WorldEnd: What Do You Do at the End of the World? Are You Busy? Will You Save Us?, Vol. 1 Read online

  She seemed around the age of a young teenager. Apparently, she’d taken a plunge from quite high up and had already picked up a lot of speed. At the rate she was going, her drop would end with a crash into the cobbled street, an outcome ill-befitting such a peaceful early afternoon.

  That was the scene that filled his mind the moment he absently gazed upward.

  His body moved on its own.

  He rushed to the spot where she would land and spread his arms wide to catch her. But the body came down with more force than he’d expected, and it wasn’t something Willem’s weakened arms could support. The result was obvious.

  “Gah!!”

  In a flash, he broke her fall and was pinned beneath her, croaking like a squished frog.

  “…Owww…,” he groaned in a voice squeezed from his gut.

  A few seconds later, the girl seemed to finally realize what had happened, and she hurriedly jumped off.

  “I-I’m sorry!! A-are you hurt?! Are you alive?! Are your insides still inta— Oh.”

  A single black cat leaped from her flailing arms. She reflexively reached out, but her hands caught nothing but air. As she looked on in shock, the small animal disappeared into the crowd.

  “Aaaaaahhhh!!”

  Following her outburst, the girl realized how she appeared.

  Maybe it had been when she was running at top speed or during her free fall, but the hat she’d been wearing was gone.

  Bright cerulean hair hung down below her shoulders.

  “—Hey, look at her.”

  She could hear those whispers coming from somewhere.

  Shopkeepers and passersby alike on Tin Stalls Street, No. 7, West stopped in place, putting their business aside to turn their collective focus to the girl’s hair and face.

  Various races once kin to the Visitors lived on Regule Aire. Naturally, they all sported different appearances. Some had horns, or fangs, or scales, along with a healthy arrangement of diverse animal parts on their faces.

  But among them, there were people who didn’t have horns, fangs, scales—without any traits that resembled animals at all. Though there were only a few of them, they did exist. Those races without easily identifiable “features” were colloquially called “featureless.”

  “Why is she here?”

  “Tch, that’s bad luck for the day.”

  “Oh…”

  The featureless were typically treated as outcasts.

  This was due to their likeness to the legendary race of the emnetwiht, which was responsible for devastating the surface and forcing all living things into the sky long ago. The most fundamental doctrine in magical thought stated that similar outward resemblance naturally indicated similar characteristics. By this logic, most considered the featureless to be unlucky and impure. While open persecution was uncommon, there wasn’t much they could do about their inferior treatment.

  Moreover, there was an unfortunate truth that had nothing to do with the girl but nonetheless exacerbated the situation.

  The previous mayor of this town had been the very picture of a corrupt politician. It began with bribery, then progressed to cover-ups of coercion and crime, eventually culminating in the assassination of political rivals. Throughout its history as a notoriously corrupt city, a great many people and things had been victimized. In the end, the central parliament had conducted an investigation and exiled the mayor from the island. Following that, everyone had lived happily ever after…but it was there that the fact the disgraced mayor had been an imp became a problem.

  Imps were a type of ogre that once upon a time lived in secret among the emnetwiht to entice their victims into depravity, so the imps similarly had no horns or fangs or scales—featureless. Now whenever the townspeople saw one of the featureless, they couldn’t help but recall the anger and animosity they bore toward the previous mayor.

  It was a terrible thing.

  As one might have expected, no one openly persecuted the featureless. Yet, the thorny gazes that encircled and clung to the young girl could hardly be called pleasant.

  “I—I know…I’ll be gone soon…”

  As though she was being chased out by their stares, the girl stood as she prepared to flee that place.

  But she couldn’t.

  Willem, who was still lying on his back, had wrapped his hand around the girl’s wrist.

  “Wha…?”

  “You’re forgetting something.”

  He pointed to the hand he wasn’t gripping. The girl slowly presented her open palm, and he dropped a small brooch into it.

  “Oh.”

  “That little kitty dropped it. Were you after this?”

  She nodded twice. “Thank…you.”

  Hesitating, she cupped both hands around the brooch and took it.

  “Are you new around here?”

  The girl nodded again.

  “…I see. Guess it can’t be helped.”

  Willem stood, removing his cloak and throwing it over the girl without even asking.

  With his hood gone, his own identity was revealed to the onlookers.

  The prickling gazes and hum of voices fell on Willem this time.

  “Wha…?”

  No one can see exactly how they look to others. But of course, Willem was quite aware of his own appearance. He knew exactly what was drawing the stares of the assemblage—and the girl staring blankly up at him from under his cloak.

  He was a typical young man with messy black hair.

  Without horns or fangs or scales.

  “Let’s go.”

  He pulled the girl’s hand and trod off at a trot. “Wha-wha-wha—?” The girl let out a confused stammer, failing to fully grasp the situation but still following him quickly.

  Before long, they were gone.

  “…All right. This should be good enough.”

  They entered a nearby hat shop and purchased the nearest hat. He plopped it down on the girl’s head.

  It did seem a little big for her, but it suited her much better than he thought. Willem nodded, satisfied, and retrieved his cloak.

  “U-um, this is…?”

  Having done everything she was told up to that point, the girl questioned him with some hesitation.

  “No one will know you’re featureless if you wear that.”

  Featureless people like Willem and the girl were typically shunned but not generally hated or despised, and they weren’t treated that way, either. After all, it was their distinct lack of outward peculiarities that proved what they were. As long as they didn’t stand out too much, there wouldn’t be much fuss.

  “I don’t know which floating island you’re from, but they don’t really like featureless around these parts. Hurry up and finish your business here and go home. The port is thataway.” He pointed farther down the road. “I can drag you over there if you’re worried about your safety.”

  “Um, th-that’s not exactly it.”

  Willem was a good height for his age while the girl across from him was small. Plus, the hat he’d just put on her head had a wide brim—in short, he couldn’t see her face. It was perfect for a disguise, but they couldn’t see each other, which was obstructing their communication at the moment.

  “You’re…featureless?”

  “Yup. Just as you saw.”

  He nodded slightly under his hood.

  “Why is a featureless here in a semifer neighborhood? This island is the harshest place in the whole southwest corner of Regule Aire, you know.”

  “Home is where you make it. Yeah, there are a lot of inconveniences, but it’s not so bad once you get used to it… But if you knew that already, why did you come here, then?”

  “That’s, um…”

  She faltered.

  He would have felt like he was pressuring her if she ended up falling silent here. He clicked his tongue softly enough that she wouldn’t hear, then said, “This way,” and walked off.

  But the girl didn’t follow.

  “What’s wrong? I
’m gonna leave you behind.”

  “U-um.” Her face still half hidden behind the hat, she spoke with a desperate tone. “Thank you for all you’ve done. And I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble. And…and I know now’s not really right for me to ask for even more, but, um…”

  “…Oh.” He scratched his head. “Is there somewhere you want to go? Tell me.”

  The girl’s face beamed—or at least, he thought it did. He could only see the bottom half, so it was hard to tell.

  The roads around Market Medley were hard to navigate. The streets didn’t necessarily lead to the places visible in the distance. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to end up lost after making detour after detour.

  A tower of junk was the highest point on the island.

  Willem and the girl finally arrived there after wandering around, their footsteps clanking loudly on the cheap metal slabs that carpeted the ground. Despite claiming to be a local, Willem’s knowledge of the area helped only the tiniest bit.

  They asked a public golem for directions, then stumbled upon a supposedly three-way road that actually split into a five-way road. Willem ended up clutching his head in confusion as he pulled back all the curtains in the area only to come across a frogger bathing, then was subsequently chased off by a runaway bull. After racing left and right to avoid it, they somehow ended up falling into the roof of a chicken hut. Their landing broke it, so they apologized to the screaming ballman as they made a quick escape.

  “Ah-ha-ha-ha, what a trip!”

  The girl spoke more comfortably and familiarly as they ran about the town. It was hard to tell if that was her true personality or if she’d just gotten carried away during the whole experience, but at the very least, she looked more her age now compared to how withdrawn she had been earlier.

  Then—

  “Woooow.”

  Her admiration was audible as she leaned over the railings that seemed like they were built only as an afterthought.

  It was a good view. From such a high perch, the town that was normally a complete mess when examined up close now seemed more like a minutely detailed pattern. Because they expanded organically and were never particularly planned out, the streets twisted and turned wildly. But looking at them from overhead, the mass almost resembled a real living animal.

  Slightly farther in the distance lay the harbor. A portion of the floating island’s edge was covered in metal and furnished with everything necessary for airships to come and go, serving as the doorway to the patch of land.

  And spreading out beyond it, of course, was a deep blue sky.

  They were up in the air.

  The world once called the earth was far and, in many ways, out of reach.

  Hundreds of massive slabs of stone hovered in the sky, shuffled about aimlessly by the wind. These small bits of earth, called “floating islands,” were the extent of the world where “people” could live.

  “…Is something wrong?”

  The girl peered up at Willem’s face.

  “No, it’s nothing. It’s just that the blue of the sky sunk into my eyes or something like that.”

  He shook his head slightly, and his usual soft smile appeared again.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” The girl chuckled, glanced around to make sure there was no one else around, and removed her hat.

  “Is this what you wanted to see?”

  “Yes. I’ve seen the islands before from farther up and farther away, but I’ve never looked down on the town from inside it until now.”

  She must be from one of the outer islands, he thought after hearing her response.

  “I wanted to see this at least once. Mm-hmm. My dream came true, I made good memories—so I don’t think I have any regrets left.”

  That’s an ominous thing to say, he thought.

  “Thank you for everything today. So many wonderful things happened. And it’s all thanks to you.”

  “That’s a bit over the top.”

  He scratched the back of his head.

  To Willem, he felt like he’d just accompanied a strange kitten he’d found on a street corner for a stroll. He just happened to have some free time, so he’d acted on a whim he normally would’ve ignored. It felt a little uncomfortable to receive sincere thanks for such a minor thing.

  “…So is that guy here for you?”

  “Huh?”

  He motioned behind her with his gaze.

  The girl turned around, and a small “ah” escaped her lips. Her expression became clouded with surprise and guilt.

  At some point, a lizardfolk with a massive frame had appeared.

  This scale-covered race was unique in that individual physique varied greatly from person to person, even more so than in any other race. While most didn’t differ much when compared to other races, there were rarer cases of lizardfolk who reached maturity while still the size of what would normally be expected of a small child in other races, while others were born the size of a Goliath, as though it was some sort of joke.

  The lizardfolk in front of them was clearly one of the latter.

  For some reason, the newcomer wore a military uniform and was giving off waves of pressure despite only standing there.

  “—Yes, that’s right. The memories I made felt like a dream, but time’s up.” The girl spun around. “I just have one last thing to ask you before I go. I’d appreciate it if you forgot about me.” Then she ran off to stand beside the lizardfolk.

  What’s up with that?

  Willem knew there must be something going on. But she didn’t seem like she was particularly pained by the situation (appearances aside). That meant there was no reason for him to say anything. Once its owner turned up, there was no need to walk with the kitten anymore.

  The girl nodded her head one last time, then she and the lizardfolk disappeared into the crowd below.

  “…She’s puny lined up next to that guy,” Willem murmured to himself as he watched them leave.

  He could hear the clock chimes signal the arrival of evening, echoing from the distant harbor district.

  “Guess it’s time already.”

  He had made plans to meet someone around this hour. His assumption was that it would still be a while, but it seemed like he didn’t have much of a wait left.

  Well, he couldn’t stay alone like this forever.

  He looked down at the town and the sky spreading out beyond it one more time, then Willem, too, disappeared into the crowd.

  It has been 526 years since the race of emnetwiht went extinct.

  What happened on that land back then?

  No accurate records remain. The many chronicles of the time only detail arbitrary “truth,” and it’s a baffling question as to which relays the actual truth or whether they are all nothing but fantasies by future historians.

  However, there are several circumstances that all the chronicles have in common.

  As the story goes, the land at the time was very cruel to the emnetwiht race.

  There were a great number of them, but the way they mushroomed across the land and flourished may have been the source of their downfall. Many wild monsters threatened them.

  Bands of demons and devils enticed them down the path of corruption.

  They were constantly clashing with orcs and elves over territorial disputes.

  Cursed mutants called ogres were born from the emnetwiht themselves, emerging to attack their neighbors.

  In the end, the mighty Visitors even apparently commanded their kin to attack them.

  The story continued. The emnetwiht race was certainly not strong.

  They possessed neither scales, nor fangs or claws. Not even any wings. They lacked the capacity to wield powerful sorcery, nor could they master intricate wizardry. Even when it came to fertility, they were absolutely no match for the orcs of their time.

  And yet, they still controlled almost the entire world.

  According to one recording, the two things that played a big role in enh
ancing their military might were people known as Adventurers, experts in invasion tactics, and the power of the Alliance, which generalized and supported their activities. By dividing classes up, their society streamlined group warfare. By giving labels to the diverse set of talents, they also streamlined the management and growth of Adventurers. As a result, emnetwiht even managed to seal powerful yet scarce magic into talismans and mass-produce them. With the ability to “raise” themselves objectively, Adventurers grew at an unparalleled rate compared to the average, quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with.

  According to another account, there were also military powers called Braves among the emnetwiht, which were different from the Adventurers. They were a group of people who could convert the karma and fate within their souls to raw power, displaying magnificent strength that knew practically no bounds. Their only weakness was that only a very small number of chosen people could become Braves, which meant their existence was rare.

  Yet another legend spoke of a set of holy weapons called the Carillon that also exhibited great power. It was said that they put ten or so powerful talismans together to create the shape of a sword. In essence, the power stored in each talisman interacted in a complicated manner to transform into a weapon of war that possessed incredible destructive capabilities.

  All those stories are absurd.

  None are easy to believe.

  But it’s true that the emnetwiht were the supreme rulers of the land at that time. For that, there was no doubt they needed strength to defeat their few yet powerful enemies. In other words, there were likely one or two truths mixed into those stories.

  Five hundred and twenty-seven years ago.

  In a castle that stood at the center of emnetwiht territory within the Holy Empire, they appeared.

  In the end, no one knew what they were. Neither does anyone know what they are now. The many partial chronicles weave whimsical tales as to what they might have been.

  Stories of colossal cursed crystals born from emnetwiht spells.

  Stories of secret weapons of massacre used by the emnetwiht against the demiraces that went out of control.

  Stories of, for one reason or another, the lid on hell opening and everything inside seeping out.