Chapter 44

5. CONFLAGRATION Rain still couldn’t quite fathom what had just happened. “Athly!” He may have fallen asleep, but he wasn’t particularly careless. He’d only taken a short, appropriate rest. However, his sleep had deepened more than he’d expected, and when he woke up, he saw someone taking his pistol. Since the pistol contained the Devil’s Bullet, he’d instinctively attacked and grabbed them by the neck, intending to snap it. Unfortunately, he’d hesitated upon realizing the person in question was Athly. “Where’d she go?!” Athly had run into the forest so suddenly that he’d lost sight of her. “Shit…!” She’d left behind the Exelia, and while Rain could manage basic driving, he was by no means skilled enough to catch up to a person fleeing in this darkness. And besides, he didn’t know why Athly had run away in the first place. Sure, he’d grabbed her neck pretty hard, but he couldn’t imagine Athly screaming and having a hysterical fit over that. She was a soldier, after all, so she knew the implications of holding a weapon in front of someone. That act of violence couldn’t have been the reason. Something else had made her lose her composure. And all that came to mind…were the silver bullets scattered at his feet. Did seeing these make her panic like that? The bullets had a peculiar color to them, but other than that, they looked normal. Only people who’d seen the Devil’s Bullet’s power in action would’ve thought them odd. …It can’t be! Only someone who’d recognize it as the Devil’s Bullet would’ve reacted like that, so… How would Athly know…? And why’d she run off like that? …the answer was simple. Somehow, Athly knew about the power of those bullets. “What do I do…?” Rain had no way to question Athly now that she was gone, but he certainly couldn’t allow her to roam free. He couldn’t afford to let the secret of the Devil’s Bullet leak. Its unparalleled, mysterious power was Rain’s greatest weapon on the battlefield. He had to protect that secret at all costs, which meant he had to find Athly. But by the time he’d come to that conclusion, Rain finally realized something. Assuming I do catch Athly, what next? Ask her not to tell anyone? Have her join their crusade? Those notions seemed absurd. The Devil’s Bullet was a secret that had to be safeguarded, and letting Athly learn about it was a huge misstep. She’d lost her parents to the war, in a battle between Ghosts that involved Air. If she learned that, Athly would never forgive Air. Rain realized that deep down, but even still, he felt driven to catch Athly. He knew he had to permanently silence her if he caught her, but he ran after her all the same. What am I thinking?! Rain was dumbfounded. The fact that he’d thought of killing her, even subconsciously, shook him to his core, forcing his legs to stop. A layer of clouds hung over him, darkening the forest as if to match the silence enveloping it. And the only thing Rain could do was gaze into that darkness… Three days had passed. O’ltmenia’s capital, Alestra, prepared to hold an annual festival. A national holiday was celebrated with a three-day festival that spanned the entire capital. Originally, it was a form of prayer for a good harvest. But ever since Alestra had developed into an industrial city, it had become a fun festival marked by large feasts. O’ltmenia remained in the middle of war, so the risk of invasion loomed, but people set aside their anxieties to enjoy themselves for once. “Your ID tag’s been confirmed. Head for hangar number 5, please.” Rain had to guard the freight heading into the capital. When the cadets were first assigned the task, they’d heard it would be an armed escort, but on reaching their destination, they realized that it was mostly carrying in supplies and directing freight trains to their allotted hangars. In other words, they’d been assigned chores. Rain didn’t complain, though, since every department seemed shorthanded. Since it was a festival, much more cargo than usual had arrived at the capital, so security couldn’t keep up. Left with no choice, they’d asked the cadets to go on patrol and help manage the inspections as well. Everyone acknowledged this was something of an emergency and tacitly agreed to the unusual arrangement. As the freight trains arrived, Rain would inspect their ID tags and direct them to the hangar listed. Nearly fifty trains had arrived during just the morning hours. And since they were in the middle of a war, all trains, without exception, were subjected to rigorous checks. Four hours after he’d started working, Rain began to run out of energy. “Morning team, take a break,” instructed their commanding officer. Rain and the other members of the morning team stopped working at last. They exchanged grumbled complaints about how tired they felt, then took the rations and water provided and entered their break. The light meal wasn’t particularly tasty, but it did come in plentiful amounts, making it a perfect fit for the situation. Rain, however, didn’t touch his food or water. …… He didn’t eat anything else, either. He remained empty-handed as he walked away from his fellow workers and headed toward a platform that allowed him to look down at the checkpoint. As soon as Rain climbed up to the top of the platform, he sat down, dangling his feet off the edge to relax. There was no one else around. The spot was built to serve as a lookout position for scouts, meaning no one usually came near here. He didn’t do anything, though. He simply watched the passing trains and got lost in thought. “What are you doing?” “Huh…?” When those words reached his ears, he felt someone press down on his head. “From the looks of it, I’d say you skipped another meal.” Something rested atop his head. And when Rain tilted it to the side in confusion, a red apple fell into his hands. Looking up, he fixed his gaze on a silver-haired girl. “At least eat something,” she told him grumpily. “Air…” “You’re working pretty hard today, huh?” she said, obviously insincere. And honestly, that dry sarcasm suited Air. Instead of the Alestra Academy uniform or her combat attire, she had on a casual outfit. It was still the cold season, but she wore a short skirt that prioritized mobility. Unlike Rain, she had the day off to celebrate the festival, which made her sudden appearance odd. “Why are you here?” “I’ve already sampled most of the food there, and walking around alone is no fun,” she replied. Then she pointed at the apple in Rain’s hands and said, “Think you can eat that for me?” “……” “I went out of my way to pick the best one I could find.” “…Wow, you’re looking out for me now? This really is a special day.” “What the hell does that mean?” “That this festival’s bringing out the best in you.” “I look out for you all the time! Ugh, look, if you’re not going to eat it, just give it back,” Air said, extending a palm toward him impatiently. “No, I’ll try it. Thanks.” Rain evaded her fingers and bit down on the apple. The suppleness of the skin was evidence that it was most definitely fresh; O’ltmenian markets were overflowing with fruit at this time of year. Some entire freight trains exclusively carried apples, even. It was the peak of their harvest season, so they tasted extra delicious. As further proof, Air, who had an insatiable sweet tooth, had picked them out specifically. But even so, Rain couldn’t stomach it. “Ngh… Ugh, urk…” He felt hungry, but after a few bites, Rain started vomiting. “…Are you okay?” “Yeah…,” Rain muttered, still overcome with nausea. Dammit! Despite how sick he felt, he realized he had to eat something, so he slowly took a few more bites from the apple to placate his empty stomach. Air stared at him silently as he did, then eventually asked, “Is it still bothering you?” “……” “Have you made up your mind?” “About what…?” “Athly, of course,” Air answered concisely. She was cutting to the chase. “Look, Rain, I’m not going to tell you what to think. This isn’t my choice to make,” Air spoke calmly, but her words came from a cold and rational understanding of the situation. “But you should decide quickly. The longer you draw this out, the more people you endanger.” What should I do…? Rain felt conflicted. And that conflict had plagued him during every waking moment of the last three days. Three days ago, Athly Magmet had become a deserter. She’d seen Rain’s silver bullets, lost her temper, and disappeared without a trace. That left Rain with a choice. He had to decide whether to report her desertion to the eastern army or not, since she would be treated drastically different based on his choice. However, the biggest issue was why she’d fled in the line of duty. Somehow, Athly had learned of the Devil’s Bullet. And seeing that bullet in Rain’s pistol had made her flee. He couldn’t tell the army about his secret weapon, of course, so he’d lied and said they’d gotten separated in the middle of the operation. And yet, they’d still sent a search party out to find her, which marked her as a criminal. She’d disappeared in the middle of a military operation, so the law dictated that she would be charged with desertion under enemy fire, even if no enemies were present. Athly had been branded a criminal…and the punishment awaiting her was death. The weight of that choice tormented Rain. His personal feelings and cold, hard logic constantly clashed in his mind. He had difficulty sleeping, and the stress had robbed him of his appetite. “I think you should report it,” Air advised him. Three days ago, shortly before Athly parted ways with him, she’d apparently had a run-in with Air. They happened to get in the bath together, and Athly had hinted that she knew about the Devil’s Bullet. “Why would Athly do that in the bath, of all places?” “I doubt she meant to. It probably just slipped out.” “You sure?” “If I was in her shoes, I’d have at least brought a gun with me. Wouldn’t want to get erased while questioning the suspect, you know?” Good point… Athly had to have known that questioning Air was dangerous. Coming to the interrogation armed would make sense, but she’d been empty-handed. That meant she didn’t have definitive proof of Air’s guilt. She’d simply asked due to the doubts in her mind. One thing still made no sense, however. “How’d Athly even find out about the Devil’s Bullet?” They’d kept its existence a complete secret. And by the bullet’s very nature, no one but Rain and Air should’ve noticed the shifting of the world. “I have a theory,” Air said. “I think she used it at one point.” “So you’re saying—?” “Yeah. She must’ve shot Kirlilith.” Early on in their partnership, they had fought Kirlilith Lambert, a Ghost who wielded a bullet that delivered unconditional death. But following their battle, someone else had shot her with the Devil’s Bullet. Thus far, they’d failed to identify her killer, but the answer suddenly seemed clear. Athly had shot Kirlilith, which had granted her the ability to notice the shifting of the world. She’d witnessed every single change in reality Air and Rain had caused. “She used the Devil’s Bullet, which led her to suspect that we were working together. Still, she couldn’t be completely sure, so she let that slip in front of me.” “……” “Anyway, letting her stay on the run is too dangerous.” “…I know.” As long as she remained alive, Athly could expose the power of the Devil’s Bullet. Rain knew they had to keep that from happening, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t find a peaceful way to end things. They had to kill Athly… “Tch…” …but Rain refused to accept the answer that had been tormenting him over the last three days. He couldn’t eat or sleep from the stress. And worse yet, his inability to find a peaceful solution whittled down his mental fortitude. “……” Air looked at Rain’s pained expression as she sat by his side. She silently peered at his face, then eventually decided that Rain wouldn’t be able to think things through on his own for much longer. “Hey, Rain.” “What?” “Give me your hand.” “…My hand?” “Just hold it up.” “Why…?” What’s that gonna do? Rain didn’t understand, but he followed her instructions all the same. In response, Air held up her own right hand and interlocked their fingers. It was a gesture commonly associated with lovers, which made Rain freeze. “What do you think?” Air asked. “A-about what…?” “My hand.” Rain fell silent, feeling stumped. “It’s small, isn’t it?” “Oh, uh, well…yeah?” “But when it holds a gun, even this little hand can kill many people.” “That’s…true.” “People underestimate me because of my looks. In fact, I’ve turned the tables on countless enemies because they assumed I was helpless. It’s almost funny how humans tend to base their opinions of people on appearance.” As Air spoke, their fingers still enmeshed, Rain understood what she’d been trying to convey. “You’re saying I shouldn’t let my feelings cloud my judgment.” “Exactly. In the end, you can never truly predict someone’s actions. I’ve seen far too many people suffer because they based their decisions on groundless assumptions.” In other words, sparing Athly would be careless. Air claimed that the idea that someone else would never hurt you—never betray you—was foolish. “It’s fine to trust people, but that doesn’t mean you can abandon all logical thought. And honestly, it’s obvious that you’re just letting your own selfish wishes toward Athly dictate your actions.” “…I know.” She gave him a clear warning, which was rather unusual. She rarely spoke her mind, which gave those words extra weight.