Tsukiuta. Zanshin Kakeru SS - 12/2/2023

[nebulancer]

⚔Someone who cuts open the path⚔

 

In the deepest depths of the night, Kakeru stood at the front lines.

 

He was the commander entrusted with the harshest, most grueling battlefield on this earth. He was the strongest, most powerful warrior, <Soldier>, in this very location.

 

The leader of the first infantry division, CLASS: Colonel (Decisive Battle).

A soldier treated like a decisive weapon.

 

“They’re coming.”

 

At Kakeru’s words, the Soldiers by his side drew their swords without a single wasted motion. The elites that continued to fight alongside Kakeru at the front lines did not doubt Kakeru’s words, even if their radar didn’t respond.

After a short interval, the radar finally responded. Following that, a radio communication came in.

 

“——Numerous Regret responses! They’re coming!!”

 

Before the radio message ended, Kakeru had already leapt into the pitch-black darkness.

After a brief pause, the Soldiers followed after him.

 

And.

 

Fearsome bellows belonging to the beasts echoed throughout the vicinity. One could even believe them to be the very groans of the earth itself.

Shrieks, war cries, metallic clanging, plosive noises, and sounds of explosions.

All kinds of sounds burst out from every location. Whether they were weapons that the Soldiers used or if they belonged to the Regret, the flashes of light, the flames, the shock waves violently blew over everything.

It was impossible to predict what attack would come next from the battles with Regret, as not a single one was the same.

 

The Soldiers assumed that was the case, and they focused on doing just one thing.

 

“Cut”.

 

That was all.

 

＊＊＊

 

Kakeru felt as if his own senses were growing keener with every swing of his sword.

Upon a life-or-death battlefield, his concentration was heightened to the very limit, his field of vision opened wide. Everything looked like it was moving in slow-motion.

 

Thump.

 

Thump.

 

Only his body’s systematic heartbeat reached his ears, and he moved his body as if riding upon that rhythm.

There was no fear, no worry, no hesitation to be found there.

He was neither excited nor thrilled to fight. Rather, he simply became an object that focused on running toward its goals.

 

Cut.

 

Cut.

 

Send off

 

Those Regrets.

 

Regrets... People’s hearts that took physical form.

Most times, whatever used to be someone’s heart would silently disappear into the darkness the instant the blade of Kakeru’s “sword” touched it.

As if they so desired it.

Kakeru would instinctively narrow his eyes in happiness whenever that moment happened.

It was the bare minimum of what he could do as a tribute to the departing soul, replacing a prayer.

 

——When was it, perhaps?

A new Soldier asked him why he didn’t hesitate to cut down Regret.

“That” was something that anyone should’ve had, yet he could cut them down without a shred of hesitation.

 

“I don’t hesitate when cutting them down.”

 

Kakeru did not hesitate when giving his answer as well.

He looked at the Soldier’s eyes and declared resolutely.

Though he knew what reply the Soldier would give in response, he did not hesitate.

 

The new Soldier made an expression that could not be described with words: afraid, or perhaps ashamed. He averted his gaze.

Though their surroundings became panicked in the instant that followed, Kakeru did not think of him as rude nor shallow-minded.

He simply thought, “He’s a nice person.”

 

If there were people he wanted to protect,

If the Regret were about to attack those people,

Kakeru had no power to turn Regret back into humans, but he did have the power to oppose them.

In that case, there was only one thing he could do.

Ever since he received the qualifications to become a Soldier, he did not hesitate even once.

 

If it was impossible for them to return,

He would see them off himself, with his own two hands.

Even if these actions of his would cause anyone, anywhere, to disparage him,

He would accept that criticism and stand proudly.

 

Live.

Live.

If futures and possibilities stretched out in front of the path he was meant to live, then he would cut it open with his own two hands!

 

＊＊＊

 

The conflict continued.

 

While the danger lingering in the shadows enveloped his surroundings, Kakeru’s blade shone sharply, illuminated in the cold moonlight.

Whenever the shadows of Regret crept closer, Kakeru nimbly dodged and exchanged slashes with it.

Though angry bellows and sounds of explosions resonated throughout the area, the tension hanging in the air with every passing instant felt curiously quiet.

When they’d broken through a front, however, he heard one of his companions’ voices.

 

“Retreat for now!”

“Argh...! I’m counting on you!”

“Let’s go!!!”

 

If an empty space opened up in their formation, they’d fill it back up.

If they were pushed back, they would press right back.

That was how Kakeru continued supporting the front lines, alongside the rest of the Soldiers in the first infantry unit, hovering above the junction between life and death.

Humanity was at an overwhelming disadvantage when faced with the monstrous white combatants who knew nothing of exhaustion, and were impervious to physical attacks.

It was a given that someone would die every day.

That responsibility lay on the shoulders on Kakeru, the commander.

 

Even still, Kakeru’s heart did not break.

 

The times in between each and every battle supported him.

The promises he made with his friends lit a light inside him, flaring with the will to keep fighting.

Instinctively, he knew that his battles with Regret were more than simple fights.

He had a premonition that those battles were a dialogue with the unknown darkness, as well as his way of struggling against his own fate.

 

Continue fighting. If he continued struggling, something would happen.

Which is why he couldn’t lose until it happened.

No matter what.

 

“!”

 

Suddenly, a large Regret emerged from the shadows of the wreckage.

Its level-headed eyes had already captured Kakeru from the very beginning, and a chilly bloodlust shrouded the area.

 

“USELESS USELESS USELESS EVERYTHING YOU DO IS USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS EVERYTHING WILL ONLY REPEAT IT WILL NEVER END IT WILL NEVER END”

 

It was a Regret that could speak human words.

They were rare, but it was not the first time he had encountered one.

As the Regret’s derisive sneer overlapped with Kakeru’s heartbeat, Kakeru took a deep breath and positioned his sword in front of him.

 

“I’ll be the one to decide whether or not it’s useless.

Whether it’s the end... or the beginning...... I’ll open it up with my own two hands!!”

 

# Zanshin

# A prequel of sorts