The Magitech Engineer Who Cast Off His Rage
"Play something called Ostinato for me."
The conductor of the Imperial Orchestra, hastily summoned to the crown prince, was taken aback by his out-of-left-field command.
"Ostinato… is that what you mean, Your Highness?"
"Yes. An ostinato that holds onto eternally repeating love."
The conductor wondered if the crown prince had eaten something bad, but he couldn't voice such a thought.
"Forgive me, Your Highness. Ostinato refers to a musical technique where the same melody is repeated continuously. If there's a tune Your Highness desires, we can perform it through ostinato."
"…So there's no set melody?"
"That's correct, Your Highness."
Sigh.
The conductor sighed inwardly.
He'd rushed over with instruments packed high, thinking this summons from the core of power—the crown prince—might mean more funding for the orchestra. But suddenly, some talk of ostinato?
'As always, I guess.'
To the highborn, music was just an amusing diversion to seem cultured—nothing more, nothing less.
Especially now, with magitech so advanced and progressive media emerging, the domain of traditional music only shrank further.
He was on the verge of disappointment, figuring this was another false hope, when—
"Then teach me."
"…Pardon?"
The conductor doubted his own ears.
"Teach me music. So I can play ostinato. Don't worry—I'll promise full support for the orchestra in return."
It was hard to believe.
Nobles did learn instruments sometimes, but only as a hobby at best.
For royalty—no, the crown prince himself—to seek instruction and pledge support?
But this was merely the tip of the iceberg.
"Is the violin held like this?"
"Ostinato is tricky…."
"Shouldn't I at least be able to play my own ostinato for the woman I love?!"
A violin craze swept the entire continent.
[…]
Its waves were vast enough to reach the God of Music.
"Would you care to dance with me, Lady?"
"Of course, Frog Prince."
In the ballroom, countless couples paired off and danced.
A familiar melody repeated endlessly for them.
Men sported slicked-back hair with masks; women tied their hair like saints.
Within the hall, they were Ian and Kate.
As the dance ended, men carefully folded the candy wrappers received from the women and tucked them preciously into their inner pockets.
This was happening across the continent.
Divine Realm
Domain of the Goddess of Sacrifice, Ren
Having finished a bout of training, the goddess Ren sat cross-legged.
Resuming her cultivation to catch up on the long years lost to sloth, she was utterly transformed from before.
Flash!
Her closed eyes snapped wide open.
"Who goes there!"
In her domain, where none but she should be, Ren gripped her sword and pointed it toward one direction.
"…."
Swish.
From behind a pillar emerged a man of familiar build.
A rugged mercenary, bearded and fierce-looking.
"As expected of the boss. I hid with all my might, and you still found me. Haven't rusted a bit."
"H-Hans…? H-How…!"
Ren's eyes trembled.
"I-Is that really…you…?"
With a quavering voice, she approached him.
"Hahaha! Who else but your loyal subordinate, the manliest of men, Hans?"
Even as Ren pinched his cheeks and prodded him everywhere, the man boomed with laughter.
"H-How…."
Tears streamed down Ren's cheeks in two lines.
Squeeze!
Spreading her arms wide, she embraced Hans tightly.
"Hans!"
"Eek! B-Boss! This won't do! The guys'll kill me!"
Hans flushed red and pushed her away.
A pleasant scent wafted from his boss, fresh from training and sweat-slicked—but this was no good.
If the others found out, he'd be beaten to death for sure.
Above all, the boss was the boss. A tree too lofty to climb, one that mustn't be climbed.
"What do you mean by that? Don't tell me…."
"You got it. All the others are back too. In hale and hearty divine bodies—as constellations!"
Ian Kaliuga's Laboratory
Ian, the constellation [Magitech Engineer], had crafted a new device to replace the one shattered before.
A divine essence condenser, improved and refined far beyond the prior materialization apparatus.
It gathered perceptions and faith in his beloved, condensing and materializing them to achieve resurrection.
Whirr, whirr.
Ian filled the massive blackboard with equations.
"The ratio of [Akashic Archive] users who've cleared the story versus those who've only encountered her as a character…."
After long calculations yielding results, Ian approached the device's lever.
"Please."
Having meticulously maintained and checked it countless times, he placed his hand on the lever.
Squeezing his eyes shut and gripping hard—
Clunk.
Vrrrroooom!
The lever descended, activating the device.
It rapidly drew in the divinity permeating the Divine Realm.
Within, magitech and divinity fused, birthing a transcendental reaction.
"!!"
At the utterly novel sight—unlike any prior device—Ian clenched his fists unwittingly.
The divine-magitech reaction, known only in theory and unproven, now manifested in reality.
The instant divinity and magitech intersected—
Accomplishing what each power alone could not.
The existence of Saintess Kate, known continent-wide.
That crystallized concept converged—
BOOM! "Guh!"
The device spewed thick smoke and exploded.
Ian shielded himself with his arm from the blast.
As the smoke cleared, the sight before him was….
"Why!"
A pile of device fragments, shattered to bits.
"Why did it fail again!"
He'd verified it endlessly.
The moment of her strongest recognition across the continent, with the new character launch.
Missing this timing would fade her presence in their minds—today was the perfect window, no better chance.
Thus, success was imperative today, no matter what….
"Why fail again!"
Thud thud thud!
Ian stomped the fragments viciously.
Rage filled his head, clouding his reason.
[Destroy it all.] [Crush it to dust.] [Shatter the world that defies your will.]
Normally, he'd gather the pieces and restore the device before time slipped further—but now, such judgment eluded him.
"Give me back my Kate!"
As he raised his foot to crush the core—
Pinch.
A slender hand appeared from nowhere, grabbing his cheek.
"Wh-Wha?"
In that instant, the rage-voice filling and eroding his mind vanished entirely.
His head fell utterly silent.
"My little frog. So much anger these days?"
No. Impossible.
The experiment failed, didn't it?
Ian slowly turned his head.
At the end of the gaze tracing from the hand pinching his cheek.
A woman in priestly robes smiled, tugging his cheek.
"Is this a new grumpy pouch?"
She fiddled with both his cheeks.
The divine-magitech reaction had clearly halted.
Without surpassing the threshold, her revival was impossible.
Thus, she couldn't be here.
Definitely an illusion.
But why….
"K-Kate…."
Ian grasped both her wrists, the ones holding his cheeks.
Why did pain bloom in my cheek, and her warmth in my hands?
"What's wrong, Ian?"
The woman tilted her head with a mischievous smile.
"H-How are you here…?"
She pouted and twitched her lips.
"What? That's the first thing you say when we meet?"
The Magitech Engineer Steeped in Rage sheds tears.
No.
Impossible.
He'd yearned endlessly.
Imagined countless times.
A world where he could face her again… see her again.
Ian pulled the woman into a fierce embrace.
"…Oh my."
Chasing that one dream.
"I missed you… Kate."
At last, the dream came true.
Faith born of a false dream in virtual reality had turned vain longing into reality.
The Magitech Engineer Who Cast Off His Rage beams with a smile.
As he shed the dream of reality that had consumed him.