"Ueh... uhee... a... a corpse...! A corpse...!"
Mori, practically panicking, backed away from the coffin with her mouth hanging open, while Eclipse, Bippy, and I looked down at this NIKKE.
Long hair with a reddish tint, clothes fitted tightly to her body for running, and above all...
Swish.
"U-Uwaaa?! Why are you lifting a corpse’s hand?!"
"There’s a reason for that~"
Her palm bore countless little wounds, proof that she had gripped a sword for a long time.
This was one hundred percent Janghwa.
Janghwa—the leader of the close-combat squad in the NIKKE setting, and Scarlet’s older sister.
She was a prime example of how even a sword made by the finest craftsman could end up ruined if its owner was a total (beep).
At first, the story made the close-combat squad seem skilled in battle, so I thought it would be a happy ending. But in the end, it was a happycat-plus-sad ending.
The squad was a show staged by the bastards at the top—a goddamn test that accepted the one sole survivor.
Once Janghwa learned that, she had herself stabbed through the Core and died to save her younger sister, Hongbu... No, why do I keep calling her Hongbuk? Scarlet...
Whoooosh.
Looking at her abdomen, there was a hole clean through it, like a donut. So that was where her Core had been...
Maybe because I was looking at someone who had once been alive now lying there so coldly, I felt heavy-hearted and stroked her arm.
...I should bury her somewhere sunny.
"Um... are you okay?"
If I asked whether she had gotten badly startled, she would probably make a sour face, so I quietly raised my head. Mori was peeking out from behind Bippy.
"...It’s nothing. More importantly... do you have a shovel? A long one."
"Pardon? Why would you need a shovel... ah..."
Seemingly understanding my intention, Mori nodded and headed for the car. Then... Bippy, find us a nice sunny spot, Bippy.
All right, then. Let’s dig a ho—
"Wait, wait, Rukh! What are you about to do?!"
"...? I’m going to bury her...?"
"You..."
Eclipse threw herself in front of me in horror, then pressed a hand to her forehead as if I were hopeless.
"Don’t you remember what [Haima] among your abilities does?"
"...? It regenerates, right? It heals me."
Like a robot from Overwatch: correct.
"But here’s the thing..."
Upon hearing my answer, Eclipse flashed a grin like a clown whose stocks had just crashed.
"When did I ever say that ability was limited to you?"
.
.
.
.
Beep. "Nothing unusual in Area A, either."
Beep. "This is Area B. Nothing unusual."
In the ruined city, people wearing black bulletproof vests swept lights through every corner of the buildings as they searched for something, guns in hand.
"Hmm... it should be around here..."
A white-haired girl also walked between the buildings, looking for something.
The footage Liliweiss had shown her had been more than enough to shock her. First, there had been Raptures, and then something that tore Gluttony apart like paper—
Whoooosh.
Because it was the very thing that had made this crater.
In the center of the city, an enormous sinkhole-like crater announced its presence. Around it lay Rapture guns, legs, and other parts, like the corpses of insects devoured by a natural predator.
"Heeey, Snow White! Find anything?"
"Noooooo!!!"
I don’t think there’s anything here eitherrrrr!!!
She yelled toward Red Hood, who was looking around as though searching for something from a distant rooftop. Ugh, my throat hurts.
At first, she had intended to come with Liliweiss, but—
"Snow White, help...!"
"Yes, yes. Five seconds have elapsed."
—she was hunting the Commander(?),
while Scarlet and Dorothy were sparring, and Rapunzel was...
"Haaaaaah!!!"
Well... that was how she ended up coming here with Red Hood.
"Is there anything over thereeee?!"
"Whaaaat did you saaaay?!"
"I asked if you found anythingggggg!!!"
"...Whaaaat did you saaaay?!"
Like they were doing some kind of comedy skit, the two shouted at each other from afar and still could not hear a word. Snow White pressed a hand to her forehead and headed toward the building where Red Hood was.
"...Did you find something?"
"Ahh~ is that what you were yelling about? Yeah."
"Pardon?"
I didn’t find anything, though? At Red Hood’s words, Snow White swept her gaze around. The wall? Or underground?
Red Hood snickered at Snow White, who was desperately trying to find some trace of it, then opened her mouth.
"Riiiight heeere."
"Pardon? Where?"
"You’re standing on it right now."
Snow White hurriedly moved her foot, and in her sight was—
"...This?"
A footprint.
"Yeah? Think about it. Human footprints in a place crawling with Raptures? And—"
Clack.
"What’s this?"
In Red Hood’s hand was a Rapture fragment with a semicircular hole in it. But...
"What... a mark from biting a Rapture...?!"
"What? Where? Wasn’t it just some weird mark?!"
When an unexpected answer came from Snow White’s mouth, Red Hood hurriedly looked at the mark again. It was semicircular and had little ridges in it...
"Uh... I’m not sure..."
"It’s obviously a bite mark from taking a mouthful, isn’t it?!"
Thanks to the two of them’s efforts(?), news that a humanoid Rapture had appeared spread through the Human Allied Forces, throwing the base into an uproar. But that happened later.
And then—
"Oh my... oh... oh my!!!"
"Save me, save me!"
"S-Save... me..."
Not far from the area Red Hood and Snow White had investigated, two men were rescued with their genitals damaged so badly they were no longer recognizable. Rapunzel had to keep wiping away the nosebleed pouring out as she treated them...
.
.
.
.
.
.
What is this?
A dreamlike feeling. Yes, it was as though my body were underwater; I could not feel gravity. I just wanted to keep my eyes tightly shut like this.
Was this what it felt like to take a weekend nap and not want to wake up, like I had read about in books? This feeling of being alive?
My eyes were as heavy as if weights were hanging from them, making them hard to open.
"...Um... Rukh? This NIKKE is smiling...?"
"Uh... this is my first time doing this too..."
"Bip."
I just... want to stay... like this... forever...
Without being attacked by Raptures... happily...
Yes, I wish Scarlet were here too...
Wait...
Who is Scarlet?
Scarlet... Scarlet...
Scarlet... Scarlet!!! My little sister! Ryen!
As one word surfaced in her mind, strength she did not have burst forth like a bomb.
"Ryen!!"
"Aah?!"
"B-Bip?!"
As she sat up, an unfamiliar space entered her vision. This was not a bamboo grove... If it was not a bamboo grove, then... the surface?
"Um... are you okay?"
"Mori, get behind me for now..."
Where were the others? Where was Chuni, where were the other members? Where... where was Ryen?!!
The Allied Forces... Had the Allied Forces taken her away because she was my sister?!
An innocent girl?
Why?
Why?
Why? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Why?
Why? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Why?
?Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Why?
?Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Why?
?Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Whywhy? Why? Why? Why?
No, no, no no no no no no, no no no no no no, no no no no no no, no no no no no no, no no no no no no, no no no no no no, no no no no no no, no no no no no no, no no no no no no. That can’t be true, that can’t be true, that can’t be true! It must not be true. It must not be true.
All sorts of terrible futures painted themselves in her mind. Execution, disposal, experiments, and—
At the center of them...
"Ah... ah..."
"...Janghwa?"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
In the end, she clutched her head, screamed, and collapsed where she was.
..
.
There is a saying: if a woman harbors resentment, frost falls even in the heat of summer.
But Janghwa’s state right now was—
"Noooooooooooo!!!"
Like a parent who had lost their child, she wailed and wailed again. I-I didn’t put an invasion code in her, though?
"D-Does she have bipolar disorder? What’s wrong with her?!"
"Bip!"
Frightened by Janghwa’s reaction, Bippy and Mori clung to each other and trembled.
Scary, right? I’m a little scared too.
"Ugh... Rukh... go comfort her. When someone cries... anyone should comfort them."
"I was about to do that anyway."
Looking down at her as though she were a child, Eclipse tapped my shoulder and urged me on.
"Sniff... hic..."
"..."
Seriously, when I see something like this, I cannot understand how NIKKE-phobia—the ideology of hating NIKKEs—ever came about. They laugh, cry, and feel emotions like people do. Yet...
How can anyone see them as nothing but machines?
Of course... I don’t know how to comfort a woman, but...
Swish.
"Hic... sniff... sniff?"
This should be all right. Like when a mother comforts a child, when they are scared...
I would do the same for her.
I simply crouched down and carefully hugged her without saying anything. Janghwa flinched in surprise, then—
"Sniff... Waaaaaaaaah!!!!"
She cried like a little child.
Like a child who had lost her parents.
As if she had suffered for so long, her tears kept pouring out like water bursting through a dam, until they soaked my shoulder.
"It’s okay, it’s okay. You need to stop crying now, all right?"
"Hic... Waaaaaah!!!"
It took Janghwa about thirty minutes to finally stop crying.
.
.
.
.
Crackle, crackle.
"Hic... sorry..."
"Uh... are you okay?"
With her eyes swollen puffy, Janghwa hugged Mori from behind and spoke to me through a stuffy nose.
It was deep into the night. Thinking it was too dangerous to keep moving, we gathered firewood and lit a fire, and four silhouettes were cast around it.
"Um... but why... me...?"
"Sniff, you remind me of my little sister..."
Pat, pat.
Janghwa held Mori with one arm, stroked Mori’s head with the other, and kept her head lowered.
More importantly...
"Um... but what was it you wanted to tell me earlier...?"
"Ah, ah, right!"
After reviving, Janghwa had said that once she calmed down, there was something she wanted to tell me. When would she...?
"...You’re the one who saved me, right? Thank you... I can finally thank you properly."
"No, it was just... something I had to do..."
When I placed my palm on the sandy ground, a clanking sound came from my mechanical hand. I wonder if this thing can rust?
"...Your body..."
"Ah, it’s nothing at aaaall...?!"
Janghwa stared silently at my hand, then brought it to her chest... Whoaaaaa?! (At that moment, Eclipse opened a bag of popcorn.)
Creak, creak.
"...You fought with a body like this?"
Bending each finger and examining them, Janghwa asked with a complicated expression.
"Uh... well... yes..."
"...How did this happen...?"
"Well... an experiment? Something like that..."
More precisely, I was a creation of the Queen, but...? Swallowing the rest of that thought and playing dumb, I felt her hand tighten slightly.
"An experiment..."
Yes... I see...
Um... that’s a little uncomfortable?
Ah, sorry.
Letting Mori go, Janghwa returned to her spot and silently drew her legs up as she warmed herself by the fire. Mori glanced between me and Janghwa, then—
"I-I’ll go sleep in the car... It’s... cold..."
She said, "See you tomorrow!" and went to the car. Now... only the two of us were left.
Crackle, crackle.
"..."
"..."
"...Bip."
This is so damn awkward. Not knowing what to say, silence drifted around us again.
"Aww, but why is this NIKKE so pretty? I almost want to take over her body..."
"Um..."
"Eek?! Did she hear me?"
"What are you going to do from now on?"
"Ah, no, she didn’t? Phew..."
Taking advantage of her invisibility, Eclipse had been teasing Janghwa right in front of her. At Janghwa’s words, however, she jumped in fright and hid behind Bippy.
But was she talking to me...? (Nod.)
"From now on... well... I do have a plan..."
"You do...?"
"First, for now, I’m going to avoid people. Ah, please don’t ask why~"
Because I don’t want to get killed immediately once they learn I’m a Heretic. Please.
Janghwa listened quietly to my words, then—
Rustle.
She rose to her feet and took out the sword that had been in the truck.
Perhaps because it reflected the firelight, its red blade gleamed in the darkness. But why...?
"...It is not my sword, but..."
Swish. Step, step.
Holding the sword, Janghwa began walking toward me with a resolute expression... Uh... huh? Don’t come toward me, please...?!
Shing!!
"Ghk...?"
I instinctively flinched at the sound of metal.
The sword was embedded in the ground rather than my neck, and Janghwa began lowering herself as though she intended to do something...?
"I am Janghwa, leader of the close-combat squad."
"Uh...?"
"I will become your sword and accompany you to the end of this world."
+TMI
1. Eclipse is watching this scene while eating popcorn.
2. Mori is secretly watching this scene from the truck with Bippy.
Mori: "What... do those two know each other?"
Bippy: "Bip!"
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