10 minutes. 20 minutes. 30 minutes.
…and 1 hour.
This was the time that had passed since the first hacking attempt on Utnapishtim’s Ship.
“…Huff.”
A sigh escaped from Himari’s lips.
They had certainly done their best. They had not only blocked the initial hacking attempt with a firewall that everyone had worked hard to create but had also successfully defended against the second, third, and even the fourth attempts.
However, now it was at their limit.
Regardless of how overwhelming Utnapishtim’s Ship’s processing capabilities were, Himari deemed it inferior compared to the Ark.
…Unless, of course, Aris’s current personality was so overwhelmingly skilled at handling the Ark that it was on a whole different level compared to how they handled the ship right now.
Either way, it seemed that successfully blocking the hacking attempts had effectively reached its last straw with what just happened.
Even if they devised some new method, it was a foregone conclusion that the hacking would happen just a tad faster than they could complete it.
Yet, the conviction that they couldn’t give up here moved Himari again. Encouraging her crew and Rion, she fidgeted her fingers to nullify yet another hacking attempt.
“…Himari.”
Had it not been for the person who spoke before her, Himari would surely have let out words of encouragement.
“Yes, Rion. I’m very well aware that even if we start working right now, the chances of stopping the next attack are virtually negligible…”
“No, that’s not it. I was going to ask if you’re okay.”
Rion, noticing that Himari’s response was going to be lengthy, quickly shifted to the main point.
“…Oh my. That’s quite unusual. Rion is worrying about my health.”
“I’ve seen you grimacing over there. Your hands are trembling too.”
“Me?”
Himari tilted her head in confusion in response to Rion’s words.
Her frowning was something that happened occasionally, so it could be overlooked. After all, one of the privileges of being a pretty girl is that any expression they make is still charming as long as it’s not overly ridiculous.
“Yeah. Your complexion isn’t looking too good…”
“No, Rion, I’m fine. Yes, perfectly fine. I—”
I have to be fine.
Himari swallowed those words inwardly.
Regrettably, this was not intentional.
“Ugh…”
Himari, placing her hand on her head, squeezed her eyes shut. By the way, when was the last time she had fallen asleep?
As she tried to recall, Himari shook her head side to side. One thing was certainly clear — she had been awake for a duration of time long enough to understand that her body was in pain.
But did her body have to hit a limit in such a situation?
The moment when she most needed to exert her abilities to their fullest.
At such a time, her innate frailty was suddenly trying to pull her back. It was almost absurd how ridiculous it was.
In fact, it felt as if it was undeniably a result of Rion bringing it up to begin with.
‘If I stop here, all the efforts so far will go to waste. That said, even if my body complains of limits, as long as my mind can endure until the end…’
“Himari, you should take a break for a bit.”
“…No. I can’t do that, Rion. If I back out now…!”
“It’s okay. I’ll take responsibility.”
“…?!”
Rion flashed a gentle smile at Himari, who looked at him wide-eyed in surprise. Seeing him now, she understood that this Rion was starkly different from the usual one, who always floated a step away from the world with his expressionless face.
“…That’s not like you. The fact that you’re being irrational stands out.”
“Yeah, it might not be like me. But I think I can manage it just this once. So…”
For some reason, Himari found herself believing Rion’s words, almost involuntarily.
Feeling the tension leave her body, Himari’s eyes closed. Even though it wasn’t the right moment, the exhaustion that had already pushed her body to its limits desperately craved even a moment of rest.
After all, Akeboshi Himari was a prodigy and a pretty girl, but she couldn’t deny that she was also frail.
And so, an hour passed.
When Himari opened her eyes, she looked around in a panic, her expression saying, “Oh no!” Since she had lost track of time, she feared that something had gone wrong because of her.
But inexplicably, everyone still maintained their positions, diligently working with their hands.
‘Huh… Could it be that not much time has passed…?’
The atmosphere around her was so unchanged from before she fainted that she thought this to herself unconsciously.
“…Rion, what’s the current situation?”
“Oh. Himari.”
Rion glanced at Himari, then shifted his focus back to the screen in front of him; then he continued, whether it was good or bad.
“There were two additional attempts. Fortunately, we managed to fend them off.”
“Huh?”
Himari blinked with a dazed expression.
‘I thought we were pretty much done for; they managed to block two more?’
Quickly checking the time, Himari felt dizzy. Given that about an hour had passed, Rion’s words had to be true.
If they had failed, this calm atmosphere could not possibly have been maintained.
Of course, considering that everyone was at their peak concentration and even an empty Youkai MAX can was sitting next to Rion, it wasn’t that serene.
‘Then, does this mean I’m actually unnecessary here…?’
Suddenly, that thought crossed Himari’s mind, causing her to slap her cheeks. Now was not the time for such random thoughts. Having gathered her composure, she needed to lend a hand right away.
Though recovering her condition with just a brief rest was a bit unrealistic, at least the immediate crisis had been averted.
“Wait a minute. What’s the situation with the infiltration team?”
After focusing on defending against the hacking attempts from the rear support team, there had been no time for the support team, oddly enough, to check on that side.
However, since there hadn’t been any major issues with the hull, it seemed that the defense team was doing their job maintaining the defensive line, so they could continue to trust that.
What was truly crucial was the infiltration team.
Ultimately, the only thing that could change the circumstances right now was that team.
“Last I heard, they found some gigantic door. That was about 5 minutes ago.”
“A door…”
Himari felt a flicker of hope. Regardless of how vast the Ark was, enough time had surely passed for the infiltration team to reach the core.
“Mika-chan, can you hear me?”
[…Huh? Oh, it’s Himari-chan. I heard you were taking a break—]
[BOOM——!!!]
“Huh?!”
Startled by the explosion sound coming through the communication, Himari flinched.
“Uh, what was that just now…?”
[That was the sound of the bomb Akane-chan brought going off. I don’t know if Rion-chan heard, but we’ve just arrived at what looks to be the door—so…]
“Is that so? I hope there isn’t any terminal nearby that I sent you for use around that door?”
[Ah, right. I looked around, but I didn’t see anything in particular… By the way, how thick is this door anyway? The bombs Akane-chan brought are running out…!]
Based on the situation, it seemed that the infiltration team’s circumstances were nearing that of Aris.
Yet, the problem was,
‘…So what can the infiltration team do in this situation?’
The rear support team was currently out of resources. If Utnapishtim’s Ship got hacked, defeat was practically guaranteed.
Moreover, even if, by some miracle, the infiltration team managed to connect to the core systems of the Ark during this situation, it wouldn’t change their focus.
It was overwhelming. The circumstances continued to spiral unfavorably, and there were no adequate solutions coming to mind.
If the infiltration team couldn’t breach the door even after setting off all their explosives, only a future where everyone withered away loomed ahead.
…Now, it was truly the time when a miracle was desperately needed.
And to buy just a moment of time for that miracle to visit, they had to protect Utnapishtim’s Ship. It was a must.
“Thank you, Rion.”
“Mm?”
Rion paused for a moment in surprise, but Himari kept her lips sealed and focused all her attention on her task.
On her lips was a faint smile, barely noticeable.
*
Yurizono Seiya. A girl with the power of prophecy, able to peek behind the curtain of dreams and glimpse what lies beyond.
She sat by her bed, gazing out the window.
Her health was as poor as always, but at some point, her condition showed no signs of improving.
And this was all due to her ceaseless wandering through dreams to catch glimpses of the future.
She was afraid.
Terribly afraid that she wouldn’t be able to prepare adequately for the impending doom approaching Kivotos.
Her prophetic dreams were always a jumble.
She had seen a woman, whom she had never laid eyes on, bleeding.
She had witnessed Mika, sobbing as she embraced that woman.
She saw Mika attempting to kill her.
She had seen Nagisa, facing her death atop something resembling an altar.
And she had watched the world become stained with colors incomprehensible to anyone.
Seiya continued to perceive prophetic dreams where she could find no connections. And after waking, she carefully recorded every detail, no matter how trivial.
She believed she could get closer to the truth.
Seiya knew that there was no need to fear destruction.
Yet paradoxically, the only reason she didn’t need to fear destruction was because she was a frail creature who could only prepare for that destruction through fear.
Pulling the notebook next to her bed into her arms, Seiya began to flip through the pages.
Dozens of pages, more than half the notebook had been neatly filled with her handwriting.
Seiya opened a blank page where nothing was written yet and picked up a pen.
She had already heard that the situation outside was chaotic. The Rescue Knights had even gone to Millennium for support, so it was clear that things were serious.
However, Seiya folded away her worries regarding that. After all, how many times had she experienced prophetic dreams?
Of course, this incident was among those numbers. And she knew the outcome.
The future is not fixed. It is an unstable thing that can change merely by revealing the endings she has seen.
That’s why Seiya quietly waited and began to record this prophetic dream.
Once she finished writing, her everyday routine would repeat.
Completing the assigned tasks, then wandering through dreams again.
Until the moment when all the puzzle pieces fit together, and she reached the most crucial information to navigate through destruction…
Yurizono Seiya would never stop dreaming.
