Stellar Reincarnation: The Irregular of Asterisk Ch.4: Collection Order, Activated — The Night the Red Hair Scatters

The Last Market at the city's edge was dim even in broad daylight. Air thick with the mingled stench of oil and iron drifted through the gaps between the crammed stalls. Shops hawking black-market Star Weapons, a man selling fragments of stellar vein crystals, brokers whispering information into ears. This was where the people of the Outer Residential District gathered to survive another day. Kamishiro Yuuma walked the alley alone. He was on his way to the meeting spot Yabuki had specified. He was supposed to pick up a map of the Glitch Zone. But the moment he reached the market entrance, a strange sensation crawled down his spine. Someone was watching him. He turned around. Just the crowd, flowing past. Probably his imagination. He thought so, and started walking again. That was when it happened. "Kamishiro Yuuma." The voice came from directly behind him. Yuuma stopped. Slowly, he turned. A man stood there. His silver hair, streaked with white, was slicked back with precision. His gray eyes were cold as ice. Even through the black suit, his honed physique was unmistakable. And both hands were clad in white gloves. Madias Mesa. The supreme director of the Executive Committee. Yuuma's body went rigid. "First time meeting you, I believe. I'm Madias Mesa of the Star Weapon Festival Executive Committee. I have something to discuss with you." Madias spoke in a calm voice. But his eyes weren't smiling. "...What do you want with me?" Yuuma fought to keep his voice from shaking. Madias slowly raised his gloved right hand. "I'll be blunt. That bracelet on your right hand — I'd like you to hand it over." Yuuma instinctively moved to hide his right wrist. "...I refuse. This is mine. Besides, I can't take it off. No matter what I do." "Can't take it off, can you. Then I suppose we could simply collect the arm along with it." Madias's voice held no warmth. This was no joke. This man meant every word. "Beings like you upset the balance of this world. The laws of the stellar vein rest on an extremely delicate equilibrium. Any factor that disturbs that equilibrium must be eliminated. This is not personal sentiment — this is a system correction. You are an error to this world." Something burned hot in Yuuma's chest. "I'm not an error. I... I can't stop until I know who I am, right here. So I won't hand over this bracelet." Madias's lips twisted, just slightly. "A pity. I had intended to convey that it would be wise to cooperate quietly." He took a step toward Yuuma. The air grew heavy. "You have no right to refuse. This is decided. Tonight, I'll send an escort. Prepare yourself by then." With those words, Madias turned and walked away. He melted into the crowd and vanished. Yuuma stood frozen in place. His heart was pounding. His breathing was shallow. No right to refuse. Tonight, an escort. In other words — that had been a declaration of war. "Hey, Yuuma." Yabuki emerged from the shadows. His usual easy grin was gone. "...You heard all that?" "Yeah. That man's serious. Run. Now. Get out of the Outer District. I'll handle the checkpoint at the drawbridge." "Run? To where?" "Outside Rikka. There's nowhere on this island the Committee can't reach. But outside..." "It's impossible." Yuuma cut him off. "I have things to do here. Who I am. What this bracelet is. Until I know that, I can't run." Yabuki studied Yuuma's face for a while. Then he heaved a deep sigh. "...You really are an idiot. Where there's life, there's hope, you know." "I know. But if I run, it feels like everything ends." Yabuki pulled a data terminal from his coat. "Fine. Then at least take this. A map of the escape routes through the Outer Residential District, and the patrol routes of the private guards. I'll call today's a freebie." Yuuma took the terminal. "Thanks, Yabuki." "Save your thanks for when you're alive." With that, Yabuki disappeared into the depths of the alley. Yuuma looked up at the sky. The pale blue light of the lake surface illuminated the market rooftops. Tonight, they would come for him. He wouldn't run. But could he win? Against those private guards? He didn't know. But he had no choice but to try. Yuuma clenched his right wrist, bracelet and all. That night. A cheap apartment in the Outer Residential District. Yuuma had killed the lights and was watching out the window. According to Yabuki's intel, the private guards' patrol passed through this area around two in the morning. But if Madias said he'd send an escort, there was no guarantee they'd come on schedule. Yuuma stood in the center of the room. He had no intention of running. He would make his stand here. Using the bracelet's power. Just past midnight. The change came without warning. The window shattered into pieces. "What—" Black shadows leaped through the window. Black light armor. The Executive Committee's crest on their chests. In their hands, batons with built-in stellar vein amplifiers. The Committee's private guards — the Celestial Guard. One. Two. Three. From the hallway, the sound of the door being smashed open. A dozen or so in total. Yuuma focused on the bracelet on instinct. The lead guard swung his baton down. Stop. The bracelet glowed pale blue. The baton halted dead, centimeters from Yuuma's head. "What the hell is this...!" Confusion bled into the guard's voice. Yuuma used the opening to kick the man in the gut. The guard flew backward. But the next instant, another guard swung at him from the side. Stop. The bracelet glowed again. But it was too slow. "Gah—!" The baton drove into Yuuma's ribs. His body slammed against the wall. His ribs made a sickening sound. He couldn't breathe. It hurt. It burned. The taste of blood spread through his mouth. "Secure the target quickly. Suppress resistance first." The guards closed in on Yuuma all at once. Yuuma pressed his back to the wall and tried to focus on the bracelet. But his body wouldn't move. His ribs were broken. Every breath sent a spike of agony through him. One of the guards activated a light blade. A pale blue energy blade extended from the tip of his baton. They meant to finish him with that. Yuuma gritted his teeth. Move. Move, damn it. But his fingers only trembled. The light blade rose. And in that instant— The window exploded inward. No. Something burst through the window. Fiery crimson hair. Jade-green eyes. A girl wreathed in flame. "You idiot! What would you have done if I'd been late?!" Julis landed in the midst of the guards. On the back of her left hand, a flame crest blazed. "Burn." Instantly, the room's temperature spiked. A wall of fire spread outward from Julis. The guards fell back, driven by the flames. "Julis... why..." "Don't 'why' me! What were you trying to do, all by yourself?! If I hadn't come, you'd be dead!" Julis shouted as she leveled her hellfire greatsword, Laevateinn. "Stay back. I'll handle this." Julis's flames drove the guards against the wall. But the guards didn't flinch. "Call for reinforcements. It's the Witch of the Blazing Flower. Don't engage her alone." The guards spread out, encircling Julis. Julis swung her flaming sword. A single horizontal slash. One guard was engulfed in flame and blown away. But another guard circled behind her. "Behind you!" At Yuuma's shout, Julis spun around. She deflected the baton with her flame sword by a hair's breadth. "Kh... there are too many of them." Julis began to be pushed back. The wall of fire shrank, bit by bit. Yuuma tried to rise, leaning against the wall. But the pain in his ribs folded him over. Damn it. Was he going to be useless again? That was when it happened. From a blind spot beyond Julis's flames, a guard activated a light blade. His target: Yuuma. Yuuma's throat, pinned against the wall and unable to move. "I'll be taking that bracelet of yours." The light blade swung down toward Yuuma. Yuuma's body wouldn't move. He was going to die. The moment he thought it— "I won't let you!" Julis threw herself in front of Yuuma. She shoved him out of the way. Yuuma's body rolled across the floor. And the light blade carved deep into Julis's back. Fresh blood sprayed. Julis's body crumpled slowly. "Julis... Julis!" Yuuma crawled across the floor and rushed to her side. Blood poured ceaselessly from her back. Her crimson hair, soaked in blood, spread across the floor. "Julis, open your eyes! Julis!" Julis's jade eyes flickered open. "...Are you... okay...?" Her voice was barely there. "Why — why did you protect me?! Because of me, because of me—!" "...It's not... for your sake... I just... did it... on my own..." With those words, Julis lost consciousness. Yuuma's vision stained red. Anger. Fear. Regret. Everything churned in his chest. The guards closed in on Yuuma again. "Restrain the target. We'll collect the woman afterward." One of the guards grabbed Yuuma's arm. In that instant— The bracelet blazed with a light unlike any before. Black light. No — the light was black. The stellar vein around him was drawn into the bracelet. The air warped. The floor shook. "W-what is this...!" The guards shrank back. Yuuma screamed. "AAAAAAAAH!" A black shockwave erupted from the bracelet. Every trace of stellar vein in the room was sucked in and detonated. The guards slammed against the walls and crumpled to the floor. All dozen or so of them stopped moving. Yuuma was standing. No — standing was all he could manage. Strength drained from every part of his body. His vision flickered white. The bracelet's glow slowly faded. Then, in his mind, that voice echoed. —The laws of the stellar vein. Twenty-four days until collapse. Yuuma's consciousness cut out. Before dawn. Yuuma was staring at a white ceiling. The smell of antiseptic. The creak of an old bed. It was a clinic in the Outer Residential District. "...You're awake." Yuuma turned toward the voice. Yabuki was sitting in a chair. His usual grin was gone. "Julis..." Yuuma's voice was hoarse. Yabuki paused for a moment before speaking. "The wound on her back is deep. The doctor says stellar vein therapy will heal it, but she won't regain consciousness for a while. She won't be back on the front lines for at least two weeks." Yuuma's chest tightened. Two weeks. Julis, for two whole weeks. Because of him. "...Because I'm weak." Yuuma clenched his fist. His nails dug into his palm. "It's not just your fault. In that situation, if Julis hadn't come, you'd be dead. That's a fact. But listen, Yuuma. The Committee is serious about erasing you. This incident made that crystal clear." Yabuki's voice was heavy. "The Committee has designated you for the Irregular Retrieval Order. The notice has gone out to the academy too. Your classmates might start avoiding you." Yuuma stared at the ceiling, unable to move. The Irregular Retrieval Order. Exile from Rikka — or at worst, detention. There was no going back now. "...I'll give you information." Yabuki held out a data terminal to Yuuma. "This one's free. The exact location of the research facility in the Glitch Zone, and a list of the materials still there. It might give you a lead on your bracelet. But it's still too soon for you. First, heal your body. Then there's Julis." Yuuma took the terminal. "Thank you." "I told you — save your thanks for when you're alive." With that, Yabuki stood. "I'm heading back to the academy. I'll take lecture notes for you. And I'll let Claudia know you're safe." Yabuki left the clinic. Yuuma slowly sat up. His ribs still ached. But more than that, his heart ached. In the next bed, Julis lay sleeping. Thick bandages wrapped her back. Blood had seeped through the white cloth. Yuuma placed a chair beside her bed and sat down. Her face was pale, as if she might vanish at any mom

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Stellar Reincarnation: The Irregular of Asterisk Episode 4: Collection Order, Activated — The Night the Red Hair Scatters