He slid the sword from the sheath, careful not to draw it fully.
Azure.
Only a sliver of the blade was visible, dull and dark as if covered in ash.
If he drew the blade all the way, he would become the monster.
Sunlight shined through the gaps in the ceiling, reflecting dimly off the blade, and a giant steel beam grazed his cheek as it fell.
By the time his azure blade reached the red gear, the factory had completely collapsed.
A huge dust cloud covered the destroyed factory, and tremors continued to shake the windows of the surrounding buildings. The steel beams sticking out of the ground and glass fragments scattered far and wide were a testament to the tremendous force of the destruction.
However, when the dust cleared, the young man stood in the center of those ruins, unharmed except for a few minor injuries. He wiped a drop of blood off his cheek. Two beams jutted out of the ground on either side of him, crossing over his head to create an umbrella that had protected him from the falling rubble.
“The first two steel frames to fall just happened to shield you, and every other piece of rubble just happened to miss you…? Your luck never runs out, does it, Mr. Karamori?”
The blond-haired girl had suddenly appeared at the young man’s side. Just like she said, there was a surprising lack of rubble around him.
The youth gave the girl a dubious look.
“You’re one to talk, Archive. How’d you manage to get your clothes all torn up like that without suffering a single scratch?”
The blond girl’s—Archive’s—clothes were in tatters, but there wasn’t a mark on her.
“I am not fated to die today,” she answered offhandedly, fixing her disheveled bangs. Much of her spotless, dazzling skin was exposed, but she showed no sign of embarrassment.
The young man sighed and gazed up at the sky.
“Haaah… Fate, huh…?”
He looked down at his right arm. A dark-blue mark shaped like flames could just be seen poking out from the edge of his sleeve.
“It’s always ‘fate this, fate that’ with us.”
“…At least my fate is not cursed,” replied the girl.
“And yet, I doubt you think you’re better off.”
“…”
When she said nothing, the young man covered her with his jacket.
“Well, I’ll find a way to free you, at least. I swear it.” He tugged on his sleeve to hide the mark.
The girl lowered her long eyelashes and said, “You are free to try.” She began twirling the red string she was still holding between her fingers.
“Are you injured, sir?”
One of the troopers who had retreated ran up to the young man, who raised his hand in response.
“I’m fine. Have you gained control of the facility?”
“Yes, sir. We have apprehended multiple individuals who seem to be members of an organization and are taking them in for questioning to determine their affiliation.”
“It could be Grave Nest. Or maybe that Neo K group that’s been causing trouble on the west side recently…”
“My guess is that it’s a fringe group established to be disposable, so I doubt we’ll get much information out of them. They didn’t even know the name Noary.”
“Really? That’s surprising. It is a famous corporation.”
“Ha-ha, I assume they only know the public-facing name.”
“Hah, true… Oh, excuse me.”
The young man pulled a vibrating mobile device from his left pants pocket. It had a feather strap and displayed the words Incoming call on the screen. He eyed the caller ID and pressed the button to answer.
“…What do you want, Mr. Nanba?” he said.
“I’m hurt, kid. Is that any way to speak to your boss?” the caller cried out, hearing the youth’s annoyed tone. He was a middle-aged man with an unusually high-pitched voice. “I take it you just wrapped up your mission. Way to go, me! Nice timing!”
He said the last part in English with surprisingly good pronunciation.
A fed-up look crossed the young man’s face.
“…Have you made any progress on what I asked you to look into for me?”
“Heh, I knew you’d ask about that. The case concerning that book has been entrusted to you, just as you wanted.”
The youth’s face tensed up. He shifted his gaze toward the blond girl waiting next to him.
“I really had to pull out all the stops, you know? …However, your mission is to destroy it.”
A shadow fell over the young man’s expression.
“But, Mr. Nanba—”
“Nope. Not happening, kid. This thing’s caused a lot of damage. Noary don’t have the option of taking it into custody. I really tried, but…they wouldn’t budge on that.”
“…”
“I get that you’re looking for clues for saving that girl. If you don’t want to destroy the book, find a justifiable excuse not to.”
“…Okay.”
After a brief exchange of information, the young man hung up. He narrowed his eyes, looking down at the extravagantly decorated sword in his right hand, then lifted his head again and gave the helmeted trooper a grateful nod.
“Sorry about this, but we’re moving on to our next mission. Can you guys handle the cleanup?”
The trooper threw him a sharp salute. “Yes, sir… It was an honor to work with two Canaries, Noary’s finest investigators.”
“Please. We’re just high school students. You don’t need to treat us with such respect.”
A laugh slipped from beneath the helmet. “You’re performing a role beyond the capabilities of elite soldiers. I think that makes you more than ‘just high school students.’”
“Ha-ha-ha… Well, when you put it like that…” The young man flashed an awkward smile and turned to the blond girl. “Let’s go, Archive. We’ve got a new job, and it’s close by. Can you handle another one back-to-back?”
“Of course,” she replied. “We Canaries must always be ready to respond to any distortions of the world’s natural laws. Let us go.”
“Oh, hang on. Get changed first. I’ll find you some clothes.”
A gust of wind on its way to some distant location stirred up a cloud of dust.
Gears continued creaking quietly in the broken machines.
This is the story of a boy and a girl bound by their fates.
Are people truly able to change the ending that has already been written for them?
Only time will tell.