.
Scratch... Scratch.
It was not like the room was empty, but the only sound in the room was the steady movement of a pen across paper.
Setsuna stood at the doorstep for a few minutes as if to find someone, which she found in an instant. She moved in an instant to table no. 48.
In front of her was a man old enough to be a grandfather; rather, he looked no older than thirty.
His broad frame and steady gaze carried the unmistakable weight of countless years of battle. But his face was not visible 'cause there was a book in the way of the observer's eyes and the man's face.
"So after all, it was true: tonight a myth has arrived," Setsuna smirked.
"Nothing about me is a lie, but the fact that a great woman invited me to breakfast; otherwise, for the things you have done, the one thing breaking this morning would be your bones," the man said, lowering the book.
As the man lowered the book, it didn't only reveal his face but the underlying tattoos on his whole body except his face, which were more like criminal tattoos made forcefully than something made with consent.
"I have to say, your deep blue-coloured Haori with your black kimono underneath, paired with this straight, white-coloured hair in a ponytail..." Setsuna took a pause. "Uff, this combination has me dying." Setsuna ignored what he said.
"Suna, we both know changing the topic won't solve any tension that is currently between us," the man said in a very calm tone.
"Oh! Your hair was a different deal; these clothes are armour, aren't they? And these geta (elevated wooden sandals) are made from that old oak tree. Wow! You have upgraded, haven't you?" Setsuna said in a low tone enough for only both of them to hear.
"I am able to understand what you are trying to do, Suna," the man said, standing up.
"Maybe if you could sit with me the whole night, you might get some topics for your book. Or," Setsuna looked up, giving a cute expression, "I could pamper you all night."
The man didn't wait for Setsuna to react; he instantly held Setsuna in both of his arms and buried his face in Setsuna's chest.
And just as Setsuna giggled, she felt a tanto deeply buried in her from her back to her heart, as her mouth filled with blood.
"You didn't even hear the offer," Setsuna said, spilling the blood.
"I would have if I didn't have a motive in my life, Suna. I have my own motive which is even greater than Aurthur's..." the man tried to release the hug, "...to believe in what he told me."
"Always cry over the past. You will never get what he wanted 'cause the blasphemy will never awaken, and there will be no king to train!" Setsuna shouted in anger.
"That's where you are wrong, Suna. If it hadn't awakened, the myth wouldn't have arrived," he freed himself from Setsuna's grip.
"This myth would have never arrived," he said as he walked further.
"I wouldn't have arrived tonight. The BLASPHEMY HAS AWAKENED," the man walked away.