Arc 7 - Chapter 57: I can't live wisely:

Arc 7 - Chapter 57: You can't live wisely:

　――Dark. Lost in a dark space.

Swaying. Drifting. Tossed around. Trampled upon. Overrun.
It was as if my body were centered around my torso, with all four limbs and head separated, each floating, suspended in its own place. Swept away. Swinging. At its mercy, it's like I'm being played with.

What happened? What did happen? My memory is terribly hazy.
Everywhere, everything is pitch black. I wonder why I was thrown into such an empty space.

――
――――
――――――――
――――――――――――――――

No. Nothing. No reason comes to mind.

Trapped in a dark space, with limbs and head cut off. Floating for no reason.
Well, to begin with, I don't think there is such a thing as a reason to end up in a place like this.

Satella: "I love you." (愛してる)

　Whenever these thoughts cross my mind, I hear a thin voice holding my thoughts back.
The voice is hard to hear, whether it is muffled or simply distant. But I instinctively want to tilt my head toward the voice, urged to listen carefully, to catch her words.

Satella: "I love you. I love you. I love you." (愛してる)

Whenever I hear that voice, my previous thoughts are reset, returning to zero.
Should I call it an annoyance? Or simply inevitable? Whichever is correct is not clear to me.
As I repeat over and over again, a new challenge arises: the remoteness of the voices I hear, and whether I can do anything about it.

Satella: "I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you." (愛してる)

As if to interrupt even that thought, the number of appeals from the thin voices increases.

However, it is counterproductive. I yearn to hear the voice, to reach out to the owner of that voice. Trying to get from zero to one, that's how an idea came to me,
Thus――,

Subaru: "Somebody, please..."

Limbs and head separated from my trunk, I am unable to move, and helpless to do anything.
Consequently, I am dependent on the ability of those around me to help me out with this situation.

Someone. Was there anyone?
Someone who may help me even in such a helpless situation.

Was there anyone able to carry out this task?
If that someone came to me, that'd surely be the solution.

――Therefore, I stretch out my hand, seeking for help to reach the voice that echoes from afar.


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Al: "...hk."

Olbart: "Oh?　That was a pretty spirited shot, huh?"

A strong and loud roar echoed through the air, and the tremors traveled through the ground and reached the two men in the inn.
Outside the window, a gigantic black shadow rampaged about, slowly eroding the city from its center, absorbing it into itself, chewing it, erasing it out of existence from the world.


This entity was undoubtedly the greatest nightmare in existence, feared by every being in this world.
A single glance at it was an inescapable reminder that this monstrosity was the embodiment of doom.
Al was well aware that he knew better than anyone else in the world the horror brought about by this doom(1) as it was something he understood in his flesh - no, rather, in his soul.

(1) I have doubt on what Al understands better than anyone, the horror of one's demise, the fear of the Witch / the feeling of impending doom brought by the calamity.

Abel, Medium, and the others were mobilized to break the deadlock situation. Instead of joining them, I'm sitting here with my shaking head in my hands. How could he say that he would follow them, that he would help them

Al: "I am... I am..."

Have I followed them only to realize how helpless I am?
In this case, what was the point of me doing it in the first place?

Olbart: "Oh dear, I was in a hurry to get back here, but all I find here is a scared and cowering young boy. Well, it's a problem not to find his Excellency here."

Al: "――――"

Olbart: "However, if Kafma is fighting with that thing, then what is it? Does that mean he was ordered by his Excellency to do so? Does his Excellency intend to run away? Do you know anything?"

Olbart lumbered up to him and threw this question.
The little old man cracked his neck bones and bent down to look into Al's face, who was crouching down. The question was barely processed by his brain, which had become numb with fear.
Vincent, the fake emperor who is not here, had reached some sort of agreement with Abel,

Al: "W-With Ta-Tanza..."

Olbart: "Tanza, you mean that deer girl? More and more, I don't understand what the hell he's thinking... His Excellency is not always eloquent. It would be nice if he could at least leave us a note of what he's going to do."

Al: "Y, You are.."

Olbart: "Huh?"

When Olbart heard Al's words, he stood up with a frown on his face. Al struggled with his trembling tongue and throat to make up a few words, so as not to let the dodgy old man get too far away from him.
With Olbart back here, he wonders what he is going to do next.

Al: "Are you going to fight it?"

Olbart: "Hey! Hey, Hey! Don't be stupid!"

Al: "Huh..."

Al was stunned by the matter-of-fact answer of Olbart.
As Al stared at him, Olbart pointed out the window.

Olbart: "No――, take a look at it and you'll understand its considerable danger. It took my right hand away and I don't want to do anything so risky again."

Al: "――――"

Olbart: "I came back here because I need to get him out if he's careless. If he's not here, I have to find him and get him out... You have no idea where he went with that deer girl, do you?"

Al shook his head at the question from the aloof Olbart.
It was the truth, not a lie. He could hardly remember any of the exchanges that had taken place between Abel and the others at the inn since the black shadow had engulfed the Crimson Lapis castle and flooded the city.

Barely a word about Kahuma running out as ordered and Vincent leaving with Tanza. Abel had left the useless Al behind, and Medium had was worried about him until the end, that was all.

Olbart: "That means we are in serious trouble. That fox girl's order seems to have motivated the townspeople to fight and it's getting harder and harder to find His Excellency's... I don't want to stay here too long."

Al: "What does that mean? No way, you're running away?"

Al's voice trailed off as he felt his train of thought heading toward an unbelievable conclusion.
At Al's astonished look, however, Orvald simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "It can't helped".

Olbart: "It's a life-threatening situatino and I don't think there's anything I can do. My life and my dreams are the most important things to me. There's no reason for me to stay."

Al: "He's your Emperor! You have to protect the Emperor, old man..."

Olbart: "If his excellency is thinking and acting on his own, that's the best for him, isn't it? But if his excellency thinks he has my help here, then he doesn't know me. Of course, the title of "Wise Emperor" would also be weeping."

Al: "Aaah..."

Olbart: "I mean no offense, but you'd better run away. You won't get anything by risking your life here. He who lives wisely wins."

Olbart's philosophy was something bloody and rock solid, a blend of the deadly Volacian code of iron and blood, and of his lifelong experiences as a survivor of the Shinobi.
It was something that could never be changed no matter what Al, an outsider, might say. ――No, there is probably no one but Orvald who can challenge Orvald's thoughts.

Your life should not be influenced and distorted by others.
Adn that was why Orvald Dunkleken reigned as the strongest of all Shinobis. He was an accomplished Shinobi perfected by not giving importance to anything or anyone's opinions and feelings. He placed no importance on the title of general, the position of chieftain of the Shinobi, or on his sense of duty to protect the emperor.
 That wasn't freedom. This was lawlessness. ――The world's greatest "Outlaw", such was his true identity.

That was his unshakeable position. And no one could challenge it. Then, there was nothing to be gained by arguing over his ideas here.

Al: "――――"

His back teeth grinding heavily, Al lowered the arm that he had been holding over his ear.
The thunderous roars and rumblings of the earth, the cries of the residents of the Demon City as they confronted the black shadows, resonated as if it were hell on earth, shaking Al's heart.

His heart feels like it's going to burst. His head as if it's going to shatter. His soul like it's going to fizzle out.
But so far, they haven't. They didn't yet. If they don't...

Al: "...Let me ask you something, old man."

Olbart: "――?　What is it?"

Al: "That black mass of shadows is related to my bro', isn't it?"

Al's voice spun, gnashing his teeth to the point of tasting blood to conceal his trembling for a moment.
Olbart brushed his beard with his left hand, as if he could distinguish from the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice the deadly serious expression on Al's face, which was not clearly visible because it was hidden by his mask,

Olbart: "Oh, yes. That shadow, to my eyes, appeared to came out from within the sonny boy."

Al: "――――"

Olbart: "Now that you've heard that, have you made up your mind about what you're going to do?"

Closing his eyes tightly, Al bites down on the words Orvald has spoken to him.
He knew that Natsuki Subaru was underneath that black shadow. ――No, that in the center of it all was Natsuki Subaru.

Then, then, Al has to raise his head, even if his back teeth are cracking.
If Natsuki Subaru is there, Aldebaran must go there.

Al: "You told me to live wisely, old man."

Olbart: "Yeah, that's right. I did."

Al: "But I don't think so Grandpa, your way of life is not a wise way of life, it's a cunning way of life. ――I don't want to grow up to be a weasel."

　There was a loud thump.
It didn't come from outside, but from right beside Al. Al slammed his fist into the floor, and the pain and the momentum of the slam helped him to rise up. He leaned his lifted body against the wall and somehow managed to stand up.
His knees are shaking, his heart is terrified, and he is mentally wounded even though he has not fought, yet――――.

Al: "This ain't the time to be sitting around... for my relatives. Or I wouldn't be able to show them my face...hhk.... "

He stood up and put his hands against the wall. Al bared his teeth inside his mask. Hearing his desperate, blood-curdling cry,  Olbart raised a long, bushy eyebrow. Glaring out the window, he closed one eye over Al's back as he barked,

Olbart: "I like your enthusiasm. I'm all for enthusiasm, but do you really think you could win a fight against that thing?"

Al: "No!　No one can win!　Even if I tried 10,000 times, I couldn't win!　The only one who can beat is is... The one and only one who can beat it is... Natsuki Subaru!"

Waving his arm wide, he tapped on the window sill and turned to Al. Looking at the dodgy old man in front of him, Al stepped forward with blazing eyes.

Al: "Grandpa!"

Olbart: "Oh, oh, oh, you're getting all fired up, but let me tell you something. If you want me to help you, I'll refuse."

Al: "I don't want it!　I don't want it! Just revert me back. Old fucker."

Olbart: "――――"

Al: "I'll buy you time to get away. So, give me back my authority!" (word for Authority used)

Extending his short right hand straight out to him, Al barked at Olbart.
An animalistic roar. A lamentation like a wail. And a blazing sense of duty. Al's cry is a mixture of all these. Olbart gasped.

　Then... The dodgy old man slowly shook his head.

Olbart: "Well, if you're willing to spare me that trouble, I won't argue with you. The sonny boy won the game to begin with, so I have to keep my promise."

Al: "Did my bro win?"

Olbart: "Yes. The boy caught me in the chase. I thought it was pretty great."

While saying this, Olbart comes up to him, waving his left wrist, and greets him head-on.
Hearing Olbart's words, Al felt a bomb like heartbeat in his chest, followed by the sound of pulsations carrying a surge of relief and admiration. While Al was frightened even by the sound of the wind and unable to move, Subaru was carrying out his original plan which brought him to a head-on confrontation with Orvald, and even snatched the victory from him.
Surely, after a series of defeats that cannot happen once more――,

Olbart: "Asking you out of sheer curiosity――"

Suddenly, a wrinkled voice interrupted his heartbeat, and Al silently stared at the other party.
Olbart  smiled toothily to the unwelcome gaze, and gently reached out his left hand to place it on Al's chest.
And then――,

Olbart: "――How can you challenge something you can't beat even if you tried 10,000 times?"

Al: "Shut up, you old bastard. ――I'll die a million times over."

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Abel: "A new 'Stargazer' who inherited the mission to prevent the 'Great Disaster'."

The moment he pointed that out. Taritta's world was shaken up.
The 'Great Disaster' rocked the Demon City. The rumbling of the earth could be heard incessantly. But... that was by no means the reason she felt the ground crumbling beneath her...
In front of her stood Abel, the oni-masked man, and what Abel pointed out pierced the depths of her soul.

Medium: "Star...Gazer..?"

Medium, who was standing by Taritta's side and gently supporting her, murmured the unfamiliar word in her mouth as if she were trying to get accustomed to it.
It is a word that those who were unfamiliar with it didn't need to know it.
In fact, Taritta would have no need to have anything to do with it at all if she could just continue to live in her home forest as a "Shudraq" without any problems.
　But――,

Taritta: "I am..."

Medium: "Abel-chin!　I don't understand at all!　What are you talking about?"

　Medium took a swipe at Abel on behalf of Taritta, whose voice was shaking.
Her body was made smaller, but she didn't lose her fighting spirit, and she stood up to Abel with her thin chest stretched out as if to protect Taritta.

Medium: "What do you mean by that 'Stargazer'?　How can it be you, Taritta-chan?"

Abel: "――A 'Stargazer' is one who is charged with the role of foreseeing the future from the stars and their guidance. No, it's more like a predestination than a role."

Medium:"...Are you making this complicated on purpose?"

Abel: "I didn't mean it that way."

Frowning, Abel let out a small sigh as he struggled to understand Medium's expression.
Then Abel called out once more to talk to Taritta instead of Medium, "Taritta". Taritta's shoulders hopped involuntarily, and Abel looked straight at her,

Abel: "In the first place, the reason why I was chased out of the Imperial Capital and 'Stargazer' are closely related. I am sure you know about that, Taritta."

Taritta: "Na, the details are..."

Abel: "Of course, you foresaw the downfall of the empire. You knew it. ――That's why you were trying to kill me in the Buddheim jungle."

Taritta: "...hk"

Abel spoke calmply with his arms crossed, while Taritta's cheeks stiffened and she lowered her head. The shock of being called a 'Stargazer' almost overshadowed the fact that Abel had pointed this out to her just before.

He had indeed said it. ――He had called Taritta the hunter of the jungle.
He asked her if she regretted that she had failed to kill him.
In other words――,

Taritta: "How long..."

Medium: "――――"

Taritta: "How long have you known I had been trying to kill you...?"

Medium: "Taritta-chan?!"

Taritta questioned without looking Abel in the eyes.
　Hearing Taritta's words, Medium let out a shocked sound. Of course, It was clear from her question that there was no room to deny Abel's accusation.
It was a confession that Taritta had attempted to kill Abel with her bow and arrows.

Abel: "The foresight of the 'Stargazer' ...... The heavenly destiny is approximately shared among the 'Stargazers'. Thereby, it was predictable that those who knew of my destiny would come after me after I escaped from the Imperial Capital. In addition..."

Taritta: "In addition?"

Abel: "If you know how of the Throne inner workings, you could guess that I was going to rely to the people of Shudraq. And in all likelihood, there'd be an assassin among the Shudraqs."

Taritta: "――"

Abel: "But the definite proof of the assassin's existence came when you mistook him for me and went after Natsuki Subaru."

Hearing Abel's line of reasoning, Taritta tightened her grip on the hem of her robe.
It was true. There was no way for Taritta, who lived on the edge of the empire, to know the face of the emperor of Vollachia. All she knew was that he had dark hair and eyes.
It was impossible that someone else endowed with such unusual features would appear in the forest on that day.

Abel: "Your reaction to seeing me and him trapped in the settlement's cage was striking... You are too honest to be a pawn of the Observers."

Taritta: "――Ah."

Abel: "I accompanied you on both our later expedition to Guaral and on the road to the Demon City, but you never showed any inclination to follow your heavenly destiny. Why?

Taritta: "――――"

Abel: "Why did you refuse to follow your heavenly destiny? I heard that the predestination of 'Stargazer' is not something that can be resisted even by those who are aware of it. I do not believe that you have the will to resist your predestination."

If she had such a strong and overcoming will, with such self-control, Taritta would not have accompanied him on this journey in the first place.
Abel's assessment was harsh, but correct. He was bloody right.

Taritta did not have the strength to throw away her mission.
If she had been able to do so, she would have thrown away this burden much, much earlier.
If she did not obey her heavenly destiny, the 'Great disaster' would destroy the Empire, and she should know that――

Taritta: "――Oh, God, Stop! I don't know at all!"

Taritta was in anguish, but Abel didn't slow down in his investigation.
Medium, squeezed between the two and yet kept out of the loop, erupted as she opened her arms to protect Taritta and glared at Abel with her blue eyes.

Medium: "I know nothing about Abel being targeted, or whether it was Taritta! But if Taritta had been in the mood for it, Abel would have been killed already!　Right?"

Abel: "Stop beating around the bush!"

Medium: "Fine! Can you leave Taritta alone, Abel-chin?"

Abel's mouth curled up in a bitter expression as he heard the medium's vigorous words.
He couldn't deny her words. However, Abel had already addressed his question to Taritta at this point.
In other words, it was as Medium said, she could have done it if she really wanted to, then, why didn't she?

Taritta: "... I guess I didn't find meaning to it."

Abel: "――Do you need any greater reason than to save the Empire from destruction?"

Taritta: "I do!　I didn't know you were the emperor or that you were expelled from the imperial capital...!　I'm the one who's the 'Stargazer', not you."

The anguish that had been locked away in the back of her mind for so long overflowed as she opened her mouth.
The distress she had been unable to put into words in the face of Abel's relentless prosecution of her.
But sooner than it could be clearly expressed in clear words――,

Medium: "Nooo!"

Medium shrieked out as her eyes widened, causing Taritta and Abel to look up in haste.
Immediately afterwards, a blackness enveloped the building on which the three of them were standing―― No, rather than just the spreading black darkness, it was a huge black arm.
　The five-fingered arm extended straight up and swung down toward the building from directly above.
The huge arm tried to crush the three of them―― or rather, to grab them with its huge hand.

Taritta: "――hhk... Medium! Abel!"

As soon as Taritta saw it approaching, all unnecessary thoughts disappeared from her mind.
The scene of the indictment that had taken place right before vanished from her mind, and Taritta moved as her instincts dictated her, grabbing Medium in front of her and carrying Abel on her shoulders, she leaped straight back.
――But that was not enough to keep out of the black arm's range.

They were caught by the falling fingertips, to be helplessly snatched away from this world.

Kafma: "I will not let that happen――!!"

But before the Giant Arm could reach Taritta and the others, a huge mass violently wedged itself between the Giant Arm and their three heads.
It was a rampart of the castle, tightly entwined and flung by green thorns.
With tremendous centrifugal force, the huge mass became a canopy to protect Taritta and the other two, trying to intercept the falling giant arm.
When the black arm touched the rampart, it unraveled as easily as an amezaiku (candy craft artistry), and vanished like a leaf being devoured by a winged insect.
　But then――,

Yorna: "No more violence shall be tolerated in our city!"

The woman in kimono jumped right beneath the dissolving wall. With the fox ears erected on her head, she kicked upward with her long leg and propelled the wall up against the giant arm.
The generated shockwave penetrated the building on which she had placed her pivot foot, causing it to collapse thereafter. But how powerful was that woman's kick? The huge arm bent at the single blow given that had been given through the wall, and the erosion stopped.

However―― it only lasted for a moment―― Still, that one moment was enough.

Taritta: "I'm out!"

Taritta exhaled as she narrowly escaped from the range of the giant arm and shaved the ground with her heels.
Released from her arms, Medium and Abel also landed on the ground. The three of them looked up and saw the shadows engulfing the building that had been their foothold until a moment ago.

Medium: "Yorna-chan is...?"

Abel: "She's safe. It looks like we were in more trouble than she was."

Abel jerked his chin and replied to Medium, who was looking around with a restless gaze.
At the end of her line of sight, jumping around while being chased by the raging shadows, was the woman in kimono who had delivered the powerful kick earlier ――was she Yorna Mishigure?
She had transcendental strength, deserving of her position as one of the "Nine Divine Generals.
She could understand Abel's desire to have someone like her on his side. She could easily accept that a person of her caliber could influence the course of the world.
　Like Taritta, she did not hesitate when the time came.


Abel: "You saved me again, Taritta."

Scrutinizing Taritta for any sign of hesitation, Abel looked down at Taritta who was kneeling down.
Taritta was unable to calm her breathing for reasons urelated to her previous physical exertion. But Abel did not intend to give Taritta a break, whether physically or mentally.

Abel: "If you had not reached out to me, I would have unceremoniously died. But you saved me because you cannot fulfill your heavenly destiny without getting your hands dirty? Is that right?"

Taritta: "No, you're mistaken...!"

Abel: "Then why? Your behavior is inconsistent..."

Medium: "But more importantly, thanks you for saving our lives!"

Once again, Medium saves Taritta, who is at a loss for words after being accused of inconsistent behavior.
Medium, with her beautiful golden hair in disarray, points her finger at Abel right in front of his eyes. She made that gesture, and despite the height difference between the two of them, Medium did not bend in her insistence, nor did she stop.

Medium: "We would have died if you hadn't saved me and Abel-chin, Taritta-chan. Before anything else, I have to thank you. Thank you, Taritta-chan!"

Taritta: "Eh... Eh..."

Medium: "And now what?　What's up with you Abel-chin?　What do you want with Taritta-chan?"

Medium turned around and thanks her, and then turned back to Abel.
Her inquiry lagged somewhat behind the exchange between Abel and Taritta, and Abel sighed, his understanding unable to keep up with her.

Abel: "I've already explained this to Taritta. I don't need you to understand."

Medium: "If I don't understand. I'll stand in your way until I figure it out. Is that what you want?"

Abel: "I don't care! If we want to quell this "Great disaster", I have to die. That's the future that as prophesied by the Stargazer . It is the heavenly destiny that has befallen Taritta."

Medium: "――What? It doesn't make any sense. Why? If Abel-chin dies, that big black shadow will calm down? That's weird!"

At Medium's insistence, Taritta bit down the inside of her cheek.
The prospect of avoiding the downfall of the empire as a result of fulfilling her heavenly destiny was certainly something she could understand. However, how exactly that would come about? That, Taritta did not know.
　Such a remark only served to remind Medium more of Abel's ruthlessness.

Yet, Taritta's conjecture was halted by the sound of Abel's words that soon followed.

Abel: "That' s―― that' s ridiculous, isn't it?"

 With her teeth on display, Medium vehemently uttered "That's ridiculous!". In front of her, Abel put his hand over his mouth and repeated it once more: "Ridiculous..."

Abel: "Taritta."

Taritta: "――Ahh. Naa. What is it?"

Abel: "Your heavenly destiny is to take my life to avert the downfall of the empire. Is that correct?"

Taritta: "――Hhhk."

When asked again, Taritta hesitated before shaking her head.
That's what she heard. It was her heavenly destiny that she had never been able to carry out, even though she knew it was necessary.
But as if to confirm this, Abel added,

Abel: "Then..."

Abel: "You know what destruction means, don't you?"

Taritta: "Ehhh..."

Abel: "I knew that there was a prophecy about "Great Disaster" that would bring about the downfall of the empire. But you are certain that this is it. Isn't it?"

　When he had asked her this question, Taritta wondered what it meant.
What would you call that black shadow gradually spreading out from the center of the city, that terrifying and awe-inspiring presence, if not the "great disaster"?

　The recurring nightmare scenes were shown to her over and over again.
Night after night, the nightmare that urged her not to forget them made Taritta dream again and again of the upcoming doom. That thing was the very manifestation of them, but――,

Taritta: "Whether this is the "great disaster" or not, it's..."

Abel: "If whether this is the "Great Disaster" is not in your heavenly knowledge, then how about that of the other 'Stargazer'?

Taritta: "The other..."

Upon being told this, Taritta could only make her eyes roll back in her head.
Abel had explained that there was a connection between 'stargazers', but Taritta was an exception. ――No, exception didn't even apply to her. In the first place, her origin($) was different. ($: To me it's unclear what Tappei means and how Taritta is an exception, "origin" seemed to make some sense but it's originally "basis/foundation")
Therefore, Taritta had no idea who that other 'Stargazer' he had in mind was.

Taritta: "Aah..."

Well, if he had that stargazer in mind, she had just ran into him a few minutes ago.

Taritta: "――――"

That effeminate man who remained so aloof, that unpleasant person who never gave his name, who seemed so knowledgeable about the stiuation, who called Taritta 'the stain of the Shudraqs'.
　He knew of Taritta's sin. Perhaps through the connection between the stargazers.

Well, what did that 'stargazer' say when he witnessed the 'great disaster'?
　As I recall, that man―――

Taritta: "That thing is out of my jurisdiction..."

Abel: "... So did the 'Stargazer' say? I see."

Medium: "Abel-chin?"

Hearing Taritta's dumbfounded words, Abel nodded and turned away.
　Raising her eyebrows, Medium walked around in front of Abel and looked into his face. Then Medium's round eyes widened.

The reason for her surprise became clear from Abel's reaction immediately afterwards.
Abel put his palm on his face, which was covered with a devil's mask, and looked at the 'great disaster'-no, the all-consuming jet-black storm that was raging in the middle of the Demon city of Chaos Flame,

Abel: "――The downfall of the empire, it's different from that 'great disaster'." (I can't help but get this from MTL but my understanding is that this sentence means that Satella's destruction in Chaosflame and the great disaster are two different things)

Abel muttered so, gently cleared his throat and let out a short exhale.
It seemed to Taritta, who could not see his expression, that he had a smile on his face.

Abel: "In that case, there is no reason for you not to stumble along the way. ――I'll have you disappear from the board, interloper."

Note: the last quarter of the chapter was very hard to machine translate. While it seems the shadows aren't the great disaster, Taritta answers and their meaning, what Vincent understood, Taritta's actual role, are not clear to me.