“Don’t come any closer.” A voice echoed off the four walls and the ceiling. At this single utterance from Dill, its time and location carefully calculated, everyone turned their gaze toward him. “Both sides, put away your weapons. Reincarnators and Tereans, you all need to listen. This is a matter of crucial importance to our alliance.”
“First, please explain what happened.” Sid was wary and had his hand on his scabbard. He made his query still in the form of Orestes.
Spiralblade, who, contrary to Dill’s words, would not lower her chainsaw, answered curtly. “Sorry, little boy. Our boss got a little careless with your papa. Now he’s decided he’s scared to take Steel-Link to the Tower Capital after all, or something like that. Don’t worry. Not one of us agrees with this idiot.”
“He’s not actually my papa, though...” Sid murmured, but too quietly for anyone to hear him. Starlight made no excuses for himself. Next, Dill turned to look at Halberd.
“...Halberd, most favored by the god of war. How would the laws of Terea punish a case of treachery like this?”
“Hmm, well, it would be up to the commanding officer’s discretion, but if it were me I would consider it a capital offense. After all, taking his head could really firm up the commitment of those who remain.” The Reincarnators steeled themselves. Before a sense of mistrust overtook them, next Dill addressed the Manager called Toiler.
“Now then, according to the laws of the Reincarnators, how would you sentence him?”
“...We would not kill him. Whatever penalty we ended up giving him, first we would conduct a trial.”
“Obviously we don’t have time for that. In a military setting, where time is of the essence, what would you do?”
“Well, in that case...I suppose we would at least detain him. I’m not a soldier myself, though...”
“I see. Understood.” Dill turned his gaze away from Toiler and looked out over the crowd again. Starlight looked down silently.
Spiralblade looked unsatisfied. She seemed to still want to take off his head at once. But apart from them, the Reincarnators seemed resistant to the idea of giving Starlight a harsh penalty. Opinions among the Terean forces were more diverse.
“Well then, I’m going to give you my opinion now, and I want you to act in accordance with it. I think Starlight should be released and fight alongside us again,” Dill finally said.
“Huh?!” Spiralblade was incensed.
“Master!” reproached Sid.
There was commotion amongst the Reincarnators, and a number of the mercenaries in the brigade grinned in amusement. Spiralblade pressed upon Dill. “Hey, you! What do you think will happen to discipline in this alliance if we let this slide?! I don’t know if you’ve grown attached to this guy or if you’re just a big softy in general, but if we show traitors leniency, it’ll set the wrong example for the others! If we don’t have discipline, we won’t have an alliance for long. That’s why we left the Project, gathered only those who shared our concerns, and pursued Yuujin this far!”
“So tell me...what was the reason you pursued that traitor?”
“That’s because—”
“Was it not to protect your brethren, who wait in the Imperial City?” Dill didn’t allow Spiralblade, who was about to answer, say anything further. If she was allowed to say a word, she would never stop. “Why do people take up arms and fight? Is it not to defend those who cannot fight for themselves? To drive away the enemies who swarm around their dwellings—or else go out on the hunt and bring back their quarry. It’s always the same—the reason we fight transcends eras, kingdoms, and ideologies. It is always done for the sake of the weak. The Halberd Brigade and the Project all fight for the same reasons. Even Starlight’s attempt to slay me, Aegisthus, was fueled by those reasons. That’s exactly why Starlight deserves to be trusted.” Dill continued speaking. Without hesitation, he continued to string words together, not allowing anyone else to barge in. His words continued to build on top of each other, carrying on without even giving anyone time to question them.
“The hero, Prodotis, has resurrected in the present day with an outrageous ambition in his heart. He has no concern for the innocent civilians trampled beneath the Titan’s feet, nor for the memory of the Tereans who lived here. He represents a challenge to all who live in this age. The lands trampled by the giant, the towns, and the people...all had names and a reason for existing. Can we really allow a ghost from the past to crush the lives of those in the present? Can we simply sit and wait, without resisting, while a wave of atrocities passes overhead like a storm?”
Hathaway, the adjutant, and Rick, the poet, cried “No!” Several Reincarnators were spurred on by this and followed suit.
“We now live in a different age. Whatever past achievements these ghosts may boast of as they crawl up from their graves, it means nothing to us. History is never forged by old men, but by the hands of the youthful... Now, let us carry on. Let us go to win back the age.” Dill suddenly seized his scabbard and drew his sword. He pointed its sharp tip at the stationary teleportation gate.
At that very moment, the wavering portal finally stabilized. A wide rectangle cut off the backdrop of the hangar, for a moment sparkling with stars before shifting again to show the scenery of a city.
To both the Tereans and the Reincarnators, this was their familiar hometown. The Mainland...Tokyo, the Tower Capital. In bygone days, it was known as Aspro Terea. A gray city, with cloudy skies overhead. The mercenaries of the brigade were moved by this dramatic display, and more than a few of the Reincarnators were too.
A shiver went through Starlight as feelings of righteous indignation and solidarity crept into his heart, and they felt right.
“Starlight, shepherd who guides the Reincarnators and always thinks of his people. Let’s go forward together.” Dill smiled and extended his hand to Starlight. This performance had been executed flawlessly. The bridging of the gate a moment ago, with its impeccable timing, was most likely just another part of that performance.
“Looks like my attempt to kill you just ended up being part of your production to strengthen our unity, noble hero... Very well. I surrender. I will still watch from a front-row seat to make sure you don’t get up to any trouble.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The sky above the Tower Capital was today, as ever, suffused with bluish clouds, the mark of artificial rainfall. The towers standing in rows across the city were of various sizes, but they could be separated into two clear categories. The smaller towers were tens of meters tall. The larger towers were far taller, tall in the extreme—some close to a thousand meters in height, piercing the artificial clouds.
A city of towers, spanning as far as the eye could see. It truly earned the name of Tower Capital. Ruling over these crowded spires was one blue tower. Its reality was uncertain—it was like a mirage given form. Its half-real construction faded into the rain, which from time to time caused the surface to pulsate. At its base were three large towers, gathered around it like a bundle of sticks. The dimly glowing blue spire was even taller than these large towers, so tall it surely would have collapsed under its own weight if it had been constructed normally. The fact that it only half existed in this world seemed to somehow allow it to stand.
“Welcome to the Tower Capital,” murmured Starlight, as the rain beat down on him. Dill’s attention was first stolen by the unfathomably enormous blue tower. Then he searched the scenery for something recognizable, something built from the familiar white chalk of Aspro Terea...but no such building was to be found.
No—he found one. He found Ex Machina Envy, worshipped by the people of Terea as the goddess of their kingdom, whose temple was also used as the royal mausoleum. The underground labyrinth of the white-armed goddess, who was practically buried between some of the smaller towers, was still sealed away.
More familiar still were the civilian houses, which he found with some difficulty in a half-demolished state, sitting just below the far-off horizon. Even those crumbling houses were in the process of being removed by heavy machinery, seemingly to be replaced by small towers.
So this was the Tower Capital. His former home. The supposed location of Iris’s body. Dill was so expressionless it was unsettling—the actor’s mask concealed everything. From the long-range portal behind him, the Halberd Brigade and the Reincarnators emerged in turn. Here, on the other side of the portal, was the roof of one of the numerous small, gray towers in the Tower Capital.
The wind blew forcefully. Machinery roared overhead, even though they were already so high up. A fleet of machines approached, rotors whirring. For the first time ever, the Tereans in Dill’s band saw the machines with spinning wings known as helicopters.
The armored helicopters all had the same emblem engraved on them—a snowflake. This was their company logo. They belonged to the largest public security company in the Tower Capital: Panopticon Security Complex.
The Tereans silently raised their weapons.