E-book Bonus: Prologue of the Girl Who Lost Everything
A regular soldier, body modified, faces their first battle against Debris.
The hours-long fight ends in a crushing victory, not a single casualty.
Apparently, this is a big deal.
The UN forces have taken heavy losses in past battles, so this kind of win was unexpected.
The higher-ups are buzzing with excitement.
Finally, humanity can hold onto hope for the future, they say.
…All I want is to slaughter every last one of them.
What’s there to celebrate? What’s so great about this?
The Normals—unmodified humans—are the only ones cheering.
For us, there’s nothing.
We just survived.
That’s the only relief we feel.
Anger and disappointment are all that bubble up at this disconnect with the Normals.
What am I supposed to hope for moving forward?
Even if I survive this war, what kind of future awaits?
I can’t even imagine it.
But whatever’s waiting, it won’t be happy.
No matter how this war ends, I’ve got nothing left.
Escaping reality, I look to the sky.
Canada’s lukewarm breeze blows past, indifferent.
The clear blue sky doesn’t care about my feelings, stretching endlessly.
Back at the barracks, those of us who survived the war are hit with violent tremors.
Modified or not, with all our newfound strength, we’re still just regular people. Months ago, we were living normal lives—there’s no way we could stay sane being thrown into war.
Especially against today’s Debris, literal monsters.
The purebred Bayonettas were straight out of a movie or CGI nightmare.
Tomorrow, we’ll have to face them again.
Despair crashes over us, and everyone starts crying.
“I can’t take it… I wanna go home… I just wanna go home…”
“I don’t wanna die, don’t wanna die, don’t wanna die, don’t wanna die…”
“Ugh… W-Waaah…”
People tremble and sob.
Crying’s one thing, but some start spiraling into reckless despair.
“Why me!? Why me!?”
“I’m not dying in a place like this!! Screw this!!”
“I’m getting out!! I’ll escape, no matter what!!”
Grown men scream, trying to bolt from the barracks.
A girl with long blonde hair tied in twin tails approaches them.
“You should stop.”
“Who’re you!?”
“Stop trying to escape.”
“What!? Don’t mess with me!! Why can’t I—”
“You’ll just get killed. Forgot the order? Desertion in the face of the enemy is a death sentence.”
Her words freeze the men.
The repeated warning before we got here: “Desertion is death.”
Recalling it, they retort in shaky voices.
“W-We’ve got these bodies now… No way a Normal could kill us bio-soldiers!! Death sentence? I’ll kill them—”
“The UN forces aren’t dumb enough to not plan for that. I won’t bore you with details, but step out of this barracks, and your body explodes.”
“…”
“If you still wanna run, go ahead. A couple of you blowing up should stop everyone else from trying something stupid.”
The blonde girl spouts outrageous things.
It sounds like a joke, but her words carry eerie weight.
She’s too detached.
Her modifications are far beyond ours.
A young teen girl, yet her eyes are murkier than anyone’s.
Her words trigger the men to break down, wailing as if a dam burst.
There’s no escape, they cry, clutching their heads.
The scene before me is pure hell.
For some reason, I laugh.
Everyone’s suffering.
I’m not the only one in pain.
Everyone here’s bound by the same cruel fate.
Hugging my knees, giggling softly, I hear an out-of-place cheerful voice.
“Takashi-kuuun! Bankuuun! Found her! She’s probably, like, early teens!”
“Nice one, Rikka!! I’m headin’ over!!”
“Sweet, Rikka~! Heh heh… Don’t let her get away ‘til we get there~!”
Following the girl’s call, two boys come running.
Their bright, carefree laughter is jarringly out of place.
I lift my head at the sound of such cheerful voices, rare in this place.
I lock eyes with the kids standing before me.
The first boy I see grins, looking stupidly happy.
“You hungry!? Got some rations—let’s eat together!”
A plain boy, beaming with relentless cheer.
The kids called Rikka and Ban laugh just as brightly.
Unable to keep up with their energy, I can only stare blankly.
This was my first meeting with him.
The moment Ciel Aisuran and Shibuzaki Takashi first crossed paths.
Post a Comment