“It’s time, Satowa, Ibekusa.”
They had expected Micha to give them the most trouble, but this was their greatest objective here.
“I’ll tear Mutsuki-kun out of there, so you do something about Lilith once she’s all that’s left.”
“Right.”
Prominence had broken and only the core remained, rendering it mostly useless, but since Queen Lilith was a demon, an angel would have the advantage.
With nothing left to blow the molecules away, Machina was nearly omnipotent on this deck. There was no reason they should lose.
The three of them lined up side by side.
“Let’s do this!!”
Adolescent Adam 9: Chapter 6 – Embrace
The ship had been reduced to rubble save for the pool and deck, but it slowly resumed moving. Arriving above FeTUS HQ had apparently been a detour. Its true purpose in this city was the Fujita home, so it was drifting toward the residential district.
With the exchange of blazing fire over, a cool night breeze caressed their cheeks.
A gust of wind shook the deck.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Ange, Machina, and Lucia all stared blankly at the young man.
Their passion during the fight against Micha had not cooled and the there of them had lost sight of what they should do next.
They had to attack that young man. Lucia would use his power to interfere and pull Fujita Mutsuki out. Ange would defeat Lilith once she was all that remained.
Machina could interfere with angelic and demonic power, so her support would make that easier. Even if Lucia’s interference proved difficult, it was possible Machina could genetically separate them. There was no reason Ange could not handle Lilith now.
They knew what they had to do.
But they could not do it.
They could not find the will to act within themselves.
Interfering with that young man felt unnatural to them.
A single question filled their minds: why were they opposing him?
“Mutsuki…-kun?”
“Mutsuki-kun.”
The young man standing before them was Fujita Mutsuki. He was too masculine to look all that much like the boy, but they could see that timid boy’s usual smile in those eyes.
“Come to me, you three.”
He spread his arms.
Lucia’s face lit up and he leaped toward the young man’s hand. Machina remained as expressionless as ever, but she approached with a faint flush of her cheeks.
He gently held them both close.
“Thank you for making it this far. That must have been a frightening ordeal.”
“Not at all.”
“It was nothing since it was for you, Mutsuki-kun.”
“Thank you.”
He kissed them both on the forehead.
Lucia looked bashful for once and Machina lowered her head without hiding the red on her face.
They both burst and turned to black liquid and a glowing seed each dropped into the pool.
Only Ange remained.
“Now, Ange. You come to me too.”
“…Okay.”
She approached as told.
Another five glowing seeds caught up to them and entered the pool from below. They had arrived above the Fujita home at some point, so the five sleeping there must have been transformed.
Ange could not even turn to watch them anymore.
She was only interested in viewing the young man she loved.
She could tell now that he could have done this from the beginning.
They had never needed to fight. If he had asked them to obey, they would have done so, just like they were now.
But…
“I didn’t want to demand it of you.”
“…”
“Fujita Mutsuki’s memories told me you would all come to understand. They told me you three would understand what I wanted to do. They told me you would help me create a perfect world, so I didn’t have to command you. Same with Chiaki and the rest of my family.”
“…Okay.”
“But that was selfish of me. I am supposed to be bringing fulfillment to the world, so I shouldn’t have used you – used anyone – as a crutch.”
He placed his arm around her hips and gently stroked her messy red hair.
“I won’t do that anymore. I will guide you all to a world of bliss. A perfect world with no discord, no rivalry, and no unhappiness for anyone. That is my duty as the one born as Adam.”
He gently kissed her forehead.
“Come to me, Ange. You need not ever suffer again.”
“Okay…”
Sensing the fulfillment, she shut her eyes.
“…”
She could see a room somewhere.
She was a child of four and she was terribly hungry.
But she felt no resentment toward anyone.
No one had abandoned her. She saw her mother in heavy makeup and her unreliable-looking father. Neither of them looked like they were adults quite yet, but they did at least love that girl of four.
“Ange, do you want something to eat?”
Mutsuki sat next to her and offered her a lunchbox.
They were in their usual classroom now. She could see all her familiar classmates, including Saya and Sakae. Machina was eating only an apple as usual and Lucia was clinging to Mutsuki. He began an irritating lecture on the nutrition of the strange and “unique” food in that lunchbox.
She felt her mind fading.
Her body transformed into fire and the core within her began to float away.
She knew this feeling.
Before, her body had been similarly engulfed in flames, but all the worries filling her heart had vanished and it had felt wonderful.
“…”
Two arms had embraced her back then.
Yes, and they had burned.
And…
“Kh.”
Ange shoved away the person holding her.
She forcibly broke free of the embrace.
“Ange?”
Her body had started to become no more than flames, but it retook the shape of the redheaded girl.
She had rejected the young man. His eyes widened.
Rejection was the last thing he had wanted, yet here it was. That should have been impossible for a perfect being.
“This isn’t like that time,” she muttered.
“That time?”
“When I was swallowed up by Metatron’s flames.”
Her voice was quiet and unclear. Not even she was entirely sure what she was saying.
“All of my dark and unpleasant feelings burned away in Metatron.”
“That did happen, didn’t it?”
“But this isn’t like that. I feel so much happier.”
“Of course you do. And you should. Now, come to me, Ange. Accept my world of bliss and join the others.”
“No.”
She took one and then another step away from the young man’s spread arms.
“I don’t have to be happy. I don’t have to be fulfilled.”
“Eh?”
“Back then, it was what came after the fulfillment that made me even happier. So much happier.”
Even she was confused.
She loved this young man. It felt so right to love him and she knew she should listen to what he was saying. That was how the world worked.
But she had to say this.
This was probably an issue of her personality.
She had always been stubborn with the person she loved.
“I was glad you had come for me.”
“Me?”
“That you came for me and hugged me made me happier than anything else.”
She could not believe she was arguing with him. Once she had said this, she would probably accept oblivion like she had nearly done a moment before.
Defying this young man was a truly unrealistic choice in this world.
But she could not stop herself.
She saw that apartment again. She was horribly hungry.
But her parents were not there. This was the reality. She had been abandoned.
However, her empty stomach was filled by that classroom lunch.
She had only ended up in that classroom because her parents had left her.
“I don’t need a perfect world. I don’t need to be happy. I don’t need to be fulfilled.”
“Ange.”
“I don’t want to go to some other world. I want you to come to me, Mutsuki. I want you to hug me. I want you to cook for me. And then I’ll complain about it and…and…”