“Is that what you think? I think it was actually inevitable.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Far off in the Lord’s office, someone bemusedly muttered some words, but Shanorotte could never have heard them.
✦ ✦ ✦
“The citizens of the Sovereignty have a bad habit of believing they were chosen by the planet.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The Lord’s offices.
They were inside a structure made of five towers, in the very top of the center structure on a level called the Heaven of Insight and Nonsight.
A charming and androgynous voice with a sagacious tone filled the space.
“Even the Sovereignty’s beloved founding Nebulis siblings were once Imperials. It’s not odd at all for an Imperial to end up with some slightly rare astral powers.”
Clack. Clack…
The silvery beastperson sat among dozens of board games, amusing themself as they sat on a tatami mat.
They were playing both sides of the boards.
The Empire and the Sovereignty. They moved the pawns labeled as such of each side in alternation all on their own.
“This feels nostalgic…”
Lord Yunmelngen’s large eyes narrowed into slits. They looked up at the ceiling as if they were reminiscing.
“Commander Mismis… The green astral crest on her left shoulder… I was surprised when I saw it, too. Since I’ve seen it once before, deep in the past.”
Long, long ago, when the Lord had still been a crown prince, the citizens of the Imperial capital had been showered in an inexplicable energy that had come from deep underground. Soon after, Imperials began to find marks appearing on their bodies.
“Ahh, no, it was Crow who saw it. He simply described it to me.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Alice?!”
“A green mark shone on his sister Alicerose’s left shoulder.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The Nebulis sisters were twins.
They had led a mass exodus of astral mages out of the Empire.
The older sister, Elletear, was called their Founder.
The younger sister, Alicerose, had become the first queen of the Sovereignty and had left behind three children who started the royal lines: the Lou, the Zoa, and the Hydra.
Incidentally, unlike Eve, Alicerose had almost never been documented to have used her astral power.
“Alicerose’s astral power was the Gift of Wind. She had the ability to quell other astral powers that had grown worked up. She could dilute the effect of combative astral powers and offset them.”
Yunmelngen lifted a piece off a board.
This was the Sovereignty’s queen.
Yunmelngen placed it on top of a soldier on the Empire’s side.
“This is likely the embodiment of her wish for the astral power not to be used for battle. It’s the first Nebulis Queen Alicerose’s astral power.”
Yunmelngen still remembered it.
The day the Imperial capital had burned.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Knock it off, everyone!”
“We’re just trying to leave the country! Please, listen to us. No one wants this war!”
✦ ✦ ✦
In the world that was filled with gunfire and shrieks, only Alicerose called for peace and begged in front of an Imperial soldier.
She loved peace more than anyone.
“Shall I say it again? I think it was actually inevitable. When the Lou, Zoa, and Hydra bloodlines are vying against their own family for the queen’s throne, why would she leave her astral power to them?”
Yes.
The power of the former Imperial and first queen had not gone to any of her progeny.
Her astral power had chosen an Imperial whose circumstances were the same as Alicerose’s had once been.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You can’t be serious!”
Lord’s office, third tower.
In the corridor filled with the eddying and glittering air current, Shanorotte screamed with such force her lips seemed as though they were about to split.
Every lightning bolt she created was neutralized.
But Mismis’s powers couldn’t be limitless. Naturally, they had to have a range, and Shanorotte was sure there would be other weaknesses in the power, too. Then again…
“I’m no scientist. I never planned on studying astral powers!”
She leaped toward Mismis.
Then she grabbed Mismis by the throat and heaved her small body up.
“Guh… Ah…!”
“Ha-ha! You’re so cute, Mis! You don’t have astral power that prevents anyone from hurting you! It’s just the astral power that can’t be hurt! But it sure isn’t useful now!”
Shanorotte felt certain now that she was strangling Mismis.
Mismis’s astral power was no threat.
Even if Shanorotte couldn’t use her own astral power, she could still fight. She could use guns or even her fists. Shanorotte was so much larger than Mismis, she practically looked like an adult alongside a child.
“Would you prefer it if I strangled you like this or beat your face in?”
“aheii”
“Oh, Mis? Am I crushing your throat so bad that you can’t even talk?”
“Huh!”
Mismis’s eyes opened wide.
She grabbed at Shanorotte’s wrists, which gripped her throat.
“I…don’t need to…win alone…”
“What?”
“As long as you can’t use your astral power, we’ve won!”
A gunshot rang out.
✦ ✦ ✦
Blood sprayed from Shanorotte’s right thigh and right shoulder.
✦ ✦ ✦
Only two bullets had been fired.
They had come from far down the corridor.
“Agh!”
“Two shots. Since you hurt the boss twice.”
The sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor as the sniper with silver hair approached them.
“First at Mudor and now here. Seems like there won’t be a third time, though.”
“Jhin!”
After being thrown to the ground, Mismis coughed and stood up.
Shanorotte gritted her back teeth as she watched, then she pulled an egg-shaped object from her breast pocket. She couldn’t use one of her arms. As she held the object with her functioning hand, she pulled a pin from it with her teeth.
“A hand grenade!”
The silver-haired young man pulled Mismis’s hand and tugged her back.
At the same time, there was a flash.
The stun grenade, made for the purpose of quelling mobs, erupted with a loud bang and flash. Once Jhin and Mismis raised their heads, Shanorotte had disappeared.
Ahead of them, they saw a trail of blood from her dragging her leg that continued down the corridor.