Artist's commentary
Karindou 4 Koma Extra Story Pseudo Short Story [Ghostrick Live] 15
Beeeeeeeep....
At the same time as the Etranger copy transformed, a safety went off in response to E.S. giving off a strange reaction, and the activation lever automatically returned to the stop position.
As the system shut down, the pink light illuminating the surroundings faded. Instead, her body looked like it had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, and with a very uncomfortable tepidness and choking feeling, her entire body was stimulated.
That was the missing crotch area of the Etranger copy, and probably on the original... the horrible wound etched into Etranger that was "their" origin, the part of "them" that didn't exist. The pure black miasma that looked like darkness flowing from the places where the wounds would have been was like black ink spilling and spreading on white paper, and it began to suck in the surroundings.
Those who were there, even those who could no sense for the supernatural, could feel a fear and pressure as though there was a giant, hungry man-eating beast in front of them. In this situation, their instinct told them that they were in mortal danger. And though they didn't flee, a slight yet powerful shiver went through all their bodies together, like they were connected by an invisible string of fear.
The only ones who could move with this mysterious pressure, were those with a firm sense of self... Or those with an equally strong desire.
(This black mist... occasionally, Ran would let it out when she was angry, it was her spiritual energy stained with hatred! But this isn't comparable to Ran's, the difference in density is immense. This must be what they were calling "true hatred"...!)
For Elza, one person who could move, this outcome was beyond unexpected, and she wisely decided to not move and just observe.
(However... Though it is surprisingly, this gives me a chance to win. I'll thankfully use this delay!)
Without any showiness, secretly, carefully, she started casting multiple spells. Now it was just a matter of the timing of their activation.
Then one of the others who could also move, the drake, let out a howl of anger.
"This copy was given the positive emotion of hope... How could you, an independent existence of only negative emotions, have an emotion like hope!?"
'I didn't think you would understand from being told. Someone like you, who treads upon the weak, doesn't understand the first thing about the weak. It is because we are weak, because we only have negative emotions, that we embrace hope. To put it a way you could understand, she is our wish.'
"W, wish...!?"
"...I, remembered... The real me...!"
"Ran!"
As Elza looked towards where the weak voice was coming from, there was Ran, slowly getting up inside the box. Wiping away the tears and drool, and also a mix of mucus and blood coming from her nose, she glared at the drake. In her eyes were exhaustion, but also a definite self-awareness that had returned, which was comforting.
"My fearful self wished that this purgatory of continued death would end, my sorrowful self wished that this tragedy without salvation would end, my despairing self wished that this unescapable pain would end, and my hateful self... wished that I myself, Etranger's hatred would be dispelled and disappear! It was because 'we' were negative emotions that we wanted to be released from this, we wished to be saved... That wish revived me, Etranger's hope! By using me, your plan failed, just as 'we' planned!"
"Failed... he... hehehe...! Yes, it was a failure. But, this isn't over, E.S. is still here! If she, and not you, holds her true hatred, I'll just have to use her instead! You fool, telling me that you yourself is the real one, and proving it!!"
Glaring, the drake made ready to grab at the Etranger copy. Ran boldly pointed her finger at him and continued.
"Just as 'I' said, you don't really understand. It's true that negative emotions, that things of similar nature will be accepted, and dissimilar things will be rejected. But, the positive and negative emotions that I and 'we' have, may at first glance seem to be antitheses of one another, but if you look to their origin, they are emotions split off from the girl Etranger. Even we they are exact opposites, I am one of 'us', and so are existences with the same nature. Otherwise, we would not be attuned to each other, right? So..."
"What... It can't be!"
"Yes. Though it stopped midway... The positive emotion I have has already gotten installed in 'us'. It was only a little bit, but the positive emotion 'we' have has the same nature, and continues to be copied and absorbed among 'us'. As we existences with the same nature, 'we' who have an antithesis positive emotion will copy and absorb. And the positive emotions absorbed are stored, just like the negative emotions, and will eventually calm the negative emotions, and the perpetual cycle of negative emotions using hatred will eventually vanish. Too bad it can't be an eternal machine?"
Finishing it up with an ironic wink, she added in her head "I don't really know, but probably". She wasn't smiling, but looking closer, it seemed like Ran's actions had a smile like when she was playing a prank on Elza.
In contrast, the drake had fallen silent and was shaking with rage. He let out a roar that shook the surroundings.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!"
"Nguh!?"
A dragon roar. A fundamental principle when fighting against dragons, she had a countermeasure, and though it was a fake that was shapeshifted to, the roar of a drake, which is close to a high class dragon, easily pierced through the resistance created by sorcery. A wizard has strong mental powers, so she was protected against fainting, panicking or giving up, but Elza was stopped in her tracks. Unlike Elza, Ran had no countermeasure and took a direct hit from it. Elza, being worried about Ran, shifted her attention to her.
The glass of the box was a little shaky, but thanks to it being a wall separating her from the outside air, Ran didn't look to have any ill effects as she shut her eyes and covered her ears with both hands. Though she didn't lose focus upon seeing Ran enduring it, but her reaction was just slightly slowed and wasn't able to dodge. In that opening, 3 claw attacks followed.
Though she somehow avoided the first attack, and blocked the second attack with a magic shield, the third attack destroyed the magic shield and tore into her left shoulder, tearing out a lot of flesh. Her torn blue kimono was stained red in an instant, and her left arm hung limply.
"Tch!!"
"Not yet... It's not over yet! As long as I can install the hatred again normally, it should override the positive emotions... Yes, I'll start over, my plan isn't over yet! I won't give up!!"
"Kuh... You don't know when to give up!!"
"Shut up! First I'll kill an eyesore like you, then I'll deal with that useless copy! Then I'll catch the real copy, and restart my plan! I won't let anyone interfere!!"
Another 3 attacks. Aeri=al sped up, dodging the powerful flames which melted a wall instead. She twisted her body to slip between the claws coming to seal off her escape path, but he already anticipated that, spinning around with a roar to swing his tail around, which slammed Elza into the wall. She could hear the sound of bones breaking from inside her body, and feel the immense pressure against her insides.
"Guh, buh..."
"Kwahahahaha! You sure were cheeky before, but all it takes is one hit. You fragile human."
The drake touted his victory over Elza as she coughed up blood. But, that unnecessary action was blown away in an instant.
"Declaring yourself the winner is something you do after you're certain you've finished off your opponent, you fool."
"You're talking big for someone on the verge of dea... w, what!?"
Elza had blood dripping from her mouth. As the drake looked down at her, he was surprised. As if he could tell from her expression, he turned pale.
The surrounding machinery, the bleeding and fallen Ryuuto, and the box that Ran was trapped in were covered by a powerful magical wall. In order to protect Ran, she had already applied the magical shield, shield of aegis --- In exchange for a short duration of 60 seconds, it was an absolutely impenetrable, the most powerful, highest class defensive sorcery.
Elza raised both hands, not just her unwounded right arm, but also her left arm, which should have been unusable, and unleashed the sorcery she had prepared. Looking down through the gap in her kimono around her shoulder, there was only a slight cut that looked like it would have been made by a tiny knife. There was nothing that would suggest it had been torn out by his claw.
For Elza, no, for immortals who never age or die and have an undying body like Elza, an injury like this was nothing. After a few seconds, her flesh would return to how it was as though she was never injured, regenerating the moment she took the injury. Immortals were good at techniques which isolate the feelings of pain and agony. With a fast enough regeneration speed, it would be like instantaneous healing. The name "those who live forever" were not just given in awe or scorn. It's only natural, but no one would go through that willingly. Probably.
The drake, who did not know this, was shocked, and Elza took this opportunity to cast another spell.
"What kind of trick.. I don't care, this time I'll tear you to pieces and smash you flat so I don't have to hear your boasting again!"
"Hmph, you don't get it! The system is stopped, the machines to restart it are destroyed, and Ran is no longer in danger, so now I don't have to worry about anyone else getting caught in this, and my preparations for victory are in place!"
"Foolish!"
The annoyed drake prepared to finish her off, but it was too slow. The sorcery that had been started at the same time as the invincible shield, which took time to apply, had already been activated.
"Dynamic tornado!"
As the drake once again swung his claws down, a tornado with extremely violent cutting winds blew around him. The friction from the winds produced a vaccuum of blades that only caused minor wounds on his scales, but the vortex was like a prison, trapping the drake, and the powerful spiraling wind pressure caused his entire body to creak.
"Cross blizzard!"
Immediately after, two intersecting ice storms assaulted the drake. The cutting winds increased in power, turning towards absolute zero, freezing the blazing scales, now with shards of ice in the storm, smashing against him again and again. Like an ice factory exploding, the drake's body sparkled in various places, as shards flew.
"Hydro glaive!!"
Appearing above the drake's head, a flow of water broke into the cutting wind and ice storm, piercing the areas where the scales had been broken and fallen off. Blood sprayed, mixing in with the wind and freezing, creating a red contrast.
But, none of this was a fatal wound. As she activated the next spell that would be the finishing blow,
"G, Guuuuu, Gaaaaaaaahh!!!"
"What!? Gah!"
Before Elza could use her next attack, the Drake screamed in agony and forced his way out of the prison of wind. With the sound of a muffled explosion, the pressure directed inward was unleashed outwards, and once again Elza was slammed against the wall.
"Nrgh...! To destroy it with physical strength, w, what power, for a drake...!!"
"What of your plans for victory now. Don't get carried away so far, you human-ish thing!!"
With eyes full of rage, he saw Elza, and with an earth shaking roar, blew out flames.
However, it just burned above Elza's head. Before he knew it, clinging to back to his head, was a pure black miasma.
"You...!?"
'I won't let things go... as you wish!!'
"All of these stupid fakes one after another...! Stop this and I'll kill you painlessly!!"
Using his strength, he broke free from the restraints, and turned towards the Etranger copy and breathed in blow out more flames.
In that moment, everything past the drake's right elbow and part of his side were blown off.
This was due... not to Elza's sorcery. What caused it, along with a thunderclap, was an absurdly powerful bullet.
"Gyaaa!!"
"We made it in time! Nice work, Onee-sama, you were wonderfully wonderful!"
A cheerful voice, and the rush of the footsteps of multiple came.
"The name of anti-tank handgun isn't just for show, to blow off the tough looking arm of that oversized lizard! If you had been in a different form when I met you, I'd want to kiss you."
"This isn't the time to be talking leisurely! Jam it in!"
Instantly realizing what the biggest threat there was, the regrouped maids turned all their attacks against the drake. An eyebeam hit his body, a knife flew into his left eye like it was drawn to it, and a gigant bullet drilled into his nose. The miasma emitted by the Etranger copy enveloped the drake, who was trying to evade the attacks, and slowed his movements. The drake then stumbled and his foot landed on the box that had Ran inside. Ran closed her eyes, but its weight wasn't enough to crush the box, which still had the magic shield applied, which threw his balance off even more.
"That girl, she's the ghost that looks the same as the little mistress and kidnapped her!? Why is she supporting the mistress...?"
"I don't know, but now she's our ally. Mistress! Blast him!!"
Hearing Mifi's voice, Elza got a confident smile and gave a thumbs up.
"Oh, you came at a good time, everyone! As a reward, I'll show you my trump card!"
Alongside the sorcery she had used before, which took a lot of time to cast, she poured all her magical energy into this spell and activated it. A raging spear of thunder appeared in Elza's left hand. Surrounding the spear was a vortex of thunder that roared and illuminated one side of Elza's face, and let off a high pitched scream.
"Hammer of rage that descended from the heavens, by my hand rush through the skies with the thunderous ring of the gods, pierce, stab!! True sorcery, thunder god Valkyurnus!!"
1000 years ago, due to the alternate world incident when she met with the present day Seren, she knew she couldn't cast her most powerful sorcery without fulfilling the necessary conditions. Taking that lesson to heart, she developed her own unique way, an original sorcery that didn't depend on conditions that she could cast any time. Like Seren's "great sorcery", Elza called it "true sorcery".
The thunder lance had a thunderbolt alongside it, and the drake just barely was able to stop it with his remaining left arm by twisting his body using his tail. However, the the force of the thunder spear continued to pierce through it, as the tip started to dig into his chest. His hand burned as he grabbed the thunder spear and his skin, the smell of burnt flesh wafting.
"Sorcery... Sorcery you said, you're a wizard!? But no matter the sorcery, using a thunder spear against a fire elemental like me should reduce the effectiveness of its power...!"
"In general, magic and sorcery use the 4 elements, which are different from the 5 elements, which have counter resistances, with metal counter resisting fire. If the spirit of the metal is greater than the spirit of the fire, the metal will not be overwhelmed by the fire, but instead will counter and defeat the fire. And this is my trump card, what you tried to use just sparked my strongest sorcery. A full powered wizard isn't to be taken lightly!!"
"Guh... T, this...!!"
Trying to tear away the thunder spear, the drake's muscles tensed, and though it burned his chest, the tip ever so slightly began to move backwards. Col readied the Gigant to prevent this, but seeing Elza, she faintly smiled and pointed the muzzle away.
"What are you doing, Bullet Squall! If you fire now, that spear of thunder will pierce him, fire!"
"This is a contest. I don't need to interfere anymore. As expected of the mistress, her finisher is perfect."
Hearing Col's words, Giganov (little girl) turned a suspicious eye towards Elza.
"Ha, hahahahaha, this is all, your trump card is...!?"
The drake, while thinking that it was a close call, was now certain he was safe. Then his eyes went wide as he saw it.
In Elza's right hand, was the same thing... no, another, slightly larger thunder spear than the one he was currently protecting against. It was essentially the same as the previously launched thunder spear with the same mass, but it was cast using Aeri=al as its core, which amplified it.
"I told you, this was my trump card. ...And I have two hands?" [note: the term for "trump card" in Japanese contains the word "hand" in it, hence Elza's comment about 2 hands = 2 trump cards]
"Wh... Wha...!!"
He couldn't defend against it. Having lost his right arm, he left arm was defending against the thunder spear. He could move he hand, and if he used it to defend against the new thunder spear, the launched thunder spear would pierce him first.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!"
The drake rorared. Was it in rage, or was it in anguish? As it was launched, the moved blurredly fast, flames shooting from his face.
"True sorcery, Thunder God Cruseidol!"
In a flash, the flames engulfed the thunder as the thunder shot out.
Sensing the power of the second one, the thunder spear accelerated itself at light speed, becoming a bolt of thunder and shredding the hand of the drake that was gripping it.
The view was just like... a pile bunker with thunder instead of a spike.
"True-Sorcery!! Thunder God Keravinos!!!"
Finally, the true form of her trump card. Dazzling waves of light pierced the drake.
All that was left after the rushing lights stopped were fireworks coming from the armored parts that couldn't withstand the huge onslaught, signifying they had accomplished their job, and Aeri=al which was suspended mid-air.
And crashing with an earthshaking thump, the body of the drake with a giant hole in his chest.