The Weight of Failure
The moment of failure burns brighter in the mind than any other memory. When it involves the death of someone precious, the intensity only deepens.
In the central district where the Valhalla Lumia branch stood, Eugene stood in the training grounds lined with every kind of equipment, clenching his fists tightly. The image of Layla drenched in blood had just flashed through his mind. It would have been easier if she had blamed him. The sight of her closing her eyes without the slightest trace of regret tormented his chest every time he recalled it.
I will never allow the same ending to happen again.
He would change that future no matter what. That was why he had come this far.
Having steeled his resolve, Eugene suddenly slipped a hand into his pocket. His fingers closed around a palm-sized card. It was the self-defense pistol Layla had given him. Simply holding it brought an unexpected calm to his heart.
Was I relying on this emotionally without realizing it…?
To find comfort in something so small. Perhaps he still hadn’t fully escaped the shadow of death. Eugene gave a bitter smile at his own condition. Even as he did, his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the western direction where she had gone. Suddenly, the conversation they had shared in her room echoed in his ears.
“There may have been outside interference.”
The possibility she had cautiously suggested. Why did that voice surface in his mind at this exact moment? It felt as though he were missing something crucial. But just as he tried to grasp that thread of insight, someone approached him with a cheerful voice.
“Commander! I’ve finished checking, my lady! There are no abnormalities with the equipment, my lady!”
“Ah, Miss Yubina. Thank you for your hard work.”
Eugene had been moving as a pair with Yubina. Their assigned task was to position the necessary equipment in the optimal locations. With Eugene’s authority and knowledge as commander, paired with Yubina’s considerable strength, they made an ideal duo.
With this, their preliminary preparations were nearly complete. All that remained was to repel the black Erosion Species within the city and hold out against their assault until reinforcements from headquarters arrived.
I can do this. I’m certain of it.
As Eugene quietly checked the time, Yubina, who had been tapping at her terminal nearby, suddenly furrowed her brows.
“Hmm? Something seems strange…”
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, Commander. I haven’t been able to reach the other teams for a while now, my lady. There might be an issue with the communications themselves. Could you check as well, my lady?”
“You can’t reach them?”
Of all times for such a problem to arise. Eugene pulled out his own terminal and tried calling the other squads. No matter how long he waited, the calls refused to connect. An eerie sensation settled over him, as if the signals themselves were being blocked. His expression grew increasingly rigid as he stared down at the device.
This never happened last time.
Thump.
His heart lurched violently with foreboding. The feeling that something had gone terribly wrong tightened around his throat. He needed to assess the situation immediately.
Having organized his thoughts, Eugene turned sharply to Yubina.
“Miss Yubina. Let’s find the others quickly. This is definitely not normal.”
It was then that it happened.
Kwaaaang!
A bolt of lightning shot upward from below, followed by the distant rumble of thunder rolling across the sky. It was unmistakably Layla’s unique ability. Both Eugene and Yubina widened their eyes at a phenomenon that should never have occurred.
They didn’t know the details, but they had to join her immediately. Their eyes met for a brief moment before they nodded in unison.
“Get on my back, my lady!”
“Yes!”
Without hesitation, Eugene climbed onto Yubina’s back. Being carried by a girl a full head shorter than himself would have looked terrible from the outside, but now was not the time to worry about appearances.
“W-what was that just now?”
“Did lightning strike?”
“Why did the terminals suddenly stop working?!”
Perhaps it was because of the intense lightning visible from anywhere in the city. Or maybe it was the sudden loss of the entire city’s communication network. Either way, the atmosphere within the city felt disturbingly chaotic.
Yet even as he clung to Yubina while she leaped across buildings, Eugene kept his eyes narrowed, staring only toward their destination.
What on earth is happening…?
His mind was in utter turmoil. Could the black Erosion Species have appeared earlier than scheduled? If so, was Layla currently engaged in combat with them? But then why had communications been cut off so suddenly…?
Only unresolvable questions piled up. In the end, only one conclusion remained. He had no choice but to see what was happening at the scene with his own eyes.
Eugene’s expression hardened like stone as he gripped the card in his pocket.
“Ah, that’s—!”
Yubina suddenly raised her voice, having spotted something. At the same time, Eugene snapped out of his thoughts and looked down. There, in the faint darkness, lay a figure collapsed on the ground.
They needed to reach Layla as quickly as possible, yet Yubina seemed deeply troubled by the fallen person. Reading her feelings instantly, Eugene spoke to her.
“Miss Yubina. Please set me down nearby.”
“C-Commander?”
“In any case, I won’t be much help in a fight. I’ll check on their condition and follow right after.”
After all, Eugene was little more than a powerless figurehead in combat. There was no need for both of them to stay behind for one fallen person. It was far more logical for Yubina to join Layla first.
“Mmm… I understand, my lady. But please, avoid doing anything dangerous, my lady?”
“Yes. I’ll catch up shortly.”
Perhaps she understood the truth of his words to some degree. After a brief moment of hesitation, Yubina descended to the ground, set the commander down, and immediately raced off toward where the lightning had struck.
Left alone, Eugene approached the silhouette lying in the darkness. If they were still breathing, he would need to hurry them to the infirmary. As he drew closer, his foot stepped on something wet and sticky.
This is… blood?
The thick, metallic stench of blood stung his nose. The dark liquid clung viscously to his shoes. Eugene pulled out his terminal and switched on the flashlight. The sight that greeted him made him recoil in horror.
“Miss Dahlia…?”
The one lying there was none other than Dahlia. The sniper from the Rabbit Hole squad who had left with Layla to inspect the barrier walls. A cold weight settled in Eugene’s stomach as he rushed to support her body.
Seen up close, her condition was dire. She lay collapsed in a pool of blood, completely motionless and limp. When Eugene carefully took her hand, he felt only icy coldness with no trace of life.
This is…
Unfortunately, it was already too late. There was no pulse at her wrist, and she wasn’t breathing. The pool of blood on the ground made her condition painfully clear. Why? Who? How?
At this point, taking her to the infirmary would be meaningless. For now, he would have to leave Dahlia here. Gritting his teeth so hard they creaked, Eugene rose with a heart full of grief.
“Layla…!”
His mind was in complete chaos. So Eugene gripped the card in his pocket with all his strength. If even a squadmate like Dahlia had ended up like this, could Layla possibly be safe? He felt like he was going insane with worry for her.
But Layla was strong. She would be fine. As long as she was there, they could somehow manage. Eugene hurried his steps in the direction Yubina had gone.
Miss Anje, Miss Promina…!
Yet the nightmare was far from over. As he ran toward the sound of something exploding, he came across Anje and Promina as well, collapsed and bleeding. They lay there like puppets with their strings cut, no longer breathing. Biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, Eugene finally reached his destination.
“Huff… huff… Miss Yubina… Layla…!”
The place Eugene arrived at after running until his body went numb was the lodging quarters. The place where the Valkyries stayed—the very same building he had stayed in just two days ago. But now it was half-destroyed, as if an earthquake had struck.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“No way?!”
The moment he froze in shock at the devastation that looked as if a shell had fallen, a scream tore from inside the lodging.
Followed by a powerful impact that shook the ground. Nearly stumbling, Eugene hurriedly entered the building whose door had been blown off its hinges.
Kwaaang!
Just as he stepped inside, something came flying out and slammed into the nearby wall. It was none other than a battered and broken Yubina.
“Kyaaah…!”
“Miss Yubina!”
Had she been desperately fighting something? Her entire body was in ruins as she curled up in agony. They had only parted barely ten minutes ago. How could she have ended up like this in such a short time?
Eugene rushed to her side.
“Are you alright?”
“Haa… ugh… Commander…”
“What on earth happened?”
“Run… quickly… The enemy…”
“There’s an enemy?”
Yubina no longer had the presence of mind to maintain her noble lady act. She simply nodded weakly in response to his urgent question.
The pieces finally clicked together in Eugene’s mind. The sudden communication blackout across the entire city. The three members of the Rabbit Hole squad who had lost their lives in that interval. And now Yubina, mangled before his eyes.
An enemy capable of suppressing the entire Rabbit Hole squad in an instant…?
A change that had never occurred in his previous regression. A completely unforeseen variable. Eugene broke into a cold sweat at the ominous development.
And then one thought pierced through his mind.
What about Layla?
His heart plummeted. No sounds of fighting could be heard from inside the building. Neither the sharp crackle of electricity nor the dull thud of nails being fired. Then what was she doing right now…?
Unable to endure it any longer, Eugene pressed her.
“What happened to Layla? Is she safe?”
“Ugh… sob… Commander… L-Lady Layla…”
“Yes?”
“She was… taken down by the enemy… By the time I arrived, she was already collapsed and bleeding…”
“What…”
“So I wanted… to get revenge…!”
Tears streamed down Yubina’s face. She clenched her fist tightly, as if cursing her own weakness. And at that moment, the presence of someone nearby became apparent.
Tap. Tap.
The sound of heels clicking against the floor. The instant Eugene reflexively turned his gaze, a woman’s voice drifted from beyond the darkness.
“Have you rested a little? Then won’t you tell big sister where that commander man is? I’m starting to get bored.”
A completely unfamiliar, clear voice he had never heard before. Yet Eugene felt a chill run down his spine. His instincts screamed that he needed to flee from here immediately.
Moonlight seeped through the cracks in the broken building. In that faint glow, the woman’s form was revealed.
“Oh my.”
Her appearance was bizarre. A tall woman wrapped so completely in fabric that not a single inch of skin was visible. Especially striking was the way she had wound pitch-black cloth around her face like bandages, leaving only her eyes and lips exposed. She blinked her crimson-glowing eyes and stopped in her tracks. Then, looking at Eugene, she bared her teeth in a wide grin.
“Aha. So it’s you?”
“Ugh?!”
Dangerous. Her smile was like that of a predator eyeing its prey. The woman carried the aura of a savage hunter. But he could not retreat here. Gripping the card in his pocket tightly, Eugene stepped forward to shield Yubina and shouted at her.
“Why did you attack the Valkyries? Killing a Valkyrie is a capital offense! It is a crime that cannot be tolerated by humanity!”
“Oh? There’s a law like that? I didn’t know.”
“…”
“But it can’t be helped, can it?”
The unidentified woman drooped her eyes in a mock show of pity. Then, as if truly terrified, she hugged her own body and chattered her teeth while looking at Eugene.
“You’re a regressor, aren’t you?”
“What…”
“It’s dangerous. To think there’s a monster like that in Valhalla. No matter how carefully you plan, if you just rewind time and make it all never happened, what can anyone do? Ahh, ahh… Just imagining it is terrifying… How many times have you come back, I wonder? Did you already know what I was going to do today? I was so scared you might have figured everything out… But it couldn’t be helped. If I don’t cut the sprout before it grows… Ahh, but it’s still so scary! Something like you shouldn’t exist!”
She spoke rapidly, as if in a delirium. Just how much fear did she feel toward regressors? Breathing heavily, the woman clawed at her own body.
But Eugene had no room to react to her words. He had finally realized the reason behind all of this. The deaths of the Rabbit Hole squad and Layla. The city’s impending destruction at the hands of the Erosion Species. Everything had been done to target him—the regressor.
As if denying reality, he asked her.
“How did you… know that?”
He had only spoken of his regression twice. Once in Layla’s room, and once in the commander’s office to the Rabbit Hole squad. So how could she possibly know that he was a regressor?
The woman, who had been trembling violently, suddenly froze at his question. In an instant, her emotions flipped dramatically. Soon after, she smiled so widely that the corners of her mouth seemed to reach her ears.
“I wonder why?”
A whimsical answer with no intention of giving him what he wanted. From within the gaps of the black cloth, ominous red eyes sparkled.