Arc 9, Part 39: "The Last Line"

"——Al-sama, let us stop longing for the sun, shall we?"

When she had uttered those words, he didn't know what emotions or intentions she held. He was the one who had made her submit through fear, bound her with hatred, and utilized her desire for revenge as collateral. From her perspective, seeing him backed into a corner should have been a deeply cathartic sight. And yet, it was a fact that many of her reactions didn't quite align with that logic. If so, what was the true intention hidden behind her contradictory attitude? He stopped seeking that answer. ——Only one thing was certain.

"——Domain Expansion: Matrix Redefinition."

That advice from Yae Tenzen had removed a certain shackle within Aldebaran. It wasn't something he had consciously applied, but rather an unconscious shackle, a safety, a hurdle——a mental chain that acted as a brake on the overwhelming nature of Aldebaran’s Authority. With that chain removed, Aldebaran’s options expanded to an infinite breadth.

"Targeting: twelve o'clock to three o'clock. ——Do it, Alter."

『All right, Origin.』

Responding to the instruction without hesitation, the "Aldebaran" standing directly behind him spread its wings. There was no confusion at being called "Alter." Through the "Books of the Dead," the update and sharing of intentions had already been completed. Being called "Origin" in return was a triviality, easily understood. Before there was even room to put his views on the matter into words, a white light——the Dragon’s Breath——was unleashed.

"————"

The power of the breath, utilizing the maximum specs of the "Divine Dragon’s" shell, was tremendous. It was a force that even the "Sword Saint," Reinhard van Astrea, could barely manage to offset. That force was unleashed upon a battlefield where the "Sword Saint" was absent——no, an area that was less than a battlefield, sweeping through it. The nature there, the man-made structures, and above all, the lives—not just animals and plants, but humans as well—were erased. The range of a serious "Dragon’s" breath extended for several kilometers. If swallowed by that light of destruction that arrived without warning, anyone would vanish before they even had time to feel pain.

——And now, Aldebaran had ordered "Aldebaran" to do exactly that.

"————"

Just as instructed, he partially incinerated the direction corresponding to the clock positions of twelve to three, reducing everything in its path to nothingness. In all likelihood, the lives lost were not in the hundreds or thousands, but no less than tens of thousands.

"Ha-ha-ha! You really did it!"

Witnessing this carnage, which could only be called an atrocity that suppressed everything in the world by brute force, the hanging Roy Alphard laughed gleefully. Bound by his arms and suspended, Roy brought the soles of his free feet together, cheering with a "foot-clap" instead of applause. However, the fact that Roy was the only one noisily cheering didn't mean anyone else present condemned Aldebaran’s actions. There was only pleasure, understanding, subordination, and fear——all of them were accomplices, some by force of circumstance. And, bathed in their gazes, Aldebaran looked up at the sky.

"————"

The Dragon’s Breath had been unleashed, and not only was the earth scorched, but the effects extended to the sky and the atmosphere. The clouds were blown away, and the wind and rain that should have occurred were driven off. In that land, the traces of the Dragon were deeply engraved—the claw marks of the Dragon’s wrath, so to speak.

Naturally, there was no living creature that did not fear the wrath of the "Dragon," an overwhelming existence. Since no one could resist a "Dragon" rampaging in fury, it was an ironclad rule for all life to bow before the Dragon’s tantrum, hide their presence, and wait for the storm to pass. ——Therefore, birds or insects approaching those fresh claw marks of wrath so soon were unnatural in the extreme.

"A miss, then."

Seeing the flocks of birds gathering to check the damage in the area scorched by the breath, Aldebaran let out a murmur that vanished inside his mouth. Most animals were honest and faithful to their instincts. If they acted perversely or unfaithfully to those instincts, it was proof that some kind of unnatural interference was at work. Namely, proof that the existence causing that unnatural interference was still alive. Confirming this, Aldebaran——

"——Next."

He muttered, crushing a poison capsule in his mouth and swallowing the lethal toxin. And then——

×　　×　　×

"Targeting: three o'clock to six o'clock. ——Do it, Alter."

Next, at the restart point he had returned to, he ordered the "Dragon" to trample the next area.

△▼△▼△▼△

"Targeting: six o'clock to nine o'clock. ——Do it, Alter."

"Targeting: six o'clock to eight o'clock. Fine adjustment."

"Targeting: six o'clock to seven o'clock."

"Targeting: fixed at seven o'clock. Adjust range, breath at eighty percent."

"Seventy percent."

"Sixty percent."

"Sixty-five percent."

"Sixty-five point five percent."

"——Sixty-five point five percent, confirmed."

△▼△▼△▼△

——Seven hundred and fourteen.

Having been told by Yae that he was playing "clean," Aldebaran had reconsidered his approach. He recognized his unconscious arrogance, seriously scrutinized what was truly necessary to achieve his goal, and found the answer.

——The vow of non-killing.

That was something Aldebaran had established as the minimum line he had to maintain from the moment he decided to eliminate Natsuki Subaru and follow the purpose of his creation. In a world where so much had already been lost, and even her sun-like existence had vanished, he had decided he would not allow anything more to be lost. However, by obsessing over that vow, Aldebaran had unconsciously placed shackles on his own Authority.

To keep the vow of not taking anyone's life, he had imposed the same restriction on the path toward his goal. With Aldebaran’s Authority——the "Domain"——the events that occurred in the repeatedly looped worlds would effectively never have happened until he placed a period on that matrix. If so, as long as the final tally resulted in "non-killing," he didn't need to shy away from deaths in the process.

Keeping that conclusion outside his conscious awareness was the shackle Aldebaran had unconsciously imposed on himself. He had continued to waste time in vain to remove it. ——No, without Yae’s words, he might have remained unaware of it even now.

"I knew Big Bro was using his Divine Protection to wear us down. The problem was his thoroughness and his infinite hand of cards; there was simply no way to prevent it, but..."

Aldebaran, having removed his shackles, broke through that difficult problem with sheer, brute force. It wasn't a complicated story. The pursuer was borrowing the eyes and mobility of insects, fish, and small animals to grasp Aldebaran and his group's movements, launching a wide range of obstructive measures. However, considering the estimated range of the opponent's Divine Protection, the command over the animals wasn't something with the instantaneous response of telepathy or the absolute nature of brainwashing. In each situation, the pursuer must have been giving verbal instructions. And to execute that, the pursuer himself had to keep following them while maintaining a certain distance. ——He had forcibly flushed out the position of that pursuing enemy with the Dragon’s Breath.

"Narrow down the area with clock positions, and measure the distance with the depth of the breath. If I do something outrageous, he has no choice but to play a card to see what happened. Playing a card is proof that Big Bro is safe. But, what if he doesn't play a card?"

The "cards"——the forces he had brought to his side with his Divine Protection——were proof that he had vanished from this world without even the room to move them. Confirming that, Aldebaran regressed the "Domain," narrowed down the direction of the pursuer, measured the distance, and identified the opponent's position to the limit. Naturally, in the process, many people were caught in the crossfire, including mountains, forests, and even towns——but all of that became as if it never happened.

Through the final adjustment of the "Domain," the number of victims other than Aldebaran was zero. ——No, since Aldebaran’s "deaths" aren't counted, the victims were zero.

"Combined with the time I spent choosing the members for the Tower, that's one thousand three hundred and forty-seven... you really made me work for it."

He wouldn't be so exhausted as to let someone he thought he had already eliminated trip him up again. In that sense, it was no exaggeration to say that the pursuer——Otto Suwen——had tormented Aldebaran more than the "Sword Saint" or the "Sword Demon." In fact, if it was his doing that sent Emilia after Aldebaran and Wilhelm after Yae in the Royal Capital, the damage their group suffered was far more than Aldebaran’s one thousand three hundred and forty-seven "deaths." Of course, it was precisely because he judged him to be that much of a threat that Aldebaran had spared no cards in successfully cornering this formidable foe.

"Al-sama, over here, over here~"

Waving her hand and beckoning Aldebaran and the others was Yae, down on the ground. Following Yae’s call, "Aldebaran" landed on the earth, and he jumped off its back. Halfway up the mountain, behind Yae, who had reached the target point first, was the figure of a green-clad internal official hanging from a tree, and a ground dragon rolled on the ground with its limbs bound. The ground dragon seemed to have desperately resisted the steel wire restraints; blood seeped from various parts of its pale blue dragon skin, and it was still writhing, exhaling exhausted breaths.

"As expected, a ground dragon's loyalty is something else. Thinking back, the current generation's Patrasche was like that too."

"I considered making an example of it for a moment, but I figured it was the type to get more stubborn rather than break, so I decided against it. What do you think of Yae-chan's judgment?"

"I think you made the right call. Besides, an example is meaningless if it can't be seen."

To Yae, who greeted him with a tilted head, Aldebaran curled his lips inside his helmet. In Aldebaran’s view, the internal official hanging above the writhing ground dragon——Otto——was bound so tightly from his eyes and mouth down to his toes with steel wire that he could do nothing. Normally, a single strand of steel wire is something you have to strain your eyes to see. The fact that it clearly looked like a binding garment showed just how many times she had wrapped it.

"He can't see light. He can't let sound leak out. Forget whispering, even breathing could be a form of communication with the outside. So, I bound his whole body without a gap, and restricted the air passage to just one tube from his ankle. With this, he's desperate just to breathe, with no room to put his will into it."

"...I see that's a sign of caution, not just your spite. After all, he's a Big Bro who you don't know what he'll do if you give him a moment to speak."

"I don't act on personal grudges~. Yae-chan isn't such a bad shinobi, you know?"

Placing a finger on her cheek and making a cute smile, Yae was in quite a good mood. Having been tormented by Otto, who specialized in harassment, she might say she had no personal grudge, but her resentment must have been considerable. In the first place, harassment and wars of attrition against enemies were supposed to be the specialty of a shinobi.

"I guess you'd be in a good mood after finally pinning him down."

"Boo, Al-sama really doesn't understand a woman's heart. I mean, it does feel good to crush an opponent who attacked with such insidious, thorough, persistent, and petty-natured nastiness, you know?"

"That's more than I would have said."

"But the best part is that Al-sama properly acted like a monster. Without clinging to petty things like humanity, you thoroughly committed to being a monster."

"————"

"For that, being thrown with all his might by Bor-sama was nothing."

"Sounds like you definitely have complaints about the plan..."

Yae, correcting Aldebaran’s misunderstanding, added that last part. The change in the usage of the "Domain" and the identification of the pursuer's position through it. After completing that, the means to reach him at maximum speed before the opponent could see through their intentions——that was to have the flying "Aldebaran" hurl Yae toward the target's position. It was a rough method that put Yae’s life in great danger, but with the opponent in a mountain area with plenty of buffers, Yae, who could create cushions with her steel wire techniques, was deemed the most suitable.

"For this role, even if he wouldn't die no matter how hard he was thrown, we couldn't exactly leave it to the current Heinkel-sama."

"Even if a Heinkel-shaped hole opened in the mountain, the old man would probably be fine, but it's true that we can't entrust a major role to him in his current state."

The fatal rift that had emerged between Heinkel and Felt. By taking a temporary countermeasure for that problem, things had reached a lull, but it was something that had incurred "Aldebaran’s" displeasure, and it was nothing more than a symptomatic treatment that wasn't absolute. Since it was a problem that could flare up again for any reason, the conclusion of the consultation between Aldebaran and Yae was to leave it untouched for now. At any rate——

"——Finally, checkmate."

Looking up at Otto, who was deprived of movement and resistance, now in a state that should be called a silver pupa, Aldebaran gained victory in one seat of a long, long-running match. However, the opponent Aldebaran was playing against wasn't just Otto; it was a simultaneous match against competitors on a national and global scale. Just because he didn't lose one didn't mean he could keep carrying it around as a masterpiece. Above all, he had to be thorough in his elimination so that Otto would never return as a player.

"I could gouge out his eyes, ears, tongue, and limbs and still follow Al-sama's orders, you know~"

"——Yae."

"Yes, yes, Al-sama is so scaaary."

Inflicting wounds that made recovery impossible and removing someone from the front lines while leaving only their life was a deception. For Aldebaran, the vow of non-killing couldn't be something so flexible that it could be said to be kept just because the person wasn't dead, nor could he afford for it to be. That would be the same as declaring that world peace could be achieved if you took the hands and feet of everyone in the world. That was why Aldebaran would not take Otto Suwen’s eyes, tongue, hands, or feet. Instead, what he would take from him was——his reason to fight.

"——Roy, I'm loosening the scope of the Covenant Seal. It's your turn."

△▼△▼△▼△

"——Roy, I'm loosening the scope of the Covenant Seal. It's your turn."

Otto Suwen, bound head to toe, certainly heard the person looking up at him utter those words. ——There was one point where Aldebaran and the others misunderstood the effect of Otto’s "Divine Protection of Soul Language." Soul language, or voices, are vibrations of sound. And vibrations, even if Otto’s ears were blocked, would touch Otto’s body as long as they were within range. The "Divine Protection of Soul Language" didn't translate sounds that entered through the ears. It sensed the vibrations of intent that touched the existence known as Otto and picked them up. Therefore——

"It's a strange fate, isn't it, Big Bro? In Pristella, neither Ley nor Louis managed to eat you, but in the end, you're served up before us like this!"

The voice of the Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony," Roy Alphard, licking his lips, was also felt by Otto as something certain.

"————"

However, to his deep frustration, there was nothing more Otto could do. While he continued to pick up the surrounding voices with his "Divine Protection of Soul Language," now that his mouth was gagged, his limbs sealed, and his ability to express his will blocked, Otto was helplessly powerless.

『What are you doing to the young master... stop it, please stop...!』

Hearing Furfu’s pained plea from right beneath his feet was heart-wrenching. For now, it seemed Aldebaran and the others had no intention of harming Furfu further, let alone taking its life. If so, he wanted Furfu to stay quiet and focus on weathering the storm. That was his greatest wish right now. And then——

"——!"

With a voiceless voice, he worried from the bottom of his heart for his comrades who weren't here. Emilia, Ram, Petra, Meili, Rem, Clind, Roswaal—he heard they were also cooperating with the Felt camp. Surely, they would find a clever plan. If possible, Otto wanted to deal a blow to the opponent with his own hands, even for Garfiel’s sake. And the two who were captured, Subaru and Beatrice——

"It's sad, isn't it, Big Bro? It's painful, isn't it, Big Bro? But! I'll treat and love all those mixed joys and sorrows of the screaming hell together! After all, this world is about Binge-Eating! Binge-Drinking!"

Slowly, he felt the foul appetite of "Gluttony" approaching him. Otto had no choice but to accept it without any means of resistance and be chewed up. So, Otto Suwen continued to pray. Continued to wish. Continued to think.

That his final plan would take hold——

"——Well then, ITADAKIMASU!"

△▼△▼△▼△

"GOCHISOUSAMA-deshita!"

The effect of the Authority of "Gluttony" was activated, and the hanging Otto Suwen was eaten. In that act, there were no flashy effects or magical displays of light. It was simply a solemn affair, like a feast served on a plate being settled into the stomach of an ill-mannered guest. ——It was just a common meal.

"I just saw it, but it really feels like a cheat move. In an instant, the resistance I felt through the threads vanished."

Yae murmured, touching the ring that spat out the steel wire, not hiding the disgust in her voice. Her words meant that the resistance from the bound opponent——Otto Suwen——trying to escape from the steel wire restraints had disappeared. That was proof that Roy Alphard’s "Eclipse" had taken effect.

"And on top of that, we properly remember that Big Bro. ——As promised, it seems you restrained yourself to eating only his 'Memories'."

"Ah-ha-ha, what's that? Not enough gratitude and excitement! I'm telling you, it's pretty hard to nibble while separating 'Names' and 'Memories,' you know? It's like the struggle of picking out the ingredients of a sandwich without opening the bread."

"I don't care. If you can't do it, you'll just die. Eat and separate them properly."

Before the slumped Otto Suwen, who had stopped moving while wrapped in steel wire, Aldebaran snorted at Roy, who was talking about the difficulties of his Authority. In reality, no matter how much Roy claimed it was a high-level feat, Aldebaran had no intention of listening. ——If he messed up, Roy would simply have his soul burned away and die due to the effect of the Covenant Seal engraved on his body. Of course, Aldebaran, who would be in trouble if Roy died now, intended to redo it every time he failed and search for a way for Roy to do it successfully.

"Al-sama~, isn't that Sin Archbishop getting a bit ahead of himself? If you can bind his actions with the effect of the seal, wouldn't it have been easier to just make him submit coldly and casually, instead of going through the trouble of coaxing and persuading him?"

"Engraving a seal isn't as casual as you think. In the first place, engraving a Covenant Seal carries risks for the one doing it too. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's a trump card to make someone who truly won't listen submit."

Aldebaran answered while pushing the forehead of Yae, who was whispering in his ear. As the name suggested, the act of engraving a seal, a type of curse-mark, had existed since before magic and curses branched off, and its nature was actually closer to the source of magic. If he spoke based on the image of the word "seal," he would likely end up being lectured for half a day by the person who taught him how to engrave them.

"To use such a precious opportunity for us...! It's fine, it's okay, it's good, it's alright, it's great, it's wonderful, because I can believe it's good, Binge-Drinking! Binge-Eating! That's already love, isn't it...?"

"What! You're saying you prefer a Sin Archbishop with bad teeth over a cute, sexy, devoted maid like Yae-chan! Al-sama, you cheater!"

"You're the one showing such perfect coordination with a Sin Archbishop..."

Aldebaran was fed up with the tag-team of the talkative Roy and the equally talkative Yae. Yae probably had no intention of getting along with Roy, but her willingness to use anything to shake Aldebaran’s heart was truly shinobi-like. On the other hand, Roy’s attitude could easily lead to the misunderstanding that he was someone you could talk to, despite being a Sin Archbishop. But one must not be mistaken. For Aldebaran, both Yae and Roy were equally targets to be used for his purpose, and who might slit his throat depending on the situation. And that was——

"Roy, don't get too ahead of yourself. Hurry up and tell me what that Big Bro you just ate was planning. That's why I let you eat him."

Aldebaran gave a cold warning while keeping Roy firmly within his attack range. Roy, whose restraints had been removed and whose broken limbs had been healed by "Aldebaran’s" healing magic, was by no means trusted, nor was he granted freedom of action. However, in the final stages of the plan from here on, it wasn't practical to carry Roy around while he was hanging. For example, when he wanted to rely on Roy’s Authority as "Gluttony" as he did just now, keeping him as a face-down card that couldn't be used immediately was too poor a move. He would never relax his vigilance toward Roy; what was necessary was to have measures ready to keep him subordinate. Fortunately, the seal was fulfilling its role satisfactorily.

"I hope we can hear something useful~"

While saying this, the wary Yae flickered her slender fingers, intimidating Roy by hinting at the presence of invisible steel wires. The use of Roy’s Authority was something Yae, more than anyone else, had been reluctant about until the end. While she welcomed Aldebaran’s declaration to remove his shackles based on her advice, she strongly insisted that if he was going to remove them, he should dissolve the vow of "non-killing" itself. In fact, as she said, if Aldebaran decided to dissolve the vow of "non-killing" and take control over the life and death of every opponent, the goal itself would be achieved effortlessly. He could just scatter "Aldebaran’s" breath in all directions and keep enemies away. However, Aldebaran refused that and insisted on adding the acceptance of "death" in the process and the use of Roy Alphard’s Authority as new options.

In fact, it was the release of a forbidden move—actively using the Authority of a Sin Archbishop. It was different from Aldebaran exercising an Authority that was, so to speak, in a vacant position. He was making someone use an evil that had been passed down continuously, an Authority that had caused countless tragedies and sacrifices, for his own sake simply because it was useful. This was likely an act of evil that only one other person besides Aldebaran had ever done since Witch Factors were born into this world.

In short, it was an action that crossed that much of a line. Now, if there weren't results commensurate with that, there would be no meaning in turning his back on the sun——

"So, tell me. I went out of my way to ruin the guy's life. Don't tell me there's nothing..."

"Ah, wait, wait. Don't rush me like that. You seem to be misunderstanding, but even we can't suddenly understand everything about the person we ate. Things you knew from the start, you can't just suddenly remember them unless the situation calls for it, right? It's the same as that..."

"——I won't say the same thing twice."

"...Fine, fine, I get it. I see, I see. This Big Bro has a much richer life experience than I thought, and even we were a bit surprised——"

Roy, who was about to pour out a long string of excuses, concentrated on recalling the "Memories" of Otto he had just eaten. Roy’s argument could be said to be a combination of the turbulent days of Otto, the possessor of the "Divine Protection of Soul Language," and the extraordinary volume of voices he must have heard. However, Roy’s sarcastic words were abruptly cut off, and Aldebaran grew suspicious. It was unmistakably proof that he had dug up some kind of "Memory" that caught his attention——

"What is it? What happened?"

"Haha, it seems we were more thorough than I thought. ——There's a foolproof measure for when he gets taken out."

"————"

Foolproof——a safety device to prevent foolish mistakes. The moment Roy said that, a tremendous chill ran up Aldebaran’s entire body.

Not a countermeasure for when he was attacked, but a countermeasure for after he was taken out. If Otto Suwen had prepared that, then now was exactly that time.

"Yae! Immediately——"

Leaving this place, and regressing the situation through suicide. While keeping those two options in mind, Aldebaran moved without narrowing down his countermeasure. In a way, that worked out, and in another way, it led to failure. That was——

"——It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Aldebaran-sama."

the voice of a lovely girl struck Aldebaran’s ears like a surprise attack. It was literally an anomaly that appeared in the blink of an eye, and his instinct couldn't even sound the alarm in time to say it was bad. He should not have looked at that blue-haired girl, who had changed her appearance and attire from her time in the Vollachian Empire. ——He realized that immediately after laying eyes on her as she fluttered the skirt of her maid uniform. In an instant, that maid girl's name, existence, and nature rapidly threatened his brain.

"————"

The girl whose "Name" and "Memories" had once been eaten by the Authority of "Gluttony" and deleted from the register of Od Lagna, which recorded the names of all lives—the one who had been spat out due to the malice of "Satiation" and left alone without manifesting any actual harm—exploded inside Aldebaran’s head. Struck by the shock of being forced to remember her existence by brute force, Aldebaran, who was supposed to bear the fate of never stopping his thoughts, was left behind by his own thinking——

"——Al-sama!!"

Instinctively, Yae’s slender arm reached out toward Aldebaran as she cried out. While catching those white fingers in the corner of his vision, Aldebaran couldn't move. While he couldn't move, in the second his thoughts were stolen, the situation shifted.

——In an instant, Aldebaran’s body was severed from the space he was in just a moment ago and thrown into the sky, buffeted by a fierce wind.

"————"

The brightness of the sun he had stopped longing for burned the black eyes of Aldebaran as he soared through the air. ——It was the unexpected beginning of the Aldebaran party's critical moment.

——The struggle for the Mogolade Great Fissure, which would determine the trend of the world, had begun.