Chapter 49 - EP.2 Mountains of Corpses, Seas of Blood 3

Somewhere in an Underland alley, three swordsmen stood back-to-back, watching every direction.

One was a Halloween idol, one an Underland ninja, and one a humanoid whose entire body was mechanical. Their appearances were as varied as the blades they carried, yet the auras emanating from them were remarkably alike: fighting spirit that gleamed as keenly as a sword.

Overwhelmed by that fighting spirit, the REST-men, the ninjas, and the Memoryphilia mercenaries who appeared after them faltered. Surely that razor-sharp presence was why it remained so quiet despite so many people gathering in one place.

"..."

The situation hung on a knife's edge, no one daring to speak. Ash's electronic voice sounded softly.

"Things are about to become chaotic. Let us not get swept up in it and forget our original purpose."

Zero answered him. "We should wake the second eldest first."

"Which one is that?"

"The wolf mask."

"Good. Let us do that."

At those words, Siren handed Zero the data chip she was holding.

"I will take on the other two ninjas and Memoryphilia, to make it easier for you to awaken your brother."

"Then, as for the REST-men..."

"I'll handle them," Siren said. "... Please let me handle them."

Her gaze was fixed on Jenny, who was watching them in bewilderment. Ash glanced at Siren, then gave a small nod.

"Then it is settled. I will handle the other ninjas and Memoryphilia, and my lady will take the REST-men. Awaken your brother in the meantime."

"Understood."

Their brief division of roles was complete.

"Then..."

Ash raised his blade upright.

"Let us begin."

The instant he finished speaking, the three swordsmen charged like lightning in their respective directions. It served as a signal. Breaking the taut silence, everyone gathered there began wielding what they held, each pursuing their own aim.

An abrupt uproar exploded like a bomb, making the brief quiet seem unreal. Gunfire, screams, sharp whistles through the air. Bitter accusations and curses hurled at others. In an instant, the dark alley became a hellscape where life and death intersected.

Through all that chaos, two swordsmen raced like streaks of light: Ash and Zero.

"That ninja has the chip! Kill him!" a Memoryphilia mercenary shouted.

But he failed to kill the ninja.

"I will cover you!"

Ash, the swordsman who had closed in before he knew it, saw to that.

CLANG! CLANG-CLANG!

Racing ahead, Ash knocked aside every threat blocking Zero's path. He was like a wall of steel. Under his protection, Zero charged at his younger brother—the ninja wearing the wolf mask.

CLAAANG!

Their swords collided in midair. Was it the impact? Or was it the sorrow lingering in his heart? Zero's sword trembled faintly.

His younger brother in the wolf mask, however, was different.

"Hmm. Strange things keep happening lately. Who might you be, to use Big Brother's swordsmanship?"

"... What an amusing thing to say, little brother."

Talking was pointless right now anyway. So, after that brief remark, Zero silently swung his sword—to restore his brother's memories.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

Countless sword trails appeared and vanished between the two ninjas, all of them forms from the Thirteen Swords of the Cloud Dragon. Yet there was a clear difference: their willingness to harm their opponent.

The wolf-masked ninja unleashed lethal strikes without hesitation, each carrying his determination to kill the opponent before him. Zero's sword was different. At times its tip wavered; at others he put more strength into it than necessary. Having to cross swords with his own brother was unsettling him.

"Hah!"

A loud electronic shout erupted. It was Ash, fighting both ninjas and all the Memoryphilia mercenaries alone. His flashing optical sensors turned toward Zero.

"Steel your heart!"

Ash's shout cut across the chaotic battlefield and lodged in Zero's mind.

"Who do you intend to save with a sword that dull? Do you truly not know what your siblings need most right now?"

Ash's words struck Zero hard. They were a rebuke—and a lesson.

'Yes. He's right. This is no time to wallow in sentiment.'

Zero realized it. This was no time to ruin everything over such worthless feelings. The tumultuous emotions enveloping him subsided all at once. His sword no longer trembled, and the aura emanating from him gradually steadied.

"Little brother."

After that quiet murmur, Zero spoke to his brother as if giving a warning.

"This will hurt a little."

That was all he said. Zero's figure became a black flash, surging toward his brother.

"What the—!"

Startled, the wolf-masked ninja hastily unleashed a flurry of sword strikes, but Zero no longer indulged him. He simply knocked them aside, twisted past them, and relentlessly exploited the openings he created.

With the tide turning in an instant, the ninja could only retreat. Backpedaling frantically, he suddenly thrust his sword in a spasmodic lunge.

"Die!"

It was both an attack and a momentary opening. Eyes flashing with a keen light, Zero evaded his brother's thrust by a hair's breadth and slipped in close. At the same time, he drove his blade forward.

THUNK.

Zero's sword pierced his brother squarely through the heart.

"G-gah...!"

Watching out of the corner of his eye, Ash spoke in alarm.

"Wait, that did not mean you should kill him!"

At the shock and disbelief in that electronic voice, Zero answered while drawing the blade from his brother's heart.

"This is not enough to kill us."

He seized his slowly collapsing brother by the collar and pulled back the hood covering his mask. Then he inserted the kill switch into the data-implant socket on the back of his brother's neck. A click rang out.

Now pressed so close to his brother that he seemed to be embracing him, Zero quietly spoke the activation phrase.

"Everything you have experienced is nothing but a dream."

At those words, the wolf-masked ninja convulsed. He clutched his head and let out an unintelligible scream before going limp and losing consciousness. Carefully lowering his unconscious brother to the ground, Zero slowly removed the kill switch from his neck. Then he approached Ash.

Still deflecting incoming bullets even now, Ash spoke briefly in his electronic voice.

"Did it work?"

"Yes. Thanks to you."

"Two left, then. Who is next?"

"The third eldest. The rabbit mask."

"Understood. Let us begin at once."

The two swordsmen charged simultaneously. Their next target was the woman wearing the rabbit mask.

* * *

'What is this?'

Jenny couldn't believe it.

'... How did this happen?'

She simply could not believe the carnage before her.

There hadn't been just one or two REST-men with her. There must have been several dozen at the very least. Now fewer than half remained. The rest had been killed, cut in two—or into still more pieces.

Blood flowed like a river. Only one person stood aloof amid it all: Siren. At the sight, Jenny backed away without realizing it.

"Where are you going?" Siren asked as she retreated. "We still have things to talk about, Jenny."

Siren's face was utterly cold and expressionless. Right up until the battle began, she had clearly been trembling like a frightened little animal. She had cried out in a tearful voice that a ninja was chasing her, begging them to save her.

It had been such a delightful sight. Seeing the younger woman who had shone like a star in the sky plunged back into the gutter was wonderful content, enough to bring a smile to Jenny's face just watching it.

But all of it had been an act. A lie. Ever since those two swordsmen suddenly appeared, Siren had changed. She had become the Halloween witch Jenny occasionally watched on her PDA.

Only then did Jenny realize that every last REST-man, herself included, had been dancing in that bitch's palm. She gritted her teeth as Siren approached at a leisurely pace.

"Shoot! Kill that traitorous bitch! Please, somebody kill her!"

It was almost a scream.

At her cry, the surviving REST-men opened fire. A vicious hail of bullets rained down on Siren, but not one touched her. She was moving almost too fast to see.

Instead, it was the gunmen who died. Every swing of Siren's relatively slender blade took another REST-man's life.

Slaughtering armed men with a single sword? To Jenny, who had spent her entire life in Underland's back alleys, it was an utterly unbelievable sight.

Even now, Siren was drawing closer, carrying a long blade with flesh tangled along its steel.

"Ngh!"

Jenny raised her pistol and pulled the trigger. Her inferiority complex—all her jealousy and desire tangled together—flew with the lead bullets.

The magazine emptied, so she replaced it with a fresh one. And fired. At the monster. At everything I had wanted. At the bitch who betrayed me. At Siren. At Anna.

As if pouring out everything she had inside her, she kept replacing magazines and aiming her gun at Siren. But everything had an end. By the time she had expended every bullet she had, Siren was standing right before her—having killed every REST-man, her blade dripping blood.

"Jenny."

"Eek!"

Scrambling backward, Jenny fell on her backside. Siren stood quietly, looking down at the ridiculous sight.

Jenny didn't like that look. So she shouted.

"What! Why are you looking at me like that? Why are you looking down on me? Why do you get to be the only one on top?"

Her rant went on and on.

"Must be nice! Being so great! A Halloween idol! Oh, look, the great swordswoman has arrived! So what, are you here to brag? Show me how well you're doing? You traitor! Do you really think I'm such a jo—"

"That's enough."

Those few words cut her rant short.

"... What?"

Anna crouched down and met Jenny's eyes.

"Stop making me responsible for your life. Yes, we were close, but we were never responsible for each other's lives. Don't you think what you're saying is a little ridiculous?"

"...!"

"You're just jealous. Because I'm not living the way I used to, when you thought I'd always be crawling around Underland with you."

Siren's quiet words became sharp shards of ice, driving into Jenny's heart. They struck home. It was a truth she wanted to ignore, one she knew perfectly well herself.

"And why do you keep calling me a traitor? You're the one who betrayed me."

Jenny could say nothing. So Siren rose to her feet. Just then, Ash and Zero appeared beside her, carrying the three unconscious ninjas over their shoulders.

"My lady. It is time to go."

"Yes, Mr. Ash."

Siren turned away.

"We should head to the hideout for now. I'll lead the way."

"I was about to suggest the same. But..."

Ash lowered his head to look at Jenny, who seemed utterly dazed.

"Do you intend to leave her like this?"

"Leave what?"

Ash looked at Siren for a moment, then shook his head.

"Nothing."

"Then let's go. I'll lead the way."

As if by prior agreement, the three swordsmen turned and left the blood-drenched alley. Their footsteps gradually faded into the distance. Jenny remained rooted to the spot, staring blankly after them.

At some point, a strange sound escaped her lips.

"H-heh... heh, hehehe..."

That strange sound, neither clearly laughter nor sobbing, echoed endlessly around the mouth of the blood-reeking alley.