Chapter 21

1. A NEW EXELIA “Gah, aaah!” Rain groaned loudly in pain. “Ugh…” His five senses floundered, as if he’d been tossed around. It doesn’t hurt anymore… All the pain and the injuries on Rain’s body from the prior battle had disappeared. …… Though, the sensation of suffocation still lingered in his consciousness. Every single time he tried to inhale, pain tore through his lungs… It took him a while, but he gradually caught his breath. And when he finally raised his head… …he found himself in a snowy field. This is… Instead of a forest filled with gunfire, he found himself in a field of snow. Silvery white extended in every direction. Rain was currently in a mountainous region, so getting a proper read on the situation would be difficult. At least there were no enemy soldiers around him. And no friendly ones, for that matter. He’d entered a world that had shifted… Rain rode a ten-foot-tall armored weapon…an eastern M4 Exelia. Both the situation and area were different from his battle mere moments ago. He stood alone in that snowy field. “I swear…” No…he wasn’t alone. Someone sat in the Exelia’s front seat with their back turned. “Rain,” she called his name languidly. “I swear, the moment I look away, you almost get yourself killed. Didn’t I order you to hold out for at least seventy seconds?” “…Sorry.” “Sheesh.” That was the same voice that had spoken to him through his wireless transceiver earlier, counting down to the moment of activation. “Well, you’re still alive, so I suppose all’s well that ends well.” “…Where are we?” “Not sure. I was also in the middle of the forest a few seconds ago, but here we are.” Her long, silver hair and bright eyes of the same transparent color gave her an ethereal appearance, and yet she carried herself with a great deal of presence even against the backdrop of snow. The girl combed down her hair, then said, “We’re probably pretty far from the earlier battlefield. There’s no one else around us.” “Air, that Reprogramming just now…” “That was me, of course,” said the silver girl, Air. “I used the Devil’s Bullet.” She was awfully casual about those fateful words. Then she turned to the south and said, “Honestly, they sent a great deal more troops than I expected.” He had to look down to meet her gaze, but despite her dainty appearance, she spoke harshly to the taller boy. “I might commend a rookie for surviving an attack from five mages for seventy seconds, but you’re still too weak to survive on the battlefield if that is all you can do.” “…Understood.” “If I had to grade your performance, I’d say you’d handle yourself all right against any ordinary mage. However, if we were to encounter a Ghost, you’d die with nothing to show for all your hard work.” Air presented him with a rather bitter, harsh evaluation, but Rain found himself unable to argue. Everything she said made perfect sense. The silver-haired girl was a Ghost, a being in possession of unimaginable power. Her silver hair and the two massive guns she carried on her back, which also served as her primary weapons, made her easy to spot in a crowd. However, her true power resided in the silver bullet only she could produce. The Devil’s Bullet, it was called. Any person shot with one disappeared. And that meant more than just dying. All achievements, accomplishments, and results produced by that person got erased, leaving no trace of their existence. If one were to shoot a hero’s mother, that hero would disappear. And if the inventor of a weapon were to be shot, the world would shift to one where the weapon had never been invented. Reprogramming… Air had given that name to the power that changed the world. And after gaining said power, Rain had used it many times. He’d gunned down officers who caused the death of many and enemy commanders who led great massacres, changing history each time. This bullet that could erase a person and everything they’d done fell into the hands of one powerless boy, giving him the authority to control the world. I can change things. I can surely end his war… And yet— “Well, all right,” Air sighed. “I used the Devil’s Bullet to pull us out of that losing scenario, but the fact is, we got whittled down to twenty percent of our armored units back there. I doubt we can win the next battle if we put up a similar showing.” Even such an overwhelming power wasn’t almighty. Air reminded him of this as she brushed away the snow that piled over her clothes. “Let’s wrap things up for today.” Dammit… In Rain Lantz’s eyes, Bullet Magic was a weapon. It’d been nearly ten years since the fires of war had consumed his hometown, and he had since polished his technical and magical skills to ensure he would never lose the people he held dear again. Of course, he wasn’t conceited enough to believe he could beat high-ranking officers. However, he’d still survived live battles time and again. Even in an academy that trained young mages, few matched him. “Really, I’m all bark and no bite, aren’t I…?” Alestra Academy. A military academy established to train and promote young mages. Around sunrise, Rain and Air sat side by side atop the institute’s western gate. No one walked near the deserted area at that time of day, so they often discussed things there. “You sound pathetic,” Air said, her words stabbing straight into his heart. It’d been a day since their last battle, a local struggle in Jilen Woods. The West had maintained complete control of the situation until it eventually won, while the East lost one of its prominent internal land routes. That was by no means a small loss. Losing a main logistic route in the middle of the war was the same as having an artery severed. Plus, the knowledge that they’d lost such a major battle dealt a bitter, crippling blow in its own right. The damage to morale would not soon heal. The momentum from that defeat threatened to overwhelm them, which was why they had to win the prior day’s battle, even if it meant suffering massive casualties. However, even the Devil’s Bullet, which shifted the world, failed to overturn the results. Dammit… “This makes it four defeats in a row.” “…I know.” That battle wasn’t an anomaly. All the ones Rain had joined over the past month had ended in defeat. In the few months since he’d gotten the Devil’s Bullet, he’d rushed through many battlefields and used it to change the results…to change the world. He’d shot down many officers who caused tragedies, interfering with the past again and again to gradually guide the war to its conclusion. Unfortunately, his enemy, the western country of Harborant, was a major power that had never allowed another country to encroach on its territory. Many powerful individuals inhabited its borders, so it easily augmented its forces enough to counteract the interference of Rain and the Devil’s Bullet. The power of the Devil’s Bullet wasn’t almighty. It wouldn’t work without hitting its target, and that condition could be difficult to meet. And if said target didn’t influence the state of battle enough, the bullet’s effects would be minuscule. The West mass-produced newer Exelia models and erected a powerful invasion force, which granted them an advantage the Devil’s Bullet couldn’t easily overcome. And as a result, O’ltmenia had suffered many defeats. What should I do…? Do I even have a next move to make? While Rain was agonizing… “Hmm, what should I do?” …it was clear that Air was not considering the matter at all. “Thinking is just too much work!” “…Hey,” Rain said to her “Oh? What do you want?” the silver-haired girl beside him responded moodily. “I-I’m not giving you any of my strawberries,” she added as she hid the bag. “I don’t care about your strawberries.” “…You better not.” Air chowed down on the bag full of strawberries as she listened to Rain’s musing. They were a rather rare, precious fruit during winter months, and from the moment she started eating them, Air’s mood had improved significantly. The prior day’s battle had only just ended, so they met at the western gate to discuss the situation first thing in the morning. Air didn’t seem the slightest bit tired, though. Quite the opposite, in fact. She idly watched the morning sun, her hand stuffed into the bag as her usually sour expression made way for a pleased grin. “Still, quit looking so depressed. Moping around won’t change the fact that you lost.” “It’s better than acting all carefree.” “Guess you’re the type to die first on the battlefield.” “……” “Overthinking can be just as foolish as not thinking things through at all.” “Foolish…?” “Well, whatever. Be depressed if you want. Luckily, I have a little tribute here,” Air said while stuffing another strawberry into her mouth. Rain had received the bag of fruit a few days ago from his friend Athly, and he’d brought it to Air intending to share half. Needless to say, she ended up snatching the whole thing from him. “Don’t you have any more?” And she even had the audacity to demand seconds, which he couldn’t provide. Haaah… Rain internally heaved a sigh. He felt exhausted. Thinking back, he realized Air always acted exceedingly arrogant and overbearing. A mere few months ago, Rain, a cadet on the battlefield, had nearly met his demise. But he had stumbled across a silver bullet, and when he used it, he met Air. Right… She’d called herself a Ghost, a being who continued to exist by feeding off the flames of war. However, before Rain even had the chance to refute such an absurd claim, he met other Ghosts like her. Ghosts… Forced into an extraordinarily dangerous situation, Rain had no choice but to fight. And just like Air had said earlier, had Rain found another Ghost during that battle, he would have certainly died. In order to maintain their souls, Ghosts spread war and conflict. They possessed immense, unnatural magic power, pressing the bounds of the concept itself. Fighting them had endangered everyone in the area, leading to much death and destruction. Many people had died, and many towns had burned, leading only to further sorrow. Still, some things remained. A month ago, during his last battle with the Ghosts, Rain had formed a long-term partnership with Air. He still had that, as well as his temporary home, Alestra Academy.