86 - Volume 10 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD

Welcome back, one and all, to the hell of zero casualties!

Hello, everyone, this is Asato Asato, and this was the short story–collection volume. The central work this time was the story of Shin’s past, Fragmental Neoteny, which details his exploits in the Eighty-Sixth Sector. During its publication on Kakuyomu, Fragmental Neoteny was met with reviews full of screams of agony. Now the readers of the print volumes can join in on all the fun and the screaming!

In addition, we had The Simple Days of Triage Black Tag, which told of a certain day in the Spearhead squadron’s life from Kujo’s perspective; The Banks of the Lethe, the story of Shin’s group on their merry journey to the hereafter; and Fido, a story about the true identity of that cute friend of Shin’s! Do look forward to reading those.

Also, the manga versions of Run Through the Battlefront (illustrated by Hakuya Yamasaki, published in Manga UP!) and Fragmental Neoteny (illustrated by Takuya Shinjou, published in Monthly Comic Alive) have begun serialization. Please check them out!

Now, for some thanks.

To the editors in charge of me, Kiyose and Tsuchiya. You told me to write whatever I liked, and never once did you order me to stop. Thank you so much. To Shirabii, the art of twelve-year-old Shin on the cover was so adorable it made me feel terribly guilty for all the awful things I put him through in the story… To I-IV. If you didn’t upload that art of Fido dancing to Twitter, I wouldn’t have written the extra chapter where Shin names Fido!

To Yoshihara. The front- and back-cover illustrations for Volume 3, showing the Nouzen siblings’ contrast, was very heartrending. To Somemiya, Lena and the Eighty-Six’s battles (be it the snowball fight, the exams, or New Year’s) were very heartwarming. To Yamasaki, your depictions of both large armies clashing and the mental state of the characters shook my heart. To Shinjou. The way you render firing at point-blank range and each detail leading up to it is just too cool… To Director Ishii. Every episode of the anime is thirty minutes of flawlessness. Every week, I could utter amazed wows while watching your works.

And to you, who picked up this book. Thank you so, so much. Shin’s seven-year battle with the Legion, which has been going on since he was eleven years old, will finally begin approaching its conclusion starting with the next volume.

In any case, I hope that for even a short moment, I could take you to the battlefield where one young child soldier transformed into the eastern front’s Headless Reaper. To where that Headless Reaper and his comrades spent their days.

Music playing while writing this afterword: 

“Ranse Eroica” by ALI PROJECT