Ch.29 Aria's Memoria Page 2
〇Month 〇Day
It should have been an easy mission.
Valkyrie, who had completed basic training, could defeat Weiss with ease.
The instructor is there too.
So everyone believed that there was not even a single chance that something unforeseen could happen.
It happened just as the mission was successfully completed.
The moment the instructor defeated the designated Weiss and tried to enjoy the frivolous atmosphere peculiar to a first battle――the instructor's upper body disappeared.
We were stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Because it was really sudden.
The person who had been watching over us just a moment ago blinked and the upper half of her body was gone.
The lower half of her body collapses in a heap, with a copious amount of blood spilling out.
There was a crunching sound above my head, as if something was being devoured.
When I naturally looked up, I saw a dragon-like Weiss eating a meal with red liquid dripping from his mouth.
The name is - Zelgyros.
The arm that had been hanging limply from its mouth disappeared into as if sucked in, and it swallowed her.
Its wandering eyes, searching for their next prey, caught sight of us - and the girls' cries of despair echoed through the ruins.
Obviously. That was a full-fledged monster that only an A-rank or higher Valkyrie could defeat.
For us, who had only just finished our first battle, this was far too much of an opponent.
And the fate of the pack, having lost their leader, goes without saying.
Its massive body that is the epitome of violence, its sharp claws, its poisonous needles that are fired by spinning its tail, and its breath that is synonymous with dragons.
All it takes for Zelgyros to do is take one action and the light of life goes out.
The familiar faces quickly lose their original appearance.
Humans were so fragile.
I wonder if that's what it felt like for me when I got hit by the truck.
I can't get their moments of grief out of my mind.
I resisted. And i keep resisted.
There's nothing to be gained by running away.
There's no way I could escape in the first place.
Zelgyros can fly, of course, and is many times faster than us.
To use a past life analogy, it's like running away from hungry wild animals on the savanna.
In that case, there must be a better chance of facing the problem than running away.
Of course, even that is close to zero - an astronomically low chance.
With that in mind, I aimed my gun.
Afterall, I'm just a recruit.
However, my grades were the best among my classmates.
And I'm a reincarnated person.
If we count the mental age, then I'm the oldest.
Proud of my achievements and wanting to show off my age, I pulled the trigger and unleashed a flurry of light bullets.
And before I knew it, I had lost consciousness.
What spread out before my eyes was the dreaded twilight sky.
The last thing I remember is shooting a bullet of light at Zelgyros' right eye and receiving its rage breath in return.
But, I was still alive.
There was no sign of Weiss around.
I was filled with joy at having succeeded in grabbing a ray of hope - but my joy quickly cooled down.
The battlefield was so quiet.
There were fresh bloodstains and pieces of flesh splattered everywhere.
When I turned to the right, I saw a thin right arm, reddish-black in color, was lying there.
When I turned to the left, I saw a head that had been mangled like a watermelon rolling around, and my eyes met with the sight of a dead girl, her body twisted in fear.
And on my chest was... her.
The girl who told me about the joy of singing and dancing, and how great idols are - but only the upper half of her body was there.
Then I remembered.
At the very last moment, just as I was about to be hit directly by the breath, she jumped in between.
I wonder why she is here.
I should have been the first to escape.
I felt like I couldn't bear to die.
At the same time, I also wanted to stay back so that she could survive.
That's why.
But still...
That girl was still alive.
Even though only the upper half of her body was left, she was still alive.
Indeed, Valkyries have great physical abilities and vitality.
However, what she did was clearly way beyond the limits of what was acceptable.
Despite this, a faint spark of life remained.
It's because of that breath.
The hellish flames blew the lower half of her body off, and the wounds charred before they had a chance to bleed.
Alive.
But cannot be saved.
How painful that is.
I don't know.
Because in my previous life, I died instantly.
There was no time to feel pain.
However, they must be in the midst of excruciating pain, like hell, that is unimaginable.
Despite that.
Despite that, she mustered her last bit of strength, raised her face, smeared with blood and dirt, and laughed.
Just like that day.
Like the concert just for the two of us.
She showed off her sparkling smile as an idol, delivering it to her fans.
"Please... Forget, me..."
Those were her final words.
Leaving that behind, the light disappeared from her eyes.
She can't laughs anymore.
She can't sing anymore.
The girl who dreamed of becoming an idol ended her life before she could show her brilliance to everyone but one person.
What is this?
What is this world?
I thought this vaguely, without any joy at having survived, nor sadness at having lost, nor hatred.
Maybe I just haven't fully understood it yet.
It feels rather empty, or fluffy.
I pick up my pen feeling almost like I'm in a dream.
But, what needs to be done is――
〇Month △ Day
To be honest, I don't really feel like writing down my feelings.
It's true that I suffered from the Survivors Guild, but the way I write about how I pushed myself so hard would only be seen as "appealing to others that I'm pitiful", which is just plain annoying.
So, today I'll just do a brief explanation.
Well, who am I supposed to explain this to?
Well, it's a diary. I can write whatever I want.
The name of this world is Blue Sphere.
The Blue Sphere is a world with a more advanced civilization than Earth, but at the same time, it is an apocalyptic world with not just one foot, but half its body immersed in dystopia.
The cause is humanity itself.
The planet viewed humanity, who had plundered all of the planet's resources and attempted to expand into space, as a threat, and spread a false, twilight-tinged sky to prevent the human race from expanding into space.
This means that the planet also have a will of their own.
Furthermore, the planet gave birth to a murderous species that only kills humans - the Weiss.
Weisse - in simple terms, it's white blood cells.
I think whoever came up with this name is a total cynic.
Valkyries appeared at a time when more than half of humanity had been hunted.
A biological weapon that has acquired supernatural powers by having suitable girls incorporate Weiss' cells.
Valkyries are destined to fight Weiss with their supernatural powers and mechanical weapons called a Devicer, which also incorporates Weiss's cells.
I think I wrote about this in a previous diary entry.
Well, just treat it as a light review.
The organization that mass-produces these Valkyries and carries out the extermination of Weiss is called "Valhalla."
Commonly known as the last bastion of humanity.
It would be a pain to go into detail, and I'm not that knowledgeable about it myself.
Because I was forced into it.
I don't have the slightest interest in the internal affairs of my school or workplace.
So, to put it extremely simply, I think the best way to think of it is as "an organization the main characters belong to, but has a dark side" that appears in anime, manga, and games.
The big three in Jujutsu 〇sen.
The Earth Federation in Gun〇m.
Fen〇r in God E〇ter.
Well, that's about it.
The only difference is that they're exposing their bad actions to the public.
Valhalla is a place where they can openly admit that they are conducting experiments on humans.
Criticism?
Haha, this isn't a world where we can afford to say such things.
No one can resist the magic words, "go fight them yourself then."
Everyone wants to reap the benefits of humanity's last bastion.
If you could get what you wanted by sacrificing a stranger girl, any decent person would comply.
Let's move on.
Valkyries are created by Valhalla.
In that case, it's only natural that the Valkyries belong to Valhalla, and I am no exception.
A girl who becomes a Valkyrie first undergoes basic training at a facility.
Combat training and idol lessons.
………….
I feel like I'm going crazy writing this.
I understand that is the right way to train musical arts efficiently, but surely there were other options available to us (Anger).
Once that's mostly finished, it's finally time for the real battle.
The first battle is essentially a tutorial in the game, and the Weiss we fight is the weakest.
Moreover, with instructors and classmates all gathered together, this will be a battle under favorable conditions that is unlikely to happen in real fights.
After their first battle, the apprentices will finally graduate and be given the rank of Rookie Valkyrie - F-rank.
Yes, it's the alphabetical ranking system that is common in adventurer guilds.
F rank - New Valkyrie.
E rank - Lower-class Valkyries.
D and C rank - Intermediate Valkyries.
B and A rank - Advanced Valkyries.
S rank - Special grade Valkyrie.
To roughly divide it, it looks like this.
In baseball terms, B and A rank would be the major leagues.
And it would be reasonable to think of S-rank as the same rank as Goddess Ohtani.
Idol activities begin from E class.
That said, I'm still in the training stage.
We aim to raise awareness of our presence among the public by patrolling, carrying out reconstruction work, volunteering, etc.
Our debut concert will come after we are promoted to D-class and form a unit.
The unit here includes not only idol activities but also combat teams.
Sing, dance and fight together
Those in the same unit will be in the same boat. And they'd entrust their lives to each other.
That's about it for now.
For now, my goal is to get A rank.
There is a lot that needs to be done to achieve this.
Up until D rank, you just have to complete missions and prove your abilities, but from that point onwards, in addition to your abilities as a team, you're also expected to produce results as idols.
After all, the number of fans is directly linked to musical arts power.
The more fans you have, the more powerful your musical arts will be.
Yes, I have to sing girly songs, dance and captivate my fans.
To be honest, I still have some resistance.
But I can't keep throwing a tantrum anymore.
Regular duties will begin tomorrow.
Let's carve it one by one.
〇Month □ Day
In solitary confinement now.
My body hurts.
But I have no regrets.
It all started with people talking behind my back, being the only survivor.
People with bad mouths were spreading word everywhere that I was a "coward who abandoned her allies," "the Grim Reaper," or a "war criminal."
Thanks to that, other Valkyries were looking at me with rather cold eyes.
It's almost like being ostracized by an entire village.
At first, I was willing to accept it.
It's true that I felt guilty for being the only one to survive.
That being said, I made sure to get revenge on those who spread the rumor.
My motto from my previous life has been to hit back if hit.
I'll spare you the details, but it turns out that Roaches are also hated even in the other world.
However, a naive woman who believed the rumor at face value made this statement.
"In the first place, isn't it impossible for them to be defeated by an F-rank Weiss? It's a total disgrace to Valkyrie. Having a weakling like that would only damage Valkyrie's reputation, so I'm glad that they die quickly. I feel so refreshed."
Well, of course I punched her.
And then I was counterattacked.
I'm F-rank.
The opponent was C-rank and the other unit members were nearby.
If you're already inferior in terms of skill to begin with, and then you're also outnumbered, that's what's bound to happen.
But I have no regrets.
Of course I have no intention of apologizing.
I would rather die than bow my head to someone who doesn't know anything and yet laughs at the dead.
I was prepared to give up my dignity as a man, but I had no intention of giving up my dignity as a person.
...Haaa.
For now, I guess I'll just focus on mental training.
〇Month x Day
I got released. The air from the outside world is fresh.
Stretching my body as I stepped out of my cell, the girl in question was waiting for me.
Oh, what's going on? I thought, and was about to take a fighting stance, but the girl bowed her head before I could.
Apparently, she investigated what had happened to us after our fight.
When the girl discovered the truth, her face was pale and she apologized.
Honestly, what does it matter if you just say "I didn't know"?
Whether you know it or not, you should be able to tell the difference between what is okay to say and what is not.
For that reason, although I have no intention of forgiving her, I have decided to put away my sword for the time being.
It's a bit pathetic to constantly attack someone who is truly remorseful.
Well, if it had been a public apology I would have brushed it off.
There's nothing more annoying than an apology that elicits sympathy from others.
I wonder what that is.
A move that reverses the roles of victim and perpetrator and forces forgiveness through peer pressure.
This tendency is more prevalent among women (prejudice).
And Valhalla is overwhelmingly female.
...I guess I need to get a hold of their weak spot.
I guess I'll go on a mission for now.
△Month □ Day
I've been promoted to E rank. Hurray.
I feel like my body is a little shaky, but I can keep going.
△ month ◇ day
I said I could last time. Yea, that was a lie.
I just collapsed.
I was apparently overworked.
You idiot.
I don't have time to spare, so I was trying to be careful to avoid this from happening.
According to the doctor, PTSD has caused a slight disconnect between the body and mind.
Of course I wouldn't notice.
I was scolded for cramming too much work into my schedule.
I had no choice but to take a few days off.
△Month §Day
During my rest, I had some free time so I decided to try out some of the entertainment in this world.
It's a dystopian world, but there are still games, manga, and anime.
And a VR machine.
In other words, a full dive.
It is said that even a VRMMO has been released.
I think I'll give it a try.
Maybe I can at least gain some fighting experience.
△ month B day
This me, won't forgive, you
△ month Δ day
This me, will eat, you whole
△ month ± day
DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
△ month Ε day
I'm back to normal!
I should be, yeah.
The moment I logged in for the first time, I was killed while they let out a mocking laugh that was full of end-of-the-world vibes like, "Yeehaw, it's a prey!"
In other words, PK.
Ha? I thought as I respawned, only to be killed by another guy.
After that was repeated so many times, I reached my limit.
For now, I've paid them all back, so I think it's time to get back to my duties.
△ month Z day
People say rumors last for 75 days, but it seems that this is common in other worlds as well.
Just when I thought the bad rumors about me had calmed down, another one started spreading.
Women's society is so scary.
The target is the daughter of a company president who is one year older than me.
Apparently her father's company went under, and at the same time he was caught up in a financial scandal and arrested, suffering the worst of both worlds.
In fact, even the daughter of a company president can become a Valkyrie.
I thought for sure that only orphans and commoners like me were here, and that the wealthy ladies were simply sipping tea elegantly. However, it seems that it was the company that was in trouble.
That's probably actually the case.
So, regardless of her personality, the title of "CEO's Daughter" attracted hate from ordinary Valkyries.
However, that young lady also became a Valkyrie, so it's completely unreasonable.
Well, I guess the truth doesn't really matter.
Just like the slander against me.
In short, anything is fine as long as it gives them an excuse to vent your frustrations or punch someone they don't like.
My position as a thorn on the side is gone.
It's not hard to imagine what's going to happen.
△ month Γ day
ーPlease help me.
The one who told me that was one of my supposed friends.
In other words, rather than just spreading bad rumors about me, she was one of the people who bullied me in a malicious manner.
Right? What kind of friend is that?
By the way, the bullying this woman did to me involved pouring a bucket full of sewage over the toilet.
So I did the same thing and dumped a bucket full of roaches over the toilet.
Of course, the door is blocked.
I hate roach to death too, but I was prepared to even swallow poison to get revenge.
After that, she would start foaming at the mouth and collapse whenever she saw me, but that didn't happen today.
She was as shaking like a newborn fawn though.
The girl said, trembling.
ーI want you to help senpai.
ーSenpai isn't like the rumors say.
ーIn reality, she is stronger than anyone, more dignified than anyone, and kinder than anyone. She's like a flower out of reach.
Look who's talking.
I'll say it again.
Look who's talking.
I can't believe a rumor monger is saying this stuff.
Furthermore, when I asked her why she asked me, someone with whom she had no connection, to help, she said, "Because I thought that a monstrous villain like you could solve the problem in no time with an unconventional method."
Are you kidding me?
However, if the girl's testimony is true, it's certainly disgusting.
I know better than anyone how outdated the Valkyries' culture is.
That said, I have things I need to do too, so I can't take the initiative, but I did promise to step in and stop them if I saw them.
I remember the picture the girl showed me.
As I mentioned earlier, we had absolutely no contact at all, so I didn't even know her name, let alone what she looked like.
Her appearance was like a super fusion of a samurai and a Japanese woman.
She has moist and lustrous black hair the color of a crow's wet feathers, and purple eyes that are dignified yet contain a hint of kindness.
Her height is higher than average for a woman, and her figure makes you wonder if she's on a business trip from A〇r Lane.
Her name is, if I remember correctly...
ーKaguya Mutsuki.
――――――――
Author's note :
・Appealing to others that I'm pitiful
This is a prime example of the cynicism that the protagonist occasionally mentions.
Although she has recovered now, she was still in full swing at the time.
The protagonist is that type of person, so she doesn't like to write her true feelings, even in her diary.
She write her diary to poke fun at herself, but it's entirely possible that she still has nightmares every day. What a pain.