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Arc 9, Chapter 13 – "The One Most Loved and the One Most Unloved"

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――Two-hundred and eighty-nine.

In added time after surmounting the decisive bout, came an ambush by an unseen adversary, one even more ruthless than anticipated.

While Garfiel was occupied protecting the girls, it was unclear how the hidden enemy, who was not with them, had managed to avoid the great deluge. However, the hidden assailant, who had accomplished such a feat on their own, had broken his neck many times as he came down the stairs in a state of total exhaustion.

Without questions. Without hesitation. This single-minded focus on eliminating impediments was precisely the result of the awareness they held of being the last force of deterrence that remained within the Tower.

???: [You're quite something, Lil' Miss.]

To have mastered level of skill to this extent at such a young age, he could only imagine the amount of blood-soaked training she must have undergone, and that caused sentiments of respect to surge up within him.

He had heard she was one of two twin girls, but was her younger or older sister just as strong? ――Even if he were to go without inquiring so at this place, the chance to find that out first-hand would likely call upon him soon.

After all, from here on out, the entire world would likely end up turning against Aldebaran.

???: [――Hk.]

There was a slight gasp, and the slender hand of the hidden attacker failed to break Aldebaran's neck.

Just as the girl's hand was about to reach him from behind, Aldebaran covered his neck with a layer of stone and avoided the blow that would have broken his cervical vertebrae.

However, this enemy was not so naive as to slacken their assault there. As soon as they realized their ambush had failed, they immediately slipped towards Aldebaran's left side―― to attempt an assassination from his armless side, and unleashed a hand strike aimed at his flank.

A fearsome blow enhanced by the Flow Method, one that would perforate his side, slip through the gap in his ribs, and tear out his heart; a blow that contrasted with her cute hands.

It was a deadly strike that would inevitably bring about a near-instant death; however, a near-instant death was merely that. It was not instant death.

Even if brief, it would nonetheless bring about excruciating pain. That was why――,

???: [U-augh!]

Before the ambushing girl's attack could land, Aldebaran reached out with an earthen prosthesis and grabbed the girl's two bundles of hair, then proceeded to forcibly push her against the wall. At that point, the earthen arm was transformed into a large strip of mud, crucifying the girl to the wall.

With both arms and legs bound, and only her head free, the hidden attacker―― Flam, exchanged glares with Aldebaran,

Aldebaran: [I'm weaker than you, Lil' Miss. I'm missing one of my arms. My helmet restricts my vision. I'm exhausted from fighting battles in succession. I have no talent or ability. ――That's why, it's my win.]

Flam: [Al-sa――]

Aldebaran: [Just shut up.]

Snapping the fingers of his right hand in front of Flam's face, he blocked up her mouth with a stone gag. If she could use her hands and feet, she could have easily removed it, but being unable to move them, she was at his mercy.

And so, it could finally be said that the bonus track had been cleared.

Aldebaran: [――――]

He heaved a long, deep sigh.

There was not a shred of relief in that sigh; instead, it conveyed a sense of depression that had nothing to do with the sense of accomplishment from actually having done it.

To begin with, using a mountain climbing analogy, this was still the base camp―― no matter how much of a positive thinker one was, no one would do something so ridiculous as getting overly excited at the base camp.

Not to mention, this accomplishment of his was not something to be proud of.

Aldebaran: [Why, even if you look at me like that, I can't give you any excuses, Lil' Misses.]

As he said this, Aldebaran turned around and looked at the two girls standing silently, staring at Al in the corridor of the Fourth Floor.

――One had cold hostility in her almond-shaped eyes, while the other had a sense of urgency in her round eyes.

???: [This little one is angry, so could you please not come any clo~ser?]

As Aldebaran turned halfway around to face them, the girl with the braid―― Meili, moved to confront him. Perched on top of her blue hair was a Witchbeast, a lively character who had appeared several times during the journey to and within the Tower.

Its tail, which emitted a faint glow, was also an unexpectedly formidable offensive organ. Of course, that was only if it struck a vital point without warning, but.

Aldebaran: [Well, I understand you don't want me to get close. In the first place, I don't feel like harming you Lil' Misses.]

Meili: [You ca~me all the way down here to look for us, didn't yo~u? So that's absolutely ridiculo~us.]

Aldebaran: [While it's true that I came to look for you, the reason isn't what you think.]

At Meili's cold attitude, Aldebaran played with the seam of his helmet with his fingers while he took care to choose his words. While they were talking, the girl who had been quietly watching them said, "Reason…" in a soft voice, and――,

???: [Then, what was the reason you came down, Al-san?]

――As Petra asked the question firmly, without averting her gaze, Aldebaran fell silent.

Aldebaran: [――――]

As a former assassin, it was understandable that Meili was used to the harshness of the battlefield. However, it was surprising to see how tough Petra had become, given she was originally just a simple village girl training to become a maid.

Aldebaran had timed it so that everyone would have been at their most relaxed, and carried out this plan of action without anyone realizing the signs. In other words, Petra and the others had no idea what was going on.

There must have been all kinds of questions, and a whirlwind of anxiety and confusion that wanted to burst out crying and screaming, swirling around in her little head. ――She did not let any of that show.

Aldebaran: [I've fulfilled my objective. I've got no more business in this Tower. So if you ask why, it was to come say goodbye.]

Petra: [Even if, you say something like that…]

Aldebaran: [Garfiel and Ezzo are both unconscious at the top of the Tower. If you treat them quickly, they should be able to make it out alive.]

Petra: [――Ah.]

For a brief moment, Petra tensed up at Aldebaran's selfish declaration and prepared to fight, while Meili next to her also widened her stance in preparation to join Petra's resolve―― but their resolve was thrown into confusion by Aldebaran's words as he pointed to the uppermost floor of the Tower.

And unfortunately for them, Aldebaran had no room to show mercy, even if his opponents were young girls.

Aldebaran: [What are you gonna do? Are you gonna try and show off by fighting me here? If you try hard enough, you might be able to beat me… But if you lose, the two guys up there will die as well, yeah?]

Petra: [You… You coward…!]

Aldebaran: [Yeah, I know I am, and it makes me hate myself from the bottom of my heart.]

After being berated by Petra, with her fierce eyes, Aldebaran admonished himself for having become a detestable adult.

However, the reality was that those disgusting and cowardly adults seemed to always come out victorious. ――Petra, being smart and brave, could properly calculate the risks of losing.

She could not risk letting Garfiel and Ezzo die by picking a fight with slim chances of success.

Meili: [What ha~ppened to Onii-san and Beatrice-chan, I wo~nder?]

Aldebaran: [The two of them are asleep together like babies. They're so affectionate and close. It'd be cruel to separate them and it'd break my heart, so I just couldn't.]

In response to Meili, who inquired about Subaru and Beatrice's safety on behalf of Petra, he gave that answer.

Unfortunately for them, he had no intention of giving them any more information.

Either way, in case they did save Garfiel and Ezzo, they would be able to hear the same story from their mouths. He did not want to carelessly provoke Petra and Meili, who were thinking rationally.

Even if the expansion of territory could shoulder the burden, he was exhausted.

Aldebaran: [Hey, I get that you said not to get any closer, but that's the way out. I'm gonna have to go through.]

Aldebaran raised his hand to signal this, and he slowly advanced towards the girls. To show that he meant no harm, he kept his hand raised without lowering it.

Petra & Meili: [――――]

Petra and Meili silently made way for the approaching Aldebaran. As he passed between the girls, who had moved out to either side, the only sound in the quiet passage was the clacking of the little crimson scorpion's pincers.

The intimidating sound of the little crimson scorpion's pincers seemed to be a manifestation of the girls' dissatisfaction――,

Petra: [You know, over these three days, I really did intend to help you out, Al-san.]

Aldebaran: [――――]

Petra: [I absolutely loathe you.]

Among all the wounds Aldebaran had sustained during his time at the Pleiades Watchtower, the girl's tearful, wrung-out voice had undoubtedly been the gravest of all.

△▼△▼△▼△

At the time Aldebaran descended onto the entrance to the Tower, unfolding there was a heart-wrenching battle, one not dissimilar to the one that he had engaged in with Petra and Meili on the Fourth Floor.

Partaking in that battle was a jet-black earth dragon who had made the great contribution of delivering their group, with Aldebaran in their ranks, to this Tower, her name Patrasche.

And, going head-to-head against Patrasche was――,

???: [Yo, me. Did you tie up all the loose ends?]

Indeed, with a solemn, weighty voice, an enormous lifeform spoke to him in a manner completely lacking in gravitas.

As he calmly pushed open the large gate of the Tower's entrance with his single hand, waiting for him there, facing off against Patrasche, was a Dragon with scales shining blue―― a Dragon formerly known as Volcanica, now "Aldebaran".

Patrasche: [――DODOGYUUUN.]

Squaring off against "Aldebaran", Patrasche neighed without relinquishing a single step.

In all honesty, all of Subaru's female companions were mentally deranged. ――No, thinking back on it, all of the women Aldebaran had encountered were more-or-less the same.

As for weak women, there was only a single person that came to mind.

Whatever the case――,

Aldebaran: [Hey Dragon me, stop picking on those smaller than yourself. You already look crazy enough, doing that'll make you look way crazier than necessary.]

"Aldebaran": [Don't call me crazy like that. If I'm crazy, then you've also gotta be just as nuts. Normally, even those who come up with this kinda thing wouldn't actually put it into practice. ――Something like hijacking the Divine Dragon, I mean.]

With a voice and appearance he was not yet accustomed to having, "Aldebaran" spoke so while moving his wings. At "Aldebaran's" words, Aldebaran shrugged his shoulders.

Even if he were labeled crazy or nuts by his own self, it was a desperate strategy that he had enacted because it was possible for him to do so.

To begin with, since "Aldebaran" was also Aldebaran, there was no doubt that he would have done the same thing if placed in the same situation; so forcing such labels upon him like that was quite unreasonable.

"Aldebaran": [Sorry, ground dragon-chan. But y'know, not moving's the right option. If you get taken out, ground dragon-chan, you aren't gonna be able to take any of your companions out from this sea of sand.]

Aldebaran: [――――]

"Aldebaran": [What?]

Aldebaran: [Nothing, just thought that you really are me. Our ways of making threats are completely the same.]

In order to avoid a fight with Patrasche, "Aldebaran" had employed the same logic that Aldebaran had used to threaten Petra and Meili; this fact was something that gave him boundless mixed feelings.

Anyhow――,

Aldebaran: [Can you fly?]

"Aldebaran": [I can… I think. It's one of those things you get used to little-by-little.]

Aldebaran: [That phrasing's brimming with apprehension…]

At the response from "Aldebaran", somewhat lacking in reliability, Aldebaran climbed up the former's tail and hopped onto the Dragon's back, though he himself could not hide the slight unease he felt. Then, clinging to one of the many protrusions on the Dragon's scales, he called out "Here we go".

"Aldebaran": [――Lift off!]

The following instant, with a spirited yell and a flap of his wings, "Aldebaran" rose to the sky.

Scattering the sand with a thunderous wind, the Dragon swiftly climbed to a high altitude, all the way to the top part of the exceedingly tall Pleiades Watchtower, and from there began to part from the Tower.

As the Tower rapidly grew distant, Aldebaran looked back at those who he had left there――,

"Aldebaran": [No way, are you having regrets?]

Aldebaran: [I did have them. When it comes to regrets, I had them four-hundred years ago.]

Being made fun of by himself, who had a full grasp of his circumstances, Aldebaran clicked his tongue.

What "Aldebaran" wished to say, was the reality that he did not have the leeway to be looking back. And that was indeed correct. If this were to be likened to a mountain, then he was still only at the base camp.

From here on out, aiming for the starlight beyond the realm of a billion that he had resolved himself to reach no matter what, Aldebaran could not afford to make even a single wrong move.

"Aldebaran": [Well, don't get too worked up on your own. I'll be with you from now on. That's at least a lil' better, yeah?]

As his wings rapidly sliced through the night sky over the Sand Sea, "Aldebaran" spoke in high spirits.

Although he'd had the Memories shared by his Book of the Dead installed within him, that optimistic point-of-view likely stemmed from a difference in the vessel being occupied. Nonetheless, it was not good to be overly negative, either.

In reality, he had acquired backup more powerful than one could ever hope for.

What remained was――,

???: [――That will be as far as you go.]

△▼△▼△▼△

――At the moment he was about to formulate his next course of action, the light pierced him.

???: [――――]

Having violently crashed upon the ocean of sand in this chilly night, the Dragon unhurriedly raised itself. Aldebaran, who had been nestled within the Dragon's wings, shook his head and dropped down onto the sand.

And then, that composedly came into the view of the lone person and Dragon, of the two distinct Aldebarans.

???: [――――]

Hair red akin to a burning flame, eyes blue akin to the clear skies, clad in an outfit of immaculate white as per his convictions, the chivalry he practiced, the existence ordained by the world――,

???: [Flam, who was left behind at the Tower, is one blessed with the Divine Protection of Telepathy. She and her sister, Grassis, are able to communicate without regard to distance and time, albeit only once per day.]

That, was his explanation as to why he had hastened to this scene; quite the honest response, one that was considerate and sympathetic towards the confusion of someone who had found themselves in an unreasonable situation.

Aldebaran: […Thanks for the explanation. Are you used to people lodging complaints against you, perchance?]

???: [I wish to clear the doubts I myself have first. ――There are many things I wish to question you on.]

Aldebaran: [――――]

???: [I advise you surrender. If possible, I would prefer to not cut you down.]

Declaring so, while touching the Dragon Sword at his waist, the youth―― Reinhard van Astrea, before Aldebaran and "Aldebaran" both, magnificently asserted.

Reinhard: [――――]

His aura majestic, his posture gallant, his existence dazzling even amidst a world of night―― to this man bound to be a Hero, as one bearing heroic reveries long decayed, this alone, he wished to object.

It was something that had been spoken to him many a time, but――,

Aldebaran: [Quit putting on airs, hero. I'll win regardless. ――Your stars were bad.]

Gazed upon by a star-studded sky amidst a great ocean of sand, Aldebaran faced off against Reinhard.

――That was a confrontation irreconcilable, between one whom the world loved, and one whom it did not.

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