I, Kurumi Tokisaki, Am a Wanderer

Shimmering blue snowflakes floated gently down.

Standing on a narrow rocky path stretching into the distance, the girl lifted her hood before a few humans who had managed to survive.

Soft, lovely dark hair cascaded gently as she shook her head, eyes closed, swaying elegantly. A pleasant fragrance drifted from her hair.

A scent reminiscent of flowers—those decorative, useless things.

It was a smell Rick, Ale, and Ivan had only occasionally encountered in distant memories.

Now, only the Forest Elves had the time or patience to cultivate such things.

…

Rick, Ale, and Ivan stared at the "angel" before them.

No strange tails, no glorious wings, no pointed or elongated ears, no mechanical attachments typical of the Ex-Machina.

Everything about her… pointed to just one answer.

This ruthless figure, who had killed a Demonia monster single-handedly, was indeed a human.

Of course… there was always the possibility she was an illusion conjured by some bored higher lifeform's magic.

Rick glanced at the spirit detection compass in his hand.

It was an instrument crafted from a needle fashioned with glimmerstones—minerals that reacted to large spirit concentrations—set within obsidian, a tool capable of sensing the vast spirit energy radiated by higher beings and showing their approximate location.

Currently, aside from a slight spin due to the "Black Ash," there was no reaction.

…

Kurumi tilted her head slightly, tidying her bangs, and then slowly opened her eyes.

Her crimson eyes glinted with an icy sharpness, like a rose with hidden thorns, yet strangely inviting trust.

It was a power bestowed on her by Vanya—a charm that was impossible to resist.

"Human?" Rick asked.

"Yes, human," Kurumi replied with a soft smile.

…For a moment, an eerie silence settled over the scene.

They were all humans, so why did her style seem… so different from theirs?

Rick stared intently at Kurumi, as if trying to find something in her bright red eye.

Kurumi stood atop a pile of rocks, her hands in her pockets, a smile on her face. Her straight, dark hair blew upward in the breeze.

Through his thick goggles, Rick's eyes, hidden in shadow, reflected nothing.

The person before her was no ordinary character… Kurumi concluded.

That unclouded heart, like a dusty jewel… and his resemblance to "Sora" was so uncanny it practically screamed—"I'm the protagonist."

…

Rick tightened his grip on the spirit detection compass.

He wanted… he wanted desperately to know how she was able to kill a Demonia.

If all humans… no, if even one-tenth, or one-hundredth, of humanity could achieve that, surviving as a species would be so much easier.

And forty-seven lives wouldn't have been lost because of him.

But… Rick was a shrewd man; he wouldn't dare ask about someone else's "pieces."

"Thank you," Rick said earnestly to Kurumi.

He was genuinely grateful that Kurumi had saved Ivan, even though he had personally given the order for Ivan to die.

"Best to keep your hood and mask on," he suggested with a smile. "The 'Black Ash' is thick today. Better be cautious."

He was all kindness.

Just then, a bright blue streak shot across the sky, leaving a dazzling trail like high-energy particles tearing through the atmosphere.

It stopped in mid-air above them, and the spirit detection compass in Rick's hand began to vibrate violently, pointing skyward. Rick's heart tightened.

Only after the blue comet had hovered there for a while did the sonic boom finally catch up from afar.

The blue glow shrank, becoming a small black dot, which plummeted down from the sky, aiming straight at Kurumi.

A small girl, one hand clutching her skirt hem and the other holding her hat brim, descended from the heavens, slowly enough as if she had a parachute.

The girl, dressed in a black rabbit-eared outfit, landed lightly, stirring up a swirl of "Black Ash" beneath her.

The drooping rabbit ears concealed her Ex-Machina-style folding mechanical ears perfectly, but the two slender black tails peeking from her skirt and her ring-like, glowing eyes still gave her away.

—A Ex-Machina.

Rick and the others tensed, instinctively steadying their breathing and slowing their heartbeats.

It was the result of years of experience surviving the intervals between wars—reducing their presence as much as possible to avoid drawing the attention of higher races.

Then, in their stunned gaze, the Ex-Machina girl stretched out her hand toward Kurumi.

"~nya…"

"Onee-sama…"

Kurumi took Schwi's outstretched, icy little hand.

Then she faced Rick and the others with a look of hesitation… how should she explain this?

"Actually… she's my… my…"

Kurumi twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, looking a bit uncertain. Then, an idea struck.

"—My pet."

…

"What??!"

The three of them stared at her, flabbergasted.

Alright, maybe they could believe she was human, especially after watching her tear apart a Demonia creature.

But now… pointing to a Ex-Machina, a rather rare "model" no less, and nonchalantly saying it was her pet?

Seriously… what sort of nonsense was this?

——

But… there was no time to question Kurumi's words.

After Schwi's rapid arrival, the ground began to tremble strangely, pebbles tumbling down the cracks between rocks as a rumbling noise closed in from all sides, as if a swarm of burrowing rodents had surrounded them.

With tense eyes, Ivan and Ale glanced at Rick, who spread his hands.

The glimmerstone compass spun wildly, pointing in all directions before settling on Schwi's direction.

Absolute despair.

Cold sweat drenched their backs as an ear-splitting roar erupted all around.

They didn't even need to strain their fingers to sense the sheer number of creatures because there were so many the ground itself pulsed and quaked. This was undoubtedly a massive horde.

Despair spread through them.

Even if the girl was willing to help them, even if she could tear apart a Demonia, what if there were two? Three?… a dozen?

And… even if she could fend off a group of those monsters, could she really protect them all?

The nightmare Rick had feared most had come to pass. Killing one Demonia had marked them as a "threat," and now they were at risk of total annihilation.

Rick didn't blame Kurumi for killing the Demonia—that was fate's cruel hand.

In this fractured, mad world of suffering, it was simply another twist of fortune.

Rick's mind raced, desperately searching for a way out.

The air was thick with a foul stench, and the sounds of digging from the Demonia horde grew closer and heavier.

While many Demonia creatures were clumsy, each swarm had a leader acting as its brain.

This was a border region of the battlefront; though occasional skirmishes occurred here between the Forest Elves and Dwarves, higher races rarely showed up.

But now, a fully mature Demonia lay dead here with no trace of spirit energy left behind.

A higher race, maybe?

No… not necessarily.

But it was definitely a threat.

The Demonia leader thought this as it led its forces forward.

This world was already scarred, riddled with battle lines. This was just another hunt.

…

About thirteen years ago, the Dragon King of the Dragonia, Aranleif the Ultimate had clashed with a Ex-Machina force on this continent, fully igniting the battlefront.

Aronleif's terrifying Dragon Howl had decimated everything, transforming the land into a dreadful wasteland.

Countless spirits had perished from that single blow, leaving the ground blanketed in "Black Ash." Aside from a few humans clinging to life here and a handful of Demonia, most races had abandoned this land.

——

Kurumi realized she had made a mistake.

Demonia creatures were not to be taken lightly; they didn't tolerate "prey" that could fight back.

If Schwi had obliterated that massive Demonia bug with a single cannon shot, none of this would be happening now.

An invisible ripple spread out from Schwi's core, and everything around her took shape in her vision.

Although she was an analysis unit, scanning a battlefield of this size posed little difficulty for Schwi.

"~nya…"

"There are seventeen Demonia creatures approaching… Onee-sama," Schwi said, looking at Kurumi and speaking in human language.

She'd observed humans for a long time, and learning human language was a simple task for the Ex-Machina.

Large beads of sweat rolled down Ivan and Ale's foreheads.

Unable to suppress their pounding hearts, Ale licked his dry lips under his mask, tasting bitterness.

Rick's mind raced, strategizing for a way to break free.

In reality… other than clinging to the black-haired girl before them and relying on that little Ex-Machina girl to take them away, he could think of no other option.

But as he looked at Schwi's petite form…

How many people could she take?

He knew all too well the terrifying power of the Ex-Machina. Or rather, among humanity's survivors, few understood better than Rick just how dreadful a race the Ex-Machina truly was.

Thirteen years ago, Rick's parents, his village, had all been destroyed in the crossfire of the Ex-Machina's battle with that monstrous creature.

However… the terror of the Ex-Machina lay in their numbers and adaptability to counterattacks. Right now, all he saw was a small, non-combat model, so Rick didn't dare hold much hope.

…

They had to deal a swift, decisive blow to the Demonia horde—and they needed to leave an overwhelming sense of intimidation to keep the rest at bay.

Otherwise, if Demonia creatures continued to swarm in from across the wastelands, even if they managed to fend them off, it would be a colossal nuisance.

Kurumi crouched down, gently cupping Schwi's cheeks, combing through her hair.

Her skin felt cool and soft as jade, and Kurumi looked intently into Schwi's eyes.

"Schwi… you have some kind of weapon of mass destruction, don't you?" Kurumi asked confidently.

Even though Schwi likely hailed from a far-off, erased era in history, a time when the Ex-Machina hadn't yet assimilated information on so many races…

She still had to have some heavy artillery, right?

Long eyelashes caught the glow of her eyes, tinged faintly gold; Schwi's fingertips trembled slightly… this feeling was exhilarating.

Though she'd wanted to observe [Manifestation] data a bit more, since Kurumi had made the request… she'd carry it out.

"My loaded armaments contain approximately 177 options that meet Onee-sama's requirements," Schwi answered.

"~nya…" she added, hesitating slightly.

"But the most suitable weapons for the current situation require Onee-sama and the others to retreat at least one hundred meters from the target point."

…

"One hundred meters…" Kurumi thought, calculating that, given the terrain, it would take at least twenty seconds to cover that distance.

But… not too difficult.

"Yare yare~~ then I'll leave it to you, Schwi," Kurumi said, smiling as she placed both hands on Schwi's shoulders.

"Got it!"

——

"Follow me." Pulling up her hood and tucking her long black hair back into her coat, Kurumi fastened the owl mask over her face and addressed Rick and the others.

Clank, clank—

The chain clinked as she wound it a few more times around her wrist. With her gunblade in hand, Kurumi took the lead.

Just clearing a path~~~ what's the big deal?

…

Schwi held her hands over her chest, where her Ex-Machina core lay, the focal point for loading her power.

『[Loading]—Code 1673B743E1F255 Script-E』

『Engage—』

A blue light ring rose from beneath Schwi's feet, concealed data projecting as the entire code structure unfurled.

It was almost identical to the Projection Device Kurumi was so familiar with.

Sword-like metal wings unfurled behind Schwi, and a massive cannon extended into her right hand. Two Spirit Corridor Connection Devices emerged from her lower back, the sharp crystals at their ends pointing downward as they began drawing spirit energy from the air.

A terrifying wave of power surged as Schwi shot up into the sky.

Sensing Schwi's weapon systems deploying, the Demonia creatures rushed forward at an even faster pace.

——

He wanted to know… how she had killed that Demonia.

He wanted to witness… how humanity could break free of its shackles.

Trailing close behind Kurumi, Rick's gaze remained fixed on the black-red gunblade in her hands, his heart pounding in his chest.

But from Ivan's perspective, it looked entirely different.

Their leader seemed to be staring at her butt.

Even as they ran, Ivan couldn't help but gaze up at the sky with a sigh.

Their chief had grown up.

Sure enough, he wasn't interested in the girls of the settlement only because they weren't attractive enough for his taste.

If they survived this, Ivan would have to find a way to bring this girl back to the settlement and have a good talk with Lady Couronne Dola.

This was a matter of utmost importance, the future happiness of their leader was on the line.

…

Ahead of them, the ground rumbled loudly.

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