Chapter 1.7

The three warriors

With a yelp of pain, Betelgeuse retreated. There was a large wound in its right front leg; Hel's red saber had shattered its scales.

"This sword was specifically designed to destroy cells replicated by the

primordial seed."

On that battlefield of scorched earth, the girl turned back, lowering the tip of her saber. Her long hair was glossy black, and her crimson eyes blazed. She wore a military-style black-and-red coat, just as she had when I'd encountered her a year ago.

"Come to think of it, you used that sword on Cerberus before…"

I remembered something that had happened the night I first met Hel. Back then, she'd beheaded the pseudohuman Cerberus with one stroke of her sword.

"Yes, and on my own heart," Hel said, laughing at herself. On the day when Siesta had used her brainwashing ability against the black-haired girl, Hel had lost her heart to her own blade.

"Originally, Father gave it to me to prevent a rebellion among our kind." Hel looked past the giant monster to where Seed stood limply, a hole in his abdomen, unconscious on his feet. Her eyes narrowed sadly. "I never thought I'd end up using it against him."

The armor over Seed's neck was broken, and there was the large unhealed cut. Who on earth had done that to him, and when…? At this point, I didn't even need to ask.

A few days earlier, in an abandoned building, one girl had risked her life to fight Seed while I was unconscious. This girl in the military uniform was more than just a reinforcement—she was a ray of hope.

"You didn't die, huh, Natsunagi?"

My voice was trembling. Actually, it wasn't just my voice; my legs were shaking so badly that I wasn't sure I'd be able to stay on my feet, and I dropped to one knee.

Nagisa Natsunagi was alive. She'd survived.

"Don't be relieved just yet." The girl in the military uniform sheathed her sword and came closer. "I'm only myself, not Nagisa Natsunagi."

Narrowing her red eyes, she stated the facts calmly. Natsunagi hadn't come back from the dead.

"Besides. It's fine to think of my master, but right now, I wish you'd look at me." Kneeling, Hel placed a finger under my chin, gazing into my eyes from a few centimeters away.

"—Hel," the white-haired detective said. She'd been watching the exchange from nearby.

"Hello there. It's been a long time, Detective." Hel rose to her feet, and she and Siesta glared at each other.

A year ago, these two had fought each other in mortal combat, and now here they were, face-to-face.

"Hel, why are you here?" Siesta asked about her motive for helping us— No, that wasn't all. She was asking what miracle had let her survive.

"I received Father's order as well. I believe you two know what I'm talking about."

"...! That ringing in the ears?"

I remembered the noise I'd heard on the radio tower, like the sound of an

echoing bell. Why hadn't Mia felt anything weird? Why had Siesta and I been the only ones who heard the ringing? It must have been because we both had a seed inside us.

"My master sustained a lethal wound, so her body temporarily went

dormant. Father's seed reacted in self-defense." "Dormant plants… I see…"

Information I'd read somewhere before swirled around inside my head. Such states were a defense system used by plants and other living creatures to keep energy consumption as low as possible while sustaining the bare minimum of biological activity. For example, just as bears and moles hibernate for the winter, living creatures will try to get through abrupt, life- threatening changes to their environments by going to sleep for a while.

That system must have taken root in Natsunagi as well, since she had Seed's survival instinct in the form of his seed. When he lethally injured her, she'd probably unconsciously stopped most of her physical functions, including her brain stem, in an attempt to preserve her life by lowering her energy consumption to the absolute minimum.

"Come to think of it, Siesta also…"

A year ago, Siesta had stopped her own pulse and put herself in suspended animation to ride out Chameleon's attack. Had she been using the same system in her own way?

"When it received that order from Father, the seed in this body began to wake up again," Hel told us, placing a hand on her chest.

The primordial seed's order had resonated with every seed he'd sown across the planet. Hel had been no exception: The seed inside her had set her body in motion again, urging her to the battlefield.

—Except…

"But right now, your heart is…" Siesta gazed at the left side of Hel's chest; her expression was full of pain.

She was right. Even if she'd managed to hold on to a faint trace of life by going dormant, and even if the seed had astonishing powers of recovery, right now, Hel's heart wasn't—

"Before I answer that, we'll need to do something about this." Hel's eyes were on the monster. That grave wound had threatened its survival instinct, and it was trembling with rage. Betelgeuse gave a low growl, drooling, and fixed its invisible eyes on the three of us.

"If you want that red bullet to sink in, you'll need to destroy those scales first. …So? What do you want to do, Miss Ace Detective?" Hel asked Siesta.

"I really don't think I'll ever be friends with you." Without even glancing at her, Siesta heaved a sigh. "Please, Hel. I want you to open a path for me," she said, turning to a previous enemy for help.

For a moment, Hel's eyes widened in surprise—but just for a moment. "I knew it. Having you ask me for favors is quite gratifying." The corners of her mouth rose in a satisfied smile.

"…Don't get the wrong idea. I have no intention of getting along with you."

These two hadn't reconciled, and they certainly weren't companions.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend— The white- and black-haired girls, who'd once fought each other with sword and musket, confronted the monster together.

"So what am I supposed to do?" I called out to them. It would be all right for me to join the conversation now.

"Hm? Well, of course, Kimi—"

"You stay where you are, out of the way." Oof. Totally not fair. "—Gugyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Just then, apparently tired of waiting, Betelgeuse gave a roar and charged despite its wounded front leg. Every step made the ground shake.

"Honestly. And I spent so much time training it…" Sighing, Hel had a hand on her saber—then vanished. The very next instant, the red blade slashed at the monster's other front leg.

"What happened to fighting alongside each other?" Siesta grumbled. It would be great if she took this opportunity to understand how I felt.

"If it frustrates you, try to keep up." Hel glanced back at Siesta and smiled. "…Maybe I'll take you down first after all." But even as she said it, Siesta

sprang forward and fired a bullet into the patch of missing scales. "With that huge body, one shot won't do a thing."

"I don't need you to tell me that."

Sniping at each other, the two of them threw themselves into the battle against the monster. From the sidelines, it almost looked like a fight between sisters. Since they'd inherited DNA from the same parent through their seeds, the two could count as siblings.

"—The same DNA, huh?"

Out of nowhere, I remembered the showdown they'd had on that isolated island last year. At the end of it, Hel had stolen Siesta's heart and transplanted it into her own body. However, Natsunagi's plan had returned it to Siesta. In that case…whose heart was Hel using now?

" ! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" The monster's scream was high

and scratchy.

Dodging and weaving through its multitude of tentacles, Hel and Siesta continued inflicting irreparable damage on Betelgeuse as if this was some sort of competition.

"So, Hel. How exactly are you moving right now?" Keeping her musket trained on the enemy, Siesta glanced at Hel's chest. It was as if she were trying to see the new heart that had to be in there and identify its donor.

"I'm—we're—borrowing that girl's life."

"…That girl?" Siesta furrowed her brows. Leaving her behind, Hel darted in close to the enemy.

"—Is that what it is?"

I'd thought of one possibility for the identity of "that girl." She'd undergone clinical trials at SPES's lab, and so she'd acquired the same DNA from Seed as Natsunagi had…

"Will it be a bit quieter now?"

Using slash attacks no ordinary eye could follow, Hel finally brought the monster down. When she returned to stand next to me, my eyes traveled to the left side of her chest. I had a hunch.

"Hel. The heart you have now is Alicia's, isn't it?" Even before Hel reacted, Siesta's eyes went wide.

Hel blinked slowly, and when her red eyes opened, they were burning with

quiet flame. "Yes. Right now, her pulse is what's keeping us alive." "…Why?" Siesta's blue eyes wavered. "Why Alicia's heart? Six years ago,

she—"

Alicia had died protecting Natsunagi and Siesta at the SPES laboratory. … So what was her heart doing inside Hel?

"She was originally one of Father's vessel candidates as well. As a result,

when that happened, special measures were taken." Hel relayed information

from six years ago, facts she'd learned during her time as a SPES executive. "That day, her body rejected Father's seed and died. However, since she had been a vessel candidate, her organs were valuable specimens. Just as your body survived through cryonics, they preserved her heart in a special environment."

When I heard that, I remembered my visit to that laboratory a few days ago. Siesta hadn't been the only one there; Alicia's will had been sleeping there as well.

"Alicia's heart has Seed's DNA. I guess that's why it was a match for you."

Six years ago, at the SPES lab, Siesta, Natsunagi, and Alicia had been told they were participating in clinical trials and given medication. The goal was clear: to prevent their bodies from rejecting Seed if they became his vessel someday. They might have had his cells implanted in them to act as antibodies.

"Yes, exactly. This heart belonged to a twelve-year-old, though. It isn't fully grown yet, which means I can't push myself too much."

…Except Hel had just finished a very dynamic fight.

"As a result, I don't have as much power at my disposal as I used to, but…" Hel was about to continue when her eyes suddenly widened in surprise. She was looking at Siesta, who was crying.

"I'm sorry, Alicia." A single tear trickled from the detective's blue eyes. "Six years ago, I couldn't save you…"

It had happened before she became the Ace Detective. It was her one regret, the one thing she couldn't undo. That day was what had pushed Siesta to start her journey in fighting against the world's enemies.

"I was weak back then. I couldn't protect you—But…" Even though tears were still rolling down her cheeks, Siesta's voice was dignified. "That's not true anymore. I won't let anyone take anything else that's precious to me. I want you to fight beside me again."

The detective extended her left hand to the companion in her distant memories.

"My name is Hel. Code name: Hel. I tell you these words as the queen who rules the land of the dead." Hel looked straight at Siesta. "Thank you for remembering me."

It was the reverse of Alicia's final wish. But I knew Hel had picked up on

the voice in her heart and relayed it to Siesta.

Immediately after that, the monster howled again. As if preparing for its final attack, the dozens of tentacles on its back lashed wildly. They'd been shot with the red bullet, though, and they only struck at empty space: Siesta was standing in front of us, and they couldn't attack her.

"This six-year story is about to reach its climax." "Yes. Let's all end it together."

The white- and black-haired girls stood side by side, one gripping her musket and the other her sword.

It might have been my imagination, but I thought I saw another, smaller form standing between them.