Chapter 213 - <20>
It had been a week since she arrived here.
Anna was walking alone down a pure white corridor. At first glance, it appeared to be empty, but she had recently learned that it was embedded with all sorts of equipment. In the midst of their awkward life together, Orphe had been teaching Anna various things, as if to atone for his sins.
She passed through the sterile corridor, walked through a silently opening door, and stood behind Orphe, who was surrounded by a vast array of machines she had never seen before. Even though she was so close, Orphe showed no sign of noticing her.
Orphe's gaze was fixed on the screen in front of him.
What Orphe was currently watching was a technology that could replicate the technique of 'farsight'—a skill that only very powerful wind spirit users could use—with machines, without the need for spirits.
Shortly after arriving here and learning of her origins, Orphe had explained this to the disheartened Anna and asked if she wanted to see how her companions were doing.
But Anna had refused. She thought it would be better to simply pray for her companions' safety than to watch without being able to help at all.
She couldn't bring herself to be a comfortable spectator from on high. That's why she had tried to avoid the room with all the machines that Orphe called 'Science' as much as possible.
Besides, once she knew her own identity, Science was no longer an object of interest to Anna, but something to be feared.
There was a reason Anna had come to this room. Orphe had not appeared in the living room, even though it was more than an hour past mealtime.
All the household chores, including meals, were handled by an invisible entity Orphe called 'Ark'. Orphe could get all the housework done just by giving orders to Ark, without lifting a finger himself.
Seeing this, she understood well why Orphe had been so domestically incompetent until he lived with Franz. He had never had to do it himself, so he couldn't do it.
The meals prepared by Ark were delivered at a fixed time by a machine just like T.
Orphe had set things up so that Anna could also order anything she wanted, including meals, at any time, but they had decided to have their three meals a day together.
Her appetite had diminished considerably since coming here, but in these days of doing nothing but idly spending time in Orphe's garden, life would be too unbearable without the punctuation of meals.
Seeing that Orphe didn't move a muscle, Anna called out to him softly.
"Artie."
Artis Ozmand. That was Orphe's real name.
Orphe had said it was a kind of nickname he had given himself so as not to forget his past mistakes. Although they were not related by blood, they were, for all intents and purposes, parent and child, so Anna had decided to call Orphe 'Artie', following the example of 'Ark', who managed this house.
When she first called him that, Orphe had smiled shyly, and then his face had clouded with sadness.
"Artie."
She called out a little louder, and Orphe jumped. In his surprise, he knocked over the teacup that had been placed nearby. The cup shattered on the floor with a loud crash.
"Whoa! Ah, my tea…"
Orphe let out a pathetic cry and hurriedly crouched down.
"I'm sorry!"
She apologized hastily. Orphe laughed as he picked up the pieces.
"It's fine. It's my fault for still being surprised when someone calls out to me."
Orphe had lived here all alone, surrounded by machines. That's why he said he gets startled when someone suddenly speaks to him.
"It was my favorite cup, though…"
While Ark sucked up the spilled tea and cleaned up, Orphe muttered as he carried the pieces to the trash can in the corner of the room.
The screen of the farsight camera, which had been hidden by Orphe, suddenly filled Anna's vision. She gasped at the sight.
Two men were running with desperate expressions, their golden hair disheveled, their clothes slightly torn and blackened with soot here and there.
"Franz, Ed-san…"
And behind them was the figure of the person she had wanted to see so much it made her head spin, yet was the one person she didn't want to see most.
Burns, countless wounds. And the familiar figure running, protecting the two in front of him while looking back over his shoulder….
"Ritz…"
She instinctively stepped toward the screen and gently touched it.
"He's alive."
She meant to say it normally, but her voice trembled slightly. The image of him from when they last parted had never left her mind.
Kuchiba had said he was safe because the jewel was moving, but she had thought that perhaps the jewel was just being carried and Ritz was gone, and she had suppressed that negative thought countless times.
"Thank goodness…"
But seeing him alive like this was the first time she felt truly relieved.
As she stared at the screen, Anna clearly recognized the place where the three of them were running around. It was the same white corridor where she had been brought by Kuchiba, just before coming to this place.
Her companions were almost here.
"Anna."
A voice called from behind. She turned to see Orphe standing there with a troubled expression. She knew, even without Orphe explaining. She hadn't accepted it in her heart, but she understood, at least on some level.
That she was not to interfere until they arrived here.
"I'm sorry. But this is the one thing I can't compromise on."
The frustrating feeling was probably the same for Orphe. Franz was Orphe's one and only disciple. He must want to help him.
But Orphe could never betray Kuchiba. If he did, everything he had ordered and the world order he had protected until now would collapse.
It was not permissible to be lenient with his own family while sacrificing strangers he did not know for the sake of this world.
Because he had played the role of their god until now with the resolve to bear that pain.
Even as he said that, Orphe had smiled secretly, saying he had still provided the minimum necessary help. 'Because I am selfish,' he had said, and to the Orphe who had smiled so sadly, Anna could say nothing.
The power of a god is absolute. So it would probably be easy to save them. But if he did that, the reason for Kuchiba's existence, and by extension, that of the Clan of Darkness, would be lost.
Having witnessed the terror of Science firsthand, Anna felt she understood a little of what Orphe feared and what Kuchiba was trying to protect.
If that power were to spread throughout this world, something precious would be lost. She had experienced that firsthand.
That's why she couldn't selfishly, like a child, cry and beg him to save them. She wanted to, but Orphe's tragic resolve was too heavy.
And above all, Anna herself had become hesitant to meet them.
So Anna had no choice but to bet on her companions' strength and luck.
To believe and pray until they reached this place… the obsidian room where she had made a promise with Kuchiba. And if they did arrive, she wouldn't care if they learned everything.
No matter what consequences that might bring.
That's why she had never looked to see where they were now, or what their situation was. If she did, the pain of being unable to do anything would only grow. So she decided to pray from the bottom of her heart.
And yet…
"Should I turn it off?"
Orphe asked gently. She instinctively shook her head. Once she had seen it, she couldn't look away.
"…Are you sure?"
He asked worriedly, but she could only nod.
"I understand. If you want a closer look, just tell Ark. The audio is off, but if you need it, tell Ark that too. I've registered your voice, so you should be able to use it freely."
With that, Orphe turned and left the room without looking back. Perhaps he was being considerate and leaving her alone.
"Ark, turn on the sound."
She was still not used to it, but when she spoke to the presence that had ears all over the room, the room filled with sound. It was as if she were there.
The three of them's ragged breathing and footsteps, the sound of their shoes echoing in the corridor. Suddenly, a voice came through.
『Damn, there's no end to this. It's all just white, no matter how far we go.』
Her body tensed involuntarily. It was Ritz's familiar voice. Edward replied to him.
『I concur. We cannot accomplish anything by simply running.』
『But there's nowhere to run to.』
『Indeed.』
She couldn't hear Franz's voice at all, but she could hear his ragged breathing. He was probably near his limit. Curious about what was chasing the three of them, she asked Ark.
"What's chasing everyone?"
In response, the image switched. In front of the three of them were countless hemispherical objects clustered together. They were something familiar to Anna.
"…T."
The massive number of Ts in front of her were issuing warnings to the three of them and attacking them.
A blue, shining light shot toward the three of them, missed, and hit the wall or floor, leaving a scorched mark. She knew that the light was intensely hot.
She could see Ritz running, looking back over his shoulder to avoid the light. She gasped when she saw his back. A considerable amount of blood was soaking through his clothes. He was injured.
"Why is T…"
As she muttered, Ritz's voice echoed.
『Isn't that an entrance?!』
Startled, she returned the screen to Ritz's group. There, in front of them, was the entrance with the statues of the goddess and the Spirit King.
The entrance to the holy land of the Clan of Darkness.
Soon, the three of them would be here.
But the three of them were being cornered, their faces tense. The Ts had surrounded them.
But Ritz and the others didn't know how to open the door. Only T knew. Looking at the screen, she saw a single T in the center of the gate.
That was probably… the T Anna knew.
"T, T, wake up! T!"
She instinctively slapped the screen. If T woke up and opened the door, they could escape into that forest. That would be safer than now. If this continued, something terrible would happen. She didn't want to see the three of them burned to death by T right in front of her.
"T!"
But as far as she could see on the screen, nothing was changing. But there was nothing she could do.
She bit her lip hard and looked down. She could clearly hear Ritz's groan as he realized it was impossible to force the door open.
『I can't end here.』
"Ritz…"
She instinctively called his name. Ark, somehow interpreting her, magnified Ritz on the screen. At the same time, she could clearly hear Ritz's small whisper, which would normally be inaudible.
『Anna…』
Her heart leaped, and for a moment, she couldn't breathe. A burst of blue, shining light shot out at the three of them.
"Turn it off! Please, Ark!"
She screamed without thinking. The screen in front of her vanished, leaving her alone in a silent space.
She couldn't watch anymore. Why, why was she so powerless? The thought was pathetic.
She realized tears were streaming down her cheeks.
They were in such danger, and all she could do was sit here and watch, unable to do anything for them.
They were her precious companions, he was her one and only precious person….
She pressed her cheek against the screen where the three of them had been.
"I'm sorry, Franz. I'm so sorry, Ed-san…. I can't do anything…"
Please, please make it here safely.
She would offer up prayers with everything she had, so please, come here alive.
She thought so from the bottom of her heart.
And more than anything, more than anyone, she wanted to see Ritz. She wanted to see him just one more time. Her one and only precious person.
And yet….
"I love you. I love you, Ritz. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
She wanted to see him and talk about so many things. She wanted to be held in his arms like always, to bury her face in his broad chest. How happy that would make her.
"I want to see you…"
But what if her beloved found out about her? If he found out her true identity…. The thought was so unbearably scary that her desire to see him turned into terror.
For the past few days, she had been having a dream.
A dream where Ritz's gentle expression instantly twisted into one of disgust, and he shook off her hand.
It was none other than the fear and disgust that Anna herself had shown toward Ritz, the mercenary. At times, Anna had even pushed Ritz away. At those times, Ritz had always looked lonely. Ritz was an adult, so he didn't show his emotions much. But he must have been very hurt.
What right did she, who had hurt Ritz in such a way, have to wish for anything?
Did she wish for him to be as gentle as ever, even after knowing her true identity, her origins?
Wasn't that asking too much?
In fact, when Anna learned the truth, she had trembled with fear and self-loathing.
Even Ritz probably couldn't be gentle with such an Anna.
He would never love her, even after knowing everything.
The thought of it was so scary that she didn't want to see him.
And yet, she wanted to see him so much that this contradiction made her want to cry, and she didn't know what to do.
But to think that it was okay not to see him meant the death of the three of them. That was the one thing she absolutely did not want.
"Everyone, please make it here alive."
Anna slid down to the floor, still leaning against the screen.
"Please… live…"