4
The evening wind was becoming stronger and harsher. He’d arrived late at night at the central base. What had initially been a soft breeze that caressed the blades of grass had turned into a tempest that made the trees bow over.
“Is this it?!”
The sun had sunk.
As dark clouds covered the sky, he came across a two-story building that was aglow with lights.
“Huh?!”
The Imperial forces’ indoor maneuvering grounds. Iska gulped when he saw the gate to the grounds had disappeared without a trace. The door and lock, the surveillance cameras, and even the surrounding walls had disappeared as though a giant eraser had been taken to them. The physical matter had been erased through the Thorn astral power.
The atrocious destruction reminded him what a threat purebred types really were. Faced with this astral power, the Imperial forces’ fortifications were almost meaningless.
……When I fought her before, I was out in the wild at a canyon.
……I understood this before, but when astral power goes on a rampage, everything’s over in a city!
Maneuvering grounds.
A field that mimicked the vast wastelands spread out before him. The gray sand and hard bedrock created steep slopes. Several large boulders were piled so tall that Iska had to crane his neck to look up at them as they formed something like a mountain range.
“I was growing tired of waiting,” he heard a charming voice say to him.
When Iska turned around, he found a gigantic hole in the grounds’ roof, revealing part of the night sky.
And there stood a girl with the moon shining behind her.
“I am Kissing Zoa Nebulis IX.”
The black-haired girl turned around. She wore no blindfold. Her eyes, where her astral crest was, were slightly glittering.
“You may call me Kissing.”
“I know that.”
“We are not on equal terms yet.”
“……?”
They stared at each other silently for ten seconds before Iska finally realized that had been her way of asking for his identity.
“You want to know my name?”
“Please think of it as an honor. This will be the first time I remember anyone’s name except my dear uncle’s.”
“……Iska.”
“Well then, Iska.”
The girl flung open her arms.
It was almost like an insect unfurling its wings. Above her head, a countless number of black thorns had appeared, blotting out the ceiling.
“Let us go to war.”
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login