Chapter 4.1

An ark of hope, bound for the end

"Then Alicia is probably at that laboratory, or whatever it is?"

In a small boat that was sailing over a rough ocean, I checked our game plan with Siesta again.

"Yes, that's right. It sounds as if she's trying to recover physically there," Siesta answered with a nod, taking a sip of black tea from her favorite cup.

The boat had been rocking violently for a while now, but she was elegantly enjoying her teatime and hadn't spilled a drop. Considering the importance of the mission we were about to tackle, it couldn't have been easy to act so laidback…but that was common sense, and the ace detective was anything but commonsensical.

It had been five days since the tragedy at the church.

We were on our way to a certain remote island that was under the effective control of SPES.

Our goal was clear: subdue Hel and reclaim Alicia. Problem was, those two were the same person.

Defeat Hel and rescue Alicia—was there a way to resolve that contradiction? I didn't know. However…

"It's all right. I have a plan," Siesta said calmly, as if to clear away my unease.

She hadn't told Charlie and me what the specific maneuver was, but that was how she always worked. Over the past three years, we'd gotten along like that just fine. I was sure that this time would be the same, so—

"I want you and Charlie to make for the laboratory."

"Me and Charlie, huh…? Well, okay—for now—but what are you going to do, Siesta?"

"I'll investigate this area. According to the intel, there's something like a military maneuver range here."

Siesta unrolled a piece of paper that seemed to be a faded map.

Apparently, she'd gotten this information out of Bat, who was back in

Japan. The guy had originally been our enemy—and of course he still was, but he still lent us a hand at times like this. He'd probably been charmed by the ace detective. Either way, this time, he'd completely saved our butts.

"Just wait, Alicia."

Alicia, or Hel, was somewhere on this island. Had she finished the treatment Chameleon had mentioned, or was she still unconscious? Either way, we had to find her ASAP.

"Haaah. I'd rather go with you, Ma'am." Charlie puffed her cheeks out like a little kid.

We'd had a bit of a scene over this particular problem a little while ago, but I'd thought we'd worked it out…

"Hmm. I'd worry about leaving my assistant on his own, you see."

Siesta reasoned with Charlie in a motherly way—but she didn't have to directly imply that I wasn't reliable. Harsh.

"Ma'am, will you really be all right on your own?" Charlie's eyes wavered uncertainly. She was probably worried that Hel might have completed her treatment and regained her strength and personality. As a matter of fact, when we'd first fought Hel in London, she'd very nearly put Siesta's back against the wall.

But…

"It's fine." Siesta gave Charlie a serene smile. "Hel's heart probably isn't functioning right now."

After being defeated by Siesta, Hel had stolen five people's hearts as Jack the Devil. Why had she taken so many new hearts in rapid succession? Probably because they hadn't been compatible with her body.

That was only to be expected. Organ donations couldn't come from just anyone. This case was special, since Hel was a pseudohuman.

Right now, Hel was burning through new hearts like batteries, one after another. She'd used up her fifth and had been about to try for a sixth when Siesta and I had found her.

Meaning that right now, Hel's body only had that fifth heart, and it was very nearly worn out. If she was that weak, Siesta would be able to beat her. Then, if there was a way to rescue Alicia's consciousness on its own… No, Siesta must have come up with a plan for that already.

"So this is finally it, hmm?"

It had been a month since we'd met Hel and Alicia.

Three years since I'd started fighting SPES.

This long journey was finally nearing its end. That thought made me stand straighter, whether I wanted to or not.

"Are you nervous?" Siesta asked as she set down her teacup. "Excited. These are warrior shakes."

"Oh, you really are trembling." "In a good way, though, all right?" "Pfft!"

"Charlie, you shut up."

"Assistant, shall I stroke your head?" "Ma'am, I'm scared…"

"You're a serious bootlicker, you know that?"

Charlie ran up to Siesta's knees. I'd already seen this happen way too often.

"You're sure you're fine, Kimi?" asked Siesta, tilting her head as she stroked Charlie's blond hair.

"Don't be dumb. I'm not gonna embarrass myself like that."

There was no way I could act so laidback right before we went into the final battle.

"…Hmph."

Although there was no telling what she was thinking, Charlie raised her head from Siesta's lap. "I'll let you have my spot."

No, you totally don't need to. Even if you set me up, I can't—

"Come on, then." Siesta spread her arms wide, and the corners of her lips rose slightly.

"…That's a pretty exaggerated pose for stroking somebody's head." "I thought I'd take the opportunity to hug you."

Look, I told you, we're supposed to be bracing for the battle.

…No, maybe that's why she was doing it: because I was tense. Still, nobody asked for that.

"Hmm? You aren't coming to me."

"If you wanna press your boobs against guys, at least have some shame about it."

"You do use unique expressions. Well, never mind," Siesta said, lowering her arms. "Some other time, then."

"Specifically, never."

After that exchange, we laughed a little. We were fine the way we were, Siesta and I.

"Looks like it's almost time."

Siesta squinted out over the sea, at the final destination of our three-year journey.

With the sound of the engine and the wind in my ears

Very soon, we reached the island's port (which was practically just the shoreline) and disembarked, unloading our cargo.

"All right, we'll be back." "Please do be careful, Ma'am."

Charlie exchanged a firm handshake with Siesta, and I…caved to Siesta's wordless pressure and gave a light smack of a high five.

"See you later."

Then we threw ourselves into our final mission.

"The wind feels good," I commented. Even with everything else going on, the sensation was so nice, I had to say something.

The faint scent of the ocean drifted in the air.

"So to get to the research facility, we just have to go straight this way, right?" Charlie asked, speaking louder than usual.

"Yeah, from what I saw of the map, that should do it." I raised my voice a little, too.

That was because we were currently riding double on a motorcycle toward our destination.

The bike was big enough that it had only barely fit on the boat, but we'd needed it to execute the maneuver smoothly. This island was SPES's den; we couldn't afford to take our time here.

"…Actually, shouldn't this be the other way around?" Charlie, who wasn't wearing a helmet, shot a glance back at me.

"What's the other way around?" "Our positions!" she snapped.

That's weird. I'm pretty sure I'm not doing anything wrong.

"Ordinarily, driving is the guy's job for these things, isn't it?!"

Ah. Apparently she was unhappy about the fact that we were riding double, and I'd left the driving to her.

"Well, I don't have a license." "God, you're pathetic!"

"You've lived in America; it's not a fair comparison." It's the law. The laws are different, okay?

"…Also." "Also what?"

"D-don't hold on so hard," she complained, darting another look back at me.

"I mean, it's scary."

"Riding double on a motorbike scares you? You're a guy, aren't you?" "Hugging your waist just makes me feel very secure."

"If you wanted to sexually harass me, that was the worst attempt in the history of the world."

While that pointless conversation was happening, we were racing down a natural trail.

A wide plain rolled away in all directions, with no sign of people anywhere. However, I could see a row of white wind lenses in the distance. The fact that there was an energy supply made it clear that there was human civilization here.

"Back there," Charlie began without decelerating, "you should have let Ma'am hug you." She laughed. "If you want to hold on to girls so badly."

"Moron. You think I could do anything that pathetic?" "You're currently doing something exactly that pathetic." "It's more that I don't care what you think of me, Charlie."

"I'm gonna throw you off this bike," Charlie retorted. "…Although I'd fall off, too."

Then maybe don't keep jerking the handlebars around? Quit it; you are actually going to kill me.

"You'll regret it, though. If you're always so stubborn…" Charlie suddenly admonished me. "Ma'am is all you have, after all."

Siesta is all I have?

That's not true— I tried to argue, but the words wouldn't come out how I wanted.

If Siesta went away…

I tried to think about that "if"…then stopped. I didn't have to consider that particular possibility today, did I?

Right now, I should just concentrate on the mission we were about to perform.

"But it's not like it goes both ways."

…And so I tried to evade her words with nonsense like that.

"Siesta has you, Charlie. And her other allies, of course. It's not like I'm her one-and-only anything…"

"No, she doesn't," Charlie said. Her voice was vaguely melancholy. "You're all she has, too."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just listened to the engine and the wind.

SPES

Before long, we reached the laboratory. It was dark inside, and we tried to proceed as quickly and carefully as we could.

We didn't have a map of the facility itself, so we had to make our way through it by feel. It wasn't clear whether Alicia—or Hel—was here at all; if our search didn't turn up anything after a while, we'd need to hurry back and rendezvous with Siesta.

"Nobody's…here."

We'd gone down a flight of stairs, and Charlie glanced around.

"Yeah. I figured we'd have to fight two or three battles at the very least." But if we'd managed to get in here this easily… Was it a dead end?

If so, it was very likely that Siesta had drawn the lucky number. "Kimizuka." Charlie tugged on my cuff. "Over there." She was pointing at

a freight elevator. When we approached, it seemed to be in working order. "Wanna give it a shot?" Charlie nodded, and we rode it down to the

basement. When the elevator doors opened, the sight that met us was—

"…! What is…?" A sea of blood.

The floor was littered with corpses that had been so badly mutilated, I wanted to cover my eyes.

"Ngh…"

Even Charlie, who should have been used to scenes like this, clapped a hand over her mouth. It was horrible.

But that didn't mean we could turn around and leave. A man was standing there, like the king of that mountain of corpses.

"Are you Cerberus…?"

The sturdy, middle-aged man wearing a black robe looked exactly like the Cerberus I'd fought a month ago.

"…No, that can't be."

I'd confirmed it with Siesta several times. Cerberus had been killed, right in front of us—by Hel. In which case…

"Are you thinking I am Hel, who has inherited Cerberus's ability and used it to take his shape?" The man had virtually read my mind. "Unfortunately, you are wrong. I am neither Cerberus nor Hel."

The man's figure warped, then stabilized in the shape of— "Ha-hah. Remember this one?"

"…! Bat…!"

"Hey, yeah. I like that reaction." He was talking like Bat now; with both this form and Cerberus, it was like speaking to the real deal.

"—Then who are you?!"

Charlie drew her gun, pointing it at the man.

That's what I wanted to know. He could camouflage himself as Cerberus and Bat, but who was this guy anyway?

"Their parent."

The man was still wearing Bat's shape, but this time he responded in what was probably his own persona.

"Parent…? You mean Cerberus's, or Bat's?"

"Both of them." He surveyed the pile of corpses with those clouded emerald eyes.

"…! Then— No, you can't mean…"

The gun in Charlie's hands wavered slightly.

This masterful transformation ability. There was no doubt about it: This man was the true identity of the counterfeit Ms. Fuubi who'd visited Siesta, Alicia, and me earlier. And as Siesta had said—that counterfeit just might be the head of SPES.

"We run into this thing the one time Siesta's not here? Man, talk about shitty luck…"

I guess it was par for the course for me. That's exactly what my knack for getting dragged into things does. I had to laugh at myself—or I'd never manage to stop shaking.

"What, it's okay for a parent to kill their kids?"

Taking a cue from Charlie, I pointed my gun at the enemy boss, a few meters away.

"What are you saying? My status as a parent is what gives me permission to kill my children."

…—! This was awful. The guy was as hard to reach as Hel, maybe even worse. Actually, I didn't want to be talking to him at all.

"These are all my children. Offspring I bore. Thus, I am free to do as I please with them. Am I wrong?"

The false Bat cocked his head, as if he really didn't see the problem in what he was saying.

"When'd I stumble into the world where men are the main childbearers?" I cracked a joke, buying time as I desperately tried to think of what we should do next— But…

"Do you intend to place me in your human categories of male or female?" "What, are you saying you're a monster instead?"

"No."

At that, our greatest enemy, the foe we had to defeat, told us directly what he was.

"I am a plant."

At that sudden bombshell, Charlie and I exchanged looks—but all we saw was bewilderment.

What the hell was this guy saying?

A plant? Had he just called himself a plant?

"Of course, that's only in relation to the classifications with which you are familiar. However, I am neither human nor monster. I am Seed, a plant who flew to this world from the depths of space."

Whoa, whoa, when did this story go intergalactic? A plant from outer space? An invader?

Gimme a break… What on earth have we been fighting all this time? "…Then you're saying the other pseudohumans are actually plants, too?" "'Pseudohuman' is just the name you chose to give them. Both I and they

have only ever been plants. Here, you've seen these before, haven't you?" The next moment, a long, wriggling, tentacle-like thing sprouted from

Seed's right ear, exactly like the one Bat had on the plane three years ago. But now, what I'd thought was a tentacle also looked like the thick root of a plant.

"—What are you people trying to do? Why is SPES committing terrorist attacks?" Charlie interrogated Seed, careful to keep her gun aimed at his root while she spoke.

SPES: the secret organization Siesta had been pursuing, all this time. She'd said its name meant "hope" in Latin. But these guys had been sowing nothing but despair. They believed in some screwy book called the "sacred text," committed acts of terror, and killed innocent people.

"Answer us, Seed. Is it world domination? Immortality? A desire for knowledge? It can't be just the impulse to destroy stuff, can it? Or are you planning to claim it's your mission, the way Hel did? Come on, what exactly are you trying to accomplish here? If you're a plant who came from some other planet, what do you intend to do here on Earth?"

Come on, bring it. I just listed all the evil motives I can think of. But I don't care what answer you give me; I'm going to fire back with sound arguments and bullets. With newfound resolve, I squeezed the grip of my gun even tighter.

"It's in order to survive."

For a moment, that perfectly straightforward answer took the wind out of my sails, and I almost dropped the gun.

"…To survive?"

"Yes. We have only one goal."

There was no telling what he was thinking as Seed used the root that had sprouted from his ear to lop off his own right arm. Still, he kept talking.

"Surface of the Planet Exploding Seeds— We will cover this world with our seeds."