December 21, 1926

Three days before facing Yankuu, Yuri went along with Yukizona and Bonbo who were attending a conference where all the military leaders of the world gathered. She sat inside the national a.s.sembly hall on the premises of Bantorra Library.

During the last year, Yukizona attended meeting with various countries in place of Hamyuts. It was natural that he would become the next Acting Director. From now on, he would be judged not only based on his fighting abilities, but also on his political skills.

Bonbo was also better at this than what his looks or usual behavior would indicate. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to monitor the ceasefire.

Both of them had little to do with the job of managing Books. They also had no contact with the Indulging G.o.d Cult. Their working place was not the battlefield but the stage of diplomacy and politics. Their job was to bring peace and stability to the world.

The meeting was over at evening.

“Good work, big brother.”

Yuri stroked her brother’s chest in the waiting room. During the cold winter, the illness in his lunges became worse. She also feared that the long meeting would have a negative influence on him.

“I’m also tired. Please heal me as well.”

Ignoring Bonbo’s joke, Yuri invoked her Magic Right. An orange light cured her brother’s disease.

“Still, it really dragged on today. It doesn’t seem like we’re about to reach some big conclusion, so should we not finish it quickly?”

Bonbo complained while hitting his stiff shoulders.

Today’s meeting had the same flow as always. Each military’s nation wanted to strengthen their own authority and lessen the military intervention of the Armed Librarians. Yukizona and the rest rejected it based on the mission given to them by the Past Overseer.

When raising the question of responsibility about the Deep Blue Curse Rebellion, the countries complained about the Armed Librarians’ incompetence. They objected to that by stating that the various governments of the world had no measures against the spread of the Curse. It was an unproductive argument.

“It cannot be helped, Bonbo-san, that it the job of those gentlemen.”

“It’s convenient. When Kachua was there they relied on us. Once he’s gone, they want to reduce our authority. Let’s just kill ’em.”

Bonbo grumbled.

For each country’s military, the Armed Librarians were nothing but an obstacle. They only eliminated their influence.

When people held political authority, they ended up wanting to exercise it. They sought war so that they could show off their power. They wished for an unproductive game so that they could expand their influence.

It wasn’t just the military. The sparks of war were also spreading to antigovernment organizations and terrorists all around the world. Even if the Indulging G.o.d Cult stopped fighting, there were plenty of other people who would continue disturbing peace.

“Don’t be so short-tempered. In order to protect world peace there is no choice but to keep our steady negotiations day after day. It’s impossible for peace to be born from hasty behavior.”

Yukizona said.

“I know that. You don’t understand jokes, Yukizona. What are you, Photona-san?”

Yuri finished Yukizona’s treatment and removed her hand.

“Also, Yuri. You don’t have to come to the meeting in the day after tomorrow. There’s another job for you.”

“What is it, big brother?”

“A request came from Laty of the Indulging G.o.d Cult. I’ll leave it you, Yuri.”

Yukizona said and handed her a letter.

“The Cult, huh? I wonder what they want from me.”

Yuri said while scanning the letter. Yukizona and Yuri were not involved much with the Indulging G.o.d Cult. It was because they left Mattalast with most of the work about it.

“She needs an escort to the meeting with Yankuu-san. They want you to come to an island in the southern frontier in three days. Mattalast-san and Minth-san should have taken care of this, though…”

“We can’t leave it to them. Protecting the Indulging G.o.d Cult is a serious business.”

Yukizona rebuked the grumbling Yuri.

“Yankuu is an intelligent boy, but he’s still young. There was also the matter with Noloty. Prevent a diffusion and restore the situation to its proper course.”

“Understood, big brother.”

Three days later, Yuri left Bantorra Library in a flying boat. The negotiations between the military and Yukizona’s group continued in the Library.

I do not really have the time to deal with a single boy. Let us wrap it up efficiently and return to the Library, Yuri thought.

She arrived to the island. Yuri heard the conversation of two people from behind Yankuu. Things have progressed just as Laty had feared: Yankuu was overtaken by fury and attacked her. Yuri stopped him by turning her muzzle to him.

“Yankuu-san, do you absolutely must do this? If you die Mani-san would be saddened. She is the Cult’s precious True Man. We cannot make her sad.”

Yuri repeated words meant to somehow quell Yankuu’s anger. However, Yankuu was too stubborn. He kept his eyes, full of ever more rage, pointed at her.

So, what should I do? I am bad with kids.

“Will you kill me?”

“Yes. It is already decided for Mani-san to become a True Man. I will eliminate anyone who might become an obstacle with my full power.

What about you, Yankuu-san? Do you fully intent on fighting to the death with us Armed Librarians?”

At this point in time, Yuri made a single misunderstanding. Opposing the Armed Librarians would lead to death and obeying them was advantageous… She was trying to persuade Yankuu using these interests.

The world of politics moved less by emotion and more by interests. Yuri, who had lived in this world for long, was already dyed by this sort of thinking.

Yuri had forgotten… that there were people in the world who abandoned their interests.

“Yuri. I have one question. Why did the Armed Librarians create the Indulging G.o.d Cult?”

Yankuu said.

“Did Laty-sama not tell you? We have the mission to bring Heaven the Books of happy people.”

“That’s not what I meant. Why are the Armed Librarians not doing this work themselves? Why did they entrust it to the Cult?”

Yuri misunderstood that her persuasion had been successful. She thought that if she were to explain the reason to Yankuu he would agree.

“There are two reasons. True Men, when they pursue their happiness too much, tend to run wild. A good example is Wyzaf, who manipulated Shiron. At the time, the power to kill the True Man and stop her wrongdoings was needed. It is better for the Armed Librarians and the Indulging G.o.d Cult to be separate organizations for containing such cases.”

Yankuu did not nod. He only listened quietly.

“Another reason is for the Armed Librarians to be the allies of justice.

What supports us is, in the end, the trust of people all around the world. We will always be fair and protect peace and justice. Because our subordinates expend themselves on this mission, and the people of the world believe this, the Armed Librarians can continue existing.

So we Armed Librarians cannot dirty our own hands, right?”

Yankuu laughed from his throat.

“I’m quite amazed. I’m amazed at how you can deceive the followers of the Cult, deceive the Armed Librarians, deceive the people of the world and pretend to be allies of justice. From the bottom of my heart, you lot are beyond saving.”

Yuri already noticed that the conversation was not heading in a good direction.

“We have no choice. That is what the Armed Librarians are all about.”

“Big Sis believed in you. She believed that you were allies of justice. You’ve deceived her, used her, and killed her.”

“We have said this many times, but the one to kill Noloty-san was Kachua. Please do not confuse us with him.”

“No, the biggest villains are you guys. You, the liars.”

So the persuasion has failed, judged Yuri. It is a pity but I will have to kill him then.

Yuri lifted up her gun’s firing hammer. Brother and Mattalast will probably be angry at me. We will have to deceive Mani skillfully. But I simply had no other choice. Traitors must die.

“I must thank Olivia for that.”

As he said these strange words, Yuri’s fingers on the trigger stopped in place. By Olivia, does he mean that Olivia Littolet? What connection does Yankuu have with her?

“If I hadn’t met that person, I would have died here.”

The thing Yankuu pulled out of his pocket… At the moment she saw it, she reflexively pulled the trigger. The bullet was chopped into pieces midair and fell to the ground.

Yuri dodged and jumped from the branch. The trunk of the tree she had been standing on an instant ago was immediately cut down and collapsed.

“Shlam.u.f.fen?! Why do you…?!”

There was no reply. And she couldn’t afford to inquiry it. Right now she had to escape.

Without any hesitation, Yuri ran toward the other side of the island. Using the branches of cedar trees as her footing, she ran in a straight line. The flying boat Yuri came in to there was anch.o.r.ed to the creek.

Yuri was faster on her feet. She grew farther from Yankuu.

She kicked a branch, flew above the rocks on the sh.o.r.e, and ran into the flying boat’s c.o.c.kpit. She pulled the engine’s lever.

“…!”

She was impatient. She pulled it too hard so the engine did not move. She pulled it again. It was once again useless.

“How disgraceful!”

Yuri jumped away and abandoned the flying boat. She ran away using the rocks floating on the sea a foothold. In the next instant, the flying boat was divided into five or six parts and sank.

Yankuu came out of the forest. While running on the sea, Yuri shot all of her bullets at him. They were all cut and so she threw her gun away.

Bullets would not work against the Ever-Laughing Magic Blade Shlam.u.f.fen. Since the sentient magic blade possessed an automatic defense function, it shot all of them down.

“I have made a blunder, big brother. It appears I am about to perish first.”

Muttering so, Yuri kept running around the island.

Ever since they usurped Shlam.u.f.fen from True Man Cigal, the Armed Librarians had researched it.  It was thought to be invincible when Hamyuts was cornered by it, but they have already confirmed that it also had plenty of weaknesses.

One of its drawbacks was that its destructive power was proportionate to its wielder’s wickedness. If Hamyuts or Cigal use it they could unleash its full power, but when Mirepoc used it, it only had enough power to destroy a single car. Noloty at best could cut a cabbage to shreds.

“Seems like Yankuu-san is quite naughty.”

Yankuu mastered Shlam.u.f.fen. It could not be said to be its maximum output, but it was about the same power that it had when Shiron had used it.

“Kh…”

Yankuu caught up to her. Yuri leapt into the sea to get away. She heard the sounds of the rocks on the sea’s surface being destroyed.

Yuri swam to the bottom of the sea to escape Shlam.u.f.fen’s range.

The fact that it had a range of about 50 meters at most was also one of its weak points. It was possible for someone of Yuri’s caliber to run away from it.

Even the automatic defense that invalidated almost all attacks was not invincible. It couldn’t defend against something that cannot be cut, and they also knew that there was a time lag between attacking and defending.

However, Yuri was not powerful enough to take advantage of that.

She jumped up from the sea and landed on the sh.o.r.e. Measuring with her eyes, the distance from Yankuu was 45 meters. He swung Shlam.u.f.fen.

She would not be able to avoid it in time. Yuri instantaneously invoked the power that was given to her.

Around her body, in a sphere of about a meter, she was covered by something that looked like a black mirage. Shlam.u.f.fen’s slashing attack, that could slice unconditionally through anything, a.s.saulted it.

The black mirage vanished. Yuri, who was inside of it, was unhurt.

“That’s…!”

Yankuu shouted. That was probably the first time he had seen it with his eyes. It was the power of Yukizona’s Magic Right, Decay Wave.

That black wave was the power to destroy the function of anything it touched. Living beings would become aged, machinery and tools would break, and all moving objects would become stationery. It was the power to turn anything into useless trash with no exceptions. It invalidated even Shlam.u.f.fen’s slashing attack that had no corporeal form.

“So you can also use it, Yuri… I underestimated you.”

Yankuu reset Shlam.u.f.fen. Yuri smiled to make it seem like she was calm.

That ability had been transferred to her from her brother Yukizona. After using this defense five more times, the received power will run out.

However, she had no choice but to fight with this limited power.

Liberally chopping down the giant trees that were thousands of years old, the battle continued. Yuri ran away and Yankuu was pursuing her.

“It won’t work for me like it did for the Director.”

Yuri muttered while kicking off a branch. Fighting while running was hard. She was also limited by her hasty knowledge of how to imitate Hamyuts.

She wrapped the Decay Wave around her fingertips and shot it toward Yankuu. The ma.s.s of waves, flying like a bullet, was intercepted by Yankuu’s mud. If she fires it again she might hit. However, she was about to enter his range of fifty meters. Yuri had no choice but to dodge and escape.

The slashing attacks grazed Yuri’s body countless of times. Blood spurted on her white skin.

“Wait, Yankuu. What are you trying to accomplish here?!”

“Worry about your own neck!”

Yuri kept running away.

“Will anything change if you defeat me? It will not. There are also my big brother, the Director, and Mattalast-san!”

“Then I’ll kill them all. If all of them are Big Sis’s enemies, I’ll kill them all. Obviously.”

“Would Noloty-san have wanted that?”

As she said this, Yankuu’s movements stopped.

“She would not have wanted that probably.”

Yuri was relieved only slightly. She stopped her escape.

“Then this foolish battle…”

At the next moment, she reflexively activated her Decay Wave. She unknowingly stepped into his range. She barely defended against Shlam.u.f.fen’s slash.

With this, she used more than half of the transferred power.

“You don’t get it. I’ll never forgive you. No matter what Big Sis thinks, your sins are sins. You’ve used her, let her die, and now you’re using my village. I won’t forgive that!”

Yuri approached him slowly. She had completely given up persuasion.

“Die!”

Yuri hit her b.l.o.o.d.y hand against a nearby tree. Its trunk was stained in red. At the same time, she jumped sideways.

Yuri’s movements changed. Until now, she thought of only running away. But now she dodged attacks so that he wouldn’t move from the place he should be at.

“…Have you not noticed?”

Yuri muttered. The blood-stained tree was a landmark. The ma.s.ses of Decay Wave from her fingertips floated around the area. There were seven of them. They surrounded the trees.

She couldn’t win by fighting from the front, so she had no choice but to set a trap. When Yankuu approaches the marked tree, she will move the Decay Wave that she had placed there.

The wave ma.s.s was a small thing. It couldn’t even kill people. Her goal was part of Yankuu’s cerebellum at the back of his head. If her Decay Wave hits that spot, it will cause a condition like terminal brain tumor.

If the cerebellum is destroyed, a person would become unable to walk or even stand up straight. He would collapse on the spot and die slowly while soiling himself.

It was extremely cruel, but she couldn’t choose her methods.

She had been running for a long time. Her feet also gradually got tired. The Decay Wave she was using to defend herself was also running out.

Just as she was about to give up, Yankuu came near the marked tree. He stopped there, defenseless.

“Now!”

She should have noticed. She should have doubted Yankuu’s defenselessness. People who were cornered clung to a small hope. Even more for someone like Yuri, who couldn’t be called a veteran.

Mud wrapped Yankuu’s body. The Decay Wave struck the mud and lost its effectiveness. Her desperate trap simply shaved the defensive mud a bit.

The next moment, Yuri’s feet shook. Looking down, she could see the ground squirming like a living creature.

The instant she realized she had been outsmarted, Yuri’s body sank down. She was buried in the ground up to her knees. And it changed to be as hard as rubber.

“…So I have lost.”

Yankuu approached slowly while holding Shlam.u.f.fen. He then spoke quietly.

“…I do not believe I can fully protect my village. I do not think that I can win all by myself.”

“Please cease this. It is still possible to turn back.”

Yankuu lent no ears to Yuri’s words.

“But I have to do it. I can only keep fighting until I die. I inherited this from Big Sis. I have to protect the village.”

Yankuu’s right hand moved. Shlam.u.f.fen started laughing.

Present - 28 December, 1926

Yankuu heard someone speaking at the meeting hall.

“Thinking about it, Yuri and Yukizona aren’t here, huh.”

Turning around, he saw that it was Bonbo who said this. He called to the organizer, Kyasariro, and asked her.

“I don’t really get it either. I certainly did tell them to come though.”

“When did you last hear from them?”

“I don’t really remember. Maybe about a week ago.”

Yankuu turned his back to them and continued tidying the place.

That happened was four days ago. When Yankuu cornered Yuri, he thought about what he would do after killing her.

After killing Yuri, the Armed Librarians would probably come to kill him with all of their power. It would be impossible to stand up to them. Yankuu would have to take the initiative.

After Yuri’s death is exposed, he wouldn’t be able to challenge them. He would have to attack within several days after killing her.

After thinking this far, Yankuu considered his next move. There was only one time where he could land a heavy blow to the mighty Armed Librarians - a once-in-a-year opportunity.

The Armed Librarians were completely careless in this party. He would challenge them only then. He will go on a rampage with Shlam.u.f.fen’s full power.

How many opponents would he be able to kill? Hamyuts, Mattalast, Yukizona, Bonbo. What would he even be able to do against these people who possessed more power than ten thousand soldiers? He never questioned this either.

He abandoned victory in the first place. He also gave up on surviving. He simply decided to fight.

The party continued peacefully. Yankuu was quietly walking around.