Chapter 11: As always

Inside the temporary medical tent, Ephnel sat in silence by Fifina’s bedside, stroking the communicator in her hand.

The girl’s voice came through the earpiece.

At first, it was just combat chatter and idle conversation, like any other operational communication.

In the background, the fierce wind from Seikyo Tower could be faintly heard.

But at some point, the static gradually faded away, and the sound of the wind seemed to recede far, far into the distance.

‘She must have taken off the communicator at this point.’

“Umm… Master… Actually, Shion still has more to say…”

Ephnel’s own voice was gone, replaced entirely by Fifina’s soft whispers.

Barely audible, like a flower petal floating before her eyes, ready to be carried away by a puff of wind.

She spoke her words softly, as if in a whisper.

“Because it’s important… so I definitely… definitely can’t leave anything out…”

From here, the communication log switched to a recording.

“Where was I just now… Oh, I remember…”

“A gift you’ve dreamed of, a person you’ve wanted to get closer to… Master, have you ever experienced that…?”

“I really want to know… If only I could understand you a little better…”

“But… Shion has… The person I’ve dreamed of meeting, the person I admire…”

“The person I love…”

“Appearing before my eyes, taking my hand…”

Through the earpiece, Fifina, or rather, Fuurin Shion, murmured softly, as if talking to herself, or perhaps confessing her feelings.

Ephnel lowered her gaze, listening quietly.

“…Such a happy thing, I never dared to dream of it before…”

“Master… Actually, Shion has lied to you… Shion has no parents… So what you said, that ‘joy and happiness aren’t anything special,’ is probably something I can’t understand…”

Fifina’s voice was quiet, like a gentle breeze brushing against her ear, caressing the tips of her hair.

“But what you say can’t be wrong, Master… Because to Shion… you are special, Master… So I’m hoping, if it’s you…”

“I’ve always admired you… From the first time I saw you, I’ve dreamed of the day I could stand by your side… Meeting you, Master, was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me…”

“It feels so unreal…”

“Shion is already very content… but now… I suddenly feel a little unwilling… If… I had been a little braver…”

Her voice paused for a moment.

“I don’t know when I became so greedy… so… I guess my luck has probably run out…”

“Master… Shion still has so much she wants to say to you…”

“Master…”

Her voice grew more and more distant.

The recording ended abruptly here, and a harsh termination tone sounded in the earpiece.

Ephnel clutched the communicator in her palm and took a deep breath.

She raised her gaze to the sleeping girl before her.

Fifina.

She should be called “Fuurin Shion” now.

She lay quietly on the hospital bed, her eyes tightly shut, her face deathly pale.

Her right arm was gone, leaving only a gruesome bloodstain and the treated bandages.

“I’m sorry… for letting you carry this all by yourself for so long…”

Ephnel bowed, closed her eyes, and pressed her forehead against the girl’s left hand, praying softly.

“Please recover soon…”

Without the “Power of Order,” Fuurin Shion would have undoubtedly died from such injuries and blood loss.

She had lost an arm in battle.

With only one hand left, she couldn’t have performed proper emergency treatment.

Yet, she had still done her best to bandage the wound and hold on until the end of the battle, but in doing so, she had missed the critical window for treatment.

Ephnel knew, of course, that Shion had pushed herself so hard because Ephnel’s strategy and decisions required her, and only her.

If she didn’t do it, if she retreated, then Ephnel couldn’t command the entire field.

The Agents’ defensive line would collapse, and the thousands of people awaiting evacuation and rescue would be exposed to the threat of the “Erosion organisms.”

At that time, communications were completely down, headquarters was filled with “Erosion organisms,” combat personnel were severely lacking, and there was no backup whatsoever.

It was all up to Ephnel alone to make up for the desperate lack of combat power.

But even Ephnel, dragging her injured body, had been pushed to her physical limits.

For Fuurin Shion at that moment, with only one hand, she couldn’t have performed timely and complete treatment and bandaging.

So Shion made what she believed was the right choice.

‘If only I had noticed sooner…’

Ephnel thought.

But even if she had “known sooner”… what then?

Between Shion and the thousands of people awaiting rescue, how would Ephnel have chosen?

Abandon Shion?

Or the others?

‘If only I had been the one to lose my right arm… If there was no other choice, then I wish I could have taken Shion’s place.’

But this world didn’t have miracles that could be achieved with a simple wish.

Ephnel buried her head, leaning against the edge of the bed.

Having lost her right arm, Fuurin Shion would never be able to play her beloved violin again, would she?

Likewise, she would never be able to draw her bowstring again.

Unable to chase her dreams, unable to fight.

Perhaps it would be best for her to simply retire as an Agent…

That would be better than anything.

At least she would live.

Ephnel raised her head and held the butterfly hair clip before her eyes.

Fuurin Shion.

Ephnel had first met her at one of her own fan meetings.

The second time was at the “Order” headquarters.

“Since she’s your fan, it should be fine to leave her to you, right?”

At that time, the Commander had brought the timid girl before Ephnel and teased her.

In Ephnel’s memory, she was strong and outstanding.

A well-behaved top student at school, an adored and obedient girl at home.

She was at an age of brilliant and fervent blossoming.

A girl like that shouldn’t have to wither on the battlefield.

But… could she do it?

‘To prevent anyone from dying by telling them not to fight… Isn’t that just a laughable boast?’

Shion was gone.

This butterfly hair clip would find its next owner.

In the end, who was saved?

Ephnel laughed self-deprecatingly.

She suddenly remembered many things.

From the distant past, she had always been walking alone, treading on blood.

The mortality rate for Agents was high, and the number of those injured or disabled was not small.

This was a well-known and accepted fact.

In this operation, all the Agents had been injured to some extent.

Besides Ephnel, Fifina, and the missing Seiran and others, Lily and Fran were also seriously injured.

One had nearly lost an arm, and the other’s body was severely “infected,” putting her in constant danger of “turning into a Remnant.”

In addition, countless civilians and combat personnel had died in the “Erosion” disaster.

Ephnel had tasted pain and farewell countless times.

But she could never get used to it.

‘It would be nice if no one had to get hurt or die.’

But Ephnel was beginning to realize that was something she could never achieve, no matter how hard she tried.

Since becoming an Agent, Ephnel had continuously honed herself, carrying the weight of another person’s share as well.

‘If I were stronger, I could save more people. Then girls like Shion would never have to suffer such pain again and could just bloom peacefully and quietly. My own sister could also grow up without a care in the world, serene and beautiful.’

She thought.

But over the year, no matter how many “Erosion organisms” Ephnel dealt with, they just kept popping up like cockroaches in a dirty ditch, endlessly.

Instead, it was the people around her—the senior who had saved her, the reliable Commander, the stubborn yet straightforward medical officer—who left her one by one.

In the organization, old people left, and new ones filled their places.

In the end, the only familiar face left was Seiran.

But today, Seiran was also missing.

Unconsciously, Ephnel had become a “survivor,” clinging to life from a year ago until now.