Chapter 115

She didn’t know how it came to this, but it was the end. They’d come to the northern capital to foretell the outcome of their plan to return to Japan. Hakua’s hand had just pierced through Nono’s chest. All Maya could see was Hakua copying the ability from Nono’s body. The Pure Concept of Ivory could make other Pure Concepts its own. But since she had to blanch the Otherworlder’s spirit to copy their ability, anyone whose ability was copied by Ivory would become a Human Error. “Let me ask you one last thing…” Nono’s face was twisted in pain, but no surprise colored her expression. She didn’t seem to resent the person who’d hurt her; if anything, her attitude conveyed that this was the obvious outcome. Perhaps she’d known her own fate all along. “…How long have you been planning to attack us?” “Since the very beginning.” “Ah, I see.” When Hakua withdrew her hand, blinding light beamed from the stars in Nono’s eyes. The Guiding Light spread rapidly, enveloping her body and carrying it into the air. She was about to become a Human Error. Before she turned into the Human Error of Star, a disaster that was supposed to be impossible, Nono had only one thing to say. “Dammit… I knew we should have just killed you.” With that, her body was wholly absorbed by the light from her eyes. The light beamed into the sky, toward the giant transparent Starhusk spheres floating high above. “Now Star is finally…ours… No, hers… Theirs? No, no. It’s mine.” As a side effect of copying the ability, Hakua’s murmuring became briefly confused before she regained her sense of self. However, before she could recover completely, something odd happened. The Starhusk absorbed the light that had once been Nono and began to glow. Complex conjuring circles appeared on the spheres, and Guiding Light filled the area in response to a massive amount of Guiding Force. Everything in sight was drawn toward the Starhusk, even the ground. “Is this the Human Error of Star? No, it must be the Starhusk. Damn you, Nono. You must’ve set this up on purpose. You planned to kill me here even if you had to sacrifice yourself. Guess I should use some kind of conjuring to stop this… No, wait.” Hakua looked away from the Starhusk, even as it began to activate. Her gaze went to Maya, who still didn’t understand what was happening. “I should secure Evil and Vessel first. Better to acquire useful Pure Concepts while I have the chance.” Hakua’s eyes were unbelievably dark, cutting a stark contrast to how they’d seemed until recently. A giant form blocked Hakua, protecting Maya. It was Ryuunosuke. His normally calm demeanor was gone, replaced with a fearsome glare. “Would you mind getting out of my way? I’m not interested in the Pure Concept of Dragon.” Maya had never seen Ryuunosuke ignore Hakua’s orders before. With a roar, he activated his Pure Concept and swelled to an enormous size. That was the last thing Maya saw. As she stood frozen in shock, a slender arm reached out of the cylinder next to her and pulled her inside. Although barely large enough on the outside to hold someone curled in a ball, the interior was the size of a studio apartment. Since Maya also had a separate dimension in her shadow, she realized at once that this had to be the dimension of Gadou, holder of the Pure Concept of Vessel. “Escape. Maya. Together. That’s it. Promised. Nono. I’m Ran…” The person in the small, shadowy space spoke in mumbled fragments. Only now did Maya learn that Gadou was a girl named Ran. “W-wait! What do you mean?! What’s going on?! Tell me!” As soon as Maya pressed closer and tried to look her in the eyes, Gadou flinched and covered her face with a blanket. From the brief glimpse, Gadou’s face looked as perfect as a doll’s, but she trembled in the blanket and refused to show herself again. However, she managed to choke out a few unhappy words. “H…Hakua. Gone. Too late. Bad.” The two of them barely escaped from the north with their lives. Unfortunately, their flight didn’t last long. Gadou left Maya in the south and headed east. Hakua turned Ryuunosuke to salt in the west and chased after them. Gadou, who was even more cowardly than Maya, went east to draw Hakua away. Mostly likely, Hakua stole her Pure Concept and turned her into a Human Error. Now that Maya was alone, she saw the truth far too late. She didn’t know anything. And because she’d always been protected, she didn’t think she needed to know. So now there was nothing Maya could do. She hadn’t learned or gained anything in this world. There was nothing left to keep Maya’s heart from breaking. In the end, her memories were stolen by her own Pure Concept before Hakua could even copy it from her. Maya Ooshima became Pandæmonium and devoured the southern islands. Sword of Salt. Starhusk. Mechanical Society. Pandæmonium. Thus were the disasters known as the Four Major Human Errors born.