Kaijin no Karashrer: Prologue

 At the end of the story, you──

Prologue

“Be silent.”

I told the child. I moved my lips, being careful to not make a sound.

There was a sudden vibration. An imminent sound. The whole building shook every time it resonated, and I hugged the small child from the collapse of the sudden falling concrete of the building. 

Warmth. This child is still alive. Only this child is alive. 

That is why the vibration continues. The danger is not gone.

When That heavy bass sound came out, we couldn’t leave the room.

I see many gray monitors flickering on the edge of her vision, but can’t see that steel-colored giant titan anywhere.

The latest, Wilmart suburban shopping mall of 1900 was highly advanced and contained surveillance on every floor. The power is still alive, which is why I ran through and dived in there while grasping the situation. 

I could feel the warmth of the surviving little child in my arms and chest.

“......No more. It’s okay. I’m fine.”

A reluctant voice sang from her arms.

Was it a boy? Was it a girl?

The exact age of the child, especially for an infant, weren't clearly known.

 

I had never touched a child before.

It wasn’t that I was not good at it, but I just didn’t know what to think of them, so I wasn't good at it. But I couldn’t say anything about it.

“Be silent. I don’t know when that monster will come back.”

“It’s okay”, The blue eyes looks at me.

“No. Please. Please, please be silent.”

She said in a whisper to the small life.

A warm and slightly trembling small life, but it still has a heartbeat that can be transferred to her. She was sure that they were trying to encourage her.

“It’s okay.”

It surely must have been the people who protected them before me--people who were called family. 

But it was no good. The voice.

Please. Please.

No one should speak.

Today, about an hour passed after That appeared from underground in central square at twelve o’clock caused the shopping mall, the last fortification of hope, to break down. She knew the situation. That which still aimed at humans. Thinking. Judging. Confidently.

To be exact, she didn’t know what That thing’s way of life is. What tale to talk about such a living thing.

If it was some kind of Engine Machine, then I didn’t know what kind of Sensor it had.

But there was material to guess what it was, and I can be sure of it were.

I didn’t think it sensed any heat source. It responds to sound. That was surely it. 

Beyond the myriad number of screens in the surveillance room, That was reacting to the screams and sobs of those who fled and hid from it. It looked like it. She felt it so. The result was an unprecedented observation.

There wasn’t any room for escaping and observing when they arrived in this shopping mall until now. She says that with confidence. 

That which crushes humans responds to sounds.

That’s why talking was useless. They could not talk.

Please understand...

I stare at the blue eyes of the child being hugged in my arms.

How many times have they done it so far?

Until now, I had to just look at this child.

“Please.”

“Okay...”

They understood. Good.

I hugged the small child tightly.

How much psychological burden can one take to stay in fear?

 

Even for one that’s such a small child.

I can understand this even if I had never studied mesmerism professionally.

Sorry.

I moved my lips a little.

A small loud voice--

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“No.”

“...you are the last.”

“The last?”

Yes. The last.

I could only say something of that note. 

No one else remains in this City.

This 1900 shopping mall was our Sanctuary.

This big building was located in the suburbs of the city. Thus there were no hidden buildings, no food, and the ruins continued spreading to the West Coast.

We couldn’t escape from here.

This is our Sanctuary.

If That which kills everything doesn’t let up, it ends here.

But.

But, absolutely. There was only us.

“Let’s keep you alive. You, the last one, must not die here.”

Quickly, a heavy sound can be heard.

Each time, the sounds can be heard getting louder and louder coming this way here.

They must have heard our voice. That’s right. It was because of that.

When I held the child firmly once again, I showed with my fingers the ventilation ducts in the ceiling. With a gesture, I quickly tell them to get away from here.

“Please cherish your life. Never lose it.”

Because it is very important.

The last thing was left.

For that reason---