Koukaku no Regios Vol 21 Chapter 2

Not too long ago, inside Harpe.

It had taken less time to reach Grendan than he had imagined.

This showed how fast the speed of Harpe was as he flew through the sky. Layfon could only stare at the soundless, empty scene flying before his eyes.

And then, they arrived.

(If the battle is still being carried out inside the city, then according to the treaty, I will be unable to join the fight.)

While listening to the echoing and reverberating voice of Harpe, Layfon looked at the scene of Grendan beneath his eyes.

Grendan that he overlooked was a bit fuzzy from his position in the air.

The reason the scene had become blurred was because there was a great deal of smoke floating around the surroundings of the air filter.

Countless unshaped lights flashed, but these were not streetlights.

In the center of the city, a battle unfolded inside the palace.

"What do you mean by treaty?"

Felli asked this.

(That is a treaty with the Alchemy Master who created the foundations of the moving cities in the past. Regardless for what reason, we are unable to join battles occurring inside a moving city. This is because I who has not crossed paths with humans for long time may be thought of as an enemy by humankind.)

Indeed, just from its outer appearance, Harpe truly resembled a filth monster.

Speaking of which, in the area where Harpe had been, quite a few filth monsters had listened to its commands, so Harpe itself should count as a filth monster.

(The Nano-Celluloid and Cloud-Cell copies that were spread apart in the first battle formed the basic substance of the filth monster. It's normal for humans to be unable to distinguish between us.)

"......Indeed, if you dropped down on the city suddenly, it would definitely create a big panic."

Felli's words made the surrounding atmosphere become cold all of a sudden, and it was unknown whether that feeling was just due to Layfon thinking too much.

No, it wasn't.

She definitely wanted to say it.

Useless thing. [1]

"............Ahaha."

Layfon laughed slightly, and Felli reacted to this and looked over. Layfon could only pretend to be inspecting his Dite to evade Felli's gaze.

"......Then, what are you preparing to do?"

(I reckon that after Grendan is eliminated, it will be the final deciding hour between Lævateinn and I.)

"That...... are you saying Grendan will lose?"

He definitely couldn't let those words go.

(The human-bred warriors. Certainly, they are very strong, but that does not prove that you are able to be victorious. Then I can only hold to my treaty while doing what I can.)

(Moreover, there is no reason to prove that everything will be fine after dealing with Lævateinn.)

"What does that mean......?"

(The battle has already started, you should go quickly.)

There was no time to discuss the details with it.

Because Harpe ended the talks very firmly.

By using the method of letting the ground underneath Layfon and Felli suddenly disappear.

(The distance I am currently at is already sufficient to count as a violation of the treaty.)

These were the final words that the two of them heard. After Layfon held on to Felli next to him, he covered her nose and mouth.

Breathing in this kind of place was extremely dangerous.

The two of them escaped from the airs.p.a.ce around the filth monster in moments, and after experiencing the unique feeling of breaking through the air filter, they pa.s.sed through the smoke-filled sky.

"Puhaa!"

After coming to a place where they could breathe, Layfon opened his mouth, removing his hand that covered Felli's.

"Haaa!"

It seemed that she also gasped for breath.

Layfon was relieved, and then looked at the ground.

Helped by the force of the wind, they fell near the palace.

"Are you alright?"

"Nn."

"Great."

The moment that they landed, a Psychokinesis flake drew near them.

(How are you here?)

The voice sounded extremely familiar.

"You are......"

Layfon looked at Felli, thinking of the successor who had replaced Delbone after the battle last time.

"Then, you're indeed called Elsmau-san, right?"

(Yes. Instead of this, how did the two of you come here?)

Elsmau's words were filled with confusion.

It seemed that she hadn't noticed Harpe in the sky.

"Rather than that, how is the current situation?"

Felli forcefully changed the topic.

(The situation is extremely bad, please escape as fast as possible.)

"We didn't come here to run away."

Felli said resolutely.

"We came here only to fight. I hope that we can obtain your cooperation like the last time."

(That......)

"Meaningless."

Suddenly, another voice b.u.t.ted in.

"Lintence-sama."

Lintence appeared calmly in the shadow of a building, on the road to somewhere.

"It's already over here, I'm finally getting to the main problem."

Those words might be said to himself.

Though it was only a quiet sentence, Layfon felt that Lintence was extremely happy.

"Well, since this little girl said she wants to fight, isn't that good. Her power was already proved in the previous battle."

(That...... though you say that...... still......)

Lintence seemed not to care about the worried Elsmau.

He currently looked at Layfon.

"Then, what about you?"

Lintence asked.

"Did you come here to chase girls? What are you doing?"

"......I came to fight."

Letting Lintence's sharp gaze pierce through him, Layfon replied.

"I also have reasons to fight."

"......Huh, in battle, other than the fact that you're a Military Artist, other reasons are all superfluous."

Saying this, Lintence walked out from in front of Layfon.

"So, if you want to fight, I have no reason to stop you."

"Yes!"

Layfon replied loudly to Lintence's words.

He couldn't help but think of the events from the time when he had just met Lintence.

Later, they arrived at the battleground.

"How are things over there?"

(The preparations have already completed, but the condition of Psychokinesis really isn't very good.)

"......Not knowing the true form of the enemy is truly troublesome."

(I'm already gathering as much information about the enemy as I can.)

"Good."

The enemy's true form......

Layfon replied to Felli while he looked at the opponent.

The opponent also looked maliciously at Layfon.

Every waving tendril of thorn was as thick as a big tree, and standing on top of the monster formed by those thorns, was a girl.

Vati Len.

No, Lævateinn.

She was a bit different from the appearance that Layfon was familiar with.

However, she was extremely similar to the being they had run into in the abandoned city.

So, she was already Lævateinn.

He feared that that was the situation.

"......I really can't understand."

Even if he wanted to think about things regarding Vati, to be honest, he didn't understand a single thing about her at all. Though some of her actions were indeed a bit strange, she should have been a girl who enjoyed learning and had a pa.s.sion for discovery.

However, Layfon had also always felt that she had the sensation of not wanting people to know her true self.

Was that related to the situation in front of him now?

How could he relate them?

Layfon who was unable to smoothly sort out these things in his mind was plunged into disarray.

"But......"

There was no time to let him be in disarray.

The battle had already started, and sacrifices had already appeared.

That couldn't be forgiven.

And most importantly......

"Felli......"

(I just heard of Leerin's position from Elsmau-san, she's underground.)

"Underground?"

Speaking of which, he had heard before that there was a s.p.a.ce underground that no one knew details about and that people were forbidden from entering.

"Then......"

(I believe that the person named 'Saya' is there.)

The person who held the key to this battle was there.

"Regardless of who she wants to encounter, that thing will be an obstacle." [2]

Moreover, if she could defeat Lævateinn, then it could directly affect the outcome of the battle.

It was definitely like that.

(Do you feel scared?)

"How could I."

Layfon laughed wryly at Felli's merciless question.

"If I got scared from this little even now, then what meaning would the hard work of mine have?"

After he had lost the Heaven's Blade, in order to be able to fight, he had researched unique methods of refining Kei, battled Nina's great-grandfather, come to the abandoned city before this, and fought with the thing that looked exactly the same as Vati.

"I got through everything to be able to come here."

(That's true.)

"If I turn back here, then how terrible would that be for Felli who accompanied me here the whole time?"

(You don't need to think about those things.)

"Eh?"

(I myself decided to come here with you, so I'm saying that it's alright if you don't think about those things.)

"Ah, sorry."

(Nnn......)

"Th......Thank you."

(Good.)

"Haha......"

Though Layfon was carrying out a conversation with Felli, his eyes never moved from Lævateinn's body.

The monster of thorns had already stopped digging. Lintence's steel threads had blocked the road ahead of it, and moreover had bound the movements of the giant creature.

The shaking ma.s.s of thorns seemed hesitant over whether to dig forcefully like before.

Lævateinn who stood there stared maliciously at Layfon.

'Why are you here?'

As if asking this.

Not to say that her mouth moved, and not to say that her expression changed.

He should have been in the abandoned city, but the area that Lævateinn wanted to ask about was not the fact that he was already here.

No, however he thought, she wouldn't have any interest in that kind of problem.

Then......

"I'm going."

Layfon restored his Dite. The s.h.i.+m Adamantium Dite. The dark blade highlighted Layfon's leap.

"Hey, hold on!"

Ruimei roared.

However, by now he already couldn't stop.

Layfon raised the blade of the Dite, preparing to pierce through Lævateinn's head.

The thorns swung left and right to block Layfon. Though it had a giant form, it was still agile enough to keep up with Military Artist speed. Moreover, the destructive power that the giant ma.s.s brought couldn't be ignored.

Layfon dodged the thorns from a very close distance, and sparks flew because of the Kei covering his entire body touching the chaotic shockwave.

A giant tendril of thorns obscured Layfon's vision.

There was nowhere he could run. The opponent was trying to stop his momentum.

He had no reason to let this succeed.

Layfon rotated his body in midair, letting his feet first touch the opponent...... that moment, he suddenly entered a world of instantaneous speed.

Internal Kei variant, Reflecting Water Ferry.

Pa.s.sing through the thorns that blocked the road ahead, Layfon stood in front of Lævateinn.

Her eyes stared at Layfon.

She kept up with Layfon's speed.

But even so, he couldn't stop here.

Psyharden Technique, Flame Cut.

He drew a flaming cut path, but unfortunately he wasn't able to complete it.

"Ugh."

He hadn't finished his desired action, and the shock pa.s.sed through his arm and spread through his entire body.

Lævateinn had used her hand to block Layfon's blade.

"Though I know your power, I cannot stop because of this."

"......I as well, I can't stop here without moving forward."

Layfon held Lævateinn's gaze, replying with this.

"So, I came here."

Regardless of how many time he was asked, regardless of who asked him.

"I haven't changed my plans."

Flame Cut had been stopped.

However, the next move had already been prepared.

External-type Kei, Composite Blast variant - Flame Reversal, Flame Tempered Edge.

The blade had been stopped, and the slash of Flame Cut had been invalidated.

However, that didn't mean that the Kei technique was over.

The same time the blade had been pulled out, the Kei of Composite Blast had been scattered above Lævateinn's head.

In the next moment, the expanding red color became countless blades, slas.h.i.+ng towards Lævateinn.

Taking advantage of the gap of time in which Lævateinn raised her head to look up, Layfon moved back.

The countless flaming blades formed by Kei all caught the immobile Lævateinn, exploding one after another.

Layfon didn't stay in one spot to watch the outcome of this attack.

He only retreated with all his power.

Using the same methods to destroy the thorns that he had done just before, he returned to the place where he had originally been.

Savaris stood there like the past, welcoming Layfon with a familiar smile.

"Using all your might to run, huh."

"Please say something like 'I understand my current power'."

Layfon calmly replied to Savaris' ridicule.

"It sounds like you've already become an adult, how silly."

"If you have so many opinions, why don't you try them out?" [3]

"But, didn't I already work hard for so long just now? I at least want a bit of time to rest."

"Really......"

Speaking of which, traces of blood were all over Savaris' body.

Seeing as there was no new blood flowing out, his wounds had already been closed by his use of internal Kei.

The other Heaven's Blades like Ruimei, Kanaris, and Troyatte didn't take any actions either, using this time to focus on recovery.

He didn't know why Haia and Claribel would be here, but Layfon had already noticed that they held things like Heaven's Blades in their hands.

He had already noticed, and moreover felt surprised, but he didn't have time to express it.

More concerning, where in the world were Reverse, Cauntia, and Kalvan?

"It seems like some people aren't here?"

"Those few have already died. You should have understood, right?"

"......I never heard of it."

That was probably the only reason for them not being on the battlefield. The feelings squeezed inside Layfon's chest were ejected in an instant.

It was very normal for people to die on a battlefield. When he had fought in Grendan, he had seen many Military Artists die with his own eyes. Regardless of whether filth monsters or Military Artists, if fighting happened, then there would definitely be a death between the two sides.

So, the reason wasn't strange, and even Heaven's Blade successors could lose in battle.

But, his heart wouldn't be throbbing if he only relied on reason.

"We can't let her reasons for leaving increase." [4]

He said quietly.

Next to Layfon, Savaris continued speaking cheerfully.

"Rather than that, it seems like you thought up of a very interesting move. So that's how it is, you were confident to come here because of that."

"Though it seems like it wasn't of any use."

During the process as Layfon had been returning, the explosions produced by his Kei technique had ended, for the most part.

An unharmed Lævateinn was leisurely standing there.

Layfon understood that it wasn't possible to defeat her so simply.

What Layfon cared more about, was why hadn't the Kei technique just now been able to cut her? Or had it cut her, but she had instantly recovered already?

Though it didn't change much about the fact that Lævateinn was standing over there unharmed, Layfon still looked for a clue from that fact.

"Judging from the results I've seen here, it should have cut her."

As if reading Layfon's thoughts, Savaris spoke.

"However, there's no way to defeat her."

"If she were defeated that easily, then it would be meaningless for us to be here."

Savaris' tone was frivolous like the past, but the more frivolous his tone got, the more it expressed the strength of the enemy. Layfon was certain on this.

Because to Savaris, fighting was more meaningful than anything else.

(How pitiful that you can speak so well with a person after you tried to kill each other.)

Felli said by the side.

"Eh? Ah, uh...... true."

Speaking of which, that kind of thing had indeed happened.

"That was a very nice battle."

It had probably been heard by Savaris, as he spoke.

"Something that I can't picture like being able to fight even without a Heaven's Blade, let me experience it a bit another time."

"No."

(You two really are weird.)

He had rejected Savaris' interest, but Layfon had still been told off by Felli.

"Please don't cla.s.sify me as that kind of person."

Though Layfon said this, the confused atmosphere of the other side had already pa.s.sed through the Psychokinesis flake.

"Ooh, that person is also beginning to test her out."

Before Savaris' words were spoken, Layfon already felt it.

He could feel an extremely great Kei ripple from that place.

The surroundings were already filled with his steel threads, showing that his steel threads could become deadly blades to attack Lævateinn at any time.

Layfon looked at Lintence.

The man who pursued battle for another reason different from Savaris' momentarily moved the five fingers of his leisurely drooping hand left and right.

Layfon hadn't missed that fine movement because there had once been a master-student relations.h.i.+p between them.

In a breath, countless thin blades attacked the monster of thorns and Lævateinn.

Cut lines produced by the rus.h.i.+ng wave of strikes appeared everywhere on the thorns.

"It wasn't cut apart, huh."

Yes, Lintence's cuts hadn't cut off a thing from the thorns.

"If it's just cutting, then Cauntia-san should have been the strongest, and there's also you and Haia. So this isn't a surprising outcome."

"I guess that is true."

"That guy's strength shouldn't be in that area."

"I also understand."

He had never thought that Savaris would speak like that to him. The unexpected and strange confrontational feelings that arose in him made Layfon a bit low-spirited.

"That's only his first contact, I understand."

Using steel threads to investigate the state of the enemy, this was called 'contact' by them.

However, because Lintence's contact was too strong, just that could directly eliminate large numbers of filth monsters.

"Then this is enough."

Layfon felt annoyed at Savaris' att.i.tude as he watched the battle.

The monster of thorns had seemed to have decided to first stay aboveground. Not only because of Lintence who currently attacked it, but Layfon and the others had also received the attacks of its giant body.

Layfon easily jumped to evade the a.s.saults of the thorns that came with a cras.h.i.+ng noise.

The same time he dodged, the thorns exploded.

"What!"

A huge amount of smoke filled the surroundings in a moment, and his vision was ruined, but even so, he wouldn't miss any abnormal changes in the air.

Countless things were flying towards Layfon.

Layfon ducked his body according to their presences.

The countless things that broke through the smoke and rushed over were...... thorns.

Thorns whose thickness had become closer to reality became countless spears to break through the smoke and a.s.sault Layfon.

"They've changed?"

Layfon checked his posture, sweeping his blade to ward off the thorns, but the thorns appeared wave after wave, seeming completely limitless.

"d.a.m.n."

The recoil produced when he dealt with the thorns continuously pushed Layfon's body back.

"Die!"

External-type Kei Composite Blast variant, Compound Sendan - Kagome.

The strikes that ran up and down a.s.sembling something like a net rushed out, wiping out the group of thorns.

However, the number of the thorns was limitless.

External-type Kei, Composite Blast variant - Hunter's Pursuit.

While following Sendan's momentum with additional Kei, Layfon confirmed the situation in the surroundings.

The smokescreen was slowly dissipating.

If he looked closely, the number of thorns breaking through the smoke numbered one or two thousand.

Not only Layfon, but Savaris next to him as well as the other Heaven's Blades endlessly received the thorns' a.s.saults.

Like an endlessly inflating pincus.h.i.+on.

The Heaven's Blades had all carried out evasion and counterattacks, but they still couldn't stop the swelling trend.

And other than Layfon and Lintence, the other Heaven's Blades' movements were not very smooth.

It seemed that the degree of weariness was much more serious than Savaris had spoken of.

Layfon abandoned his attack, beginning to focus on evading.

Layfon endlessly avoided or parried the thorns rus.h.i.+ng at him, his target the ball of thorns. Because the opponent had such a great number, if he avoided them once, the next attack wouldn't come so quickly.

However, the superiority of that number was still there.

Regardless of whether he leaped or dodged, if he erred once, then because of the enemy's number, he would be forcibly pushed back to his original position or somewhere even farther.

From the opposite side of the extending thorns came the sound of something being destroyed.

Was it the sound of the Heaven's Blades doing something to the thorns?

No, it wasn't like that.

"She's destroying the city?"

If he considered the speed at which the thorns expanded, it had already reached the size that the palace had originally been. Moreover, it was very easy to speculate that it had already extended outside of the palace.

A crisis was already approaching Leerin.

"I can't go on leisurely like this."

Layfon once again flowed Kei into his feet, running into the center.

Sprinting in the opposite direction towards the extending thorns wasn't such an easy thing. Something that looked like very fast movement actually wasn't so.

"d.a.m.n."

An anxious word came from his mouth.

At that time.

A sound different from before closed rapidly in on him from behind.

There was already no time to turn his head to confirm.

Even so, some kind of feeling told him that the sound closing in was even more dangerous.

Layfon forcefully escaped from the path of the advancing sound.

Right after that.

The thorns in the direction that he had left from disappeared in a moment.

No, they had been torn apart.

"What?"

Layfon didn't even finish his sentence. However, he couldn't resolve anything if he didn't confirm with his own eyes. Layfon looked over.

As expected, it was a scene that was hard to describe.

The thorns had been broken, torn apart.

There was something he couldn't see well that was spinning, shredding the countless thorns, scattering around.

What was it?

No, there was no reason to consider.

"Let's go."

Though Layfon felt a chill run up his spine at the seemingly displeased voice, he still quickly jumped into the suddenly-created s.p.a.ce.

He had originally thought that he would be cut into two along the way, but that hadn't happened.

But even if he entered right now, it didn't mean that he would be able to be at ease afterwards. Layfon focused his consciousness into his eyes, and after he found it, landed on top of it.

The fine net-like object that he landed on was...... steel threads.

Yes, it was probably only Lintence who could do that kind of reckless thing.

"It seems like we can't cut them when they're packed."

Above Layfon's head, Lintence seemed to be talking to himself.

His voice sounded like he seemed bored.

But, even this Lintence had quite a dangerous expression.

He didn't feel despair at his opponent.

"I always feel like your tone makes it hard to swallow."

"What are you saying?"

A spiraled blade of steel threads continuously cut apart the extending group of thorns, piercing, and guiding Layfon and Lintence as they ran towards the center.

Layfon had finally spoken because he was being escorted.

"It hasn't used its full strength yet, huh." [5]

"Eh?"

"I'm talking about that thing. It called up a bunch of forces to drive off the palace Military Artists, and even told the Heaven's Blades to retreat at the start. That isn't what a person who destroyed Reverse's s.h.i.+eld and who defeated Kalvan should say."

"That......"

Though he wanted to say something, Layfon couldn't think of what he should say.

Did Lævateinn actually want to avoid battle?

Why?

Unexpectedly, something appeared in Layfon's mind.

"Even if she has the outer form of a human, that thing isn't human in the end."

"Ah......"

"The reason I cleaned up the other forces first was because I wanted to understand this. In the end, it was the same after I investigated just now."

His investigation just now...... he should have been speaking of his 'contact'.

"Even if she imitates humans, she isn't a human. Since she doesn't have organs or a heart. She's a monster formed of things even smaller than sand."

The thing which had appeared in Layfon's mind had been broken into pieces by Lintence's words, and he couldn't even reform it.

Yes, it was like that.

Hadn't he also seen it when he had been in the abandoned city, that being who had appeared with the same form as her.

Hadn't he seen her calling Lævateinn the mother form.

Vati Len, she was not a human.

Rather, she was the monster known as Lævateinn.

He couldn't forget that.

"Why would that kind of thing want to avoid battle? ......It really bothers me."

Because he had been born as a Military Artist, he had pursued battles corresponding to his abilities.

Layfon had heard him say something like this before. He had been the one who had spoken about his reasons of the time when he had left his birthplace city, but he hadn't thought about that time much.

Perhaps for this kind of person, Grendan's battles hadn't been able to satisfy his thirst for battle.

Not to say that he played around in a crisis like Savaris.

Had Lintence done what he had merely as a duty? There were times when Layfon thought this. Though it was possible that this way of thinking was a bit twisted, it was because of those kinds of thoughts that had brought about the current Lintence.

If he was like that, perhaps he currently stood before the enemy that would allow him to complete his duty.

He who looked no different from normal might actually be lacking calmness. This kind of dangerous feeling pa.s.sed through Layfon.

The spiral of steel threads endlessly cut through the thorns, bringing them to the center. It was already impossible for him to grasp his position. Where was he, in what part of the city? Had there been any big changes from the place before? Or had he already dove underground? Or had he peen pushed back up into the air?

Various worries continuously sprung up in Layfon's mind, throwing it into disarray.

However, perhaps what he had just felt from Lintence might have been his illusion.

Layfon looked at the other side of the spiraling blade.

If he saw his battle opponent, there wouldn't be time to let himself be in disarray.

The spiral continuously brought Layfon and Lintence forward.

"It's coming."

As they came closer and closer into the center, the gaps between the thorns became smaller and smaller, and they almost couldn't see the things ahead of them.

But they could still sense it, and with a definite goal in mind they continuously advanced.

The feeling of distance narrowed, and suddenly came the sound of the spiral spinning in open air.

They had reached the center.

They saw Lævateinn.

She still stood there with the same posture as before, making one even doubt whether she had even moved at all after the thorns began changing.

"Go!"

The moment the spiraling blade was removed, Layfon leaped out.

Internal Kei variant - Reflecting Water Ferry.

With instantaneous speed, Layfon moved in front of Lævateinn.

As expected, her eyes caught Layfon.

Psyharden Technique - Flame Cut.

Layfon still pulled out his blade like before.

With the same process as before.

So the outcome was also the same.

The blade that was released was caught by Lævateinn's hand.

The following technique was not released.

"Why!?"

A shouted out question replaced it.

A very tiny change was produced in Lævateinn's expression.

"This has nothing to do with you."

However, the reply he got indeed didn't have any emotions.

Knowing that there was no following move, Lævateinn added strength into her hand in order to crush the blade that she had caught.

"What are you joking about!"

External-type Kei Composite Blast variant, Flame Ignition.

The flame that had once disappeared once again covered the blade, spewing out from inside Lævateinn's hand.

The flame wasn't only simply spewing out, but it also burned Lævateinn's hand black, making it lose its shape.

"You......"

"Not having anything to do with me...... I don't want to hear that anymore."

The fire hadn't disappeared from the blade.

Before Layfon looked at that burned black and melted hand, her hand had already regenerated.

She wasn't human.

Though he already knew this, he now confirmed that fact again.

Yes...... So......

"I have to......"

It was alright even if he pointed this blade at her.

Definitely...... it was alright.

'Has it become close to humankind at all?'

Unexpectedly, Layfon thought of 'Lev B's words. Though he hadn't heard that sentence directly, it still echoed in his mind.

"This is necessary!"

Layfon's words weren't meant for Lævateinn.

He pointed the blade at her.

Psyharden Technique Composite Blast variant, Flame Strike.

A thrusting flash.

Cracks of red light cut through s.p.a.ce in all directions, throwing the air into turmoil.

However, the tip wasn't able to run through Lævateinn.

It had been evaded.

No, had it not?

Layfon himself wasn't clear.

However, Layfon who released the thrust pa.s.sed by Lævateinn's side, and then turned back to release another strike towards Lævateinn.

"Layfon Alseif, you, why?"

"......If you want to know the answer, then don't do these kinds of things."

Lævateinn went silent.

Yes. Lintence had also said so. She hadn't used her full power. What meaning did that have? Did she feel that there was no reason to use her full power?

Or did it mean that she didn't want to use her full power?

Was that because there was something that made her feel hesitant?

Did she feel confused about the battle?

Could this battle truly be avoided?

In that case......

"It's impossible to want to carry out a conversation while battling."

In a situation of murderous intent, how could anyone carry out a mutual conversation?

What could be understood about the other party?

With every strike shadowed with the possibility of being fatal, what truth could anyone talk about?

Reverse and Cauntia had died, Kalvan had died.

Reverse was a good person, and moreover he was good to everyone, but Cauntia was a bit scary, so he hadn't had much contact with her. Though Kalvan had always had an intimidating expression, Layfon also knew that he wasn't the kind of person to hate others without a reason.

Those three had died.

They had been killed by Lævateinn.

Killing and being killed, in the process of these abominable exchanges, no words could hold truth no matter what they were.

"If you truly want to know something, then it would have been better for you to have stayed in Zuellni forever."

"......I can't do that."

"......! ......!" [6]

Layfon didn't know what to say, and his impatient mood was about to explode inside him.

The expression of the blank-eyed Lævateinn was even emptier than a normal Psychokinesist.

"I have already understood what I wanted to understand there."

"What!"

"Also, I have a mission that I must fulfill, so I came here."

"You!"

"I am Lævateinn. Nano-Celluloid Interface 1 Lævateinn. The first Nano-Celluloid, the Master Alchemist Soho Ignasis's weapon against the Aurora Particles."

"Vati!"

"That is also me."

"Vati!"

"New humans affected by the Aurora Particles."

Lævateinn's gaze didn't change at all, and she spoke, simply watching Layfon.

"The const.i.tuents of that body have hindered my mission many times by now. I have currently concluded that you are 'abnormals', and will carry out elimination immediately."

"Vati!"

Regardless of how Layfon shouted, his voice seemed like nothing to her, and that iron expression didn't waver a bit.

"Really, so you're finally willing to use your full abilities."

"Lintence-san."

"Layfon, if you have no meaning to fight then stop here, go pull back."

"Uh......"

"Are you finally going to be serious? Then that should be enough."

He was probably also an unreasonable person.

"d.a.m.n."

Layfon rebuked himself in his heart.

He recalled the goal for which he had come here.

Actually, he was very clear even without thinking that he wasn't very clear anymore on what he wanted to do.

"Vati...... If you want to continue performing your duties like this, this world will be destroyed, right?"

"In terms of the outcome, the probability of things becoming that way is very high."

"......Then, I have no other choice."

The feeling of grasping the sword and the feeling of air pa.s.sing through his nose and battering against his sensitive skin once again felt painful.

He felt it again, but even if it was painful he had to advance.

From her cold expression, it couldn't be read how much determination she actually had, or perhaps whether she even had determination.

Like a machine, just doing what she had no choice but to do.

Seeing Vati...... Seeing Lævateinn, Meishen's smiling face couldn't help but appear in Layfon's mind.

However, he couldn't be held down right now by those thoughts.

Due to Psychokinesis being unable to reach, he wasn't able to hear Felli's voice. If she could hear, right she definitely would have reprimanded him.

No, being reprimanded and allowing himself to completely clear his head a bit might be even better.

"Even I will fight."

"Then let me see it."

Lintence's voice was still indifferent as always.

Layfon let out a deep breath. The unknown things clumped up in his chest were blown out of his body breath after breath.

If he let them all out, then afterwards he could only keep running forward.

Just as Layfon and Lintence were beginning battle underground, the battle aboveground continued endlessly.

Haia also felt the change in the air.

"Why do I suddenly have a kind of annoying premonition."

Of course, Haia wasn't the only person who felt this.

However, the thorns that had been swelling even through now had separated the Heaven's Blade successors, making them unable to coordinate.

Haia had also exhausted his full strength dealing with these continuously attacking thorns.

(Haia!)

The sharp sound at that time was Elsmau's voice.

"Ooh, you can finally communicate, what happened~?"

(This just shows how far you have gotten from the center.)

"It's really that~"

Hearing Elsmau's manner of speaking, Haia felt a little bit relieved while beginning to examine his body.

He hadn't received any big wounds.

His weariness had also recovered quite a bit.

"What about the others?"

(They're all fine, but they have all been separated.)

"It seems like it definitely wants to destroy us individually~"

First was to converge with the others.

"Then, how big is this thing right now?"

(Aboveground, with the palace as the center, it's already stopped expanding with a radius of four kilometers.)

"And underground?"

(Right now Psychokinesis is unable to check the situation underground, so I am unable to speculate, but it shouldn't have destroyed five hundred meters yet.)

"I see."

It had been smaller than he feared.

(But it's the center of the city that's being destroyed. The administrative side and the mechanical side both suffered deep blows.)

"Ah~ in this kind of situation everything can be resolved as long as we stay alive~"

If they couldn't overcome the crisis in front of them first, then they wouldn't have the leisure to worry about those things.

"......How's the steel thread user who seemed to have ran inside with Layfon?"

(They haven't been pushed back out.)

"I see."

As expected, Elsmau didn't know what was going on inside.

"Then, in that case...... In the end, we'll have to first get rid of this thing that could either be a plant or a machine~"

She probably couldn't have been waiting for Haia to say those words.

"Ah?"

Haia who didn't stop leaping felt puzzled at the sudden change.

The extending of the thorns had stopped.

"What's happened~?"

The unclear premonition still didn't disappear.

He felt that the sudden stop was to prepare for the next stage, and just from thinking this, Haia felt a chill run up his spine.

To attack or to retreat, the two ends of the scale wavered without stopping.

He didn't have time to hesitate.

The scale in his heart was as if it were broken, one side suddenly dropping. Haia's blade emitted light.

External-type Kei Variant, Sendan.

Releasing a continuous slash, his aim was obviously the center of the thorns.

(Haia!)

"Tell the others, if they still plan on listening to my commands then gather up again, and as for the location to gather, it's up to you to decide!"

(Understood.)

Elsmau quickly chose the gathering spot, telling Haia.

Haia didn't even confirm the results of Sendan, just unleas.h.i.+ng it one time after another, and then leaping towards the designated location.

The scale had tended to the side of attacking again.

The location that Elsmau had described was the roof of a household whose life seemed quite decent.

"Ooh, everyone's here."

Haia had originally thought that there would have been one or two people who didn’t come, this was truly an unexpected outcome.

"What battle plans do you have now?"

Ruimei asked. His voice sounded quite dissatisfied. It should be because the battle hadn't gone very smoothly, so he was on the edge of exploding.

Haia looked at the people present. None of them looked particularly wearied.

Though everyone had continuously carried out attacks up to now, they hadn't been careless enough to let their bodies enter an unbearable state.

"It seems like the steel thread master and Layfon have already entered the inside of the thorns."

Haia spoke. He could believe this from the fact that the two of them had not returned.

Because Psychokinesis was unable to penetrate, he couldn't get any correct information, so he could only make a fitting speculation.

And, never mind Layfon for now, it was unthinkable for Lintence to have been defeated and killed while he was destroying the thorns.

Even Haia who hadn't joined the Heaven's Blades for long knew this, and it was even more obvious to the other Heaven's Blades.

"So, our target is to eradicate that lump of thorns."

"In any case, if we don't clean up that thing we won't be able to enter."

Troyatte nodded.

"However, for that kind of difficult lady, how can we get her to take off her dress?" [7]

"Ah, listen to me~"

Haia gave the battle plan that he had thought of while fighting.

"The battle plan this time requires Elsmau's cooperation, or more accurately, without her cooperation it's impossible to complete."

He had stressed this deliberately.

Even after he had explained it, from the expressions of the people around him, they didn't fully agree.

They didn't really understand.

They had that kind of expression.

"I didn't really understand the first time I heard that battle strategy."

"Haven't you tried that kind of thing before?"

Haia nodded his head to reply to Kanaris' doubt.

"Ah, the scale before wasn't as big as now."

"Is that so. Since you succeeded, then you have no reason to object. Moreover, regardless of what method you use, the danger won't change much."

After deciding, Kanaris looked at the other Heaven's Blade successors.

"Let's use this battle plan. Or do you guys have some different methods?"

"If Kanaris also says so."

Barmelin spoke very unwillingly.

"It's a very interesting plan."

"Yes, yes."

Savaris and Troyatte both approved, and Claribel also nodded her head to reply.

The last unsatisfied one was only Ruimei.

"Ruimei, do you object?"

"No, I have no opinion."

"Then what do you mean by that face, sir."

"......I always had this face. I'll follow the plan, if you don't have any problems."

"I don't~"

Ruimei, Kanaris, Troyatte...... After watching the discourse between them, Haia once again turned his gaze to the thorns.

The thorns that were still silent really made him have the premonition that something was being prepared down there.

It seemed like they would have to get rid of that thing before it truly arrived.

"Then, let's start preparing~"

After Haia finished speaking, everyone moved.

(Wait.)

Elsmau called out to Haia who was preparing to move.

(Do you think this can succeed?)

"I just talked about that~"

Haia's face showed a displeased expression, and Elsmau continued asking.

(You truly think this kind of plan is useful?)

"Strong regenerative ability, gigantic ma.s.s, huge numbers."

Haia spoke while crooking his fingers towards the Psychokinesis flake.

"It's the same as the conditions from that time. And from my feelings up to now, I think that this thing is pretty much a kind of filth monster in the end. Then, the same kinds of methods from that time will also work~"

(But......)

"I'm very confident. I would believe in the plan that my companions think of. You also know this, right?"

After Haia said this, Elsmau fell silent.

"Regardless of what you say, we can only try various methods now. So I would believe in the plans my companions think of~"

The flake stayed silent.

Haia once again began jumping towards the center of the thorns.

The battle plan that Haia had proposed, and Elsmau who was shaky after hearing this plan......

A doubt was produced in Felli who had heard the conversation between the two of them.

Felli was currently with Elsmau.

There was a solely dedicated room in the palace that was called the intelligence room, and because Lævateinn had attacked, everyone had retreated from it since the start of the battle.

This judgment was correct, as had been proved very early on.

Right now they were gathering information in a temporary establishment in the outskirts of the city, very near the City Police branch.

Though Felli was an unrelated person, after Elsmau had explained for her, everyone had received her. Possessing Delbone's heritage as well as being the Psychokinesist that Layfon had brought made others have faith in her.

Ignoring Delbone for now, the fact that Layfon was still honored by everyone even now made Felli have mixed feelings.

Once she thought of the possibility that Grendan would accept him, Felli was happy while worried at the same time.

Forget about him for now, there was a more important question to resolve before her.

"Then......"

Felli raised her voice towards Elsmau who was pressing her forehead because of fatigue.

"What is it?"

Though she seemed quite weary, she still was a beautiful woman. Moreover, she had the air of being raised in a high-cla.s.s society. Though her external appearance had arisen through a variety of different means, the aura that she gave out wasn't something gained through surgery.

"Are you implying, you're keeping it a secret?"

That this kind of woman had unexpectedly been a mercenary together with Haia before was really surprising.

And Elsmau was currently hiding it, that she had been the Psychokinesist Fermaus of the Salinvan Guidance Mercenary Gang.

"......Nn."

Her back facing Felli's face, she replied.

"Why?"

Though Elsmau had seemed to be a bit embarra.s.sed in the conversation up to now, she still had made herself out to be someone with no relation to Haia.

"Has he already noticed?"

Yes, it could already be seen from Haia's manner of speaking that he already understood the general situation.

"......He should have found out."

Elsmau made a reluctant expression towards Felli's query, which ended up becoming a wry smile.

(I decided this when I became like this.)

Suddenly, a quiet voice came to Felli's ears. Elsmau's voice.

(I bid farewell to my once-mercenary self.)

The Psychokinesis flake that had arrived by her side at some unknown time quietly sent her voice into her ears.

"Why?"

(What beings like Psychokinesists really are, you should understand, right? To say it unpleasantly, we're voyeurs.)

Elsmau's words made Felli speechless for a time.

Felli had once had those kinds of thoughts herself.

(Heaven's Blade successors are beings who have the respect of all of the citizens of Grendan, so I must be like that. Therefore, I can't let people hold on to this weakness.)

"That weakness is...... the Mercenary Gang?"

(Yes.)

Elsmau quickly responded.

(The citizens of Grendan hate people like mercenaries. Though it's contradictory for them to be able to welcome Heaven's Blade successors from outside the city, that's a rule of this city.)

Elsmau was already a Heaven's Blade successor. Even if she feared that others were hostile towards her, that shouldn't be possible.

Before anyone brought up that question, Felli already had the answer in her heart.

"I think you're a little too worried, right?"

She had called herself a voyeur, and had compared herself to Delbone, so Felli thought that Elsmau was the kind of person to worry about insignificant things.

"I'm just rather alert about various things."

Seeing Elsmau's stubborn att.i.tude, Felli didn't know what she should say.

"Rather than this, the big murky question now, is that I hope you will be able to a.s.sist us, is that alright?"

"Nn."

Elsmau who had her back turned wordlessly refused any more questions, and Felli also gave up.

Honestly, they didn't have any time right now for her to care that much about individual people's problems.

(I feel that you have no reason to be that neurotic.)

Just as she was thinking about those things, an unknown person spoke.

One of the Psychokinesists here.

(She's indeed unsatisfactory compared to Delbone-sama, but she had some very good commands, and more importantly she gave us an area where we can work.)

(Delbone-sama was too powerful, we were all like empty air.)

(Yes, yes, though it's very busy now, I feel that it's more enriching.)

(Though right now it's not as simple as just being enriching.)

Mixed voices suddenly appeared, and also suddenly disappeared.

Elsmau had turned her head over.

In a moment, the air was filled with the atmosphere of a student being stared at by her teacher.

"It seems that everyone likes you."

Though Felli said this, Elsmau didn't reply with anything, once again turning back around.

Haia and the others stood before the thorns again.

"Ooh, they're still going~"

The part that they had descended on was still like a mountain of needles.

And from the inside, intense waves of Kei ran wild in all directions.

Lintence and Layfon were fighting.

"Our battle won't affect the two inside, right?'

Claribel who had arrived by his side asked this.

"Well?"

"Ah, there shouldn't be any situation if we rely on their power, right?"

"Do you want to abandon them to die!?"

"But if we don't take off this outer clothing then we can't do anything."

Haia didn't know why but he rather liked Troyatte's metaphor, so he tried using it, but as expected he still shook his head, feeling a little embarra.s.sed.

"But......"

"Do you think those two guys will die from this much?"

"In any case, if we don't deal with this thing then we can't enter."

Moreover, if it were only normal destruction power then it would be insignificant scratches before this extraordinarily strong regenerative ability. It didn't need to be said, they could only carry out Haia's battle plan.

Though Claribel was a bit unsatisfied with the expression with which Haia spoke, she also knew the reasons for it, so she didn't have anything more to say.

"Then......"

If the other side was busy fighting with Lintence and Layfon and didn't have time to care about this area, then now was the best opportunity.

"Let's go~"

Under the command of the Psychokinesis flake, Haia and the others clashed with the thorns.

The waves of Kei that had stopped their momentum for a period once again spread out in the surroundings of the thorns.

Sounds of destruction sprung up at the same time.

The other Heaven's Blades had begun their attacks.

Sounds of destruction overlapped, balanced each other out, and then disappeared.

Haia released several Sendans while running through the surroundings of the thorns.

After the Heaven's Blade successors had begun attacking, the surroundings had been destroyed, and a great quant.i.ty of dust had appeared in a moment, with the mountain of thorns slowly crumbling.

"The next step should be coming soon, right~?"

Up till now, the thorns...... Lævateinn had carried out regeneration after receiving this side's attacks, and then counterattacked.

She wouldn't be so pa.s.sive this time.

"This way has its own fun~"

But, that kind of thing didn't happen.

Something moved in the smoke.

"It's coming."

Haia who felt the movement stopped his feet, and the others stopped their attacks.

"First is, countering the counterattack."

The dust that filled the entirety of their vision suddenly disappeared.

No, it was only right to say that it had been absorbed into the body of the thorns.

The destroyed substance would be absorbed and recomposed, and then the same kind of thorns would appear again......

"Nn~~? Uwah!"

The shadow that could be seen in the gradually dispersing smoke was not the same.

There was some giant thing there, and Haia's reflexes were ignited in a moment, quickly using all his strength to leap up.

The giant ma.s.s that had appeared in the smoke...... If it were only that, they could treat it as a separated group of regenerated thorns.

But it wasn't like that.

It was a humanoid.

"It's a giant this time!"

What had rushed under Haia's feet was a giant fist. The chaotic airflow blew around Haia's body.

The origin of the fist was obviously a body, which also had an androgynous face that was neither male nor female.

There was a giant there whose lower half was hidden underground.

"Really, everything's coming out~"

His sentence slightly alleviated the originally tense air.

Though it was only half a body, the giant's height was already more than the original palace. Haia looked at the giant as if half giving up while he moved his body as he fell, descending onto the arm that the giant had extended, and then running rapidly towards the giant's head.

"Since it might not be the same as the outer appearance anyway~"

He pa.s.sed over the arm, jumping onto the shoulder, his target the giant's neck.

He felt a presence behind his back, wanting to catch up to Haia. The presence belonged to Claribel, and what she was thinking should be the same as Haia.

"Come cooperate with me~"

"You please cooperate with me."

Haia listened to her reply with a wry smile, and he who had dropped onto the shoulder could only cooperate with the Kei that expanded next to him, releasing a slash.

A slash of Kei and a flash of flaming Kei blended with each other to sweep over the neck.

But......

"Tch......"

"What a cheater, how hard."

The pillar-like neck didn't even have a trace of injury.

Not only that.

The inexplicable sound of machinery suddenly came from somewhere, and was continuous.

"d.a.m.n!"

Innumerable gla.s.s spheres suddenly appeared from the outside of the neck towering like a wall before them, and in the same moment, Haia and Claribel jumped out from that position.

Countless beams of light wiped away everything in their surroundings seconds after they had jumped out.

As if chasing down the two of them, from the neck to the shoulder, from the shoulder to he arm, from the arm to the chest, the same kind of gla.s.s spheres appeared on every place on the giant's body and then disappeared, shooting out beams of light.

It wasn't a situation that only targeted Haia and Claribel.

Haia who adjusted his body in the air and who was using the recoil of Kei to change directions to evade, saw that the inexplicable light continued to appear everywhere on the giant's body.

Judging from the flow of Kei, there were Heaven's Blade successors fighting near it.

"This thing seriously wants to eliminate us~"

Seriously? Was that the case?

Lævateinn had finally gotten serious about eliminating all the Heaven's Blade successors?

He felt shocked after thinking that the opponent had unexpectedly not used her full power until now. What kind of power did she have, to have defeated Reverse, Cauntia, and Kalvan without using her full power.

"What should we do?"

Claribel who was concentrating on evading nearby shouted.

"Continue the plan from before~ Can we do anything else?"

"That......"

"Being destroyed or destroying, there's always been this little difference~"

It was only different from all the battlefields before.

After summarizing, Haia focused his power into his eyes.

The other Heaven's Blade successors were also fighting, making a pa.s.sage downwards.

The configuration of the Psychokinesis flakes had already completed.

Focusing his power into his eyes, focusing into his ears, eliminating unnecessary noise, using his five sense to gather battlefield information. Incomplete a.s.sistance of Psychokinesis was a very infrequent situation. They didn't have any guarantees, and he had experienced carrying out battle plans relying only on his own intuition many times before.

"Nothing much has changed from what I always run into~"

It was the best pretense for himself.

While dodging the random beams of light that flew by, Haia focused.

In order to spot the opportunity, he focused.

However, after the giant entered the battle, it produced an unexpected ripple effect.

The fist cras.h.i.+ng into the ground made the entire city shake.

"Tch."

Ruimei clicked his tongue, pulling the iron chain.

The iron ball pa.s.sed through the gap between the fist and the ground, returning to the side of its master.

Though the vibrations the iron ball created and the collision of the fist had offset each other’s destructive force, it wasn't complete.

Rather, two fingers fell from the fist that the giant pulled back from the ground, and there were deep cracks left on the surface of the fist.

But these wounds would be restored by regeneration in the end. Thinking of the futility in this, he couldn't do anything but grumble.

"Rrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"

Ruimei roared, hurling the iron ball towards the giant's first.

Countless spheres appeared on the fist's exterior, shooting out beams of light.

Though the raking beams of light were aimed accurately at Ruimei, because of the great heat and shockwaves produced by the iron ball, the paths of the beams of light were distorted.

Ruimei didn't waver at the beams of light that pa.s.sed by his body, only continuing to watch the iron ball.

The iron ball smashed into the giant's fist as he had thought, producing destructive shockwaves. The shockwaves became destructive strength that spread outwards endlessly, engulfing the fist, and finally destroying it.

The iron ball's destruction continued all the way to the giant's elbow, and the crumbling arm fell to the ruins of the city like sand.

Though beams of light a.s.saulted Ruimei from other places, these beams of light were all blocked by the sweeping iron ball.

"Hmph."

Ruimei used his nose to exhale some of the heat from Kei, continuing to watch the giant and looking for a place to destroy.

Destruction, destruction, endless destruction.

"It should be enough if we destroy this thing to where it has no time or strength to regenerate."

With respect to the power of their techniques, Ruimei was quite high up among the Heaven's Blade successors, but if only destruction were considered, he could be placed side by side with Cauntia's kind of destruction.

Ruimei once again threw out the iron ball to destroy the giant's shoulder. A big piece was broken off the giant's shoulder, and at the same time deep cracks appeared on the lost elbow and the arm under it, the whole part cracking off.

The sand crumbling off fell all at once, and at the same time countless spheres still shot out beams of light, trying to eliminate Ruimei.

Ruimei used the iron chain to block all of the beams.

"Too light."

He moved on, beginning to look for the next place to destroy, locking on a target.

Because of the bouncing beams of light, Ruimei's surroundings were overlapped by flashes of light, making it almost impossible to see anything.

Even so, he still locked on to his target in the gap between the flashes.

The giant's face.

When he locked on his target and prepared for the time of destruction, he saw that a change had happened at that place.

The spheres that had seemed to completely cover the original face suddenly all cl.u.s.tered together, becoming a giant sphere.

"Uh......"

Even if that sound was very short, Ruimei had a strong feeling as if he were going to be sent flying.

Under the oppressive premonition of being unable to withstand it, Ruimei chose to move.

Strength flowed into his hands clutching the iron chain.

The Kei he had sent out burned behind his back, and his fighting clothes were turned to ashes in a moment.

The giant sphere that had appeared on the giant's head seemed as if it were focusing on Ruimei......

Strongly bracing himself on the ground and taking up a defensive posture, Ruimei released his entire body's Kei.

Combined Internal and External-type Kei Variant - Rage.

"Aah, how maddening."

The unleashed Kei technique made Ruimei and his iron chain flash with red light.

"Something like guarding didn't suit my style from the beginning."

Attacking, attacking and attacking, that was the battle he wanted.

But, there were very few opportunities for that kind of battle. The nature of the battles between the city and filth monsters was actually a defensive fight.

Because they had an excellent Psychokinesist like Delbone, they were able to make aggressive defense a reality and completely eliminate the filth monsters that neared the city.

So, it could be said that Ruimei's displeasure in his heart was a part that could only be alleviated in that kind of battle.

But, the current battle didn't have that essential factor.

Happening inside the city, and about stopping the advance of an enemy with a clear goal, that kind of battle.

It didn't have any key element to make Ruimei use his full ability to fight.

Though he had precisely manipulated his strength and honed his techniques to such a degree for this, it didn't change anything.

It didn't change Ruimei's heart.

Regardless of what kind of strong opponent appeared, as long as it was in the city that limited his actions, Ruimei wouldn't use one hundred percent of his power.

But, in the current moment......

"Uwooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!"

Ruimei roared from the burning of the Kei technique Rage.

A dangerous omen grew continuously stronger from the inside of the giant sphere, and Ruimei's target was right there.

If he used his entire power then the city would be destroyed. Ruimei who had been told this didn't hesitate to flow his full Kei strength into the iron ball in order to move his body and to hurl his iron ball at the target.

Ruimei, who leaped up together with the iron ball, felt his body becoming scorching, becoming a source of light together with the iron ball.

Almost at the same time as this, light also came from the giant's head.

The strong light that overflowed from the sphere was gathered together in a moment, becoming a cannon of light that was aimed at the body flying towards itself.

The giant beam of light shot out, painting the entire surrounding scene white.

The beam of light was almost as thick as the giant's head, about as big as a room of a normal home.

Ruimei leaped again towards this focused beam of light, tightly grabbing the iron ball as if making the iron ball into his own fist, rus.h.i.+ng at the beam of light as if wanting to pummel everything that displeased him, his momentum blurring the red light into a line of light.

A clash occurred.

Facing a beam of light this great, Ruimei's red light seemed too small.

But, the outcome was bright.

In the end the beam of light was completely destroyed, and reaching the head......

"Falna, Lucia......"