Chapter 1 : Escape, and Entry

Long, untamed white hair, faintly glowing yellow strands catching the light.
Rare gray eyes with yellow pupils, a color I’d never seen before.

“……”
“……”

As I locked eyes with the girl in the glass tube, I began to hear the people around the cylinder murmuring.

“Zhur… zhækt’a n’val ūk’rān?”
“Drelmah… vorn-djek. K’zæn veth-mora.”
“…Kza? z’æm’ror vel’zok-hra tēnnak?”
“……”

I still couldn’t understand a word they said.
Meanwhile, the objects descending from the ceiling aimed their long barrels at me, but I didn’t bother preparing.

[TzÆRK—!]
Tat-tat-tat-tang-!

Their projectiles were stronger than arrows, but I knew they couldn’t even scratch my armor.
Besides, I needed to focus—this was my first time unleashing a sword wave.

Bang, Crash-!
[Zhekk’a, næh’ron!?]
“Worked well.”

I had a gut feeling it would, even without testing.

“Kirrk-!”

As the projectile-firing devices shattered, the monsters finally rushed me.

Wooong-
“Kyaa-!”
Swoosh-!

This time, I extended my sword wave, slicing through the wide space in one stroke, cutting them down.

Thud, Thud-
“Zhekk’a… vel’zok-tæ? T’varræn… sæm’ron djek’nar.”
“I thought everything since becoming a Swordmaster was a dream, but using Master’s techniques so naturally proves it’s not.”
[In… in’zhakk! Mak’a—mak’a! T’kren’val! Væ’zur nek’tæ zæl-ørk’val! Zhekk’fria… zæl-karn! T’zorr—!]
“Then… where is this?”

Blue-white walls of an unknown material, unfamiliar devices, strange weapons, and monsters I’d never seen…

“Zhekk’a… zæl-nek’tæ t’kren’val-tē?”

People in odd clothing, terrified of me, speaking a language that was growing familiar yet still alien, and that metallic voice—inhuman but somehow communicating like a person.

[Tol’vessar’zæn—vorr nek’r! Zæl’drokk æn’frak’zhet… sharn-fria’ra!]

The people trembled under the metallic voice, staring at me.

“Ur’… rrhh—AA’AKH—!”
Thud.
“Hm…”

One of them let out a scream and charged, so I struck their chin with my pommel, knocking them out.
I alternated my gaze between the monsters, the charging people, and the girl, lost in thought.

Thud, Thud.
“These monsters aren’t chimeras, but they carry a human presence. A girl who seems to have been experimented on. People controlling these monsters and experimenting on her.”

But the language, clothing, weapons, and monsters were unlike anything I’d ever heard of, even in rumors.
It felt like I’d been dropped into another world, but with so little information, I couldn’t judge based solely on what I’d seen.

“So…”

I stepped toward the cylinder and placed my hand on it.

“For now, I’ll take this girl with me.”
[Nok’tæ… nok’tæ! Zhekk’ar—næh’ron vesk’tē?!]

The metallic voice blared, but with the researchers down, nothing could stop me.

Crack, Crack- Shatter-!
“……”
“Gotcha.”

As the glass broke and water drained, I gently caught the girl as she collapsed limply.

“…Gi, rl?”
“Huh?!”

Her familiar pronunciation startled me, nearly making me drop her, but I steadied myself and looked at her.

“You can talk?”
Tilt.
“…Talk, can, talk. This?”
“Ah…”

It sounded familiar, but…

“Just mimicking me, huh?”
“…Just, mimicking… thing, only.”
“Haha… you don’t have to copy me. Let’s get out of here.”
“…Mimicking, thing.”
Shake, shake.
“Huh?”

The girl shook her head, raised a hand, and pointed in a specific direction.

“…Get out, here.”

This time, she clearly understood and spoke.

“Uh, yeah. Right, let’s get out.”

I didn’t fully grasp what was happening, but I let out a nervous laugh, adjusted my hold on her, and…

Bang, Crash-!
[Nok’tæ… zærn’val! ZÆRN’VAL—t’zorr!]

Following the direction she pointed, I smashed through walls and ran.

Bang, Tat-tat-tat-tang-!
Kirrk-!

More ceiling devices fired projectiles, and monsters appeared, but I dodged or deflected the bullets and outran or cut down the monsters, moving swiftly.

Thud, Crash-!
“How long do I have to go?”
“…How long, go, have to?”
“Ah.”

I’d been shielding the girl from seeing the monster corpses, and since no more appeared, I stopped, gesturing wildly with the hand that had covered her eyes.

Swish, Swish-
“I mean, getting out, when. Ugh… this is tough.”
“…Heh.”

The expressionless girl gave a faint smile and touched the wall.

“…Get out, when. Here.”
“…Oh, uh.”

I hadn’t expected her to smile. Blinking in surprise, I nodded belatedly.

Bang-!
“Huh?”

Thinking she meant to keep going this way, I broke through the wall, and the outside appeared immediately.

“Finally, no more of these d*mn walls.”

At least outside, I might figure out where this is.

“…These, dmn walls?”
“Huh? No, no, you don’t need to learn that.”
“…Dmn walls.”
“Ugh…”

D*mn it, I got frustrated with those walls for a moment, but to say that in front of a kid learning to speak?

“Let’s just go.”
“…D*mn walls.”
“You’re having fun with that, aren’t you…”

I shook my head.
Adjusting my stance to exit the hole, I held the girl securely, stepped onto the edge, and looked out. Debris rolled down from the hole, falling past the blue-white wall for dozens of meters, then along a cliff that looked a hundred meters high.

Crunch…

I tore my gaze from the debris, shattered beyond recognition, and took in the cityscape under the moonlight.

“…What?”

Strange roofs, layered as if stacked haphazardly, glowing white, with patterns resembling those from a far eastern land I’d heard of.
Among them stood several tall buildings, also topped with similar roofs.

Looking up, I saw an enormous, sprawling high-rise, not just architecturally distinct but as if countless people had chaotically built, added, and stacked onto it.
It was a wonder it didn’t collapse.

I wanted to look higher, but the massive building blocked most of my view. Turning left, I saw a dark, foggy sea and coastline, the water black with patches of fluorescent colors.

Finally, I looked right, where I’d been avoiding—a massive circular ring, glowing with white, gold, and various colored lights, half-obscured by the blue-white wall, supported by thick, towering pillars.
Within the ring stood skyscrapers, dwarfing the earlier building and the ring itself.

“What… what is this place?”

Beyond the strange building and skyscrapers, I glimpsed more structures, a city larger than the empire’s capital, as if an entire small nation had been contained within.

Tilt.
“…Get out?”
“Ah, yeah… gotta get out.”

Blinking, I glanced at the girl, but she didn’t seem surprised.
Was she truly unfazed, or was her lack of emotion due to her usual demeanor?

Pushing aside minor curiosities, I leaned further out of the hole, preparing to drop.

“…Get out? Go… here, go?”

The girl pointed downward, her usually slow gestures now slightly urgent.

“Huh? Uh… you mean, just drop down?”
“…Drop, down. Here?”
“Yeah, we’ll just drop.”

I chuckled and nodded, but her gestures grew more frantic.

“…Drop, down. Dmn? Walls, here?”
“Forget the ‘dmn’ part…”

It seemed she understood ‘d*mn’ as something bad.
So—

“You’re asking if it’s dangerous?”
“…Danger, d*mn walls, danger?”
“Pfft.”

Her words were oddly amusing, and I burst out laughing.

“…Danger, no? Not, that?”
“Haha… yeah, ‘d*mn’ is dangerous stuff.”
“…Danger, right. Go, danger.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll protect you. Besides…”

Glancing back—

[Fria’zæn, intraz’zæn- TOL’VESSAR!]
“Kirrk-!”

The metallic voice roared threateningly as monsters gathered.

“We’ve lingered too long. Gotta move.”
“…Da, nger!”
“I’ve got a way to land safely. Don’t worry.”
“…Wor, ry! Worry…!”

Without further delay, I jumped. The girl’s face paled, and she clung tightly to me, burying herself in my chest.
My armor must’ve been hard, but her fear of the situation outweighed that.

Heh.

Her reaction sparked a playful urge.

“Actually, this is my first time doing this.”
“…! ……!”

Her silent outcry was palpable, and I thought pushing further might even make this expressionless girl angry—a sight I suddenly wanted to see, despite knowing her so briefly.

But—

Whoosh-
“It’s fine.”

Pushing those thoughts aside, I gently stepped through the air. Feeling the fall stop, the girl looked up.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-
“…Ahh, hhh, ah…”

Tears welled in her eyes, but she glared at me expressionlessly, clenching her small fists and pounding my armor. Realizing we were still high up, she buried her face again while hitting me.

Tap-tap-tap-
“…Worry, danger. Dmn, walls. Dmn walls.”
“Sorry, I won’t do it again.”

Feeling how scared she was, I descended slowly, wearing a genuinely apologetic expression. Removing my gauntlet, I gently stroked her head. She peeked up.

“…Won’t, do, again?”
“Yeah, I won’t. Sorry.”

She stared as if she could see my face through the helmet, then nodded.

“…Won’t, do, again. Fine.”
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
Thud.

I finally touched the ground and surveyed the surroundings.
We’d landed among the strange roofs, but I’d felt countless eyes on us during the descent, so we needed to move quickly.