The Raptures did not come swarming in.
To be exact, large-scale Rapture hordes did not appear.
Only a few minor Raptures—at most five at a time—launched surprise attacks; nothing Lord-class or higher showed up.
"Sorr.y. It. got. more. complica.ted. than. I. thought."
"Did something go wrong?"
"To. restore. Cinderella, we. need. a. massive. power. supply."
"...Then what about Cinderella and her armor repairs?"
"Don’t. worry. The. parts. have. been. secured. sufficiently."
"Hmm... Really?"
We had originally planned to stay at the factory for about a day, but we ended up staying two more, totaling six days in that place.
Behind Grave were roughly four large toolboxes’ worth of parts and about ten charged batteries the size of car batteries.
"A. considerable. amount. of. electricity. has. been. secured. I. also. checked. the. generator. repair. thoroughly."
"The generator is a power generator... So, is there somewhere we can stay?"
"There. is. An. old. research. lab. a. little. way. from. here."
Grave pulled out something like a battered map from her chest.
Pointing with her hand, she showed me the current location of the factory and the position of the "old research lab" where we would soon be heading.
"It. was. the. research. lab. I. used. long. ago. And. the. equipment. is. old, but. I. fixed. it. up. as. best. I. could."
"At this point, I’ve got more questions than I can count. I’ll ask them when we get there. For now, moving these things is the priority, right?"
"Yes. But. they. are. very. heavy."
"Hmm."
Even if we knew where the lab was, we still had a lot of heavy cargo to deal with.
Raptures? If they attacked, we could just beat them into scrap.
But the real problem was transporting the parts needed to repair Cinderella and the Glass Slipper armor without damaging them.
Between the weight and the substantial distance, there were far too many annoying complications.
"......"
"What. are. you. doing?"
"I’m trying something out."
I reached out toward the pile of cargo containing the parts boxes, batteries, and generator.
In front of me, a faint inventory window—visible only to me—appeared.
Then, I imagined moving the cargo into the empty slots—
"!?"
"Oh, thank goodness."
The parts, batteries, and generator instantly settled into the empty spaces of the inventory.
Each type took up one slot, for a total of three, but thankfully everything was transferred without any loss or disappearance.
When I pulled them back out, as if using a consumable item, the cargo appeared perfectly preserved.
I could feel Grave's gaze lingering on the sight.
"Why?"
"........"
I pretended not to notice that, even though she was hidden by her helmet, I could practically feel her expression.
========
Boom! Kaboom! Crash! Rumble!
"Ugh... I’m wiped."
"You. brute."
"You were the one who said this factory absolutely had to be destroyed, so I destroyed it!"
"Still. I. didn’t. expect. you. to. break. common. sense. this. hard."
After checking that there was nothing else worth taking, we decided to carry Cinderella’s coffin and the Glass Slipper armor separately.
Then, we began smashing the disguised factory to pieces.
Grave used a boxy, cannon-like gun with absurd firepower to blow apart the pillars.
I used Eunwol’s skills, [Demon Slash] and [Shattering Iron Prison], which possessed incredible cutting power, to dismantle the structure.
Explosions and pulverizing destruction.
Strictly speaking, Grave seemed stronger in terms of raw firepower, but she was staring at me as if I were a genuine monster.
"A human. Can’t. do. things. like. this."
"But it helped, didn’t it?"
"I’m. glad. I. didn’t. turn. you. into. an. enemy. I’m. grateful, but. at. the. same. time, you. scare. me."
"...That actually hurts a bit."
"Face. reality. You. are. a. monster. Be. glad. I. at. least. called. you. a. ‘superhuman.’"
"Seriously..."
We exchanged some light banter as we resumed our journey.
We had worried about the amount of cargo, but once the inventory solved that problem, Grave thanked me again.
"Still. thanks. to. you, I. can. now. treat. Cinderella."
"Glad I could help."
"Thank. you. so. much."
The story Grave told me was the account of a life—no, a period of time—so tumultuous it was almost unbelievable.
"Raptures. kept. coming. at. us. I. tried. to. protect. Cinderella, but. most. of. the. time. I. was. just. running. away."
"......"
"I. almost. forgot. Cinderella’s. voice. I. kept. thinking. about. giving. up. too."
"...Tch."
"There. are. also. beings. called. ‘Heretics’ who. follow. the. will. of. the. Raptures."
"...You mean ‘Nikkes’ that hunt other NIKKEs and humanity alongside the Raptures?"
"That. is. right. I. almost. lost. Cinderella. once. I. barely. escaped."
"...From the way you talk, they sound pretty strong."
"Back. then. there. was. only. fear. and. despair. I. truly. wanted. to. die. Running. away. was. hard."
Her sorrow and the story of a woman worn down to the bone left me drained, shaking my head in sympathy.
It was a tale that felt as though it had been echoing through this world for a long time, yet it still didn't feel real.
In this world, there are three kinds of beings: humans, NIKKEs, and Raptures.
Humans; NIKKEs—cyborgs based on the human brain—and Raptures, the machine beings that appeared one day and shattered human civilization.
Among them, the most alien existence was the traitor: a NIKKE who sided with the Raptures.
The Heretics.
The worst enemies, utilizing both NIKKE bodies and Rapture technology to drive humanity even deeper into despair.
Against those monsters—
"I. am. much. weaker. than. a. mass-produced. Cinderella."
"Hmm."
"It. was. hard. just. to. barely. escape, but. I. still. succeeded."
Even knowing she was merely a "mass-produced" unit, she had protected Cinderella when she nearly lost her and succeeded in escaping.
At that sacrifice and sense of duty, I felt a lump rising in my throat again and closed my eyes for a moment.
"I. had. to. set. the. wrong. story. straight."
"....."
"That. is. why. I. could. not. give. up."
Cinderella—who, despite involuntary corruption, should have fought alongside the Goddess Squad and been called the "Goddess of Victory" for humanity.
Grave’s grudge-filled story never grew stale, no matter how much I listened.
Rather, the resentment buried within and the firm resolve to set everything right only made the emotion surge even more.
If you look at the first-anniversary story, she was insanely strong.
That powerful Goddess Squad.
Even without the strongest NIKKE, Lilyvass, they were an unbelievably formidable squad.
Even in her [Anachiro] state, Cinderella was strong enough to suppress corruption and modification all by herself.
She only lost in the end because Red Hood joined the battle in dramatic fashion.
"Cinderella. is. strong. and. beautiful."
Grave said it while stroking the coffin with a wistful, proud expression.
"Thanks. to. you, I. found. hope. again."
"......"
"Normally. this. repair. would. have. taken. a. very. long. time. But. because. you. helped. me, I. can. finally. see. hope."
"Hey... you..."
"Th...ank...you...so...m...uch...."
Her speech was unstable and broken, but her words left little doubt that she had been betrayed by humans and dissected as an experiment. I could empathize with her deep-seated distrust of humanity.
The fact that she had ended up in this state.
The fact that she had attacked me the moment we met.
Was it because the grief and hardship she had carried for so long finally burst forth?
Seeing her tearfully say she had regained hope, I found myself completely flustered.
"I. couldn’t. see. ahead... Here. and. there... they. threatened. Cinderella... and. tried. to. capture. me...."
"...Grave."
"It. was. too. hard.... Full. of. despair..... But. you. helped. me..... and. I. found. hope. again."
"...Enough. Honestly, I was in a situation where I’d lost my memory and didn’t even know what was going on. If I hadn’t met you, I’d have been wandering around aimlessly."
"......."
"And... honestly, it’s hard to explain, but... it was also a personal feeling. Anyone would’ve done the same if they saw you sobbing like that and finally looking relieved."
It was an awkward, embarrassing atmosphere.
I was just following my heart; after all, this was a world where rules and laws had been shattered and everything had become a living hell.
I helped her simply because I felt sorry for her.
A ‘strong power’ beyond common sense.
All I did was decide to use that power for something good.
========
Night fell, bringing with it a cold wind.
When you move while talking, time really does fly.
There were no caves or places nearby where we could hide our presence, but the open plain had the advantage that if something appeared, we could respond immediately.
"No firewood or anything either."
"It. is. a. shame, but. it. would. be. best. to. stop. quietly. here. and. depart. when. dawn. comes."
Fortunately, the night sky was clear, with countless stars decorating the black heavens.
And above all, it was a night with a brightly shining full moon.
Feeling the mysterious way the dark, cold night became a little brighter under the moonlight, I prepared to rest.
"Cinderella. liked. things. that. sparkled. She. especially. liked. looking. at. mirrors."
"Heeey."
"So. I. polished. the. Glass. Slipper. until. it. sparkled. so. she. could. see. it. when. she. wakes. up."
"...That Glass Slipper... It’s armor, but it seems to have every function under the sun."
"Because. it. sparkles, it. can. also. be. used. as. a. mirror. It. also. serves. as. a. shield, and. since. it. is. special. armor, its. attack. power. is. very. strong."
"Hmm."
Grave focused on repairing Cinderella, even stripping away parts she herself needed.
Of course, that meant she had to bear the resulting malfunctions herself, making her situation even more dangerous.
"I. am. weak. But. Cinderella. is. strong. So. even. if. something. happens. to. me, Cinderella. must. be. safe."
"If you keep doing that, Cinderella’s going to wake up and feel terrible for you, you know?"
"It. does. not. matter. What. matters. is. Cinderella. waking. up. I. must. not. become. a. burden."
"...So you’re saying it doesn’t matter if you die?"
"...If. it. is. unavoidable... if. I. can. protect. Cinderella... then. I. can. accept. it."
"...(muttering) That’s not a risk you should be accepting."
Grave was obsessed with repairing and waking Cinderella.
Her bizarre act of removing her own body parts to fix another made anyone watching recoil in shock.
She was essentially prepared to die.
I warned her that Cinderella might be consumed by guilt upon waking, but after hearing Grave’s story, I could only conclude that her devotion was absolute.
To survive after fleeing from a Heretic in that torn-up state... that alone is a miracle.
I quietly opened my inventory and looked at the [Grave Spare Body] occupying one slot.
When I turned my gaze back to Grave, she was lying down, hugging the coffin with one arm.
At that pitiful sight, at that wholehearted devotion, I closed my eyes tightly and called out to her.
"Grave. Let me ask you one thing."
Grave, who had been staring fixedly at the coffin, turned her head toward me.
Holding up the hexagonal NIKKE spare body from my inventory, I made her an offer.
"How far can you trust me?"
I didn’t know it then.
That the pair formed by me and her would one day be called the "Calamity of the Raptures."
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register