God’s rage and sadness fill my heart.
The strength He’s blessed me with, His emotions are in all of it.
✦ ✦ ✦
Into the fray I charge at 70 km/h for a dynamic how-do-you-do! My appetite is back, by the way! Charging at full speed, I Ignite my dual blades, and split not an enemy, but the entire enemy army in half. Get close and I’ll turn you to ash, you bastards! I am Kuroi, hear me roar!
I can’t stop her, and I don’t want to. There’s no time—and not just because the sun’s setting; I’m running out of time on a lot of things. Kuroi’s stamina is nearly empty, and her mana won’t last much longer, either. There’s no telling when my fire magic might just give out, too, since the vampires are advancing on the palace. Not having Ignite would be bad, but without Metabolize I’m screwed. If Kuroi passes out, it’s all over.
I know I’m pushing it. This is clearly crazy. Of that, I’m confident. But I made it. Somehow, I made it; just gotta give a little more. Let’s finish this quickly, Kuroi! Come, my warriors! Call Einherjar! Rise from my horse’s shadow! Fill the gap Kuroi cut open for you! Form ranks in the center of the enemy army! No need for mercy or common sense! Now, let them go ham on auto! Beat ’em to a pulp!
You’re too slow, vampires. I don’t even need to break your Earth Walls or Stone Shields; I can just dodge them. Oh, and good luck trying to hit me with those Stone Bullets and Thunderbolts. I’m just that fast!
Whoa! They still jump at me. I guess I should have expected that. Slice! I cleanly repel one. Countering jump attacks is the most basic of basics. I’ve got a bit of history in fighting games, you see. At least, enough to look like I know what I’m doing. These anti-air strats are easy to pull off.
Now, Kuroi, keep going! Tear this battlefield to shreds! Ruin this fight in no time at all! This is just too cruel to let go on. It’s almost like I’m looking at Hell itself: burned fields filled with corpses and ash... A classic DDR sight, of course, but... such destruction. It’s no longer an issue of winning or losing; it’s all down to whoever manages to survive this bloodbath.
That’s just so sad... I can’t accept it. Where’s the salvation?
I charge all the way through the enemy army by myself. I should be happy, but I’m not. I’m angry. Really, really angry. I almost feel nauseous... and not because I’m hungry.
Kuroi turns around, and the battlefield fills my monitor.
The Einherjar’s attacks are vicious. Maybe it’s because it’s dusk and the shadows are deeper, but the burning red from within their black armor flickers brightly. Though they are silent, their emotions—their rage—comes through clearly.
The vampires, not to be outdone, unleash battle cries and fight back with a vengeance... but their inferiority is also clear. Stabbed by spears and slashed by swords, one by one they turn to ash. I catch the sight of one vampire grabbing hold of an Einherjar, only to be caught by its overflowing red flames, the enemy’s hand turned to ash. It tries to struggle, but this only serves to turn the rest of its body into a pile of ashes.
Looks like there’s no need for another charge. We can win; I can just watch the rest from here. Even so, it doesn’t make me happy. I mean, this was supposed to be an incredibly difficult game. Who knows, maybe it’s just one of those events. Maybe real war is like this, and the devs went all out on the high-quality realism. Perhaps I should be grateful.
Regardless, I don’t like it. This isn’t to my tastes; I don’t accept it. Just because battle can’t be avoided doesn’t mean I want it to be crush or be crushed. I want a happy end; a cliched yet sweet finale. An ending that doesn’t involve annihilating our enemies, but one where we all can live in prosperity. That’s what I want.
Horrific scenes like this, where I can practically hear the Demon God cackling in the background... where everyone’s efforts are not met with salvation... I want to smash them all!
Strength fills my hands. My mouse and keyboard are rattling. Maybe that’s why Kuroi seems to move on her own. She fits her foot into the stirrup and stands in the saddle. I know she’s tired—I can tell just from looking at her stamina gauge. What’s she doing? She drops her swords and extends her arms to balance herself. Then, balling her hands into fists, she takes a deep breath.
“OHHHHHHHHHH!” she roars.
Huh? Why’d she do that? She’s out of mana and stamina. Huh? Is this some kind of technique or spell? And how is she moving on her own? But this voice, this roar... I feel like I’ve heard it before. Once, long ago.
Kuroi’s cry seems to be filled with rage towards the world.
O-Oh! The battle... stopped? Did my computer freeze? Looks like that’s a no. Geez, don’t scare me like that! Still, no one’s moving. And judging from the smoke, the wind’s died down as well. The world is completely silent.
The Einherjar are all lined up. They look so cool posing with their swords and spears, like statues. The vampires are either totally still, down on their knees, or sitting. None of them are holding weapons; I can’t sense any bloodlust.
The battlefield... is no longer a battlefield. Does that mean it’s over?
Ha... Aha ha... Wow... Kuroi’s amazing. She’s so strong. Her voice reached the entire world. Not only that—the world listened. She scolded them, and they gave up.
Yeah, this is how it should be. Sira and the soldiers should be fine now, too. Since vampires and humans can speak the same language, we should be able to figure this out properly somewhere else. It’d be stupid if we couldn’t. Our conversations, stories, legends, songs... everything that moves our hearts has a meaning to it.
Maybe this peace right now was brought about by force, but that’s okay; it’s still progress. One day, I’m sure we’ll all be able to smile together.
Hm? What’s with my monitor? I can’t really see... Am I sleepy? I feel so sluggish. Like, I can’t even keep sitting. Damn, this isn’t just malnourishment, is it? Oh no, my vision’s slowly getting narrower...
The pizza. I have to get to the pizza. I gotta eat. It’s so cold.
Kuroi, make sure you eat too. Switching to observation mode. We... We still have lots more fighting to do...