Chapter 46 - Same Bed, Different Dreams 2

Amid the steady drizzle of industrial wastewater, two swordsmen stared each other down. The one whose body was entirely mechanical—Ash—spoke.

"Have we not met before?"

The figure clad head to toe in black techwear, even his face concealed behind a mask, answered. It was Zero.

"Impossible."

He shrugged and continued.

"Had I met someone as distinctive as you, I could hardly have forgotten. This is our first meeting."

"I see. How very strange."

"What is?"

"Only yesterday, I met a ninja who called himself Zero."

"..."

After a brief pause, the ninja spoke.

"What sort of 'mask' was he wearing?"

"A wolf mask."

"Did you kill him?"

Ash shook his head.

"He escaped."

"I see."

Zero, the ninja, let out a deep sigh. Ash could not tell what it meant.

"... I believe you two have yet to introduce yourselves."

"Are introductions necessary?"

"Of course. You have the data chip, do you not?"

Ash studied him for a moment, then produced a data chip from inside his clothing. It was the chip in question, overlaid with a blue hologram.

"You mean this?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. In that case, I must ask. How do you know of this chip? And how did you know we had it?"

"I did not."

"That hardly fits the circumstances."

"... Did Big Brother Rudolph tell you nothing?"

"There was no opportunity."

"Hah. Just what in the world is going on?"

Muttering those words, Zero shook his head a couple of times, then pointed to the chip in Ash's hand.

"That chip has a tracker attached to it. Big Brother Rudolph planted it. I followed its signal here. The signal cut out after it went aboveground, and I was wondering what had happened when it reappeared."

"So you followed that signal?"

"Precisely. That is how I came to meet the two of you."

He held out a hand.

"Will you give it to me now? I have great need of it."

"I see. I have a fair idea now."

Ash closed his hand around the chip.

"You were Rudolph's client."

Then he tucked the data chip away again.

"In that case, I cannot give you this chip."

Watching him, Zero withdrew his outstretched hand and brought it to the blade at his waist.

"... May I ask what you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said. I cannot give you this chip."

Ash adjusted his grip on the blade he held.

"We have come to return this chip to its rightful owner."

"Return it...? You mean to give it back to Memoryphilia?"

"Memoryphilia? Are they its rightful owners, then?"

"... Why? Why in the world would you return the chip to them?"

"That is none of your concern."

In that instant, the air between them grew denser.

"... I see. You did not come to complete the commission."

Industrial wastewater fell from the pipelines onto their shoulders. Yet neither stirred, their gazes fixed on one another.

"..."

"..."

After a time, Zero spoke.

"I regret that it has come to this."

"As do I."

CLAAANG!

A sudden metallic clash split the silence. The two swordsmen had closed the distance in a flash, their blades colliding and scattering crimson sparks through the darkness of Underland.

* * *

'... Impossible.'

Holding her breath, Siren stared blankly at the scene unfolding before her. She was a swordswoman who held Halloween's number-one ranking. She was confident she could face most battles without so much as blinking.

But what was happening before her was no ordinary battle. It was more like a sword dance performed by two giants.

As always, Ash's sword was incomparably fluid, like a dragon roaming above the clouds. Every path his sword traced held an indescribable depth. One moment, he extended it gently to deflect his opponent's force; the next, he drove into an opening with explosive momentum. It was impossible to look away. He seemed to embody that distant realm so vaguely encompassed by the words "the pinnacle of mastery."

That was precisely why Siren could not help being astonished. His opponent, Zero, was holding his own against that sword.

In Siren's memory, not a single person had ever properly withstood Ash's sword. Not her. Not the ninja they had encountered at the rest stop. Not even the unidentified Sentinel in the Outer that had driven her to the brink of death!

'He's holding his own against Mr. Ash's sword? That nameless ninja?'

CLANG! CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

Faced with this astonishing, unbelievable sight, Siren sharpened her vision and examined the ninja's swordsmanship in detail. Zero's sword was certainly of a different kind from Ash's. It was neither flashy nor fluid. Instead, every movement condensed razor-sharp killing intent and an efficiency that wasted not the slightest motion.

The fastest route to killing his opponent. The surest move. Those alone were the intentions embodied in his blade.

Yet why was it that, as she looked closer, she began to see something else?

'They're... alike?'

At first glance, the two swordsmen seemed to use entirely different styles, yet something about their swordplay resembled each other. Like two vastly different branches growing from the same tree, sharing the same roots.

CLAAANG!

Zero's sword shot upward from below in a surprise attack. Evading it with exquisite footwork, Ash sent his blade flashing diagonally upward.

Zero barely blocked it, then turned his opponent's force to his own advantage, spinning all the way around to attempt a broad horizontal slash. Ash held his blade vertically to receive the blow, then likewise spun around to strike low.

A swift exchange, advantage shifting back and forth, yet neither giving the slightest ground. It was no longer a mere battle. Reading each other's moves, countering, catching each other off guard—it was more like a conversation conducted with swords.

At some point, Siren forgot even her own role. So utterly absorbed was she in the two giants' sword dance that she forgot to blink.

CLANG!

It happened as that breathless exchange continued. Suddenly, Zero leaped away, putting distance between them.

"..."

A bewildered voice emerged from behind the expressionless tiger mask.

"Who are you?"

"Did we not settle that earlier?"

Ash answered calmly without relaxing his stance. Zero shook his head violently at the reply, then cried out in a trembling voice, making no attempt to hide his turmoil.

"That is not what I am asking!"

"You seem surprised. In truth, so am I."

Letting his blade hang at his side, Ash continued.

"To think there would be someone who had mastered the Thirteen Swords of the Cloud Dragon to the full twelfth degree. Your own interpretation is astonishing as well—so much so that I almost feel ashamed to be angry. Are you, by any chance, the 'Big Brother' the wolf-masked one spoke of?"

"I asked who you are!"

Ash's optical sensors shone.

"The rightful owner of the sword art you wield."

"Owner? Hah!"

Zero spat the words out in a growl.

"I had my suspicions, but you're an Omni-Cell dog after all? You finally tracked me down! All the way to Underland!"

"... What?"

Omni-Cell? Why had Omni-Cell Biotech's name suddenly come up here?

"What nonsense are you suddenly spouting? Omni-Cell?"

"You just said it yourself! That you are the rightful owner of this sword art—Kunlun-Combat!"

In that instant, everything within Ash stopped. His optical sensors flickered violently, as though convulsing, and his steel body swayed ever so slightly.

[WARNING!]

[WARNING!]

"... What... did you say?"

Amid the warnings flashing furiously across his optical sensors, Ash clutched his head and addressed Zero.

"What did you just say? Kun... lun?"

[KEYWORD DETECTED: KUNLUN]

His main core roared into furious operation. His thought circuits grew searing hot, as though overloaded. At the heart of that confusion and chaos, new strings of text flashed into view.

[ERROR CODE: 81X1_FRGMNT_RECALL]

[CORRUPTED DATE FOUND. . .]

[ANALYZING. . .]

[UNABLE TO ISOLATE FRAGMENT]

[OVERRIDE ATTEMPT. . . FAILED]

[FORCED PLAYBACK OF 81X1_FRGMNT. . .]

[STREAMING UNKNOWN DATA. . .]

[. . .]

Ash swayed more violently.

"Mr. Ash? Mr. Ash!"

Through his flickering vision, he caught one last glimpse of Siren rushing toward him before his consciousness was forcibly hurled into another time, another place.

[PLAY. . . NOW<<<]

Accompanied by that brief message.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was someone's face. As before, most of her face was too badly glitched to make out, but her unusually red, full lips remained clear.

["Mister!"]

Nangnang. The girl with that name took 'my' hand and led me somewhere. Along with the warmth of her small hand came an overwhelming sense of anticipation.

["Hehe. Don't be surprised, okay? No, you can be surprised, but not too surprised, okay?"]

I answered her cheerful words.

["What has you so excited, Nangnang?"]

["Hee-hee! I've prepared a present!"]

["A present? For me?"]

["Who else would it be for?"]

A present. What sort of present might she have prepared?

Suddenly, everything before his eyes vanished beneath a veil of glitches and static. At the same time, another video began to play.

Before I knew it, Nangnang and 'I' had arrived somewhere. We had stopped walking.

["One, two, three! Mister! Turn around!"]

At her words, I turned. The first thing I saw was the girl's red-lipped smile as she beamed proudly, both arms spread wide.

Behind her stood something like a manor estate. Everything, however, was made of metal and pipes, lending it a rather bizarre appearance.

Rusted metal sheets encircled it like a wall. Pipelines stood in place of pillars. The odd structures might have been modern buildings or traditional halls; it was hard to tell.

Yet one thing in particular caught 'my' eye: a nameplate fixed above an iron door fashioned to resemble a main gate.

[Kunlun]

The wooden nameplate's lettering was crooked, with some strokes even written incorrectly. Pointing proudly at it, Nangnang smiled brightly.

["Ta-da! It's Kunlun, the place you miss every day!"]

At her proud declaration, 'I' gave a bemused laugh and shook my head.

["Nangnang. How many times must I tell you? Not 'Koon-loon.' It is pronounced 'Gon-ryun.'"]

["Koon-loon?"]

["Gon-ryun."]

["Koon-loon?"]

["Gon-ryun!"]

Nangnang burst into peals of laughter at their playful exchange. Her bright innocence left 'me' no choice but to smile as well.

["Hee-hee! What does it matter? As long as you know what I mean!"]

Then Nangnang ran toward me, as though to throw herself into my embrace. 'I' opened my arms to her.

In an instant, all of it vanished into glitches and static speckled with RGB colors. That was where the video ended.

* * *

"...!"

When light returned to Ash's optical sensors, the first thing he saw was Siren's back as she stood firmly in front of him, shielding him. Her sword pointed at Zero, she glanced over her shoulder at the sound of movement.

"M-Mr. Ash! Are you all right?" Siren asked urgently.

Ash shook his head a couple of times.

"... How long was I unconscious?"

"Not long. About ten seconds?"

Ten seconds. The video had seemed longer than that.

Pushing those thoughts into a corner of his main core, Ash raised his head. Zero was still staring at them. His mask hid his face, but he was surely glaring. The force radiating from his entire body was that ominous.

Ash stepped forward without raising his sword.

"My name is Ash. Ash Blade. This is Siren, an idol with Halloween Entertainment."

Zero answered the abrupt introduction.

"Introducing yourself now? Isn't that rather out of order?"

His tone was mocking, but Ash paid it no mind.

"There appears to have been a misunderstanding. I merely wish to correct it."

"A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?"

Ash sheathed his sword behind his back. Then he met Zero's sharp glare head-on and spoke.

"I am no dog of Omni-Cell's. If anything... you might consider me their enemy."

"... What are you saying now? Just a moment ago, you clearly..."

"But I am also the true owner of the sword art you wield."

Zero said nothing for a while. After a brief silence, he spoke.

"Explain it so I can understand, Ash."

"I intend to."

Just then, they heard a commotion nearby. At first, Ash thought it was merely the noise of the city, but it was not. The disturbance was clearly approaching them.

Ash realized that it was the sound of countless footsteps and clashing metal. And that, at this moment, the only people who would approach making such a racket were the REST-men.

"Mr. Ash."

"I detected them as well, my lady."

After that brief reply, Ash looked at Zero.

"We both seem to have things to say to each other. What do you think of moving elsewhere?"

He went on, jerking his chin toward the approaching noise.

"Our conversation is likely to be rather too long to conduct while dealing with that lot."

After a brief silence, Zero returned his sword to the scabbard at his waist.

"... Do you know somewhere quiet?"

Ash looked at Siren. She nodded.

"I'll lead the way."

With those words, all three leaped away in unison, as though they had planned it.