“I enrolled at Alestra Academy against my parents’ wishes…so I figure I should go home every once in a while to reassure them. Show them I’m doing just fine.” “…Yeah, it’s probably best not to worry them.” “Mm-hmm… Still, I don’t intend to go back permanently, no matter what. A lot of my relatives were killed by the West. If I don’t keep them safe, Mom and Dad could be next.” That was Athly Magmet’s reason for joining the army. And it was an extremely simple, common one at that. People close to her had been consumed by the fires of war…and her parents were the only survivors. “Thanks, Rain. I’ll catch you later,” Athly said as she finished fixing her outfit, then promptly left the store. Rain waited for her to get out of earshot, then turned to the jewelry shop’s owner and started talking to him. “Listen…” “Hmm?” “Can you lower the price of that hairpin at all?” “You pathetic boy…” A hundred thousand zels is too damn expensive! “Please. I just wanted to show off for her!” “They say honesty is a virtue, but…ugh, fine. I’ll knock off ten thousand for you.” “Wow, really?” He’d only asked because he had nothing to lose, so that response was unexpected. “You’re Alestra Academy students, right? Consider this my way of saying thanks. You’re putting your lives on the line at such a young age, so I owe you one. Besides, she’s your girlfriend, isn’t she?” “…It’s more like a crush, really.” “Mmm… Well, don’t give up the fight. Next time you come to me, you come for a ring.” They continued that vague conversation for a few minutes longer, since the owner had a tendency to ramble. But he ended up with a fifteen thousand zel discount, so it was all worth it. Rain left the store a good twenty minutes after Athly. And then it happened. “Huh?” Rain couldn’t believe his eyes. An Exelia stood before him. He recognized the armored vehicle made of graimar nuclear alloy, a formidable weapon of war. The humming of the combat machine was especially terrifying here in such a peaceful town. And it wasn’t one of O’ltmenia’s units, either. It was a newer AT3 model from the West. “No way…” It was an enemy unit. The moment Rain realized that, he noticed the upheaval in the town around him. People were panicking, rushing around in random directions to escape the chaos. The Exelia moved before Rain’s eyes. Its gunner aimed at the fleeing masses and fired a certain bullet into the air. Wait, that’s… The black bullet was shaped like a small, lean metallic tube. The shot flew so sluggishly that watching it could distort one’s entire sense of time. But eventually, the black tube burst, unleashing a massive wave of heat. “Shit!” Leminus, the Iron City, was engulfed in flames. It’s hot… Something felt incredibly heavy. U-ugh… His hazy consciousness gradually cleared, but his sense of smell recovered far before his sight. “Urk, ack…!” Miasma infiltrated Rain’s nostrils—the scent of something burning. Rain’s dim thoughts spurred his body into action, but no matter how many times he tried to move, he failed to get up. When he tried moving his back, he realized something was on top of him… A burned corpse. Fuck… The size and shape suggested that it was the remains of the jewelry store’s owner. Someone he’d spoken to mere moments ago was dead. The man hadn’t been a mage, so he’d been unable to cast defensive magic to shield himself. He’d been reduced to an unrecognizable state by the heat. Ugh, shit… The gruesome sight of the melted corpse made Rain sick to his stomach. But he knew if he didn’t move, he’d be next. So he resisted the overwhelming nausea and crawled out from under it, taking stock of the situation. What…the hell...?! A ridiculous number of corpses were among the rubble. Hundreds and hundreds of charred, burned bodies were spread out as far as the eye could see. And the fire raged incessantly, fueled by the blood of the innocent. But worst of all for Rain, the scent of burning flesh and the smell of gunpowder made it impossible to breathe. The noxious air was far too thick, so he had no chance to catch his breath. With a thud, an enemy Exelia landed in front of him. Its fuselage was covered in soot and blood, showing off the slaughter it had committed. If I don’t run now, they’ll kill me…, Rain thought as his heart thumped in his chest. He knew that for a fact, but his body refused to budge. His uncontrollable trembling left him rooted to the spot. He realized then just how afraid he was. He’d fought through several battlefields, but even so, he’d very rarely felt the imminent presence of death. There was no escape for him. Exelias were the peak of military technology, so there was nothing his mortal body could do. The enemy unit’s gunner trained his sights on Rain, signaling the end of his life. “What…?” However, at the very last moment, another unit rammed the AT3, knocking it away. “Get in, Rain!” shouted an amplified voice. Finally shaking off the shackles of despair, Rain broke into a sprint and hopped into the Exelia that had rescued him. “We’re withdrawing immediately!” Athly was at the helm of the vehicle. She turned away from the enemy AT3 without so much as giving it a second glance and took off. “I’m sorry. I put you at risk.” “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just focus on gathering the rest of the cadets. Oh, and hang on tight!” Athly easily outmaneuvered the enemy, giving Rain a newfound appreciation for her skills, and eventually escaped them entirely. “Wait, what about your parents?” Athly had mentioned her parents lived in Leminus, so they may have been in danger. With losses this heavy, Rain doubted they’d escaped, but he wanted to make sure. “They’re fine. My parents took cover in the underground shelter… But forget about them for now—let’s just go.” “Go where?” “To everyone else.” Athly accelerated. During their journey, they caught sight of another AT3 unit. And while turning to avoid it, they saw it indiscriminately gunning down fleeing civilians. Rage boiled within Rain as he reached for his gun. “Don’t,” Athly warned him calmly without turning around, convincing him to stay his hand. “It’d expose our location.” “Dammit…” Rain suppressed his emotions as soon as he heard her explanation. She was right. Provoking them was a surefire road to death. After driving through the ruined city for a while, Athly rammed their unit into a ravaged hangar that was half-buried by rubble. Except, as it turned out, the rubble was merely camouflage, and the unit broke through the thin veil to enter a wide chamber. Waiting there were their classmates, the cadets of Alestra. Maybe twenty of them in total. “So this is where you hid them.” “There’s no telling when they’ll find us, though.” Find us… “So they’ve really…” Rain trailed off, unable to finish that question. “The West has launched an attack on the city, yes,” Athly replied. “Right. They’ve brought Exelias into a civilian area. And more than just one, too. They’re running all over the city, gunning down any person they find. It’s unheard of, strategically speaking.” Orca added his own explanation. It seemed he was in charge of the place. What few weapons they had were gathered in front of him. It was appropriate enough, since Orca was the prefect, and he’d been trained to take command during emergencies. “The enemy’s objective is to seize this town… No, scratch that. Their objective is to sack the town and slaughter everyone in it.” A slaughter… The recent sequence of defeats had put the West in a rather precarious position, so it had changed its tactics to retake the initiative. And unfortunately for them, Rain and his classmates had gotten caught up in the mess. This was the Iron City, Leminus, a harmless commerce area located far from the front lines. And that meant the attack was a premeditated attempt to claim innocent lives. All the cadets understood that fact. “So what do we do next?” Rain inquired. “I dunno. What can we do?” Orca replied. “Fleeing isn’t an option. The ground around Leminus is flat, so there’s nothing to stop their Exelias from running us down.” The cadets had only a single Exelia, which was an older model the town had gotten for self-defense purposes from Alestra Academy. Its specs were subpar, and they’d escaped the AT3 earlier only because of Athly’s skills. “We have two choices in front of us,” Orca stated. “The first one is to hide. If we make it to nightfall or wait until the enemy retreats, we might survive. Though I doubt reinforcements will make it here anytime soon, so I don’t see them retreating. Plus, there’s no guarantee we’ll survive until tonight…” Orca paused to let that choice sink in before he presented a different one. “Our second option is to bail immediately. It’s risky, but if we make use of the chaos, we could just slip by.” In other words, hide or make a break for it. That was it. The cadets had only one Exelia, so combat was out of the question. If the enemy discovered their hideout, they were as good as dead. But regardless of which path they took, they needed a firm grasp on enemy movement. And so, at Orca’s behest, everyone observed the surroundings through their monoculars. Five minutes later, Bangas Rover, a rather timid individual who didn’t leave much of an impression, reported something. “Th-that’s…” “What is it?” “Oh, uh, I’ve been scoping out the main street…and I think the enemy’s command unit is stationed there.” Everyone gathered around him and looked in the direction he’d specified. Just like he’d said, there was a large group 650 feet to the west. Ten operating Exelias were stationed there, with six storage vehicles in tow. That was definitely the enemy’s command unit. One vehicle among them had its windshield down, and Rain spotted a familiar face behind it. “That’s…” “You know who that is, Rain?” “…Yeah.” He’d only seen him in pictures, but he was sure of the man’s identity. After all, he was the subject of Air’s order. “Alec…” Captain Thanda, the only western soldier who’d amassed victories as of late. He’d been present when peace talks had broken down several days ago, and he’d advocated decisive action. He must’ve orchestrated the attack. He was the one most responsible for this atrocity. And upon recognizing the man’s presence, Orca and the rest of the cadets reacted poorly. “He’s so close by…” “They’ll kill us… If they find us, we’re toast.” “No, we’re cadets, so they may take us hostage.” “You seriously think they’re gonna take prisoners? No, they’ll put us down like dogs.” Sheer terror filled their minds. Understandable, since even a single AT3 was more than enough to deal with all of them. But one among them was different. Captain Thanda… What should I do? Rain was frightened, but he remained undeterred. He had an ace up his sleeve, a card only he could draw. He firmly grasped the Devil’s Bullet, mulling over what to do with its power. Do I use it...? Orca had listed two choices. One was to wait; the other was to run. But in this situation, Rain, and Rain alone, had a third option. He could fight. If I erase Alec with this bullet… The warrior of the West, Alec Thanda, had launched an attack on a peaceful town, resulting in the slaughter of thousands. Based on the scope of the operation, the West had probably sent at least fifty Exelia units and over three hundred soldiers. On the other hand, Rain’s side lacked resources. They had only fifteen cadets and an out-of-date Exelia… Don’t panic. Think… Rain gathered all the combat experience he had to help form a plan. Can I use it? He’d used the Devil’s Bullet hundreds of times already. And by erasing people with it, he’d turned the tide of the war in his country’s favor. The bullet made assassination a cinch, since he could use it to remove any obstacles entirely. Reprogramming was a rather unique phenomenon… Instead of just killing a person outright, it erased their existence, along with all their accomplishments. And that made it perfect for the situation at hand. Erasing Alec would undo the massacre in the town, saving thousands, so it was the logical choice in Rain’s mind. The only real question was how to best achieve that goal. Can I shoot him from here? No, he could not. Alec was barely peeking out of his unit, and he had no reason to leave it. Plus, even if he did exit his Exelia, Rain was too far away to land a clean hit. And the most important factor of all was the price he had to pay to use it. “You’ll have to make a pact with me if you intend to keep using the Devil’s Bullet.” Rain had to strike a deal with that silver-haired girl to keep this power. “If I tell you to shoot someone, you’ll gun them down, even if they’re your family or a loved one. If I tell you to bark, you’ll woof like a puppy. And if I tell you to die, you’ll drop dead on the spot. All you have to do is act according to my orders.” The next time Rain used the Devil’s Bullet, he would relinquish all that he was to her. But regardless of Air’s involvement, Rain had no chance of reaching Alec. “Orca, what weapons do we have if we try to make a break for it?” Rain asked, hoping to get out of this deadlock. “Just some guns. There’s some interesting stuff in here, but we can’t use it…” “Like what?” “See those sacks next to the Exelia?” “What about them?” “They’re full of solid gunpowder. The kind you process to make bullets.” The cadets were holed up in a depot owned by the military, so the presence of munitions wasn’t much of a surprise. Gunpowder could serve as an explosive, a weapon of sorts, but… “It’s no use.” …Orca had clearly already considered that option. “There’s a decent amount, but it’s all old stuff that was sent here for disposal. We can’t load it into cartridges… Besides, gunpowder isn’t even all that useful on its own.” Gunpowder was usable only when processed in airtight conditions, so they were better off sticking to Bullet Magic. Any attempt to use the old Exelia and a bunch of trashed gunpowder was sure to end in failure. Unfortunately, as Rain was mulling over such thoughts, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. The sun shifted in the sky, changing the angle of its rays to stream directly into their shelter. “Hey, get away from the rubble! You’ll reflect the light!” Orca shouted. However, his warning had come too late. The light filtered through the rubble, reflecting off the lens of one of the monoculars. Aiming with one’s back to the sun was fundamental sniper knowledge, but they’d seemingly forgotten it in the chaos. “Get down!” The next moment, a blast hit the wall of rubble. An enemy gunner had noticed them and fired Bullet Magic without pausing for thought. The attack claimed the lives of three unsuspecting cadets who’d failed to duck. Three of their classmates had been reduced to bits of flesh, their faces blown off and their upper halves torn apart. And Rain could tell through the dust that the enemy was approaching to search for any stragglers. Based on their movements, he could tell they were unsure whether there were any survivors, but that would only last as long as the dust clouding their vision. “Wh-what do we do?!” “W-we’ve gotta run!” “Where?! We can’t outrun an Exelia!” “Well, what do you suggest we do, sit on our asses and let them kill us?!” The cadets were breaking. They may have been military personnel, but they were still young students. Seeing their friends’ gruesome end had unnerved them. We’re gonna die… But that was the one thing he wasn’t willing to accept. And as he grew more desperate, Rain’s eye throbbed as if it was about to burst. “Ah…!” He covered it with his hand to help calm the pain and… “Air!” …suddenly called out the Ghost girl’s name. The rest of the cadets calmed down, startled by his scream. “You’re watching all this, aren’t you?!” he shouted furiously. Before the echoes had even faded, he continued speaking to the girl he couldn’t see. “Be honest—you’re laughing your ass off, aren’t you?! I bet you’re grinning like the devil himself!” Rain clutched his hoarse throat and took a deep breath to calm his cracking voice. “I hate to admit it, but I can’t get out of this on my own. I’ll make your damn pact! I’ll give you everything I have! All that I am! So grant me your power!” He took a deep breath. “Save me, Air!” “You didn’t have to yell all that…” The voice came from behind him through the cold air, like a wisp of fog. “I can hear you just fine…” The silver girl had appeared before him at last. “Well? Happy to see me?” “You really were watching us…” “Yes. And I’d say you’re lucky I was.” “So what do you say?” Showing no regard for the other students staring at her, the girl turned to address Rain directly. “I take it you’re ready to make a pact?” “Yeah. I’ll give you everything. Just do something about this mess.” “I swear, you are so needy…” Air sounded rather disappointed, but Rain could tell that was all an act. “Well, whatever. I’ll show you what a dependable master I am. That should convince you I’m worth serving. Just remember, you can no longer take back your words. From now on, you belong entirely to me, Rain Lantz.” She paused, then moved her hand to her skirt. “Do you want another peek, to mark the occasion?” Air asked as she fluttered her skirt about in a flirtatious manner. “I’ll pass.” “What a shame. Looks like you’re not quite ready on that front.” Her attitude was as flippant as ever. It honestly made it hard to believe they were in a life-or-death situation. This Ghost, this mysterious girl called Air, was an oddity. After smoothing her skirt back down, she pulled out a pistol and fired a single bullet straight into Rain’s chest. “I call it a pact, but this is really all there is to it.” Rain couldn’t tell whether she’d actually fired a bullet, since he felt no pain. But a moment later, a crimson pattern etched itself onto his left arm. It was the mark of the pact, the very same symbol of the Belial as the one on Air’s skin… “That pattern, the Jisknot, is the link that binds us.” Rain had gained a clear, tangible connection to Air. “So long as I live, you cannot disobey my orders. It’s something of an incomplete master-slave relationship.” “…Incomplete?” She can order me to kill myself and I have to obey…and it’s still incomplete? “…How is this any different from a deal with the devil?” “Well, if I die, all the magic I possess will transfer to you, so you always have the option of slitting my throat while I sleep. You do have a way out of it, so I can’t claim to have all the power in this deal, can I?” “That’s…” It seemed Rain had a card to play. If Air died, all her magic would transfer to him. Including, of course, the Devil’s Bullet. “What will you do? Do you wish to try your luck already?” “…No,” Rain replied resolutely. “Being a slave suits me just fine…for now. Please just do something about this situation already, Air.” “Very well, then. Let’s get moving.” Having concluded their discussion, Air walked off toward the cadets’ only real weapon, a certain old Exelia. “Get out. I’ll take the wheel.” “Huh? What?” Athly muttered, clearly confused. A normal reaction, since she didn’t know a thing about Air’s background. “Just listen to her, Athly.” Athly stepped down from the platform, heeding Rain’s request. With her out of the way, Air boarded the Exelia, but the other students weren’t so keen on handing over their last line of defense. After all, their lives were on the line, and they were all on edge. They wanted to speak up and stop her. However— “Hear me, students of Alestra Academy!” Her voice was cold, nothing at all like her amicable facade at school, and it stopped them in their tracks. She had adopted the stalwart tone of a warrior who demanded absolute power and authority. “I am Air Arland Noah, the one who will lead you to victory in this battle. I have no time to explain everything point by point, so I will simply tell you our objective. We shall gun down every last soldier of the West.” Air’s declaration was loud enough to reach everyone, but that didn’t make it any more believable. “I-is that even possible?!” “No way! Do you realize how outmatched we are?!” The cadets shook off their terror and started raising complaints to her orders. It was impossible. It was reckless. They understood the situation they were in, so this was a natural reaction. But instead of responding to them, Air grabbed the gunpowder sacks with the Exelia’s auxiliary arm, loaded them onto the platform, and ordered Rain to get in behind her. Rain hopped in as instructed, but he had no idea what her plan was. What the hell is she thinking? Still, that was his only real option. I have to bet it all on her. Air had declared she would lead them to victory. Everyone else had deemed the situation hopeless, yet she seemed entirely sure of herself. So he decided to risk everything right then and there, since the alternative was sitting idly by and awaiting death. The Exelia roared to life and crept forward. “We’ll break through the rubble and rush them.” Air paused for a second, then rammed the Exelia straight through the wall of rubble. The maneuver was rather bold, but it was also the most effective way to surprise their enemy. Their single, isolated Exelia surged toward the enemy, kicking up clouds of dust and showing no hints of stopping. Air prepared to face the enemy troops, but they’d already sensed her and her unit coming with their Qualia. Their future sight was guiding them down the optimal path. Air and the enemy had chosen to face each other with Bullet Magic, a mage’s weapon of choice. In this battle, each blow would be powerful enough to be a killing stroke. Air drove her Exelia forward until she and one of the enemies were in range of each other. But the next moment, right before the two were about to collide, she pumped the brakes. “So slow.” “Whoa, aaah!” Rain yelped in surprise at the sudden jolt—and then he realized their unit was entirely airborne. The Exelia had jumped. The enemy was stunned, and rightly so. Exelias were made out of graimar nuclear alloy, an extremely heavy material, and they definitely weren’t equipped with any mechanisms that allowed them to jump several feet though the air. However— I see, this unit is… It was an older model, meaning it was lightweight. Its motor was feeble, and its armor was thin, which made it less effective in combat, but that also enabled some wild stunts. By using the rubble as footholds, Air had pulled off a less-than-graceful jump that almost looked like a mistake. Frankly, it was a spectacular feat. But unfortunately, Rain’s Qualia was now screaming at him about imminent danger. Shit...! Another unit had noticed their presence and fired off Bullet Magic in their direction. But Air remained undeterred. “This is child’s play.” Air deftly dodged the oncoming barrage, sliding by effortlessly and never slowing her forward charge. Her skills were transcendent. What enemy units remained shifted to defense, firing volleys of suppressive fire, but she evaded them all and reached the enemy’s main force in the blink of an eye. “Jump out, Rain.” “Huh?” Air’s instructions had confused him. Jump out? “Yes. You need to complete our little diversion. Jump from the unit and take care of the rest.” That did little to explain, so Rain gave her a questioning look. “Shoot this unit.” A mere second later, Air grabbed Rain by the scruff of his neck and threw him out of their Exelia. Rain plummeted toward the ground with a new case of whiplash after being dropped from a vehicle that was traveling at over thirty miles per hour. And as he fell… “Wh-what…?!” “Go on, shoot!” …the truth dawned on him. Shoot? No way...! He’d figured out what Air was planning. She’d told him to shoot their Exelia. I get what she’s trying to do, but this is pretty damn reckless! Rain followed her orders and aimed at their Exelia’s platform…where the sacks full of gunpowder were. “Here goes nothing!” Rain exclaimed as he fired his bullet. The next moment, a powerful explosion rocked his eardrums. The large stock of gunpowder had unleashed enough kinetic force to destroy five enemy units. Black smoke trailed up quietly for a while after that. The cadets watched everything from behind the veil of that ebony smoke screen, standing in dumbfounded silence. And as they did, Air arrived to shock them to their senses. “See? We did it. While you were all busy bemoaning how futile the situation was, we took action and claimed victory.” The silver Ghost had returned to their hideout in the rubble after soundly defeating the enemy. And after a momentary pause, she tossed Exelia activation keys at the cadets. “Now choose, children.” These keys would start the mobile weapons she’d just stolen from the enemy. When she’d taken their transport vehicle, she’d found several spare Exelias in perfect condition inside. “Are you pigs for the slaughter…or wild boars who will fight?” This silver girl, this wandering Ghost born of a tragic death, urged them forward. “Whether you rise to the occasion or cower in terror is of no concern to me. However, if you choose not to oppose them when you have weapons in hand, when you have the means to strike back, you’ll remain pigs forever. And all livestock meet the same end.” Slaughter. “This situation may seem bleak, but you lot are in luck.” There was no real logic behind that statement, but that didn’t matter. “If you put your lives in my hands…you will emerge victorious.” Air had gained everyone’s trust with a single gesture.
Chapter 9
23 min read