Post-Post-Apocalyptic Deliveryman (33)

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CRAAAASH!!!
The Kusanagi Sword of the King of Ruin snapped in two. When magnified and observed, each of the Yamata no Orochi's scale-like armors had the face of a Black Widow, and by continuously whispering loathsome curses, they deployed an absolute untouchable Taxis domain. It rejected not only Cage particles but even Higgs particles, a glimpse of dark technology belonging to a world far beyond.
"Hey, are you okay! Hey!"
Taguchi called out to Yasuomi, but Yasuomi, who was now completely immersed in piloting the King of Ruin while shedding blood-tears and nosebleeds, gave no response.
The Yamata no Orochi, reflected on the tactical screen in front, twisted its seven mouths into a cruel shape, and an ominous glow began to swell deep within each throat. First dark orange, then red, and then a white light so intense it could not be looked at directly. Clearly dangerous!
At that moment, Yasuomi's hand twitched, and he plunged an injection into his thigh. His expression, which had been rolled back in his head, returned to normal, and after wiping away the nosebleed, he quickly typed something into the communicator.
"Can you do it?"
"Yeah."
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"--When I fall, I leave the military's coordination and my people to you."
"Understood. I will make preparations."
After exchanging these brief words, Taguchi nodded heavily and left with several bridge personnel to formulate an escape plan for the worst-case scenario and what would follow.
Seeing them off, Yasuomi gripped the broken Kusanagi Sword again and faced the Yamata no Orochi once more. He had to stop that attack. But the barrier's output was insufficient.
At that moment, seeing the response that came back on the communicator, Yasuomi wore a ghastly smile! It was a response from the half-destroyed Ise Palace on the ground!
KA!
A radiance similar to the light of the universe's creation flashed, and in that instant, various things happened simultaneously!
The radiance occurred both in space and on the ground. The half-destroyed Ise Palace, ignoring its own shutdown, fired Excalibur at full output! The target--the King of Ruin's broken Kusanagi Sword! The beam, ensnared like taffy by gravity control, became the new blade of the Kusanagi Sword!
Meanwhile, in the sky! The flash of destruction released from the Yamata no Orochi's seven jaws, accompanied by a spectrum that scrambled the optic nerves, first diffused widely, then rapidly changed trajectory and rushed toward the King of Ruin!
The King of Ruin deflected the diffusing beams, which attacked with staggered timing, one by one with the masterful swordplay of the new blade--the Ame-no-Habakiri Sword. But, KABOOM!!! The beam, taking a trajectory of infinite variety, finally hit, piercing the barrier and instantly dissolving the left leg armor. Yasuomi vomited blood on the bridge! Even so, he did not let go of the control lever and maintained the neural connection with the machine!
"Don't underestimate the Yamato spirit...!"
Yasuomi moved the lever in small increments up, down, left, and right, then pressed two buttons on the side in succession! GACON! The engine's energy lines were all directly connected. The machine was completely fixed in space by gravity control. The energy blade of the Ame-no-Habakiri Sword transformed into a cylindrical shape, rifling was carved into the inside, and it began to rotate! The pressure inside the chamber reached critical levels.
The Yamata no Orochi continued to fire diffusing tracking beams one after another, and the sky was now filled like an evil mandala. There was no way to defend against it--the Yamata no Orochi filled its seven pairs of eyes with joy, and finally writhed, intending to tear it apart with its own claws.
Kyun.
It was a soundless sound. It was not a vibration caused by atmospheric density waves, but something that occurred as a result of a transcendental destruction where space itself creaked, a result that was far too delicate.
"AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!?"
Of the Yamata no Orochi's seven heads, six were... sliced off!
Light explosions blooming in the sky! All the tracking beams were detonated... no, they were also cut off!
The Ame-no-Nakanaka-Zan Cannon (Laevateinn)! It was a trump card that amplified and fired the gravity-controlled Kusanagi Sword (Excalibur) using all of the King of Ruin's power!
The writhing Yamata no Orochi began to decompose from the edges of its body into Letter Eaters and Black Widows. But the last remaining head began to gather light in its throat again. The King of Ruin, having exhausted its power, began to fall with no means to stop it. There was no defensive measure.
But at that moment, on the ground again! Godzra's persistent heat ray attack finally broke through the golden force field and hit the still-stationary Yatagarasu directly! Had Yamato not made it in time, and evaporated without accomplishing anything!?
No! No! No!
The heat ray stagnated just before the Yatagarasu... and was crushed!
Crushed? Indeed. It was a manipulator resembling the leg of a beast equipped with sturdy talons.
And--the overflowing golden aurora covered the entire area. The falling King of Ruin was caught by the aurora and landed slowly on the ground. Meanwhile, for the dying Yamata no Orochi, the aurora changed its form into a thunder hammer, the incarnation of destruction, and severed the remaining head. The low-level Mailer Daemons falling to the ground also vanished the moment they touched the aurora.
What on earth had happened!?
Let us change the time and perspective a little to follow it.

I didn't hold her for that long. I pulled away as Tachibana began to squirm against my chest.
A young Tachibana was there. In the exact form of the ten-year-old Tachibana I remembered, the one I last saw seven years ago.
"--Brother?"
Tilting her head, Tachibana asked with a puzzled look. I tried to smile, making an effort not to twitch.
"Yeah--that's right."
"You've grown so tall, I didn't know who you were for a moment."
Tachibana smiled softly.
"Welcome back, Brother. Since you've come back, you won't go anywhere else, right?"
"I'm not going anywhere. From now on, we'll be together forever."
"I'm so glad... I've always regretted it. That I couldn't bring myself to say I would follow you. I'm sorry, Brother."
"No, it's fine now. It's all over."
At my words, Tachibana gave a shy smile.
"So--what does this mean?"
Tachibana looked around and tilted her head. I swallowed hard and asked.
"This is a strange thing to ask, but don't laugh."
At my words, Tachibana looked blank.
"What are you--now?"
Ah, Tachibana said without hesitation, clapping her hands.
"I am UC-0012-PRAI02-PO-SIY-2, the Ultimate Cub delivery machine 'Prelude', Tachibana."
I closed my eyes and sighed softly. Of course. This is fine. Still, seeing Tachibana, who was exactly the same as in my memories, I had foolishly hoped for a moment. That she might be the same as she was back then, when she knew nothing. This is bad, if I think like this, I'll get slapped in the face again.
"I came here to become a Yatagarasu deliveryman (Postlude)--I want to perform the conceptual address synchronization right now."
Tachibana was surprised, covering her mouth with a 'my'.
"I thought this day would come eventually, but to think it would be so soon after you returned... I never imagined you were that interested, Brother. Is this what they call a closet pervert?"
"Why does it have to be that?"
No, I don't know exactly what conceptual address synchronization is, but I'm sure it's not a perverted ritual. It's not, right?
"I'm joking."
Tachibana said with a straight face. Her memory is properly erased, right...?
"--Oops, it seems there is no time to be talking about this."
It happened the moment I was about to ask what was wrong. The scenery of the surrounding room distorted, and I was returned to the cockpit. But something was wrong. The monitor, which should have been in real-time, was frozen.
"What is this--"
"Synchronization has already begun from the surrounding area."
"What?"
"Please look down."
As told, I looked at my feet. There was a still image of the moment Godzra's persistent heat ray attack finally broke the golden force field.
"Judging it to be an emergency, I initiated postal code synchronization."
"No, but I haven't done anything yet. And why is the outside stopped?"
I thought there would be more special procedures.
"DNA postal code synchronization is possible without special measures if there is complete mutual consent. The reason the outside is stopped is--this is my... no, it is the 'power' of you and me, Brother."
"What do you--"
The moment I was about to say 'mean', I was in the middle of a vast, boundless universe.
It was a place where mailboxes shone brightly instead of stars, a galaxy made of letters rotated, and comets of stamps flew about. I intuitively understood where I was.
--The 〒 space. An infinite and infinitesimal dimension that expands inside a mailbox. Tachibana was next to me, her eyes shining at this strange sight.
"The 19th digit synchronization has just begun. It will be over soon."
Almost as soon as she finished saying that, something flew into our side from afar with tremendous force. There was no time to dodge. Seeing it shining like a meteor, I let out a voice of admiration.
Mid-year gifts!
Canned fruit! Ham sets! Towels! Detergent! Everything arrived addressed to both me and Tachibana! And then, a white avalanche-like existence flowed in with a roar one after another!
New Year's postcards with lottery numbers!
A cultural heritage that should have been lost long ago. It existed right here in my hands now. And for both me and Tachibana!
"This is... conceptual address synchronization...!"
"It might be a little painful from here on, so please be prepared."
The moment I let out a blank sound, it began. A sensation like insects radiating scorching heat crawling through my head and all over my body.
"Ugh, guh, AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
I screamed to try and scatter the pain, but it was no use. Tachibana seemed to be sharing the sensation, as I could hear her groaning next to me.
Eventually, a strange sensation began to mix into the pain. Like regaining something lost. Like removing a thick, translucent membrane. Clearing up. Sharpening. Keenly.
It was the pain of healing, as the internal implants that had shut down when I escaped from the Yamato Dynasty seven years ago were being regenerated and integrated. The amount of information being input suddenly increased nearly tenfold, and I was about to scream, but as Tachibana snuggled up to me, the flood of information became an orderly data stream and began to be processed within me.
"...Ugh. You've been quite reckless out there, Brother."
"...I guess so."
Before I knew it, the 〒 space was gone, and I was sitting in the Yatagarasu's cockpit again.
"'Now.'"
My voice and Tachibana's overlapped. Not only could I understand Tachibana's thoughts, but even 'how she perceives the world'--that is, qualia--was shared. Separate yet inseparable. That is conceptual address sharing. A flawless unison where each other's next actions overlap without even being conscious of it. Just as there is a Prelude, there is a Postlude; I exist because Tachibana exists.
"This pledge is for the purpose of promoting public welfare by providing postal military services at the lowest possible cost, universally and fairly, and ultimately to dedicate this body to the victory of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications."
I don't remember pledging this myself; it was the oath of a certain order of knights that perished three hundred years ago. It spilled from my lips naturally.
"Postal military duties shall be performed by the Kampo Knights in accordance with the provisions of this pledge."
The graphs on the surrounding holo-displays changed busily. A pleasant vibration. Engine ignition.
"Postal duties must include proper combat under efficient postal operations, and must include proper victory."
The giant golden three-wheeler, Yatagarasu, began to change its form. It was not a mechanical or organic transformation like other Ultimate Cubs.
It rewrote the surrounding spatial structure itself, drew out the excess dimensions folded within it, and controlled its own mass.
"...No one shall be discriminated against under the protection of the Knights."
There was no time lag in the transformation. Everything was in an instant. Yatagarasu donned its true form, dragged out from the depths of the folds of the space-time continuum.
The three tires each became manipulators reminiscent of sturdy raptor legs. Golden feathers grew from each handlebar. The seat section extended long to the rear, looking like elegant tail feathers. From the headlight section, a beak-like ram (rim) resembling a scythe that hollows out everything developed, giving it a fierce impression.
Wingspan, over 20 meters. Its appearance, manifested in normal space after sifting through the distortions of space, was truly like Hraesvelgr covering the world! Or perhaps the golden rooster Vidofnir said to live atop the world tree, Yggdrasil!
"Non-standard Ultimate Cub-type decisive delivery machine 'Ultimate Cub', individual identification conceptual address 'Yatagarasu' startup complete. Pledge authentication by deliveryman (Postlude) confirmed. Let us go, Brother."
And as the 'ability' was released, it crushed the incoming heat ray with ease, and Yatagarasu let out a roar toward the heavens.
Birth, joy, victory--it was a roar that suggested every positive emotion.

'STAMP PLEASE!!!'

It was my, Yamato Takeru's, declaration to the world as the only Sagawa (deliveryman) and Postlude (deliveryman) in the post-post-apocalypse.
Don't underestimate me.
I'll do it.

[To be continued]