Armor of Catastrophe Read online

  “Me, too. I thought the same thing. There’s no other reason or anything, and I’ve never once regretted it…Now let’s have some tea. And then let’s go look at the ocean. It’s a Twilight stage outside right now, so I’m sure the sunset will be beautiful.”

  Blackout.

  Spotlight.

  In the center of the white ring of light, two human figures appear, standing huddled close together. Chrome silver and saffron yellow.

  The light that follows highlights a broad vista. The gentle ocean, the sun sinking into the horizon. The reflected light of the setting sun glittering between the waves strongly resembles the colors enveloping the two who stand watching it.

  The night view of Tokyo Bay seen from Akatsuki Futo Park in the southwest corner of Odaiba was so beautiful, it almost made him wonder if it was really a 3-D graphic reconstructed from social camera images.

  However, he could see none of the airplanes that would have been taking off and landing nonstop at Haneda Airport on the opposite shore if this had been the real world; in their place, a large pterosaur Enemy danced lazily in the orange sky. Blowing salt water up high into the air along the coast of the bay was not a whale, but rather a plesiosaur.

  Every time he looked out on the vast Unlimited Neutral Field like this with Blossom, he simply couldn’t stop himself from thinking.

  Just what exactly was this world created for? And what purpose is there in inviting only young children into it?

  With his elementary school–student knowledge, he couldn’t even imagine the total amount of money that would have to be spent on building and managing such an enormous system. And up to that point, the so-called BB players had not paid a single yen in fees. There were all kinds of rumors that it was maybe market research for a major game company or a PR company’s new marketing method, but if that were the case, the program was distributed to far too few people to produce any real results.

  About a year earlier, a hundred or so children had received client packages from an untraceable transmission source. Of these, a mere 30 percent had been able to make it to level two, where they could exercise the right to copy and install an unlimited number of times as a guardian—thirty people. From there, it had spread out again in the community of game-loving children as a medium, and although at present it had expanded to a total of five hundred people centered in the south of the twenty-three wards of Tokyo, this was still a scale so small as to make no sense for a business sales strategy.

  Right from the start, the requirements to become a player of this Brain Burst game were too strict. There weren’t that many children who had been constantly wearing a Neurolinker since immediately after birth, allowing them long hours of full-dive experience. At any rate, the Brain Burst program was equipped with an installation compatibility checker module, so players could secretly check whether or not someone met the requirements in the background before sending them a file through a wired or ad hoc connection. Falcon hadn’t found a single person around him who qualified. And so, although he was already at level five, he had recently abandoned all efforts to become a “parent.”

  Why? This parallel universe containing infinities in terms of space and time, what was it for…

  “Are you thinking about it again, Fal?” Saffron Blossom murmured suddenly, coming to stand beside him. He blinked rapidly beneath his silver mask and cut off his rambling thoughts.

  “Oh…yeah…I don’t really feel it in the general field, but looking out at the Unlimited Field like this, I can’t help but wonder. About where I—where we’re being taken.”

  “…I know. I get that feeling…I think. Lately, when I talk to my friends or my family in the real world, sometimes, they give me these weird looks. I don’t mean for anything to change, but without even knowing it, I’m using these words and things I didn’t used to use…”

  Blossom leaned into him helplessly, and he put a hand on her shoulder to pull her closer.

  “There’s no way around it,” he continued. “I mean, we’ve spent—no, lived five years in this world already. We’ve seen a lot of things in that time, talked about a lot of stuff, had a lot of thoughts. If we’re just talking the age of our souls, then we’re way past sixth grade already. But…it’s not all bad, you know. The old me would have been too embarrassed to even be in the same place with a girl like you, much less talk to you.”

  “Ha-ha! From where I’m standing, you’re still very much a kid, Mr. Peregrine.” Blossom smiled slightly, but her cherubic face mask was soon colored with sorrow again. “Hey, Fal? You hear about…about what happens to players who lose all their points and have the BB program uninstalled?”

  He froze instantly at these murmured words, but then quickly released that tension and took pains to make sure his voice was level as he replied, “I’m sure it’s just a rumor. I mean, if you’re talking about that thing where players who lose the program also lose all their memories of the Accelerated World…I mean, it’s totally impossible. They can’t just manipulate a person’s memories like that.”

  “But if we’re talking about that, the technology to accelerate your thoughts a thousand times, I mean, I couldn’t believe it at first. To be honest, I don’t fully understand the mechanism even now. Which is why I thought maybe deleting memories might be true, too…”

  Given that his own grasp on the fundamental technology behind Brain Burst was also fairly tenuous, Falcon could only sit in silence.

  Both of them were first-generation BB players, players with no “parents,” thought to number fewer than twenty already now, and neither had ever had a child of their own. So they hadn’t had any opportunity to actually verify the rumor that players who lost the program also lost their memories.

  Even if they did have such an opportunity, however, getting proof was likely difficult. Because according to the rumor, those who left the Accelerated World lost interest in and detailed knowledge of Brain Burst rather than completely losing all related memories. A manipulation of the mind with a buffer, as it were, that didn’t create a blank spot in the player’s memory or make too much of a strange impression on the people around them. This might have been a more terrifying measure than a complete erasure of the memories.

  One day, a comrade from the same Legion or a partner bound by the strong bond of parent and child suddenly forgets themselves—or rather, they don’t; they simply no longer show any interest in the whole thing. They treat all those other people as acquaintances they don’t care one way or the other about. If that was how it ended, maybe it would have been better to be made into a complete stranger. At least then, there would still be the slim chance that you could meet and become friends once more…

  These chilly thoughts suddenly shook his avatar. And then a whispered voice reached his ears:

  “Fal. The thing is, I—in a little while, I think I might make a child.”

  “What…”

  He stared down at his partner’s face, her words completely unexpected. Blossom smiled for a moment as if embarrassed, but regained her composure soon enough and started speaking quietly.

  “I never had the confidence that I could take care of a child, so I never managed to take the plunge, but lately, my win ratio in the general duels has stabilized, and I’ve collected a fair bit of know-how about fighting Enemies, right? So that means that even if my child’s in danger points-wise, I should be able to support them to a certain extent. Still, that doesn’t mean I’d spoil them and transfer them for free, y’know? Maybe like they could pay me back when they hit level four and can go hunting Enemies?”

  “Uh…Uh-huh, right…”

  He nodded as he thought about how Blossom would for sure be a strict, but kind and solid mom—or rather, “parent.”

  Turning her gaze away from Falcon and out toward the commanding view of the Pacific Ocean beyond Tokyo Bay, Saffron Blossom said something even more surprising. “And, like, this is way, way in the future, but I’m thinking of starting a Legion one day.”

&nb
sp; “Huh? You’re gonna do the Territories?” he asked, flustered, and her short, golden yellow hair swung wildly from side to side.

  “No, no. This area around Odaiba’s been a blank zone all this time, so maybe I’ll just make a territory announcement, but that’s not my goal. I don’t want to make a fighting Legion…I dunno, more like a cooperative Legion.”

  “Cooperative? Like everyone helping each other?”

  “Yeah, like that. I said before that if my child was in trouble, I’d give them points and then they’d pay me back one day, right? I was kind of thinking I could maybe turn that into a larger-scale system.”

  His partner’s words had at last gone beyond the realm of his comprehension, and he cocked his head deeply to one side. Blossom whirled around to face him and took both of his hands.

  “Look, Fal,” she said, the look on her face even more serious. “We’ve been a tag team since we were level one, right? Both of us lost ourselves in the fight, and we rose up to levels two, three, four. And before you know it, we’re level five. But now I think we were incredibly lucky. I mean…it’s not something I especially like to think about, but the flip side of us leveling up is who knows how many BB players losing all their points and leaving the Accelerated World…”

  “……”

  It was just like she said. He personally had only seen that instant when someone’s points dropped to zero a few times, but it was a definite fact that a mere eleven months after the game started, four out of five of the first generation had already disappeared.

  When he was unable to even nod at the weight of her words, the small hands gripping his wrists moved gently, as if to comfort him. At the same time came a soft murmur.

  “Sorry, Fal. It’s not like I especially regret anything. Brain Burst’s a fighting game; someone has to win, someone has to lose. I’m not trying to deny that basic principle. But…But, you know, the idea of my points dropping to zero, of losing this program, my memories, everything, of never being able to come to this world again…It’s just too harsh. I’ve seen so many people with only a few points left, and they didn’t look like they were having fun at all. And if it’s not fun anymore, it’s not a game…”

  Maybe that harshness is exactly what the mysterious game developer wanted. The thought flitted through his mind, but he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he asked gently, “So…you want to make a cooperative Legion?”

  “…Yeah. We’ll save up a lot of points and then lend them to people about to lose theirs. Once they’re stabilized, they can participate in Enemy hunts to pay them back. These five years, I’ve learned all the tricks of hunting, so much so that I hate it. As long as we have this know-how, we should be able to seriously reduce the risk of accidents in Enemy fights.”

  “But…but, like.” Trying desperately to understand this plan of hers, he very timidly asked, “If all the players joined this cooperative system, then there wouldn’t be anyone losing all their points anymore, so the points players spend on acceleration and leveling up would just come from Enemy hunting? Is something like that possible?”

  “It can be done. I’m sure we can do it…No, we have to do it,” she said, a serious light he had never seen before shining in her pale blue eye lenses, so reminiscent of the spring sky. “I—The other day, I heard a terrible rumor. Some Legions are looking for kids with acceleration compatibility at arcades and amusement parks, and once they find one, they forward them the BB program.”

  “I-it’s a bit crude, for sure, but wouldn’t that work as a way to increase the number of players?”

  “You don’t get it. They’re not taking those kids they make their children under their wings or anything. They don’t tell them what Brain Burst is, they just fight duel after duel directing or on a local net, and steal every one of their child’s initial hundred points. And then the child’s forced into an uninstall…”

  “Wh…” He swallowed hard. This wasn’t canvassing. This was just hunting, wasn’t it? Not Enemies, but players.

  “If it’s true,” Blossom said tensely, staring at the speechless Falcon from extremely close up, “then it’s just wrong. Even if the system lets it happen, it’s absolutely wrong. I don’t have any real power yet, but…But I have to do something. Bit by bit even, I have to do what I can. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but I’ll make a child, try out a point loan structure, start up a Legion…so that someday, everyone in this world can laugh and have fun with this game.”

  Before he knew it, he was holding Blossom tightly. “I’ll help,” he murmured earnestly to the slender avatar in his arms. “Although I’m the one with no power, just a tiny metal color…For you, for this world, I’ll do everything I can. Brain Burst is a fighting game, and games should be fun. I-I’ve had fun fighting alongside you up to now, Fron. Ever since I met you, I’ve looked forward to tomorrow coming. I want to share that with other players.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, me, too,” Blossom replied in a shaky voice. “I’ve had fun with you, Fal. And we’re going to keep having fun for a long time, I know it. Let’s make it more fun together. I know the two of us can do it.”

  He hugged her tightly once more and then gently pushed her shoulders back. He held up a finger to indicate she should wait a second, before touching his own health gauge in the top left of his field of view and opening a menu window. He ran his finger through his storage and turned a single item into an object.

  A card that glittered silver like a mirror. Most items you could get in the Unlimited Neutral Field were in the shape of cards like this at first. Enhanced Armament was no exception; when you got some in dungeons or from Enemy drops, it was transferred to your storage sealed in a card. Ownership was set the first time someone equipped it.

  He took the card from the window and held it out to Blossom.

  Small letters were carved onto the surface—THE DESTINY. The silver armor he had obtained in the depths of the Castle, likely the world’s best.

  “Fron, I want you to have this. I’m sure it’ll make your dreams come true.”

  Blossom raised timid hands and placed them gently on the card.

  At that moment, they had no way of knowing yet that this incredible power would distort both of their destinies…

  Blackout.

  Spotlight.

  In the circle of white light, a single slender figure appears.

  Coloring its entire body is a saffron yellow reminiscent of sunlight in spring. However, a shade that did not previously adorn it can be spied here and there. A mirrorlike silver glitters on the forehead and chest, legs and arms.

  The short hair, in the shape of a bud beginning to flower, hangs forward, toward the ground. Both arms are spread out to her sides, and the slim legs stretch out loosely, helplessly. She is able to remain unwaveringly upright in such an unstable position because something restrains her from behind.

  Thin, something clipped from a large board, matte black—a cross. Perhaps it emits some kind of magnetic force; the saffron-colored figure is stuck fast.

  The illumination spreads gradually to finally light up her surroundings.

  The ground, lustrous, greenish, metallic. Bizarre, similarly metallic insects rustle as they squirm along. The cross stands at the bottom of a large basin, an indent like a mortar without its pestle. Very close by, enormous pits open gaping black mouths, the sides wet with clear mucous.

  The spotlight widens even farther outward.

  At the edge of the basin, about thirty meters in diameter, several dozen human figures form a circle. Not moving nor speaking, they keep silent and stare at the cross at the bottom of the depression. Almost as if they know something is about to happen. They hold their breath, open their eyes wide, and fear this something—or eagerly await it.

  From among these silhouettes, a single one falls to the ground.

  A small body with a silver luster tinged black. Slim limbs, round helmet. Perhaps trying desperately to stand again, the sharp, tapered fingers dig deep into the metallic eart
h. However, the figure cannot move. He is restrained on both sides, pinched between two thin, matte-black panels, resembling the cross at the bottom of the basin.

  The metallic insects crawling around sluggishly abruptly begin running in all directions. They crawl into the creases like the gills of a living creature that cover the ground and disappear instantly.

  Zrr zrr zrr. Zrr zrr zrr. The low, weighty sound of vibration echoes from the enormous pit at the center of the depression.

  “Stop…Stop! Stoooooooop!!”

  He didn’t know anymore if he had screamed the word dozens of times or hundreds, only to have it swallowed up in vain each time by the sky in the Unlimited Neutral Field.

  Countless thin scratches were carved out of the ground in front of him, where he clawed at it with his fingers. But no matter how much force he put into it, he could move only from the elbow. Although the jet-black panels squeezing his arms from the shoulders didn’t have any thickness to speak of, they clamped tightly against the avatar of Chrome Falcon with an absolute pressure, like an enormous vise.

  More incredibly, the player controlling these two panels had made the inky black cross appear, far away at the bottom of the depression, to restrain Saffron Blossom at the same time.

  Blossom hung limply, no longer having the strength to move. And with good reason: The intensity of the agony she had tasted in this past hour or so far surpassed even the sum total of all the pain ever experienced in the Accelerated World up to that point.

  And the fierce rage and despair that raced through Falcon’s mind was also something he had never before in his life experienced.

  “Stop…Stop, please stop…” He pushed a cracking voice out from between clenched teeth. At the same time, he dug out new parallel lines in the hard ground of the Purgatory stage with his avatar’s fingers. But he couldn’t move. This sense of helplessness further deepened his despair.

  He felt the eerie vibration in his body. It was coming again.

  That something was crawling out from a hole, more than two meters in diameter, at the center of the basin next to the cross holding Blossom up. A dozen tapered tentacles appeared first, waving back and forth. These were followed by two rows of red lights shining in the depths of the darkness. These lights—eyes—instantly made onlookers feel the creature’s insatiable hunger. The countless eyes glittered fiercely the instant they detected Blossom, only steps away.