Death was close now. It would have been easier just to give in and pass away peacefully instead of trying to grit his teeth and withstand the pain for a little while longer. All he had to do was relax, just for a moment, and he would be able to slip over to the other side.
But he continued to try to rise to his feet.
He’d lost a tremendous amount of blood. His body was immersed in a pool of it. It was unlikely he would be able to defeat the Goddess in this state.
There was only one reason for him to continue now.
If he was going to die anyway. If it was too late to be saved. Then he wanted to at least save Kaguya before he went. If she fell from that height, she was going to be seriously hurt. There was no getting around that, but if he could get there first to cushion her fall, she might at least still live.
Where? Where are you going to fall, Kaguya?
She suddenly began speaking into the comms, oblivious to what was going on in Azuma’s head.
“Captain Azuma. Listen. I’ve found a way to turn heroes back into humans.”
The wind was whipping loudly over the line. For some reason, though, he could hear her voice clearly.
“It’s silver. For some reason, when you turned into a hero, your earring was the only thing that was left untouched, Captain Azuma. You stabbed me with it earlier, too, didn’t you? With your silver cross earring.”
Glancing up, Azuma spotted a twinkling flash of silver. He frowned, realizing it was his earring, which he had been clutching in his hand up until a moment ago. When had she taken it from him?
“The inner world a person sees when they’re pierced with silver. It’s dark and bright. It’s hot and cold. The kind of world you understand you need to leave.”
“What are you—?” Azuma had to strain to make his vocal cords work. “What are you…trying to say?”
“Thank you for everything. The time I spent with everyone at Charon was truly fun.”
Azuma saw where this was going. Kaguya…was planning to take herself out along with the Goddess.
Why? Azuma didn’t understand. But it sounded like she had already given up on life. That was why she was trying to tell him what she knew before she went.
But Azuma wasn’t going to allow that.
“Wait… Kagu—”
“Captain Azuma. Sakura is the one inside that sword you’re wielding.”
And with that, he heard the soft bang of a gun. The Goddess issued a scream, and the static on the line grew more frenetic. He heard a faint scream from Kaguya as well. The Goddess contorted in the air above, dancing in pain.
She had shot it, but the shot had not been fatal. However, the Goddess had slowed down now. Its altitude was dropping.
“Kaguya, wait!!”
“Make sure that you save her. I’m pretty sure…”
Kaguya paused for a breath. For some reason, Azuma could hear her clearly despite the howling wind.
“I’m pretty sure we aren’t going to need them anymore. This entire Bureau should be gone soon enough.”
Azuma heard another noise over the line. Like something whistling through the air. Kaguya’s voice grew smaller and farther away. The thing must have flown even higher.
“Captain Azuma, you and the others will—so you—”
Kaguya’s voice was breaking up because there was too much noise. She must have left the transmission range. The line suddenly cut out.
The giant bee continued to dance in pain in the sky above, leaving the trailing scent of osmanthus in its wake. Kaguya, meanwhile, was clinging to the anthropoid creature. She was trying to climb onto the Goddess’s back.
Half of Azuma’s vision was stained red with blood, but he could still see clearly that Kaguya was trying to bring the Goddess down.
There was the sound of another gunshot—the second one. The Goddess dropped lower, and communications came back online. But when he called out Kaguya’s name, there was no answer. He wasn’t even sure if his voice was being transmitted to her.
She had woken up. She had become human again. But if they didn’t do something, Kaguya was going to die now.
He felt helpless. He couldn’t even offer himself as a crash pad for her anymore. All he could do was watch silently as she fell from the sky. All alone, he watched her—
“What did I tell you about hogging the spotlight?!”
A young woman’s shout changed everything.
Koyuki was back in the fray, and she had the Goddess in her sight.
“Takanashi! Tell me when to go!”
“Not yet. Just a little more. Three meters!”
“Kaguya, did you hear that?!” Koyuki yelled into the comms. “Let’s see… That’s it. The wings!! Shoot the wings!! Drop it down by three meters!”
There was no answer from Kaguya. It seemed like she was too shaken up.
“If we drop it down by three meters, Second Lieutenant Asaharu, that will be low enough for Lieutenant Shinohara to jump, right? But then what?! If she just falls—”
“Don’t worry. You’ve got it covered, right, Rindou?”
“Who do you think you’re talking to here?”
They all knew exactly what they were doing.
Azuma tried to shake off his stupor and think. Was there anything he could do right now to help? He was nearly dead, so there was no way he was going to catch Kaguya. Besides, while it wouldn’t really matter if he were to die in the process of breaking her fall, he doubted Kaguya would be too happy about that fact.
“Everyone…”
Azuma could hear the tears in Kaguya’s voice.
“Don’t. Don’t you get it? I…I…”
He had never heard her sound like that before. Her voice was plaintive, as if she had lost all control.
“My brother became a Goddess in my place.”
The static was terrible. Azuma could barely hear her, but he understood what she was trying to say.
“Kaguya.”
Azuma’s breath was ragged, his voice no more than a whisper, but for some reason, they all grew quiet and listened. The only other sound was the screaming of the Goddess.
“Did you forget…?”
He could only get out a few words at a time. His lungs were filling with blood.
“Or can you just not see?”
He could feel the life draining from his body with every word he spoke.
“You are human. A human, living in this world.”
Azuma wanted her to remember. What he had said to her that day in that hospital room. The dead could be left to their own devices. It is the living who we should prioritize.
“Don’t give up over something like this. Don’t give up on yourself.”
Azuma, at least, was not going to give up.
“Hold on. The Goddess’s trajectory just changed!!” Koyuki shouted in distress.
Looking up, Azuma saw the Goddess swerving erratically as it hurtled swiftly toward the ground. But the trajectory was all wrong. It was branching far off from where Koyuki and Rindou were waiting. Kaguya crouched down on the Goddess’s back, hanging onto it tightly, but if they crashed together, it would almost certainly mean her death.
They were headed far off course. Rindou would never make it in time, not even if he ran. But Azuma wasn’t giving up hope yet. There was still a way to save her. The only way left was for someone like him, someone who could no longer move, let alone run.