No Game No Life Vol 5 Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Learn

(…I was wrong.)

groceries to prepare sashimi as they had promised, and as

carelessness.

rained down on Izuna who was walking alongside Steph.

Werebeast senses.

easy to accept different races, but still…)

It was true that Izuna – the Werebeasts were conquerors and

However that was only because of the 「Ten Pledges」.

fact that they had lost in a game.

agreed with, it meant they were just being sore losers –

“Huh -?”

should be perfectly logical for you to hate me, des; but Izuna

so why don’t you hate me, des?”

momentarily froze.

insensitivity.

She had faced off against Sora and Shiro, with the continent –

such responsibilities on her.

king’s library.

would be treated after that, she had already predicted and come

(It’s just me again…)

after Izuna had learnt the Imanity language, she had covered

in her attitude.

got angry at herself once again, although she shook her head

Since she was asked a question – she had the obligation to

Walking on the streets like this, facing all those hateful gazes

Izuna might begin to wonder whether Steph might hate her as

from her head.

If they were angry at the nobles that had belittled Steph’s

cause of it, the Eastern Federation – Steph didn’t know. And

that it wasn’t like that.

“Why? I don’t know either ♪”

“Heh, maybe, but – I don’t think it’s that way.”

- She was a young black-haired girl with stunningly obvious

She had faced off at an almost equal standard against 『 』,

back – she had unlimited potential.

stunning amount of maturity and intelligence as well.

“Because Izuna is a good kid, and you’re cute as well.”

express her feelings.

end and she averted her gaze expressionlessly.

spoke weakly:

- Even though she said this, she clutched Steph’s hand

Steph smiled somewhat bitterly at Izuna’s easily readable

“Ah~ it’s Izuna!”

Multiple figures cut through the crowd, and rushed in their

“W-what -!?”

surrounded them.

“It’s Izuna! How awesome! It’s her in person!”

right?”

you bald monkey!”

Izuna asked confusedly as she was being overwhelmed by the

As Steph was considering how to stop those kids – all of a

Werebeasts were amongst them, and she hurriedly asked:

“We’re playing! Together!”

replied as though she was just learning to speak.

“Of course!”

asked confusedly with her head slightly tilted as well.

“- We became friends through playing games!”

Steph felt inexplicably emotional.

on.

“…I’m hungry, des. We’re going to buy fish, des. I’m very

Izuna looked impatiently at the young boy that was grabbing

and said –

Izuna’s mouth curled up in a smile.

cheered upon hearing that.

“I already said we need adults as well, you bunch of idiots! –

Just like that, the bunch of kids disappeared just as swiftly as

Even after all the commotion had subsided, the raging

hearth fire.

…The atmosphere around them had turned into that of

It may be too early…

fact that the races used to hate each other would probably be

Steph smiled with those hopes residing within her.

be more fun that way.”

probably pretty smart, des.”

words.

idiot!!”

Izuna smiled a bitter smile as Steph hugged her tearfully.

to change.

just not paying attention –

The world around them had changed completely.

Sora and others that were flying about in the night sky yelled as

strong winds.

among them at that turn of events was Plum.

even for the Flügel!?”

behind the guise of her scarf, and she shivered in fear.

abnormal upon seeing that – this force that shook the earth, this

to its desires with its power, switching about the scenery

“Ah~ Plum, is the situation that bad?”

with that in mind, while Plum replied with a panicked moan:

As Plum was halfway through her sentence – she suddenly

- The Phantasma that were ranked second among the 「Sixteen

“…I don’t understand, we can’t comprehend it.”

On her face was no longer that angelic, perfect – overly perfect

It didn’t even have that sensation of「Impending death」one

Sora felt a trickle of cold sweat run down his body, and he

couldn’t even feel anything.

made Sora and Shiro’s skin riddle with goosebumps.

“「Final Unit」- we cannot understand what kind of ideals

She then spoke in a hollow, emotionless voice:

「The existence」 declared to them as the scenery finally

events.

reached even the stratosphere, and the cracked soil stretched

The skies and earth were all cracked, the seas were dry –

Countless splinters of rocks floated around them – those were

The Flügel that had participated in the game, and the countless

weirdly shaped fleet of airships –

Sora asked as he recovered from his shock, however neither

The Flügel that were still flying about in the air – they had

emotionally scarring scene unfolding before them.

「Great War」.

combined energy of the 「Airstrikes」 of the Flügel, and

And that blow that crushed the earth, split the skies and even

They were standing in the very aftermath of that strike, and

“- Previously we fought, and we lost.”

land appeared.

the 「Great War」.

flying fortress was not made of cubes, instead it was riddled

filled with killing intent.

was 「Reflected back at him」, and we were completely

- What had changed Jibril?

survive? Why –“

living?

faced with this violent interrogation –

Answer me –“

A bolt of light pierced through Azrael’s chest.

immense explosion that came slightly after made even the

“…Huh?”

“You! Talk! Too! Much! Dialogues must be kept within forty

“…Don’t underestimate…the impatience of...an STG

Sora and Shiro blurted impatiently –

their 「Word Spirits」- the two were clutching onto a metal

Plum didn’t know…no, more correctly speaking she wasn’t

The two had used three characters to materialize a fivemillimetre

travelled at a speed even greater than the speed of sound,

Composition B explosives contained within it blew her body to

thousand miles per second, which then turned into smoke and

“- Huh~~ WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGGGG!?”

the two glared at her and replied: “Skipping dialogue.”

“D-d-do you know who that was? That’s –“

right?”

Sora sighed impatiently, shook his head and continued:

so I’m guessing that’s why – essentially speaking she is the full

I don’t quite know the full details.”

The two had figured out the situation completely unlike Plum,

“…Jibril said it earlier, the Phantasma Avant Heim is an

Sora recalled her explanation she made as they arrived, and

“Changing the scenery means changing the entire world, but

affect the outside world entirely. Which means – it changed its

who should have been 「On top of」 Avant Heim appeared in

- The fact that they were able to deal damage to her proved that

Pledges」would prevent them from touching her.

Why do they look so happy? Plum didn’t seem to understand.

“The stage just changed drastically, a scene that looks like

and we just listened through some long final boss-like speech –

-?”

“What could this possibly mean? You may now answer!”

from their world, so this was a rather demanding question for

But – as she saw the approaching thing.

spoke the 「Correct answer」.

“Huh? I’d never thought you’d guess it.”

Sora and Shiro clutched each other’s hands and said with a

“Basically it’s the 「Final Stage」- the ending’s near!”

The two stamped on the ground, flapped their wings, left the

behind them, then smiled as they flew towards the curtain of

“HOW CAN YOU STILL BE LAUGHING IN A

They sped forward at extreme speeds towards the curtain of

- Their numbers were large, but the lights didn’t have the

the Flügel had, so it was a curtain that merely relied on its

bitterly.

“…Almost there…Nii?”

passion」!”

according to his beat without faltering.

approaching rays of light while whistling a tune, proceeding

“Compared to Touhou this really makes me wanna yawn, can

“…If this is what the final boss is like…we won’t…the

They nimbly dodged the curtains of light with actions Plum

Sora and Shiro could even look down at their hands to make

“…Total of 「Forty-six characters」.”

“We’ve used 「Twenty-two」?”

（si）•テ（te）•キ（ki）•ル（ru）•エ（e）•イ（i）•ツ

The characters floating on Shiro’s wrist were - レ（re）•ヨ

リ（ri）•コ（ko） -

“Hmm~ ハ（ha）、コ（ko）、ミ（mi）、ヲ（wo）、チ

“…But we have…the trump.”

“- I’ve said it before, I’ve figured out the 「Word Spirit」

“…Under these circumstances…collecting characters

The fact that they could dodge and weave about the rain of

But if they were to deal with the Flügel under these

them.

to use the trump.”

“Fourteen.”

examined her brother’s face closely as though to read his

“Fourteen, that’s the least amount of letters we need, however

However on Sora’s face – was an expression of pure

- A 「Word Spirit」 that needed fourteen characters?

「Word Spirit」 that could tide them through any disaster.

as a last resort. However –

Since her brother said he 「Needed」 it, it meant that 「They

agreement.

intentions, which meant her brother was correct – that was all

- Sora’s left hand and Shiro’s right hand, the two intertwined

After which – Sora arranged them and formed a 「Word

He raised his hand high, and –

open)

The infinite curtains of light that were hovering over Avant

sword.

was the 「Word Spirits」.

made reality as long as they were spelled out.

one that could deal with all possible situations – that was their

Also the importance and usefulness of the letter 「ン (n) 」 in

The consequences brought about by them being forced to use

- Everything before him was just like a bad joke - 「Split into

Space, scenery, everything including Avant Heim itself was

- After that? Just as Plum was about to ask, Sora and Shiro –

“- Huh!?”

and the interrupted curtains, the Flügel were approaching.

“…Eighteen – more than I thought, how many of them have

“…Six…all present…but…”

Since they had used cut earlier, they had only 「Fourteen

「Fourteen」had already been reserved.

「Three」 were important.

more, and now all they could use on them were「Three」.

As they said this, the two did a backflip and landed in a

They were just about to flap their wings, but –

Plum cried in surprise, no, Sora and Shiro felt the same way as

Because the oncoming Flügel, just before Sora and Shiro –

One of their numbers bowed respectfully towards them just as

“The two of you need this one right?”

inscribed on her chest.

revealed them as well.

intentions, while the Flügel simply smiled and said:

“To be honest it’s really disappointing that we won’t get the

“But since we’ve got the chance to play games with you

“- So, please.”

“We’ll leave Azrael-neesan to you, in the near future – our

- Finally…

game.

while repressing the urge to laugh out loud.

“…Jibril…omega good job…♪”

characters.

Plum asked, being the only one not understanding the situation,

“Did you forget, little bug, that we’re –“

of our sister Azrael.”

They were all smiles – beating Plum down mercilessly with

Sora and Shiro smiled bitterly as they sent them off, and once

They flew towards the split open Avant Heim – towards the

Part 3

still going to call me special?”

Azrael remained emotionless, although underneath that mask

- What was that? What just happened? I don’t understand at all.

front of her.

gracefully dodging the debris.

knew her exact position!

illusion, then cross-referenced the 「Original landscape」 with

original positions, assuming they didn’t move – no, they were

- A bitter memory flashed through Azrael’s mind upon

Artosh was killed in the same fashion back then.

through, all his barricades and obstacles were slipped past by

Why did we lose? Why did we survive! Why are we still

……….

H!!”

As Avant Heim slowly crumbled around them, they weaved

If they were to miscalculate even the slightest, they would die –

causing Plum to cry out.

“I’M TIRED OF HEARING THAT LINE! SHIRO!!”

tunnels were blocked, and turning around was impossible – at

“WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

「Word Spirit」 beside her.

Eighteen characters remained.

of the cubes in front of them.

was just too small for two to fit through –

immediately pointed at the hole and yelled:

- Sixteen characters left.

small as a pinhole.

adaptability, Sora suddenly said:

“No! I have a bad feeling about this, so no!!”

blood –“

shoulder, you’ll be able to tell from the sensation!!”

- Fifteen characters left.

Plum’s teeth.

lips.

texture and a smooth, refreshing tone, the bewitching sensation

be made, it’s like a turtle shedding tears after giving birth under

- Sora smiled bitterly as Plum began yelling out some rather

“Are you energized yet?”

like I can do anything!”

scarf, and floated about in the air.

“Isn’t that great, so –“

“- Yeah…that’s what I thought as well…”

Six thousand years ago – Artosh was being conquered.

true turn of events.

other races.

sword for this very purpose.

lifeless body with no purpose of existence, the one and only

They were a sword that was always swung by the command of

then – questions surfaced.

conclusion in their desperation – which was to stop thinking.

her strength – and pierced through her own body.

God, and since their Master whom they would give it to was

As she saw her sisters piercing themselves through one by one,

No, to be precise, it wasn’t a lie.

through and losing the lights in their eyes, she couldn’t bear to

- The orders of the Master were not yet completed.

must replace me and find out why I, the god of war, fell to an

- It was a command given to Azrael alone – an order.

which she continued:

be complete.

we are still of use.

And despite this – the Flügel began pursuing the

At the same time as the war ended, they had gathered all their

unknowns in the world to their knowledge.

found the answer.

able to find the answer, it would be Jibril.

Unit.

- I’m already…tired-nyan…

Sora and Shiro reached the main hall where Azrael may have

…It was very dark, so Sora assembled and activated a 「Word

“-「ヒ (hi) 」!” [7]

Now they just had to use up the final fourteen, and they could

“But, we can’t use any more 「Word Spirits」 until then…

“…As long as it’s Nii…if your judgement deems it…Shiro

Along with this line that made the brother unbelievably blissful

“- We searched for six thousand years, but we were still

There was an empty throne in the lit floor.

“Who is ‘we’ referring to? Aside from you, it seems that a lot

Sora said while looking over at Jibril who was sitting next to

“Searching for a non-existent 「Answer」, I’m already

world.”

within her.

“- If the 「Answer」 of the 「Final Unit」 is the same as our

After a short pause, she looked at Sora and Shiro with a gaze of

“We will consider the cause for the Master’s death to be

“That would be a problem.”

The two replied nonchalantly in a relaxed manner, intentionally

“I see, so you guys crammed huge amounts of knowledge into

that part. To be honest, I don’t understand the meaning and

question?”

Azrael originally.

bored with the subject matter, and said:

anything -?”

Azrael widened her eyes, and beside her Jibril bent her head

book that garnered fans even in Avant Heim.

detailing the story of an incomplete future…

books for us, and if we lose we have to do an autograph

knowledge other than this one. Jibril actually bet her life

her later, but –“

“Do you really not know why Jibril would agree to a bet like

“- Because she believes that you can reveal an 「Answer」

“Look, you idiot! You’re really a huge idiot!! You even dare

Sora yelled – his face filled with 「Pure rage」, and Sora –

“- It’s because she believes in you! She put her life on the line

understand!!”

……

assembling the final 「Word Spirit」.

you dare to ask her to call yourself her sister!?”

sleeping…and…!”

- So fast.

and the two approached at an astonishing speed.

to her – their movements were as slow as a snail.

her life…”

simple as that, and she wasn’t even able to deduce her

“- Yes, just end everything…”

Within the hall where the ceiling was barely a few hundred feet

traveling at supersonic speeds.

hand and grab them, and everything would be over.

found it – so – that’s enough.

“AAAAAAHHHH I’M SORRY I’M SORRY PLEASE

…

Azrael bent her head down, and a loud cry echoed throughout

She should have caught Sora and Shiro, but the one that was

…Huh? Had she ever asked for her name in the first place?

- It was a 「Deception Spell」- she understood this just a little

The deceiving magic of the Dhampirs – it was a race-exclusive

maximum ability.

it might even fool an Old Deus?

after they accelerated -!?

She felt a presence swooping by her at a terrifying speed, and

Everything became slow-motion, and Azrael saw it.

wings –

“- 「縛りプレエデこの世を生きろ」-“ [8]

Azrael widened her eyes in shock, but what she was surprised

It was – the two who were flying at high speeds – managed to

“「No restrictions on magic usage」- right?”

have been impossible for her to hear – as she turned around she

But – at that sort of speeds, if a human body were to lose its

A sentence that utterly stunned Azrael and yet answered all of

“- Approximately sixty minutes…game…over.”

Just as Shiro recited the numbers that existed only in her mind

Jibril teleported, and gracefully…respectfully caught her two

That turn of events made Azrael feel extremely distant, while

「Forever burdened」. Within Azrael, even Avant Heim’s

As the colossal amount of energy that could rewrite worlds was

glass.

wide in shock.

feeling was the same as when Artosh – her Master was

…She didn’t understand.

understand.

actually could make such a dangerous bet.

how much I prepare, in the very bitter end it’s still an unknown

Within the darkness of all these variable elements, how could

without hesitation?

The freefalling, continuously descending Azrael lost

Part 6

The everlasting chaos would only bring strength to the 「God

The Old Deus that fed on battle hunger, hostility, hatred and

And now he and the splinters of his eighteen wings – the

Heim), with such a small army, one god, one Phantasma, and

crushing victory.

grasp…it was unquestionable.

defeat once.

- You’re joking.

- Of course.

- Of course.

Something you can’t understand?

the unknown possibility that I may lose to one stronger than I.”

“That’s why I wanted to create – a unit that has the

- Imperfection?

can exert its power and overcome adversities, I won’t

- ……

be 「Causes」.”

…Yes.

mourn for me.”

But at the same time as he hinted at the possibility of defeat,

God of War –

despite this he strived to overcome this unknown –

“So, let’s now create this special unit…her name shall be –“

He finally produced his last work – the 「Special Unit」 who

In the end, it was also the unit that was able to witness the

not.

- Jibril.

“…Senpai, are you finally awake?”

awoke.

force – no!

strength of her own body.

The so-called earth – is this how it limits the presence of my

Raising her head that felt heavy as a rock, Azrael looked down

And looking down at her was Jibril – and the two Imanity Sora

The lowest ranked among the 「Sixteen Races」, the weakest

“You attempted to play a game with the status of 「I’m the

single loss, now that’s just ridiculous.”

Azrael couldn’t understand what they meant –

「The weakest」, and if you still think it’s a crappy game –

“…We’ll play with you…as many times as needed…”

limited her abilities to that of an Imanity’s.

head down and smiled bitterly.

even able to see spirits.

experienced were now tying her down.

and stretched towards the sky.

The power that was acting on her body was as if an infinite

She couldn’t even imagine what it felt like to 「Fly」

Even if one were to tell her she could fly, she didn’t have any

While the two Imanity that were restricted in the same way –

tricked her.

“If you don’t crash to the ground, you’ll never have the urge

They had soared in the skies so freely, and yet they were able

“- Right, you can climb up after you fall down, so there’s a

Sora smiled as he stretched his hand towards her – for that was

- Finally, in Azrael’s mind, everything connected seamlessly

Too late, she was just too late, it was but reasonable that they

outstretched hand.

Jibril looked at her with her eyes half open yet caring, and

Artosh’s final work – the imperfect unit. She was the

Her imperfections merely meant that – she would strive to be

Because she was imperfect, she would naturally strive for the

- Azrael finally understood – the reason why Jibril insisted on

“…Jii-chan’s brain is too active-nyan…”

back with all smiles even without being ordered to.

being told it was impossible, and had returned near death every

She had deserted the council, left her hometown, and even

It was exactly because she was imperfect – that’s why she

“…I see, so there really are things that can’t be understood

The so-called understanding wasn’t just reliant on

It was through actualization, personal experiences, it was only

understand something.

「The unknown」.

the impossible into possible.

because they absolutely couldn’t fail, exactly because they

While –

perfect…however I…always feared that-nyan.”

neared defeat/

were unable to grasp this imperfection.

that Jibril had left.

knowledge.

and left behind everything she needed to know.

towards an even greater goal – she even had respect towards

- That could only mean one thing.

it would be this boring after I understood it.”

“Have you finally understood?”

understood-nyan.”

The answer that they had been searching for over six thousand

“The unknown will definitely never be reversed into

into the unknown, there is no end to this as what may be

today.”

she was truly able to fear – the unknown.

from her.

「Learn」- and even enjoy the risk that comes with adapting to

Thus – the only way was to continuously strive forward –

were unable to accomplish that. Azrael-senpai, when I lost to

subservience, Artosh’s final order – was completed.”

“…Artosh-sama…did I accomplish your final orders as

- Did she not have to lie anymore?

away her tears.

was this enough to appease Artosh-sama?

“…I’m not really sure what you’re getting at, but that

Finally – Sora spoke to Azrael with a smile on his face.

- There was no answer in the first place, they merely had to go

confirm.

“For Shiro, of course.”

“What if one of you were to die?”

“…Together.”

“I have no idea!”

“We don’t have time to be considering this sort of thing,

“…Busy…”

on his face while Shiro replied rather seriously.

could only reference them.

“Can I…can I be like Jii-chan as well?”

- They replied without hesitation as well, which was to be

She had known that since long ago, but as Azrael began

“But what’s wrong with that?”

“Your expression now is excellent, I love it when you’re like

- He spoke with a smile as wide as the skies.

…Nyahahaha.

to be 「Going back to square one」, I can’t take this, even

Yes – thinking for oneself, which was their – reply.

belonged to her and her alone just like Jibril had.

Azrael said tiredly, however –

“…Masters, I put my own life on the line on my own accord,

sincerest apolo –“

Sora scratched his head, seemingly not knowing where to start

“This fellow over here doesn’t have the rights to order all

“-------What!?”

“Huh? The cat’s out of the bag!”

“Banning the act of suicide without permission – doesn’t

I’d never thought that this lie would go unnoticed for over six

Shiro continued even more directly –

-

As Sora noticed that Jibril’s shoulders were beginning to

“- But if it’s just Azrael alone, she can do it.”

immediately erased her smile.

very beginning, as no matter the consequence she was prepared

to go kill herself? She’s Jibril’s trusted sister after all!”

And that reply was more convincing than any form of protest

If there was an 「Answer」, and if the Flügel could find that

commit suicide, no one would want to die. Even if there was no

reason to continue living, they wouldn’t want to kill themselves

- At that time, Azrael whose purpose of living was to prevent

mission.

your own business?”

However I decided long ago that I won’t let anyone die in this

- She heard a single clap.

Sora clapped his hands and spoke while laughing.

- No doubt, so let’s play a game.

- It would definitely be an extremely interesting game.

- A game that would never get boring.

bet on?”

-…..

In six thousand years, no, possibly for the first time in her life,

Maybe because her physical abilities were being restrained by

stomach began to ache.

she raised her head – and then -

“Ugh!?”

“What – M, Master!? A-Azrael-senpai!!”

stopped.

won’t be valid ♥”

Sora appeared lost, while the other two looked at them with

“We...as for me who wanted to die, you gave me a chance to

request-nyan. But – I don’t yet have the right to walk alongside

She waved and turned to leave…she felt the gravity that

Her sister worried about her, the Imanity worried about her,

suicide.

be relying on them too much, and she smiled bitterly.

Before the results come out – I’ll try my best to wait

can just wait for me a while more.”

“…Nii…you let her kiss you.”

forced herself on me right?”

isn’t possible to abuse another’s rights, so unless the Master

Azrael-senpai could have kissed you.”

unconsciously that would be disastrous to me as a guy!”

“You’re ju

Chapter end