Despair and Hope

Whoosh—!

The sensation of weightlessness.

The howling of the wind echoed in my ears.

I…

My blurred consciousness couldn’t even grasp what was happening.

Why am I flying through the air?

Watching the crumbling debris flash before my eyes as the fire turned it to ash, my mind became even more muddled.

Wasn’t I… in the middle of a fight…?

I had clearly stabbed her in the eye, and to buy time, I even dragged it out until the beam crashed down…

Bang!

My back slammed violently into a wall. The powerful impact rippled through my body, leaving me unable to support myself. I slid down the wall like a lump of wet clay and collapsed onto the floor.

“First Squad, initiate fire suppression immediately! Second Squad, secure the cargo! No mistakes allowed!”

And then, that voice—the one I dreaded hearing most—reached my ears.

No… no…

Struggling, with my chin pressed against the ground, I forced my half-closed eyes open and looked over.

The Siren who was built like a monster—the same one I had seen wrestling that giant beast—was methodically directing the rescue operations.

I had been blown away.

I remembered now. Just as the beam was falling, this guy suddenly arrived. He didn’t just stop the beam; he sent me flying with a single blow.

As I began to understand what had happened, my eyes suddenly fixed on his arms. He was holding the Captain, who had been tortured into a near-death state by my hand.

Still… alive…

Seeing the rise and fall of her chest, I confirmed it.

This woman actually hasn’t died yet!

Pitch-black fury ignited in my chest once more. I glared with pure hatred, disregarding the state of my body as I fought desperately to prop myself up.

But where would I find the strength?

I could only act like a puppet with cut strings, pushing my body up time and again, only to collapse back onto the floor every single time.

Kill…

I’ll kill you.

I’m going to kill you… I’ll skin you alive!

Splash!

Two Sirens rushed over from somewhere and dumped buckets of water directly onto me.

The fiery snakes that had been flickering across my body were extinguished after a few moments of struggling in the flood.

Cough, cough, cough!

Cold, damp seawater flowed into my nose and mouth, making me cough violently. My body began to shiver unnaturally.

I… I…

Gritting my teeth, still planning to push myself up, I felt two even more powerful forces slam down on my shoulders.

It was the two Sirens from before. After dousing the flames on me, they had pinned my shoulders down. Now… I was being held firmly against the floor.

I couldn’t move an inch.

No…

I twisted my body repeatedly, struggling with all my might, only to be met with even harsher restraint. Slowly, a cold truth seeped into my body.

I had lost.

Eyes wide, I watched as more and more Sirens arrived to fight the fire. I watched as the Battalion Commander carried the Captain away, turning his back to me…

I finally realized that I no longer had any chance to kill her.

“Wh… why…?”

My throat produced a raspy sound.

“We were so close… why…?”

Looking at my retreating enemy, watching the Sirens clear away the debris, watching…

The girl’s only remains being dragged away like trash.

“Ah…”

—Leni-chan, bye-bye.

“Aaaaaaaaah—!”

At this moment, all my emotions could no longer be suppressed. Along with the hot tears bursting from my eyes, a deafening roar erupted from my throat.

Even as the Sirens desperately pinned my shoulders, even as they tried to stuff something into my mouth to gag me, they couldn’t stop the roar coming from the depths of my soul.

Why am I so weak?

Why do I have no power at all?

Why must I pay several times the price of others just to succeed?

“By what right… by what right! Aaaaaah!”

My screaming was so powerless, so pathetic.

Because they feared my family’s power, the Imperial Family burned and slaughtered my entire clan.

To protect me, the sole survivor, my grandfather who lived in seclusion couldn’t escape death either.

In the end, those nobles wouldn’t even let me go. They forced the blame for my grandfather’s death onto me and threw me, a ten-year-old child, into a dungeon.

At that time, I only wanted to live.

I finally gained a chance through the Hero’s Ceremony and managed to leave that cage.

I fought with everything I had to survive that war, even becoming one of the candidates, gaining a sliver of a chance to restore my family’s honor.

At that time, I only wanted to fulfill my late grandfather’s wish.

Then, I was betrayed by my childhood friend and brought to this hell.

Disheartened and having made so many mistakes, I finally woke up… and met a partner I could trust with my life.

And yet, just to save me, she was murdered so cruelly.

I only wanted to escape with her, just to be able to live…

But everything I fought so hard to obtain—why was it stripped away so easily!

Is it because I’m weak? Is it because I have no power? Is it because I don’t even have a Circuit and can’t use formulas? Is it because I’m just a powerless child!

It’s not fair… it’s not fair. What kind of bullsh*t world is this? What kind of bastard logic is this!

“—By what right can you be saved after killing her, while I can’t even get my revenge! Aaaaaah!”

Tears of resentment poured from my eyes, mixing with the cold seawater as they flowed into my mouth.

It was so salty and bitter.

It was so humiliating and powerless.

“I’m going to kill you, and you, and all of you! Sooner or later, I’m going to kill every last one of you! Aaaaaah!”

My struggling was, in their eyes, nothing more than the insignificant resistance of an ant.

I knew.

This wasn’t some grand declaration; it was just the pathetic roar of a loser.

My riot was quickly brought under control again, and this time, the Sirens deftly gagged me.

“Mmph… mmph!”

I could do nothing anymore.

Except watch blankly as these Sirens escorted me forward, watch blankly as my enemy faded into the distance…

‘Kill them…’

I closed my eyes tightly, letting the tears slide down my face.

‘These bastards who deserve to die… kill them all…’

…Kill.

Whether I was begging the heavens or the earth, I was utterly lost. My stubbornly held body had finally reached its limit.

—Kill.

Is it because I’m too tired?

“…Kill them!”

Why was I hearing a voice like that…? I shouldn’t have any strength left…

Thump!

Before I could react, my body hit the ground hard once more.

Ow… ow…

Wasn’t I being escorted by two Sirens…? Have I reached the destination?

“Kill! Rescue our tribespeople!” “Kill! Slaughter all these beastly traffickers!”

Then, as I slowly opened my eyes, I saw firelight once again.

Within the burning cabins, agile figures danced amidst the fire and blood.

Cat ears and tails… the Nako race?

Seeing this scene, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

What… is this?

Have I become so desperate that I’m hallucinating…? How could Nako slaves have this kind of combat power…?

“…?!”

As I mocked myself, I realized that these Nako warriors were actually wearing shining armor.

I’m… not dreaming?

“Don’t let a single one escape! Anyone who dared to wrong our kin—execute every enemy on this ship!”

Among this group of Nako, I noticed a particularly prominent woman. She was fighting while giving commands with a stern expression.

Long brown hair and cat ears… she looks a bit like her…

“Chief! The target seems to be right…”

“What?”

I couldn’t tell what they were saying in the distance, but after the subordinate finished speaking, that woman looked straight toward me.

But having no strength left, I could only lie there on the ground, staring blankly at the scene.

“Kill them well… kill all of these… bastards.”

While cursing under my breath, tears slid from my eyes as I closed them tightly.

‘I’m sorry…’

‘I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you…’

Finally, my consciousness was dragged deep into the void.