Free Electron (4)
'How did he get in?'
Bedium was Raikon's father, but no longer his biological one.
His body had become electricity, and by controlling the movement of charge he could go anywhere.
'An angel's power?'
Having lingered in Amy's room in a charged state, he remembered every conversation that had taken place there. In the process he learned Ikael was an angel, though he didn't know the exact nature of her ability.
'Ordinary humans—even exceptional ones—can't perceive motion while in a charged state. So...'
A straight-up fight would be hopeless.
"Answer me."
As Ikael stepped forward, moonlight from the window revealed her face. The eyes etched into her white mask had turned into hearts, but the atmosphere remained cold.
"That woman... is she Shirone's lover?"
"Shirone?"
"Yes. Shirone is my target. If I kill that woman, I can disturb Shirone's emotions."
She said it plainly to buy any chance of slipping out of the situation.
'No matter how fast I react, I can't get out of her perception.'
If she ignored space like a scale mage, her mobility would be enormous.
"Hmm."
As if she already had the fish in her net, Ikael rested her chin on her hand and considered. The fact Bedium still couldn't move meant her judgment had been sound.
"Why... would you try to kill Shirone?"
"That bastard..."
Delicate, complex lines spread across the plain white mask, forming the vivid visage of a demon.
"Because he killed my son."
"What?"
At that instant, Bedium's body dissolved back into charge.
"Damn!"
By the time he recovered himself, the flow of electricity had faded to the point it was hard to track.
'He was counting on that.'
All he needed was the sliver of time electricity lingered in space to hold Ikael.
'Truly a powerful human. But Shirone killed his son—what could have happened between them?'
He could ask Shirone at dawn, but then he changed his thought.
'Shirone is my son.'
Protecting one's child came first in any situation.
The body that had been watching the still-sleeping Amy spread into light once more.
'I will handle this.'
A silent burst of light occurred, and the room was calm as if nothing had happened.
'Absurd.'
Drifting through the air as free electrons, Bedium sensed Ikael's presence. He could read human brainwaves, but not their exact, articulated thoughts. Angels were different—through their sacred light-body, he felt her thoughts directly.
Ikael changed direction at a right angle, ignoring inertia.
'There.'
Inside Amy's room Bedium had perfectly fooled her senses.
'Amplified?'
But it was merely an unamplified, natural perception. At present Ikael's senses were so acute she could hear the breath of a sleeping butterfly in the forest.
'Gone.'
With a pop, Ikael stopped.
'She erased the thought.' In the free-electron state, Bedium's presence was nil, but when a specific thought arose it could not be fully masked.
"I don't know how you came to be this body, but—"
Ikael addressed him with respect.
"The erasure of thought is the erasure of existence. You can't remain like that forever."
A breeze stirred in the silence.
"Come out. I want to hear your story. Depending on the circumstances, I might make concessions."
His son was dead. Though Shirone lived now, she knew the pain of losing a child.
Patsuttt!
Sparks burst around them and grass ten meters from Ikael caught fire. Where ash spiraled up, Bedium reformed a human body. The mask was blank, like a sheet of white paper.
"An angel, huh? Interesting."
It wasn't admiration so much as a lack of fear in his tone.
"You're a strong human too. You said Shirone killed your son. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"If Shirone was at fault—"
"There's no need."
Bedium held up a hand to cut her off.
"My son was an assassin. He must have died trying to kill Shirone. It was business. I have no special feelings toward Shirone."
Ikael understood the outline, but she didn't trust Bedium's candor.
"To get what your emotions want, you kill the emotion itself?"
"You're not very angel-like. This is my first time seeing you, but I expected you to be colder."
Ikael thought of Gofin.
"There is no such thing as a being without a heart."
"So why follow me? To preemptively remove a threat to Shirone?"
"I am a parent too. Even with a legit reason, sorrow doesn't vanish. If you apologize in the way you want, will you forgive Shirone?"
"No."
Bedium replied.
"I've already been paid the contract fee, and there's money due after completion. Not fully understanding an angel's power was my mistake—but I won't make it twice."
His eyes turned into dollar signs.
Ikael didn't relent.
"If it's money you want, I'll give it. I'll get whatever amount you demand."
"No."
'No' in Bedium's voice meant something else.
"Why not?"
Bedium, lost in thought for a moment, muttered as if to himself.
"I can't be embarrassed in front of him."
Raikon.
Perhaps the most painful name for Ikael—she shifted subtly.
"Fine."
A slender fist aimed at Bedium.
"If this is about emotions, I'll act on mine. One strike. I'll subdue you with this. If I fail, do as you please."
Bedium didn't understand, but he had no choice.
"You'll regret it."
His body glowed bluish.
"I'll show you my best technique. I swear it'll be nothing like what you've known so far."
Even if he vanished forever.
Staring silently at Ikael's outstretched fist, Bedium evaporated into electricity.
Zzhh—!
At the same instant blue sparks scattered in every direction. Bedium's train of thought consisted only of killing Ikael.
'Kill her.'
If the heavens aimed a lightning bolt at Ikael, she had to avoid it.
'Now!'
Following natural weak points rather than human insight, Bedium lunged.
Time stretched to the extreme.
Even as Bedium's strike closed in, Ikael did not flinch. Only her sacred light-body unfolded.
'Ataraxia.' The runes formed as if to deny the relativity of time, sharpening her senses to a dizzying degree.
She felt the electrons' motion as if she could seize them, and twisted her body with incredible speed.
'Hit!'
Her outstretched fist warped its trajectory and smashed into Bedium's mask.
Crack.
A fissure split the mask, and Bedium's body was hurled backward like an electric cannon.
"Kwaaaa!"
The white mask, floating alone on the plain, dropped under gravity. The drooping, defeated expression near its eyes was projected across it.
"That was close."
Ikael withdrew her fist. "I didn't think you'd break a promise. But I want to hear more—what happened to that body of yours?"
"Grr! Grrrk..."
The mask clicked mechanically for a moment and then, like gas escaping, took on a human voice.
"Why should I tell you? Boring worldly talk—no one's interested. Your son lived. Isn't that enough?"
A cold wind passed and Bedium's voice became smaller than before.
"Why are you curious? My son tried to kill Shirone. There's no reason to pity me. Why would I give you a chance?"
"A long time ago my son died. In front of me... his throat was cut."
"I don't know. They'll say self-defense, or that your son was a bad man—most would accept that... but..."
Ikael's brows lifted sadly.
"Emotions aren't that simple. Even if a parent's heart is the same, sometimes you can't handle things logically because of what you experienced."
Time passed.
"I don't know exactly why my body turned to electricity. But one thing is clear..."
Bedium sifted through his memories.
"After the client told me Raikon was dead, I decided to kill Shirone. It must've started then. I don't know what the hostility toward Shirone triggered... Maybe I'm already dead and only my memories were restored."
Ikael remembered the word Shirone had used.
'Micro-adjustment.'
Bedium's voice was now so low you had to strain to hear.
"When you become electricity you learn many things. Most can't be put into words, but the feeling is this: the world hates your son."
Ikael's expression hardened.
'Those who hate Shirone are subject to micro-adjustments. Active intervention from the outside world.'
The world's ceiling was half-open.
"Who ordered the assassination?"
"I can't say. It's a pro's pride. But Shirone probably has a guess."
Ikael didn't press further.
"I have nothing more to say. By the way... when will I disappear?"
His body was gone, but his thoughts spread slowly like a scent. That slow diffusion made certain things possible.
"Are you Ikael?"
Ikael, who had bowed as if in silent prayer, looked back at Bedium.
"This is strange. Bizarre, even. Useful information, though."
He was at the boundary of the outside world.
"For the gods..."
Neon rippled across the mask and a tongue-sticking expression flickered.
"Time flows backward."
"What?"
Before Ikael could ask, the neon dimmed and the cracked mask crumbled away with a soft rustle.
Even an archangel couldn't make sense of that.
She set the thought aside for a moment and turned her gaze as if to follow a death.
'At least it was a life full of something.'
Good and evil—whatever it had been.
The next morning Ikael told Shirone about what had happened the previous night. Shirone had already half guessed.
'Giyorgi.'
He'd been the head of a unit called the Catacomb—an organization the legions of hell set up to assassinate Yahweh.
"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry, but there were assassination attempts in other regions too. This time... it's chilling that they targeted those close to you."
'I was too careless. No, actually I couldn't have been more careful. The problem is...'
Micro-adjustment.
'You can't guard against everything—from cosmic constants to whatever else. That's why I went to the outside world too.'
Ikael said, "That person said one thing at the end: For the gods, time flows backward. Do you have any idea who that could be?"
"No. I can form a few hypotheses, but nothing definite. We'll find out soon. I'm heading to the ancient ruins with Mr. Zulu."
Canis and Arin had joined them as well.
'For now, Wizard.' At the thought, Shirone turned his head and saw Wizard walking toward the training ground. He looked hollow-eyed, as if he'd stayed up all night, and had become noticeably gaunt in a single day.
'You've worked hard.'
If the century's genius had exhausted his energy in one day, what would the result be?
"Teacher."
Wizard approached Shirone directly; the other teachers swallowed hard and watched.
"Yes. You spent the whole day. Any progress?"
"One more day."
Wizard's stern expression toward Shirone suddenly softened into a pleading look.
"Could you give me one more day?"