Part 2 Chapter 56

Part II – Episode 56

A ringing struck the world.

.

.

.

From somewhere inside the violently shaking airship, I heard someone desperately crying for help.

.

.

.

Slowly, I raised my arm.

The flesh that had been half-melted by the heat, exposing red muscle and the white bone underneath it, was rapidly – yet unmistakably –- to its original form.

The cockpit had already lost its ceiling.

The wind rushing through the cabin as the vessel plummeted toward the ground made it difficult to even keep my eyes open.

Creak. Screech. Kiiiing—

The bolted-down seats rattled violently.

After checking the belt securing me in place, I felt around for my bag.

Ash was gone.

“Ash! Where are you? Cough—Ash!”

I frantically searched for Ash.

I found Ricky lying unconscious, while Michele sat trembling with his hands clasped together, muttering through a voice thick with tears.

“Deus, O Deus, please have mercy… A-ahhh! D-damn it! Deus! Bless your child—Aaaagh!”

Michele’s creaking seat was already tilting out through the shattered side of the airship.

Ting—

The bolt that had somehow held on until now finally came loose and dropped away.

I immediately reached out to save him as he tilted towards his doom.

“Michele!”

Grabbing his arm with one hand, I smacked his face hard before panic could knock him unconscious.

“Ugh—!”

“Get a grip! Pull yourself together and use your free hand to undo the belt around your waist! We need to drop the seat!”

“Mr. Fager! D-damn it, save me! Please save me!”

Michele reached out with both hands and desperately clung to my arm. It was the kind of action that would get us both killed. Thanks to him, my own seat was now only moments away from being ripped free as well.

“If you don’t undo that belt, I’m letting go, you coward!”

Only then did some sense seem to return to his head.

Realizing that he would be dragged down together with the seat, Michele looked up at me with pleading eyes.

“Y-you absolutely cannot let go! Don’t let go of my hand! Please!”

“I got it, so hurry up and unbuckle it!”

With trembling hands, Michele fumbled desperately with the belt around his waist.

The moment the seat detached from it, he immediately wrapped both hands around my arm even tighter.

Next–

I have to figure out my next move immediately, or people are going to die.

Biting my lip, I desperately searched for a way to keep Michele alive.

Then—

From above came the cry of a familiar bird of prey.

A massive figure soared through the wind, circling the crashing airship.

“Ash!”

“W-what in the world is that monster…?!”

Ash’s bright, alert eyes were clearly trying to tell me something.

And I understood his intention instantly.

“Alright, I’m throwing him, catch!”

“W-wait, what? …AAAAAAAH!”

Putting every bit of strength into my arms, I hurled Michele as far away from the airship as possible.

His face, twisted with despair and terror, rapidly shrank into the distance.

Still too shocked to even scream properly, he flailed helplessly through the air—

and moments later, a massive shadow snatched him up.

Then it dove downward at a speed far greater than that of the falling airship.

…He’ll live, right?

‘Yeah. He’ll survive.’

The real problem was the people still left behind.

One of the pilots was already dead.

As for the other, his seat was empty, which meant he had either escaped by some miracle or been blown away by terrible luck.

‘Ricky…’

Fortunately, she was only unconscious. After undoing the belt that had been keeping Riki alive, I pulled her into my arms like a child and unfastened my own belt as well.

If we stayed inside the wreckage, our only ending would be death.

I patted the dead pilot’s shoulder.

Then I threw myself out of the airship.

Fwoooosh—!

The violent wind tearing past us obscured my vision.

Holding Ricky tighter against me, I looked around.

…Damn.

Were we already that close to landing?

Not far away stood what appeared to be the large airfield of the Corphinium base.

It was already engulfed in flames. To make matters worse, the sea was a very huge distance away. If we hit the ground like this…

‘Even if I survive somehow, Ricky won’t.’

But that only applied if we hit the ground with nothing but our bodies.

Shrrng.

I managed to draw my sword. Half of the broken blade came out with it.

Ash will be back soon.

Until then, my highest priority was slowing our descent.

Directly below us, both the airship and our falling bodies were headed toward a forest.

I swung my sword hard toward the ground.

The sword’s energy shot outward in a long arc, and the recoil briefly checked our endless free fall.

KWA-BOOM!

But that was only for a brief moment.

The brief pause caused by the recoil was quickly rendered meaningless as our speed began increasing once more.

This wasn’t enough.

If the sword energy’s reach were longer—

If it were long enough to connect my sword to the ground—

couldn’t we descend slowly?

I closed my eyes.

And painted a picture inside my mind.

Perhaps this wasn’t all that different from flicking out energy with my fingers.

I needed to think of energy as an extension of the sword itself.

A vision of sword and energy advancing together.

Not firing away and disappearing—

but remaining in place, as though frozen in time.

I swung my sword once more.

*

Jean had no time to look up at the sky.

“Hic… it hurts… please save me… it hurts…”

She tore a strip from her clothing and hurriedly pressed it against the child’s abdomen to stop the bleeding.

There were no painkillers here. No anti-inflammatory medicine either.

The few medics that could still be found were already occupied tending to the dying—or those only moments away from death.

The tragedy had unfolded far too quickly.

“Run—!”

By the time that voice was heard, it was already too late.

Frame Balls fell from the sky. Not the smaller frame balls that could be compared to canon shells, no. These were massive—so large that a grown adult could not have wrapped their arms around one.

The areas that suffered the worst damage from the bombardment were the supply depot and the air-raid shelters.

Most of the supplies intended for transport into the Wall of Fire had been consumed by the flames.

And worse—

‘Of all times, they chose to attack while civilians were staying here. Bloody demons.’

But why?

The expedition into the Wall of Fire had been scheduled under an agreement with the Calamity Rein.

So why launch an attack this suddenly?

The civilians gathered here had been preparing to reunite with family members inside the Wall of Fire.

Not everyone got to reunite either. Only a tiny fraction had been selected—barely one or two accompanying each party.

Every one of them had been separated from loved ones for years.

“Can’t I go see my mom? I miss my mom… sob…”

Jean clenched her teeth.

“Lady Jean.”

At that moment, a soldier wearing the dark-green uniform that served as the trademark of the Kontaninos Republic came running toward her in a panic.

“Huff… huff… There you are! An emergency assembly order has just been issued for all parties entering the Wall of Fire, as well as every supporting guild!”

Jean asked a nearby adult.

“Please take care of the child. Please help so they can at least receive some simple treatment, and cover them with something warm so their body temperature doesn’t drop.”

“Y-yes, of course. You’re Swiftblade Jean, right? We’ll take care of the child, so please go on ahead!”

“It was all the work of the Calamity Followers, right? That’s right, isn’t it?”

“Please, kill that Calamity Rein who caused this disaster!”

Could she do that?

Jean recalled the moment she had faced Calamity Rein. Just remembering that overwhelming presence made the tips of her fingers tingle. As she was now, even if she stood before calamity together with the Sword Demon and the Flame King, she could not picture herself bringing it down.

“We’ve received word that unidentified flying vessels are heading toward Siaggot.”

“So the ceasefire is as good as broken.”

That was why they had bombed the base.

“Part or all of the parties may return to Siagot. And of all things, most of the supply warehouse has burned down too.”

At that moment.

A massive wave that made the clouds tremble reverberated through the sky.

“…What?”

And then, a dazzling light rose into the air.

At first, she thought a second sun had risen. That was how intense and brilliant the light was.

But the light soon became a line.

And the line soon became a pillar.

Before that rapturous torrent of light, touching the ground, the people fell silent.

Among those who seemed spellbound, someone murmured.

“Deus……”

Thump, thump. Her heart began to pound rapidly.

Jean’s eyes widened. She gripped the sword at her waist tightly, then suddenly broke into a run toward the direction where the pillar of light had descended.

“…Jean?”

A startled voice called out from behind her.

“Jean! Where are you going?! Come back! You may have to return to Siagot— Jean!”

—

Daisy and Jean reunion let’s fucking goooooo

Also, pls adulting advice. Should I buy whey protein or the formal black shoes I need for my internship….