Flower Language for You Part 5

"…Ottar?"

On the eastern edge of the main battlefield, Allen looked up at the sky.

The ferocious beast's roar that had shattered the sky was gone now.

Ordinarily he would never have doubted Ottar's victory. But just before

the silence had fallen, he had also picked up a sound he had heard once

before: the tolling of a grand bell. And outside the island, on the outer edge

of the lake, Ganesha Familia seemed almost excited.

"That bastard…did he screw up?!"

Exuding his usual rage, Allen turned toward the northwest. A trail of

defeated adventurers and tavern girls lay in his wake.

The only remaining einherjar was Allen. He alone had fought not for the

goddess, but for his little sister—even if it meant fighting his little sister,

too.

That had been the decisive factor. That was what led to this result.

Because he desired the goddess for the sake of his sister, his faith wasn't

corrupted, he didn't have any doubt and he hadn't faltered.

"…Bro…ther…"

Having kicked aside all obstacles, Allen looked back only once, at his

sister, whose eyes wavered. He half closed his eyes and then steeled himself

before racing away. Ahnya's faint voice couldn't reach him anymore.

The chariot would fulfill its duty.

Running.

"They beat Ottar!!!!!!!!!!!!! But…"

Tiona immediately raised her fists high in joy, but then her expression

became serious.

"What's the situation now? What about Argonaut's allies?! How many

enemies are left?!"

"The only one left who can move is Bell! The enemies are Vana Freya

and…!"

"Just those inside the house of the gods…Goddess Freya's four

bodyguards."

Unexpectedly, it was Aiz who answered Tiona's question even as she

continued staring at the mirror, while Riveria supplemented it.

There was a stir among all of Loki Familia who watched this gallant

struggle—at this point, it was fair to call it a complete upset— "There are

five enemies left still…? Then Rabbit Foot is…"

"No, the guards are Level 4 at most. So long as that strange sorcery and

Hedin's lightning last, that youngster can force his way through. So long as

Allen doesn't catch up, that is," Gareth explained calmly.

"…And if Allen does catch up?" Tiona asked.

Finn was the one who answered.

"If he's caught, it's over. And if he's cornered…it's almost guaranteed

checkmate. The final stretch is a simple game of tag."

In Babel—

"Oy, what's this…what's going on here?!"

"…R-run, Belllll!"

"Argh, what'd you say?!"

"Aren't you one of Lady Freya's royal guard?!"

"Lady Freya, ruuuun!"

The deities leaped to their feet at the unexpected turn of events.

Some never thought it would get this far. Some feigned calm while

visibly fidgeting. Some flocked to a new bandwagon because they were

enthralled by the delicious unknown. It was practically chaos as they kept

changing what was displayed on the mirror, viewing the game from every

angle to get a better idea what was going on.

Even for deities who were constantly aloof and self-assured, what they

were watching went beyond a mere anomaly. This was something they had

never seen before—Freya was being pushed to the brink.

"So? What are you doing, pretty boy?"

"…Loki, you know how children have a custom of praying to gods? If

we gods prayed, who would it be to?"

"…Probably one of those stupid great gods…or just worship whoever

you like, I guess."

"Zeus is out. Not a chance. He'd just laugh his ass off. In that case…

Astrea, Artemis, and maybe Athena …! Please let Bell escape…!"

"I suppose those are righteous goddesses, but it seems like you picked

all the goody-goodies…"

Asfi would have found it more than distasteful if she saw how earnestly

Hermes clasped his hands together in prayer, and Loki looked plenty

exasperated herself, but…

"Tsk."

Behind her, Bete vented his frustration as he stared at the mirror.

"…Too bad, Hermes."

Glancing at her follower, Loki looked back at the mirror.

"Looks like we're just gonna have to roll the dice on a torturous game of

tag."

The bird's eye view of the island reflected in the mirror showed a chariot

closing in on its target with impossible speed.

"Faster, faster, faster!"

Bell was sprinting southwest.

His target was the house of the gods sitting on the cliff at the far edge of

the island. It was in view, but he wasn't there yet. In his current state, it

wouldn't take even three minutes to reach there, but right now, that was

three minutes too long.

He had already entered the temple grounds. A great many collapsed

structures littered the area, but almost nothing blocked his line of sight. Bell

was wrestling with his racing heart as he ran through the field of debris with

a clear view in all directions.

It's over if he finds me! But…!

Bell knew.

He had experienced it during the regular baptisms of Folkvangr inside of

Freya's twisted world. He had tasted the brutality. He knew the power of the

fleetest feet. The chariot allowed none to escape and blew through every

obstacle without a second thought.

Bell was scared to look around. Attempting stealth would be suicide.

That cat person's nose would find him in an instant. His only choice was

move as fast as she could and pray.

However, just like the viewers in the city, Bell was soon gripped by

despair.

" "

There was no need to search for him.

Ironically, Bell had become much more sensitive to gazes thanks to the

goddess of beauty, and so he immediately sensed that man's eyes boring a

hole into him.

" "

His throat suddenly felt bone-dry. And yet he broke into a massive

sweat. Giving in to the pressure, Bell looked.

" Ah."

The menace was approaching. He could almost hear wheels spinning

furiously.

The fastest chariot was in hot pursuit—

"Found you."

The boy's legs were forced to shift into their highest gear.

"Run, Bellllllllll!!!!"

Those left in the amphitheater had climbed to the roof of a nearby ruin

and saw what was happening. That was when Hestia screamed to the

heavens.

"Run!!!"

"Faster!!!"

Aiz and Tiona shouted at the top of their lungs at the mirror.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!"

The screeching race began.

Everyone in the ruins and the city could only watch. Even so, they

exploded into shouts.

The hopes of two familias had been entrusted to exactly two people, and

now their feet were pounding against the racetrack of a shattered brick road.

The cat's supreme acceleration was quickly turning hope into despair as

he rapidly gained on the rabbit.

"Stop! Stoppppp!!!"

"Run!!!"

"Do something! Rabbit Foot!!!"

Outside the island, at Dian Cecht Familia's first-aid base, Mord, Gyle,

Bors, and many other wounded had regained consciousness thanks to Amid

and the other healer's hard work. Now all their patients were screaming

wildly at the divine mirror, and many promptly collapsed as the blood

rushed to their heads.

But Bell had no way to know that shouts and screams filled the air as he

ran.

He was putting every last bit of energy into his legs, to the extent he

couldn't process any external information.

So fast! He's right behind me! And catching up!

Allen had originally been heading northwest, toward Ottar, but along the

way, his enhanced, first-tier adventurer eyesight helped him catch Bell

heading to the house of the gods, and so he wheeled around and changed

course. The worst news for Bell was that Allen was now freed from

Ahnya's debuff since she had been knocked out.

A hunter who could be sensed but not seen exerted an enormous

pressure on the runner, gradually driving them into a wall.

Bell pumped his arms as hard as he could. He was moving so fast that

bits of the ground were coming loose with every step. But even then, he

couldn't escape the sound of the wheels. Those wheels were not whittling

down the distance between them—they were mercilessly shredding what

little remained.

I can sense it…He's getting closer!

Bell Cranell's greatest weapon was his speed.

This was the first time he had ever been chased by someone even faster

than he was, and that gave birth to a new fear.

The eastern part of the main battlefield that Allen had cleared earlier.

"Be—! Ruuu—uu—n!"

The goddess's distorted shout coming from the oculus roused Lilly.

"Mr. Bell…!"

Lying amid the stone rubble where no one remained standing, Lilly had

avoided sustaining a mortal wound. Allen had grazed her, likely deciding

that she wasn't worth the effort. And even though she had woken up, Lilly

couldn't move at all She could only whisper into the oculus in her right

hand.

It was beyond her to take notice of the cracked crystal or realize that it

was almost impossible for her voice to reach anyone.

"Someone…help…Mr. Bell…!"

There was no response. She expected that, of course. She had already

tried once much earlier. But even so, Lilly refused to give up and resort to

silently hoping for Bell's safety.

"The island's…west…the temples…near the house of the gods…

someone…!"

It was a truly pitiful scene. These were not the actions of a commander.

Right now, Lilly was just a girl crying about a boy as she begged for help in

a weak voice.

Her ruined left arm cried out in agony, and she was barely clinging to

consciousness. Her arm, her shoulder, her stomach, her chest, her legs, and

her back burned, and after a certain point, she didn't even know what she

was saying anymore. But even then, she continued to plea, putting voice to

her prayers and the information she had, to her wishes and thoughts.

"Someone…anyone…!"

As if resonating with her powerless emotions, the hieroglyphs on her

back glowed.

"This is the drama we've been waiting for! Even though we didn't have to

wait for it!!!"

Ibly's sweaty bellows continued.

Forgetting his job, he simply shouted whatever came to mind first, while

Ganesha grit his teeth and watched on nearby with a rapt expression.

"Laugh or cry, scream or shout, this is the end!!! Rabbit Foot and Vana

Freya are in a dead heat!!! Wait, whooooooooooooooooooooa?! It's coming

already!!!"

The mic that had been exposed to Ibly's rampaging emotions this whole

time finally reached its limit and became scrap. But even so, the young man

continued shouting. His screams joined the ones coming from the rest of the

crowd.

Allen had obliterated Bell's lead and was visibly getting closer and

closer, making all of the boy's supporters turn pale.

" Nghhh!"

The wind made Bell's white hair whip around as he challenged the

fastest runner in the city.

The rubble lining the road roared in silent cheers as the setting sun set

the ruins alight like so many waving flags. The twilight sky glowed red,

watching raptly to see who would win this race.

The golden glow and flashes of lightning drove the boy onward as he

continued his lonely race. The lights granted him a full boost. But the fox

and saint's contributions were still not enough to earn the goddess of

victory's approval. Even with both of those powerful buffs, he still couldn't

shake off the lone chariot.

If I charge my legs…no, I can't! The recoil will hit the moment the

acceleration stops, and then I'll be run through from behind!

Tricks wouldn't work here. There was nothing else to do but keep

running.

Just like with Ottar.

Just like how even with so many broken buffs, he hadn't been a match

for the city's strongest, and now he wasn't going to be a match for the city's

fastest.

"You're not getting away."

"Ngh…?!"

Through the whistling wind, he could hear his pursuer's voice behind

him and slightly off to the side.

The rabbit kicked the ground with all its might.

The cat gave chase, refusing to lose any ground.

The light and tracks that could only be followed with the perspective of

the mirror dashed through the ruins. They were almost like shooting stars.

The gold glimmer of level boost tailed off behind him, while the bolt of

Laurus Hildr blazed its own trail through the ruins. And that path traced by

the tail and arc were trampled by the track of the chariot that just continued

to accelerate.

I can't shake him…!

It wasn't just the eyes, not just the presence, even the sound of footsteps

was drawing close from behind.

The chariot didn't swing its arms like Bell. It calmly aimed for the

moment the spear in its hand pierced Bell's back.

His pulse was too fast. He was going to be crushed by the ferocious

pressure.

But…not yet…

Even as he was pummeled by a massive impatience, Bell still hadn't met

the requirements for defeat.

There were two iron rules for runners: never look back and never give

up. The former went without saying: it slowed you down. There was also an

element of tactics, since turning to look back created an opening that

encouraged the pursuer.

And the latter also went without saying. Giving up even for a moment

meant defeat.

Because he understood that instinctively—or rather because he had

nothing in his head other than the thought of saving her—he was able to

maintain his speed even in this difficult position.

A third-rate runs with their legs. A second-rate runs with their arms. A

first-rate runs with their heart. And adventurers run with their soul.

Bell burned with renewed resolve. He was willing to turn his body to

ash if that's what it took.

He could already see his goal. The situation was desperate, but she was

almost within reach. All there was left to do was struggle for all he was

worth.

Just like always. The ones who won were the ones who struggled until

the very end.

Forget waiting around for the goddess of victory to smile. Victory was

something to be won with your own two legs.

Let's go—

He had the stamina.

He hadn't run out of the breath.

His feet kept moving.

His heart, lungs, and legs were working in perfect unison.

All Bell had to do now was cross the finish line.

There was a click inside Bell as he kicked it up a gear. It felt like part of

his back burned. And it sounded almost like he could hear Lilly's voice.

Whispering "Bell is here."

And then the boy transformed into a being who did nothing but run.

"—It's on!"

Bell and Allen shifted into their final burst of acceleration at the same

time.

"It's the final sprint!!!"

Ibly's howl was the starting gong.

The finish line was the house of the gods.

The boy and the chariot raced along the rough road running through the

ruins. There was no one to get in the way. No one had a death wish. Like

stars shooting across the sky, becoming light as they burned away to

nothing.

"Useless."

Allen's eyes narrowed as the gap closed until there was hardly any

distance left.

Three steps.

He coolly made his calculations as the cold wind hit his body. Like the

distance until his silver spear would reach the rabbit. And how close the

chariot needed to be to trample the rabbit no matter how much it struggled.

Two steps.

The distance closed.

His back was almost within reach.

Moving just behind the boy, he used him as a wind break as he caught

up.

One step.

Just as he was about to thrust his spear, proving he was the fastest—

"…?"

Allen felt something strange.

There was a minor miscalculation in the distance.

Had he read something wrong?

He quickly adjusted his calculations to close the last two steps.

"Grgh…?"

Allen felt something off.

The gap was growing.

Two steps became three, became four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten—

—It isn't going down!

The gap that should not have existed was growing into an absolute

distance!

Hey—

His silver spear trembled.

Wait—

A crack appeared in the wheels.

This isn't a joke—

The twilight sky trembled.

"—The fuck?!"

As he realized Bell was pulling away from him, his eyes widened in

shock.

"SO FAAASSST!!!"

The deities exploded in shouts at the beam of light racing through the

ruins.

A flash of speed. A roaring sprint that tore through the wind. Red eyes

looking straight ahead, leaving behind even their own gleam as he

accelerated again.

In that moment, Bell's top speed surpassed Allen's speed limit. The

city's fastest was left in the dust by the fastest in the mortal realm.

"You have to be shitting me!"

The Record Holder—Rabbit Foot!

Allen's eyes were bloodshot.

It didn't make sense!

He couldn't understand!

The moment he tried to escape, Bell's speed jumped—!

"What's going on?!"

"I don't know! But!"

Loki and Hermes leaped to their feet.

"Gooo!!!"

Bete clenched his fist.

"GoGoGoGoGoGooooooooooo!"

Tiona broke free from Tione's control and clung onto the mirror.

"Bell!"

Aiz shouted.

"Bell!!!"

Eina sobbed.

"Gooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Belllllll!!!"

Hestia sent her last strength to the boy.

With her feelings, Bell's speed rose again, just to be sure.

"Motherfucker!!!"

Even with all the invective he could muster, Allen's full speed couldn't

catch up.

Swinging his arms strongly, long strides, feet kicking up to his thighs.

And a back moving into the distance.

Allen experienced a despair he had never felt before as the fastest in the

city.

"A-Allen?!"

"And Bell?!"

Noticing the furious sounds of the sprinting, Freya's bodyguards had

rushed outside all at once.

As they came down the long stairs that led to the house of the gods, they

were taken aback by the scene speeding toward them.

"Gh! Rask! Remilia! Spells now!"

Turning his despair into rage, the raging cat roared an order.

They were moments away from the house of the gods. He knew that the

current Bell would easily blow through the guards, so he gave the order to

use their magic.

"Golden wheel, silver collar!"

Cursing himself for having to give that stupid order, Allen threw away

any semblance of pride.

Even if he lost the battle, to win the war, wading through a sea of

humiliation, he started casting.

Glarinese Fromel—the fastest magic, which would allow him to ascend

and become a true chariot. If he activated it, he could run even Bell down.

"Run bearing the goddess's will!"

He was already less than fifty meders away from the house of the gods,

but it would be enough.

Lowering his speed to cast, he still was prepared to burst through in one

shot— "Blasphemous burn."

There was a massive explosion.

"Gah?!"

"Kyaaaaa!"

Allen and the guards who had immediately prepared their magic had all

transformed into bombs.

Ignis Fatuus.

Smoke rose from Allen's blasted body, and as he was tumbled down, he

saw the source of the heat haze that seemed to completely avoid Bell's path.

"I made it…L'il E…"

In the shadow of the broken-down temple, the young man put all of his

weight against a pillar, but still standing, holding his hand out toward Allen.

Welf Crozzo.

" "

After he had been beaten by Allen, the red-haired blacksmith had heard

the girl's message from the oculus. Spared by Hedin, before the sky grew

red with twilight, Welf had slowly and humiliatingly crawled there.

And the reason he had found his way to Bell's path was Mind Call. That

was the skill that Lilly had developed when she leveled up. It allowed

telepathic communication with people who shared the same blessing.

"The island's…west…the temples…near the house of the gods…

someone…!"

In place of the broken oculus, Lilly's feelings, her pleas, and the critical

information had connected her, Welf, and Bell. With the location and

knowing when Bell would come, Welf had made it just in time.

"Your feelings…made it through…"

The blacksmith knew how she felt long before she became a

commander, and he had answered her. Against Freya Familia, the bond

shared between those three had created this chance.

"Get lost, loser…Isn't that what you said?"

Welf flashed a wicked grin as a sheen of sweat covered his face.

As he saw the gleam of the magic sword the boy drew from his waist,

this time Allen's rage threatened to incinerate his body from the inside as he

screamed.

"You're nobodyyyyyyy!"

Welf replied with a single slash.

"Kazukiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!"

The ferocious flame blew away everyone who stood in the boy's way.

He kept running through the fiery path his partner had created and past the

collapsed einherjar.

Once he reached the long stairs, he raced up in one burst.

"!!!"

Freya stood frozen in front of her throne.

He was coming.

The boy was coming here.

The one whose love the goddess desired had appeared in the house of

the gods to stop her love.

"—Ms. Syr."

There was a thump when the boy climbed the stairs and appeared before

the goddess.

Freya's face twisted, and she heard the girl's name on his lips.

There was no one left defending the queen. The warriors, the prums, the

fairies, the chariot, the boar—they had all been silenced. With the help of

his comrades, the boy had overcome every possible hardship.

After weathering more punishment than anyone, he had finally reached

her.

"…"

"…"

Their eyes met, and a brief moment of silence fell.

The red light streamed through the temple's collapsed ceiling. The

twilight sky filled the gap in the wall. In the west, the lake glimmered

ethereally, reflecting the setting sun.

A slightly chill wind was the only thing that made a sound as Bell

quietly stepped forward. He approached Freya, whose shoulders trembled

like a sweet, young maiden's.

"Bell…"

Freya smiled.

As the goddess's yoke spurred her, she tried to deny the situation. The

authority of beauty seeped unconsciously from her divine eyes, attempting

to charm him.

But he didn't stop. Bell's feet didn't stop. The boy who couldn't be

charmed by the goddess's beauty closed the distance between them, even

though it disappearing would be the end of their love.

Freya's smile cracked. Her shoulder shuddered again, and she looked

down and a lock of hair fell.

"…Why…?"

A single word fell to the stone floor.

The distance shrank until there were not even ten steps between them,

when Bell stopped for the first time.

"…Why?!"

Freya looked up.

"Why won't you be mine, Bell?!"

Her long, silver hair was disheveled, like a child throwing a tantrum.

She was hugging her entrancing body, which was wrapped in a white gown,

pressing her vibrant, alabaster hand to her chest.

"I am Freya! Beauty, wealth, honor, power! I could give you everything!

And yet! You reject my love?!"

Like an arrogant queen, the witch cursed the knight who refused to do as

she desired.

Even though this wasn't what she wanted to say, the goddess who

couldn't get anything clung to her name and authority, revealing her

wretched shame and her horrid weakness.

She was baring her heart.

"Syr wasn't enough! That's why I chose Freya!"

It was impossible for Syr. So she had no choice but to go back to being

Freya. Because she had nothing but love. Because that was the only answer

she could find.

"So then what should I do?!"

Freya didn't notice. That even though the boy's expression was

unchanged, his fists were clenched, and blood was slowly tickling from

them.

The goddess of love couldn't notice. That it was " " that was making her

raise her voice now.

"Why…?!"

Her voice was trembling. Her eyes wavering.

Her silver eyes trembled with a blue-gray light.

"…Even I don't understand anymore…"

And.

"I don't understand myself most of all…!"

She picked up where she had once left off.

"Even if I confess my everything…it won't free me from this pain! Even

if I whisper my love to you, it doesn't get any easier!"

Bell's expression fell.

He had tried to hold out, but it cracked.

"I was always saying, in my heart, that you were the one person I didn't

want to love!"

She laid bare the contradiction she had always been hiding.

Because she didn't want to admit that the love she had even sacrificed

her friends to get was one that wasn't wanted.

She couldn't accept that she was still crying in the field of flowers deep

in her soul.

Like a lost girl, she couldn't help but arrive at that feeling.

"I love you, Bell…"

She clenched her hands to her chest and leaned forward.

"I love you. I want to be with you forever. Please choose me!"

Her silver and blue-gray eyes grew damp.

"It hurts! I want to be held! I don't want to be worried about tomorrow

anymore!"

Her eyes didn't know why the tears were welling.

"I didn't want to know this feeling, but I also want to know what lies

beyond this feeling!"

The boy's everything trembled as his ego tore at his body.

"I love you…Bell."

The boy looked down.

Holding back the shout and the sympathy welling out like he had a

gaping chest wound, instead the blood continued to trickle from his fist.

He quelled his trembling heart.

He pulled back the sound that had faded from his ears.

He said farewell to his eyes that could only see her.

The ashen gray that had blotted out the sky then was now so vivid and

beautiful. And so ephemeral, as if their fates had long since been decided.

In a world just for them, Bell took a step forward.

"I…won't be yours."

He met her pain with his own.

"I can't be your Odr!"

A tear trickled from her eye.

"I…!"

Pulling his legs from the ground, pushing forward, and bleeding every

step along the way, Bell stood right in front of her. He answered the " " she

had wanted to experience for so long with all of his hypocritical ego.

"…can't do anything except end your love!"

To fall in love was what she wished for. That was the blank she wanted

to fill in.

And to bring it all to a close, hurting her was the one and only way to

save her.

" Ah."

The boy gripped his divine blade.

His arm swung upward bravely despite how heart-rending this moment

was.

He could hear the sounds of petals rustling.

The blade didn't touch her skin as it scattered the flower on her breast.

She looked up.

As the tears ran free, she saw it.

The lilac scattered in the red sky.

Her first love ended.