Extra - The World I Took Too Lightly
Perhaps I had been taking this world too lightly.
Of course I understood the threat of the Outers, but I had never imagined my life would be put in danger like this in the middle of an ordinary day, with no preparation at all.
At the very least, I had vaguely assumed that facing an Outer would only happen once I was deployed in a Dracore for actual combat.
But it turned out my thinking was fucking wrong.
“Ugh…”
My breath had caught in my throat.
In the distance, the sound of steel plates crumpling stabbed at my ears like jagged blades.
Beyond my unblinking vision, emergency lights spread a cold blue glow across the ceiling.
When I finally came to my senses, my body felt sticky and rigid. Shards of broken glass lay scattered beneath my forearm, and over them seeped a strangely warm, damp liquid.
I realized it too late. It was my own blood.
The impact must have thrown me against everything, and the glass had sliced me open. The metallic stench mixed with the thick iron smell of blood crawled all the way up the back of my throat.
The blood slid slowly down my arm and pooled at my fingertips. Every short exhale felt like my skin was tearing open, letting the heat inside bleed out.
I barely managed to roll my head to the side. A discarded bag came into view, along with the subway doors that had failed to close all the way. Through the gap, air as cold as ice seeped inside.
For a moment, I wished desperately that all of this was just a dream.
If I accepted it as reality, it felt like I would cross a line that could never be undone.
But the sensation against my fingertips refused to allow that shallow escape.
The weight in my arms. The warm body heat.
It was Yuzuki.
“…Yuzuki.”
I swallowed reflexively.
I had no idea how it had happened.
Had I passed out while holding her, or had she unconsciously clung to me as she fell?
Either way, Yuzuki was definitely alive in my embrace right now.
Relief washed through me at that fact, and I slowly—agonizingly slowly—lifted my gaze.
Beyond the shattered subway window, something was there.
An Outer.
The creature was still nearby.
I fought to calm my wildly pounding heart and looked down at Yuzuki’s face.
Her breathing, now unconscious, came in weak gasps, and the faint scent of blood mingled with the air.
At least her body still held warmth. That alone felt like the only proof she was still alive.
Yet it brought me no comfort. Instead, a deeper terror gripped my chest—the fear that I had to do something, anything, right now.
If we stayed here, we would both die.
My instincts screamed it.
After what felt like forever steadying my breath, I forced a little strength into my fingertips.
My entire body ached as though it had been beaten to the brink of breaking, but I had to move.
The cracks outside the window, the emergency signs, the people lying so still I couldn’t tell if they were dead or alive.
In this hellish nightmare of a scene, I knew I had to escape as fast as possible.
I staggered and shook Yuzuki’s shoulder.
Her eyelids fluttered. Slowly, her half-lidded eyes turned toward me. Her gaze wandered through empty air before finally locking onto my face.
Then her lips trembled with a dry breath.
“…Oppa?”
“Yuzuki. Can you hear my voice?”
“What… is this…”
“It’s an Outer. There’s no time to explain. Can you stand up right now?”
“…..That’s…”
Her pupils shook briefly. Her head moved side to side with excruciating slowness.
“I don’t know… My legs… won’t take any strength…”
Her voice in my ear was so fragile it sounded like it might shatter.
That thin, delicate sound sent a chill racing down my spine. Was it the blow to her head, or something worse? There was no time to check.
I swallowed hard and carefully draped her arm around the back of my neck. For now, this was the only way.
“It’s okay. I’ll carry you.”
Before I even finished speaking, another explosion roared nearby. Whatever it was, the Outer was clearly attacking everything around it.
Whether it was deliberately killing people or simply rampaging because of its violent nature, I didn’t know. But if I hesitated any longer, it would all be over.
I clenched my teeth and pulled Yuzuki fully onto my back. Her faint warmth and trembling seeped into my nape. That feeling only sharpened my desperate need to protect my sister.
Other people nearby caught my eye, but in that moment, coldly, I had no thought of saving anyone else.
If I could only save one person here, my choice was Yuzuki without hesitation.
Staggering, I somehow managed to climb out of the derailed subway car with her on my back.
The instant I did, a piercing rupture exploded behind us. I whipped my head around. The very car we had just left was being crushed beneath the Outer’s bulk, losing all shape.
Goosebumps erupted across my skin. If I had been even a second slower, we would have died for certain.
A hollow laugh born of pure terror kept bubbling up.
I had no room to feel relief at still being alive.
The Outer was single-handedly smashing everything around it.
Chunks of subway car and long sections of track shattered and flew through the air.
I tried to dodge them and move quickly, but a sharp pain lanced through my leg.
The agony stole my breath. One knee buckled. The body that had barely been holding together was finally giving out. It seemed my legs weren’t unscathed either.
“At this rate… we’ll both die… Just leave me and go…”
Yuzuki clutched my back, her voice shaking.
I didn’t answer. I simply exhaled and tried to take another step. She let out a trembling breath that sounded almost incredulous.
“Oppa… didn’t you hear me? Please… if you keep this up…”
So noisy. Whining like that.
I kept my head down and forced my dry lips to move.
“…Shut your mouth and just stay on my back.”
Even as my body staggered like it was about to fall apart, I took another step.
Then Yuzuki swallowed a trembling breath and whispered.
“Idiot… we’re both going to die like this…”
When those words sank into my back, I understood exactly how reckless I looked and what I was doing. Even so, it didn’t matter.
I took another step on my shaking legs. Pain like something inside me was snapping spread through my body. Sensing the tremor, Yuzuki swallowed a thin sob and pressed her face against me.
“Oppa… why… why are you going this far…”
My legs and ankles tingled and trembled. It felt like my whole body was freezing solid.
I had probably lost more blood than I realized. At least the breath from Yuzuki against my nape was the only warmth left in the growing cold.
Clinging to that warmth, I crawled forward with her on my back, trying to reach the edge of the tracks.
Sensation was slowly fading from my stiffening legs, but something even more terrifying brushed across my spine.
My breathing grew thick.
Carefully—agonizingly slowly—I turned my head.
The Outer that had been standing atop the collapsed subway was now facing directly toward us.
Dozens of eyes, split open like cracks, were all staring at me at once.
That gaze wasn’t cautious or furious. It was simply the cold observation of a predator deciding when to kill its prey.
The moment I met those eyes, a chill crawled up my spine and pierced straight through me.
In that breath-stopping terror, I swallowed hard and pulled Yuzuki’s warmth even closer.
She must have been too frightened to make a sound either. She simply held her breath and gripped my back tightly.
Was this it? Were we going to die?
The thought dug into my mind as I stared at the Outer watching us.
Then its countless eyes flickered. Slowly, it turned its head away.
I followed its gaze in a daze.
At the far end of the opposite track, something massive appeared.
Unbelievably, it was a Dracore.
The Outer must have recognized it as an enemy, because it turned its entire body. As if it had already forgotten about us, it immediately charged toward the Dracore.
With heavy thuds, the crushing pressure that had been bearing down on us vanished.
Completely free of the Outer’s gaze, I let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.
“…We’re alive.”
“Y-yeah…”
Yuzuki’s voice trembled as though it could barely escape her throat.
Only then did the desperate strength in her grip on my shoulder slowly loosen.
I exhaled and tilted my head.
“…That hurts. If you squeeze any harder, you’ll actually break my bones.”
“Sorry… I was… so scared…”
Yuzuki sobbed and buried her face in my back. Her small, trembling breaths brushed against my nape.
For a second I panicked and spoke quickly.
“Hey… Yuzuki? You know I was joking, right?”
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
“No, I mean…”
Her crying wouldn’t stop. I let out a helpless laugh.
“It’s okay. The way you held on so tight… it let me pretend I wasn’t scared either.”
At those slightly awkward words, Yuzuki buried her face again and swallowed another soft sob.
Feeling that tiny tremor, I finally realized we had truly survived.
Only then did my breath come rushing out. A strange mixture of relief and helplessness flooded through me all at once. Even so, the fact that I had managed to protect Yuzuki remained inside me like lingering embers.
And in that moment, I felt something inside me snap.
My blood-chilled legs and bruised arms no longer obeyed me.
“Oppa…?”
Yuzuki’s voice sounded far away.
I tried to force a smile, moving the corners of my mouth. But no words came.
My vision slowly slid downward.
The sight of Yuzuki still crying.
That was all I could see in those final moments.
Then everything faded and went dark.