Daylight (7)

As we opened the broken glass door and entered, the first thing that greeted us was a wide space. As expected, it seemed to be a church building, with large stained glass windows allowing light to pass through, creating a somewhat dreamlike scene.

In contrast, this floor was filled with rusted machines and damaged facilities. A rough floor and wide, uncleaned spaces that felt more empty than full. Judging by the slight noise coming from the second floor, the first floor seemed to be just for show.

“I removed the detectors around to enter, but they’ve probably noticed something suspicious because of that.”

“What are you going to do?”

Erica gripped her sword and pointed to the stairs visible in the distance.

“There are no dangerous elements installed on the first floor, so we’ll briefly search while heading there…”

“Hi-hic!”

What caught Erica’s and my attention during this conversation was a high-pitched voice. It was a small and petite girl, not so much a child as someone who seemed to have just become an adult. There was a strange mechanical device attached to her neck.

“Hello…”

“P-Please spare…”

Before I could finish my greeting, the girl, with Erica’s sword suddenly pointed at her chest, froze in place with a pale expression.

“Hic, hic.”

My head tilted involuntarily.

“You’re not killing her?”

After killing those men instantly earlier, are you sparing this girl?

Well, it’s natural to soften one’s heart when seeing a weak and cute child after dealing with burly ones.

“That could be. I understand your feelings…”

“It’s not like that.”

Erica put her sword back and looked around.

“The magic power I sense is small… Very different from the reported resident awakened ones. She might not be part of this group.”

In the list of wanted awakened individuals I saw in the report, there were certainly many high-ranking awakened ones.

In other words, this girl seemed to be someone with circumstances –

That’s what she seemed to deduce.

“Hic, huuk. Hahuk.”

In contrast, the girl was still trembling.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, h-hello…?!”

When she met my eyes while barely managing to greet me with her hand on her heart, her even more startled and retreating appearance was, well.

Like a frightened puppy, you might say.

“You don’t need to tremble like that. We’re safe people.”

Probably.

“Y-Yes… Thank you… Thank you…”

“You’re not with them, right?”

The girl raised her head at Erica’s voice.

“Yes, a-actually, I was a wanderer staying here temporarily… but a week ago, people suddenly appeared…”

“So you were captured.”

Nod nod.

After that, it’s a predictable story. Doing odd jobs, or taking on menial tasks, she probably wasn’t particularly useful labor for them.

Did they send out this kid because of today’s commotion?

She looks about the same age too.

“We’ll save you.”

Erica looked at her with her usual calmness and an angelic smile she never showed me.

“R-Really?”

“But you’ll have to help us a bit. We’re going to kill the people on the upper floors now.”

The girl’s face hardened.

“Ah, you might not believe it, but we’re from the Association.”

“Me too.”

Erica made an incredulous face. The Association mark on her uniform was noticeable.

“I-I don’t know how to fight or anything…”

“It’s okay. I’ll do all the fighting, so just follow from a distance…”

What, why are you looking at me?

“If you feel it’s dangerous, using this person as bait is also a good method.”

“That’s too much.”

“This face has a big impact, you know.”

Well, that’s true. At least everyone in the Gyeonggi area probably knows me.

“You’re not really going to use me as bait, are you?”

“Y-Yes?”

“Are you going to use me?”

“Ah, no…”

The girl, who was mumbling and about to speak, was silenced by Erica’s words asking her to lead the way.

Second floor.

The atmosphere was different from the first floor. Walls and facilities that seemed painted in dark colors, carpets, and some ornaments caught the eye.

Perhaps because they had directly used the facilities of the former church building, various rooms and corridors were lined up.

“Th-There, in the inner room, there are many people… And, though I’m not sure… That red door over there, they don’t let anyone enter, so there might be something…”

The commotion certainly seemed to have doubled compared to the first floor.

As we went through the corridor like that, turned a corner, and peeked out –

Whoosh –

A dagger flew by, narrowly missing Erica’s neck.

“Ah, shit, what a waste.”

The voices of several men echoed through the corridor.

There were no exceptions. If swiftness and agility were needed, it was now.

Immediately feeling the emptiness beside me, and hearing screams and metallic sounds.

I glanced at the girl who was twisting her hair and trembling while holding onto the wall.

She seemed surprisingly okay. I thought she would be consumed by emotion as if having a panic attack, but perhaps because she was a wanderer who got involved with a criminal group, she showed no signs other than tension.

It’s a good look. I look forward to seeing how she’ll break down in the future.

I smiled slightly and turned the corner. My eyes met Erica’s, who had just finished confirming the kills of the two fallen men.

“I felt something was off, but this confirms we’ve been discovered. We might need to blow up this entire building.”

Before reinforcements arrive, or maybe they’re already on their way to us, is she thinking of destroying everything? That’s not bad either.

Erica, who had somehow come to my side, led me and the girl towards the stairs. She pushed us into an empty space nearby and looked around.

“Stay here for a moment. I’ll be right back. You – “

Her gaze turned to my restraining suit.

“Stay as you are.”

Instead of answering, I smiled slightly.

Erica running out, the girl silently watching, commotion and noise. And several explosion sounds.

It’s an unpleasant but familiar environment. It’s also a very good environment for my brain to work quickly.

How many more times will I face situations like this? Will I face them together with Erica, not alone?

My ears hurt, but my smile deepened.

Bringing my two hands together, and leaving behind the girl who was still looking around the interior urgently with a tense expression –

I quickly slipped out.

Ignoring the voice calling me from behind.

It was a big explosion. The floor of the second story and the ceiling of the first were completely destroyed, and the surrounding objects and walls were cracked and damaged.

Since the target was the second floor anyway, it seemed she had collapsed everything onto the wide first floor to start the fight, rather than their hideout.

“K-Kill!”

“Aaagh!”

The sound of blades clashing and a festival of blood filling the ground. The murky smell mixed with rampaging magic power stimulated my nose.

From behind the stairs leading down to the first floor, I watched Erica while fiddling with the stifling restraining suit.

She’s certainly fighting well. In fact, high-ranking awakened ones are no match for a Ranker. However, like that, when resistance is fierce, it’s inevitable to take some time.

I was curious whether she would use close combat or wide-area techniques, but she’s engaging in battle using both.

Multiple awakened ones who were rushing in under repeated sword strikes fall back vomiting blood, and the rabble is cut down by Erica who closes the distance in an instant.

While thinking about this and twisting my side hair, I heard hurried breathing from behind.

“Huff, huff…! Y-You were here…!”

“Yes.”

I didn’t think much of it. It’s natural for this girl to come this way.

“You’ve done well to come. It’s dangerous over there, that’s why I came here.”

The girl made a bewildered face while struggling to catch her breath.

“Why? Are you angry? Because I left you behind? Were you confused being left in that commotion?”

“Wh-What do you mean…”

“If you had stayed there, you would have died just like that. What a shame. I saw earlier that monsters were swarming on the third floor.”

If you thought I would help you because Erica was nice to you, you’re mistaken. All I can do is greet you.

I did that twice already. Hello, nice to meet you.

“You managed to come here well, but what should we do? She’s being pushed back.”

The girl rolled her shaking eyes to look behind me. The aftereffects and smoke were mixed, making it hard to see clearly.

“The situation is coming to an end, and the remaining awakened ones will come to catch me. Because I’m an intruder.”

She swallowed dryly. It looked difficult because of the device on her neck.

“And the same will happen to you. They clearly sent you to the first floor for reconnaissance, so why are you alive? Maybe you received help from them. Maybe you cooperated with this invasion under their orders.”

“Th-That’s a lie…”

“Is it a lie?”

I smiled slightly.

Another explosion occurred and screams filled the space. A festival of blood and groans colored the area.

The girl shuddered.

“Th-That… Wh-What should I do then…”

“I wonder? How about we both humbly accept death? You can’t go against expected results and predetermined fate.”

“B-But y-you’re… s-strong, aren’t you!”

Her tone was sharp. It tore through the space and stimulated my ears.

“Ah, n-no matter… even if you’re a criminal… p-people are in danger…”

“What does people being in danger have to do with me? Let them die, after all, you and I are destined to die too.”

I turned my body and stretched. It was stiff.

“And, I’m not strong.”

I’m weak.

I jumped lightly. The restraining suit shook and made a strange sound.

“That pretty girl over there put this restraining suit on me that suppresses magic power and can never be taken off.”

Her pupils changed.

Her faltering steps wandered on the landing.

“Now, there’s only one thing we can do. Quietly wait for the death that’s coming.”

“N-No.”

And what appeared at the end was distortion.

The grotesque form of a girl fallen into a swamp. Tearing at her hair, struggling not to see what’s in front by closing both eyes.

“No, no. Save me. I don’t want to die. Mom, Dad.”

“How does it feel to spend your last moments of life with me? Not being able to see your loved ones, rotting away in a place like this, meeting death with a criminal who might appear on the news?”

“No. No, n-no.”

“It’s good to think about how you might die. Like having your limbs crushed, or your heart pierced.”

“Stop, stop. It’s noisy. No. Be quiet.”

The girl pulled out a large amount of her hair and pressed her body into a corner.

“You know what?”

I approached quietly and whispered next to her ear.

“You, terrified like this, are extremely attractive.”

“N-No!!”

Squelch.

What I felt was a familiar sensation. Along with a slight stabbing pain, the red aggregate pushing out of my mouth traced past memories.

While listening to the girl’s scream who had stabbed a knife into my abdomen, I turned my gaze.

“Ah, ah, ah, no. Ah.”

She, filled with emotion, was truly a work of art. The colors I could never have, that I had lost, seemed to mock me as I looked at her.

“I was waiting for you to take that out.”

The restraining suit that was torn and split, which had been constricting me, was dyed red with my blood that spurted out.

Until the dirty black cloth pieces that were slowly melting revealed themselves.

I took a small breath and smiled slightly.

The numbers were unexpectedly large. The reported information is not always accurate to 1mm, so I kept that in mind, but the margin of error in this case was a bit larger.

Even though it was a dangerous group that the upper echelons wanted eradicated among criminal organizations, the current situation clearly showed her own mistake in overlooking this point.

Erica frowned at the countless bullets pouring from behind the wall, breathing heavily.

It wasn’t a critical situation. However, it wasn’t smooth either.

There were several stab wounds on her abdomen. Bullets were also lodged in her arms and legs.

It hurt.

She wanted to breathe calmly, but even that was impossible as she had to inhale acrid smoke while being mindful of those behind the wall.

Honestly, she was irritated.

Anyway, whenever she’s with Aureli, something keeps going wrong. Even though she’s clearly acting according to plan, problems arise from somewhere.

“Go in! Enter!”

“B-But boss…”

Why is she thinking about her even in this situation?

Thinking about it again, being lost in thought during battle was rather familiar to her. When she met Aureli, she was always, thoroughly, and perfectly broken and shattered, unable to even breathe.

What are they doing now, there shouldn’t be any problems since I put the restraining suit on her. Actually, that knife the girl was holding earlier is concerning… But surely no one will die or get hurt –

Bang.

Before she could finish her thought, the wall she was leaning against exploded. Debris shattered and flew through the space, pouncing on her.

What she saw in her vision as she quickly opened her eyes was.

Countless weapons filled with magic power and guns aimed at her.

And.

Above them.

A girl falling from the sky.

A blood-colored ring encompasses the area and shatters space. The air currents shake and all living beings standing on the ground are torn apart, spewing red fountains.

Space distorts and the blade draws curves. The scattered red petals turn the noisy environment into a quiet theater for fleeting moments.

And the girl who landed on the stage dances at its center.

Lightly, and desperately.

Crying and then laughing, she swings a blue knife.

Screams become the audience’s cheers and blood becomes red flowers thrown at her on stage.

The girl cries.

She cries fervently, chasing after the spotlight that doesn’t shine on her.

Stumbling, falling, crawling on the floor, when she finally reaches the light, only then does she look at herself and smile beautifully.

Erica suddenly,

Felt as if she was facing such a scene.