Kasou Ryouiki No Elysion

Volume 3: Chapter 5

Requiem Played In The Sky

Part 1

Asumi Aoko was a 'different' girl.
The place she was born in wasn't one built of concrete, but one surrounded by nature. A mountain village.
She was born to be the only daughter of an ordinary household which worked in agriculture, she spent her childhood while not being exposed to the virtual world.
The turning point for her was her fifth birthday.
With the terminal she was given by her parents as a present, Aoko's talent started blossoming.
The girl pulled off feats no one else could do, her parents were proud of her being such a 'genius'.
Reaction of the villagers was just the opposite, chilly. Originally the cyber technology wasn't popular in the rural areas. In such a small world, Aoko was treated as 'abnormal' for her technical genius.
It was primordial fear of an existence they couldn't understand.
When her parents died in an accident, they attacked her out of malice and kicked her out of village. She was taken care of by relatives of her mother.
She was responsible for laundry and cooking in there.
Rather than a child, that family wanted a convenient handyman——if that was the truth, she would live a decent life. However, reality was cruel. They vented their anger on Aoko in the form of violence.
As she lived her hellish everyday life, she learned a single truth.
—— I will never be able to walk in the light.

Part 2

"——Haa!!"
Taiga bisected a black knight who was falling at him from above and jumped, kicking off the wall again.
"That's a really ridiculous bodily strength."
Haya was watching as Taiga rose five metres in the air at a stretch and wanted to raise her voice objecting to such a sight. She ordered "leap" quietly and the silvery-white knight who had Haya on its shoulder jumped, following Taiga. The two of them and one virtual entity were rising up by climbing up the terrace in the middle rather than use stairs again.
"But is 'that' really safe?"
"It's all right, I've got it properly under my control. Want to try manipulating it?"
While saying so, Haya lightly poked the silver knight——which was still a Zygote just a few minutes earlier.
That's what Haya meant when she said she 'thought of it'.
"To think you would steal the controls of a Zygote and remodel it..."
"I knew these guys could be controlled. I'm glad I prepared measures to do that just in case. If possible I'd like to control several of them though."
Haya analysed the attack-configured program Angel created and thought ahead, making a program she could use.
But as expected, not talking about the horde of hundreds of them, she could only use it on one.
The enemy's forces didn't change, the White Knight rushed through the looming Zygotes destroying them. Sometimes he put Haya who was clad in plain clothes on its shoulder as if it was a knight protecting a princess.
The entrance hall was far below them already, they had already advanced about eighty metres. At this rate they'll reach it soon enou——
"———?!!"
A chill went Taiga's spine, he twisted his body making an immediate judgement.
A huge hatchet cleaved where his neck was just a moment before. Were his reaction be delayed by even a second, he would be already dead.
"Taiga?! Kuh!!"
Haya reached out to Taiga who was falling, pulled down by gravity. But at that moment an army of Zygotes appeared by 《Transition》, there were at least twenty of them.
So many...! White Knight alone isn't——
The White Knight's specs were higher after remodelling by Haya, but it wasn't a large difference. If they fought then she would lose without a doubt——however, the black knights ignored Haya and fell down, following Taiga.
"...did they... overlook me?"
———No. It's her, she's calling me. There was no reason, but she intuitively thought so.
"——Head straight to the top floor."
After staring at the bottom for a moment, she commanded the White Knight.
I'll stop Aoko. That's something I must do!
Tenryo Taiga was just 'an outsider who was unfortunate to get involved'.
Were he not to meet her, he wouldn't have had to suffer such an experience. She couldn't involve him any more than this in the circumstances of Kiritou.
Just which gear started turning it in this direction.
When they met six years ago, when Aoko came to Kiritou, when they decided on developing Iora, or when she has discovered a way to become a Hologhost. Where did they make a mistake.
She didn't know. No matter how long she thought about it, she couldn't find it. Even so——
"...I will stop you, Aoko."
"I'd like to see if you can, Haya. Literally, stop me by force."
The two embraced the wishes they won't give up, and stood on the final stage.