[487] The Night of Heaven (5)
"Plu?"
Krud's eyes snapped open.
Plu belonged to Shirone's team, and they operated on a completely different line from the rebels.
How had she even gotten all the way here?
As Krud ran, Kanya and Rena followed, and Babel hovered above them like an escort.
"Plu!"
By the time Krud reached her, she had already collapsed to the floor, unable to hold on.
"Oh no…"
Plu wore what was clearly stolen citizen garb.
Even that was torn in places, and through the rips countless wounds showed.
She'd been badly beaten.
Bruises covered her shoulders, thighs, and calves as if she'd fallen from a great height.
"K-Krud…"
A weak sound escaped Plu's lips, and Krud called out anxiously.
"Here she is. Where did you get hurt like this?"
"Shehakim…"
"Shehakim?"
Krud's face went blank with disbelief.
She'd run this whole distance in that state?
"I have something urgent to tell you… very urgent…"
Plu couldn't finish the sentence before she fainted again.
Seeing how grave her condition was, Krud turned to Kanya and Rena. "We have to move her. To the Nor infirmary!"
Babel immediately obeyed.
Since the rebels had unified, capable Nor mages were even standing by at headquarters.
They filled a huge tank, dunked Plu in, and cast the water magic Orhiri. Her wounds began to knit back together little by little.
Three hours later Plu was moved to a recovery room and her breathing had steadied.
After an hour's sleep, Krud opened the recovery room door and looked at her.
Plu.
From the moment he first saw her, she had occupied a corner of Krud's mind.
Was there a reason? Maybe. But did he need to force himself to figure it out?
Her stubborn face matched a sharp, no-nonsense personality.
Shirone's team all had an air of mystery, but Plu was the most enigmatic to Krud.
She was the kind of person perfectly adapted to human-made social systems—something Heaven lacked. In Shirone's world, people like that were called professionals.
Yet now Krud felt none of the blade‑like distance she usually carried.
Perhaps a sleeping woman is beautiful for that reason.
Krud's hand slowly reached for her forehead.
The excuse of checking for fever was just self-justification, but his hope was dashed when Plu's brow furrowed.
"Ugh!"
He snatched his hand back as Plu slowly opened her eyes, and he spoke.
"How are you? Are you all right?"
"Where is this?"
As soon as she regained consciousness, Plu linked memory to awareness and quickly scanned the room.
A chamber with mechanical features. Krud leaning over her.
We made it. I don't remember anything after entering Matei.
A distance no mere superhuman will could bridge.
Without the algorithm's help, a giant's hand would already have ended her.
But any relief was nothing compared to the crushing despair that followed.
She had failed her mission.
Her task had been to transport Shirone safely to Arabot.
Failing in her role as a supporter shattered the pride of the royal magic academy's top graduate.
Plu clenched her jaw, fists tight, trembling. Krud had no words.
Perhaps she'd hoped for a single word of thanks from the one who saved her life, but her mind swirled only with self-blame and ways to atone.
She made a decision and shot upright.
Her wounds had healed, but the pain hadn't fully subsided; she gritted her teeth and pushed herself up.
"What's the situation at the front? How far have we pushed?"
When talk turned to the war, Krud folded away his emotions and answered.
"We've advanced more than halfway. About forty kilometers left to Arabot. But the battles from here on will be different."
They'd made today's gains thanks to the absence of angelic activity and because the rebels' firepower had been stronger than expected, but it wasn't only brute force that had won the day.
"Coldly put, the enemy's defensive radius was too wide. But as you approach the center of the concentric rings, the defense tightens and the enemy density increases."
"Probably. Can we break through?"
"In my view… it's impossible. Even if the distance to advance is the same, enemy density will be at least three times higher. We'll never get a breakthrough like yesterday."
Krud spoke frankly.
That was also why he couldn't give Kanya and Rena any hope.
"Hmm. That sounds right."
"We can't stall either. The moment Heaven's interception system Aegis is restored, the surrounding walls will open fire. Total annihilation in the first engagement—that's what I expect."
Plu turned her head, sensing the bite behind Krud's words.
"You have a plan?"
"We'll concentrate the rebels at Jebul. Use Titans to break Heaven's walls and force them to bunch up. From there we'll push into Arabot."
If Jebul was the city of powerful angels, it was also where the angels were currently inactive.
The plan had the feel of a gamble, but if the rebels had any chance, this was the only viable method.
"But didn't you say you had something to tell me?"
She'd heard that before she'd blacked out.
Still Plu kept silent, lost in thought.
Sein—
Just before departing Purgatory for Heaven, Plu had received two special orders from Sein.
One was to move the Terminator to Arabot.
This mission had to be prioritized above all.
Sein had given her one more assignment.
"If Shirone reaches Arabot safely, or if some variable occurs and you fail to deliver or leave the team, find the rebel commander."
"Krud?"
"You must tell him about the Divine Punishment. If the second situation happens, the war's outcome may well rest on Shirone. Make the most of it. By that time it won't matter if he knows."
A calculation both cold and human—typical of Sein.
Once the Divine Punishment is triggered, nothing can stop it.
Heaven would be destroyed and an enormous blast would erupt.
If the rebels were concentrated near Arabot, they would be wiped out as well.
Sein had kept this secret out of a ruthlessly selfish desire to make the project succeed.
Plu was not afraid.
No matter the criticism, a mage carries out her mission.
Knowing Plu's character, Sein had entrusted her with the role of villain.
"Before I spread the plan, there's something I must tell you."
Plu poured everything out without hesitation.
Shirone's magic would destroy Heaven, and the spell would be cast no later than noon tomorrow.
She couldn't guarantee success, but to the rebels it was information worth betting their lives on.
Krud's face went pale when he heard the truth.
Arabot—once a land of victory—had in an instant become a land of death.
Advance and you die; retreat and you die.
They had been used.
Hundreds of thousands of rebels would have their names entered on the Roll of Life and Death because of a few people from a mere earthly nation.
"From the start… they were deceiving us."
Whatever her true motives, Plu did not flinch. If they lost momentum, it was over.
"As the Association President said, it might not be a bad offer for the rebels. After all, aren't we fighting to win? If so—"
"Don't you dare call that an offer!"
Krud, abandoning his usual coolness, snapped.
"Do you equate dying for conviction with being slaughtered at someone else's whim? What on earth are we even fighting for then?"
Plu fell silent.
There was nothing to argue; it had been the plan from the beginning.
"So now what? You want me to tell the troops? Tell them that going to Arabot only means death? Right now the troops can't even sleep from fear! How am I supposed to tell those people that?"
"That is—"
Plu ground her teeth.
She summoned herself with desperate force and fixed Krud with a clear, hard stare.
"That is none of my concern."
A murderous look filled Krud's eyes.
Even under that glare, Plu remained unabashedly composed.
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
Krud knocked over the recovery room's furniture and strode for the door.
The door slammed with a heavy bang, as if voicing his rage.
Only after Krud left did Plu grimace at the pain wracking her body.
Where had Shirone gone?
Was he even alive after the fairy bombardment?
If he was, she had to go to Arabot and complete her final duty as his supporter.
She thrust the Cubric forward and drew out a Phoenix.
Her stamina was nearly spent, but as long as her limbs moved she couldn't stop.
Wait a little longer, Shirone…
While Plu left the rebel headquarters, Krud stood before the command room's voice broadcast system.
He had to say it.
They were fighting to win, but at the very least everyone should be able to choose how they meet death.
"To all headquarters personnel, listen."
Krud's voice carried to every room.
The sound echoed from hundreds of places at once, faint even in Plu's ears as she departed the headquarters.
"I have an important announcement. When dawn breaks the war will resume and in the end we will be victorious. But—"
Krud paused.
He could not bring himself to say it aloud.
Once orders went out, the information would spread via radio and tens of thousands of rebels would spend the night wrestling with fear of death.
Could any commander deserve to plunge so many into despair?
As the silence lengthened, waking soldiers looked up at the speaker with puzzled eyes.
It certainly wasn't good news; anxiety crept across their faces.
"…Fight."
Krud's hoarse voice continued.
"Fight to the end."
He forced the words out through clenched teeth and fixed his gaze on the dark without a target.
They would not give up here.
If he told the rebels the truth, many would fall into despair.
That would immediately weaken their strength, and all they would hand to the troops fighting with death on their hands would be a miserable defeat.
I will take responsibility for everything.
Even if history called him the worst commander, even if they branded him a demon, he would lead them all into battle.
Tears streamed from Krud's eyes as he shouted, "We will win! We will take back our freedom! Today will be the most glorious day in human history! Everyone—give up the thought of escape and fight!"
"Waaaaaaah!"
The supreme commander's resolve had more effect than a short sleep; troops in countless barracks roared.
A great cry, as if the whole radius had shouted, reached even Plu's ears as she left the headquarters.
I'll fight. I'll fight to the end.
Despite the pain from bruises and limping, she did not slow.
Far beyond, the horizon was beginning to gray.
Heaven's last night was drawing to a close.