Concept: World - Chapter 6: The Solitary Sun (2)

Late that night, Bing had already fallen asleep.

Ethel's eyelids grew heavier and heavier...

until they finally closed.

In his dream, he was holding a short dagger stained with blood.

"Stop crying like a coward."

A voice spoke as a blood-covered hand reached toward him.

"Stab it."

"Prove it to me."

"Show me that you're capable of hurting your opponent."

"I'm teaching you the cruelty of war."

"Whether your enemy is a demon or a human is none of my concern."

"Once you've surpassed him..."

"Kill that person."

"Avenge me."

He couldn't understand.

Why did he have to do something like this?

Why did he have to hurt the person closest to him?

The voice never stopped.

As its patience wore thin, its demands gradually became insults.

Venomous words poured over him like a tidal wave—

enough pressure to drive anyone into despair.

At last, Ethel snapped.

He drove the dagger down with all his strength.

The blade pierced completely through a hand.

His own.

At the very last moment, he had turned all of the violence within himself inward.

The searing pain followed.

For a brief instant, he believed he had succeeded.

He had hurt someone...

without hurting the one he cared about.

When he looked up...

the only thing waiting for him was disappointment.

And contempt.

The figure turned away without another word.

Ignoring Ethel completely—

even though his hand remained nailed to the table.

"...Why..."

"Why what?"

The unexpected voice jolted Ethel awake.

The pillow beneath his head was soaked with cold sweat.

Bing's face was right beside him, looking down with concern.

"Another nightmare?"

Ethel nodded.

"You were talking in your sleep."

"You kept saying things like..."

"'Why...'"

"'Don't...'"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"I get dreams like this sometimes."

Monet wasn't here.

There was no one present who could tell whether Ethel was telling the truth.

But Bing was certain...

that wasn't the whole truth.

She had a feeling it was connected to the overwhelming killing intent Ethel had suddenly released halfway through their mock battle.

Still...

she had no interest in prying into someone else's past.

If he didn't want to talk about it...

she wouldn't force him.

At least...

not now.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"If you ever need anything..."

"...you can always come talk to me."

Bing returned to her own bed.

She had extended a hand.

Whether Ethel chose to take it...

was up to him.

Unlike Bing, who quickly drifted back to sleep...

Ethel spent the rest of the night staring into the darkness,

unable to close his eyes again.

Chapter 6: The Solitary Sun (3)

A week had passed since Ethel's mock battle with Bing.

During those seven days, plenty of people had challenged him.

Every single one of them lost.

If even Vice-Captain Bing couldn't defeat him...

what chance did everyone else have?

One of those challengers was another Lost One.

Among all of his opponents, he had lasted longer than most.

Lailer.

A Lost One with the Concept: Rain.

His ability allowed him to create and control rain clouds.

Besides making it rain, he could also use them to block an opponent's vision.

To Ethel, however, it was practically useless.

No matter how dense the rain became, it couldn't hide the red lines only he could see.

There had been one close call.

Ethel accidentally stepped on the rainwater and slipped, giving Lailer an opening to land a clean hit.

Even so...

his fate was no different from every other Force user.

He ended the match flat on his back.

After finishing his final mock battle, today marked Ethel's first session of team combat training.

Following lunch, he arrived at the training room.

Quite a few people were already waiting inside.

These would be the teammates practicing coordination with him.

Most of them were unfamiliar faces.

A couple had already sparred against him.

The rest he had never met before.

The familiar ones were Bing, Abby, Lailer, and Oke.

"Hey, you're here!"

Bing waved him over.

In her hands was something resembling a helmet.

"Let me explain today's training."

"We're not practicing formations or attack patterns."

"They can train that among themselves."

"You'll never be the one charging at the front anyway."

"What we're training..."

"...is getting everyone used to following your instructions."

"I can't talk to that many people at once."

Ethel looked around.

Including Bing and the others, there were eight people in the room.

"That's why we have this."

Bing held up the helmet.

From up close, countless electronic lights blinked across its surface.

It looked slightly terrifying.

"It's still a prototype."

"But it should work."

"...Probably."

"So this is...?"

"A telepathy helmet."

"With this on, you won't need to speak."

"It'll transmit whatever you're thinking directly to everyone's earpieces."

"That's convenient."

"It is."

"But you can only wear it for a maximum of two hours a day."

"Any longer could cause damage."

"You absolutely need to remember that."

"...Wow."

"That sounds incredibly reassuring."

Ethel accepted the helmet rather reluctantly.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being used as a test subject.

"No need to worry."

"Everything has already been tested."

Oddly enough, that only made him feel less reassured.

Still, he obediently put the helmet on.

At the same time, everyone else in the room covered their eyes with cloth blindfolds.

"I've already configured it."

"It should work immediately."

"See the numbers on their uniforms?"

"Now look above their heads."

"You should see another number floating there."

"Try thinking of the number above each person's head."

"For example..."

"Person One's number is three."

Three...

Eighty-four...

One...

Ninety-seven...

Seven hundred ten...

Zero...

Fifty-two.

Something remarkable happened.

Each squad member heard only the number above their own head.

Every single one wrote down the correct answer.

One hundred percent accuracy.

"Did anyone hear someone else's number?"

"Nobody?"

"Perfect."

"Looks like it works pretty well."

"Today's objective is simply getting you used to using the device."

"We'll train for one hour."

"So..."

"How exactly are we training?"

Ethel asked curiously.

The moment Bing picked up a paintball gun...

he immediately understood.

His job was to guide blindfolded teammates around incoming paintballs.

Half an hour later...

nearly everyone had been splattered with one color or another.

Very few had managed a perfect run.

Bing walked over carrying the paintball gun.

Ever since picking it up, she seemed completely unwilling to put it down.

Even during the break, she wandered around with it in hand.

Apparently...

she greatly enjoyed shooting people with paintballs.

"Hmm."

"The dodge rate isn't great."

"But this is only the beginning."

"I'd say everyone did pretty well."

"This exercise isn't just about helping you use the helmet."

"It's also about teaching everyone to trust your instructions."

"On the battlefield..."

"...hesitation gets people killed."

Just as Bing had said, the biggest problem had been delayed reactions.

Many teammates hesitated before following Ethel's directions.

That hesitation earned them a direct hit.

The least colorful participant was Oke.

He had only one blue paint mark on his arm.

Since everyone was blindfolded, collisions had happened several times.

Oke's lone blue mark had only appeared because another teammate had accidentally crashed into him.

Just like the members of the First Squad...

he trusted every word Ethel said without hesitation.

The younger members simply hadn't reached that level yet.

"Alright."

"Break's over."

"Let's keep going."

Ethel took a deep breath.

His eyes still showed no signs of fatigue.

In fact, he'd been using Mind's Eye even longer than during his very first mission.

Perhaps it was because there wasn't the pressure of a real battlefield.

Or perhaps...

he was finally learning to control Mind's Eye, avoiding maximum output at all times and extending its duration.

Just as Bing chambered another paintball and prepared to resume training...

the alarm rang.

A demon.

"Go."

Bing said it as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

Over the past week, Ethel had already been called away three different times.

One mock battle had even been postponed because of it.

"Can you still keep going?"

As Ethel removed the helmet and began putting on his combat gear, Bing walked over to check on him.

"Neither your Force nor your Concept is at full strength."

"If you have any doubts..."

"...I'd recommend taking the day off."

"Don't push yourself too hard."

Although Bing still didn't know why the First Squad kept taking Ethel on missions...

after seeing his Concept firsthand, she could make a fairly good guess.

"I'm fine."

"This was just some light training."

"It won't affect me."

"I'm heading out."

After fastening the paired curved blades at his waist...

Ethel left without another word.

"...Why do these people always insist on pushing themselves so hard?"

Watching him disappear down the hallway, Bing muttered with quiet frustration.

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