stand-in creed

That was the power that Nero, who had just mastered the power of "Requiem" for only a few minutes, had no time to dig out at all.

The force of gravity.

A force beyond time and space.

And with the flow of this power, the lifespan of the star came to an end, and it bloomed with extremely gorgeous and dazzling brilliance.

That was the most beautiful brilliance that Nero and Suzumi Suzumi had ever seen.

Supernova, explosion.

-

2001 4 Month 17 Day.

Nero Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" disappeared in a black hole emerging in New York state, whereabouts are unknown.

Illustration "Mourning for Nero"

Thank you Tokyo Godfather.

This is a draft I made earlier, and the styling is based on Michelangelo's Lamentation for Christ.

I haven't had a chance to release it, but I feel like it's almost time to release it now.Although the way of "going to heaven" is somewhat different from the current text, because the outline when the manuscript was requested is different from the current one, but it is not a big problem, as long as the atmosphere is up.

It's a condolence, but ah, Nero-san should be running around alive and kicking.

(If it’s a little blurry, it must be the problem of the hedgehog cat. The original picture is 26M, but I forced this picture to 100K...)

Chapter 1 Steel Ball Run

Those who ascend to heaven must have the courage to abandon their substitutes.

- Dio Brando.

……

Evening of September 1890, 9.

United States of America, San Diego.

This city located on the Pacific coast has undoubtedly become the focus of this era.One week later, on September 9th, the horse race named "Steel Ball Run" will start here. Countless outstanding horse racers from all over the world set foot on this land to win their honor.

Dongfang Xiansuke is also one of them.

The mysterious old man with two belly buttons from the Sendai domain has gone through a long sea journey with his granddaughter Higashi Rina and his love horse Homura, for the 5000 million US dollars (60 billion yen) The winnings came across the Pacific Ocean to this far away country.

At this moment, the grandpa and grandson had just left the port, and they were riding leisurely on the last part of the journey on horseback, enjoying the terroir of this foreign country by the way.

However, at this moment, Dongfang Li Na, who was sitting sideways on the horseback, suddenly pointed his finger into the distance.

"Grandpa, there!"

"Um……?"

Dongfang Xiansuke followed his granddaughter's finger, but saw a surprising scene.

There seems to be something between the earth and the rock.

"……people?"

Dongfang Xiansuke gently pulled the rein, and Homura completely understood Dongfang Xiansuke's thoughts, and walked forward.

It was a blond white man.

His figure was as tall and burly as cast iron, exuding a strange sense of beauty from head to toe.

However that's not the point.The real problem is the state of the white man right now.

"Cover your eyes quickly, Rina!

"This guy is naked!Even that thing is exposed in the air!Did you cover your eyes, Rina! "

"It's covered!"

Covering her eyes tightly, the oriental girl who quietly left a gap between her middle finger and ring finger answered Grandpa seriously.

Dongfang Xiansuke didn't see his granddaughter's small movements, but just got off his horse and stepped forward to observe quietly.

"Is this guy a contestant who got robbed?

"I don't know what happened to the chest. There is a small piece of flesh that seems to be very tender, like a new growth; there is a three-centimeter longitudinal wound in the center, which seems to be a knife wound, but the mark is already very shallow; There is a deep wound on the right waist, but it has also healed with a scab...

"Although I don't know what he has experienced, but every place is an "old wound"!If he had been attacked and had his clothes taken from him, where were his new injuries?I can't even find a trace of bruising on his body, could it be in his hair? "

Dongfang Xiansuke became a detective very seriously, but he didn't analyze anything for a long time.

The old man also had a headache thinking about it, so he simply stopped thinking about it, pushed the man on the ground and spoke in English that was not particularly proficient.

"Hey, wake up!"

"..."

The man on the ground frowned and slowly opened his eyes.

What caught my eye was an old man wearing tiny sunglasses.

"Are you okay? Why are you here?" Dongfang Xiansuke asked.

"If you are asking if there is any problem with your health, I think it should be fine." Nero rubbed his temples and sat up on the ground, and immediately saw the old man in front of him, and then the little girl on horseback .

Such contemporary clothes.

Looking around at the surrounding suburbs again, he blinked.

"As for the second question, why are you here... May I ask, where is this place?"

"Where is this place?!" Dongfang Xiansuke raised his voice and repeated Nero's rhetorical question, "Hey hey hey, you guys must have smashed your head, right? This is Santiago, Santiago!"

"...Santiago?"

Nero blinked, a little dazed.

Why did I come to San Diego?

Dongfang Xiansuke saw Nero's appearance and shook his head, guessing that the guy in front of him was really beaten in the head during a robbery.Then he rummaged through his carry-on luggage, found a set of black Japanese-style yukata and threw it to Nero.

"The size might be a bit off, but at least cover it up."

"..."

Nero glanced at the girl on horseback not far away, and calmly ran to a rock and squeezed himself into a men's kimono that was one size smaller.

It can only be said that fortunately, Japanese yukatas are relatively loose, and if they are replaced with ordinary clothes, they will probably be overwhelmed.

Dongfang Xiansuke was not in a hurry to leave, anyway, he had other acquaintances in this foreign country, and there was still a week before the match.Since I have nothing to do, I might as well chat more with this passing guy.

"I'm Xiansuke, Dongfang Xiansuke, what's your name..."

"East?!"

"Any questions?"

"A friend I know is also surnamed Dongfang."

"Hey?"

Dongfang Xiansuke was stunned.

Not only because of what Nero said, but also because Nero switched to Japanese.

This is strange.

"Where is the person? What's the name? Maybe I know him?"

"Morio Town in Sendai. The name... Higashika Ryohei, Higashika Tomoko, Higashijosuke?"

Dongfang Xiansuke fell into deep thought, then turned his head to look at his granddaughter on horseback: "Rina, is there any relative with this name in our family?"

Dongfang Rina blinked and shook her head.

Dongfang Xiansuke muttered: "This is strange. I just asked my granddaughter just to be on the safe side, but in fact I am from Duwang Town, Sendai Domain. If they have the same surname, I should know them all, but I don't care about you. I don't have any impression of the name I said!"

Nero was taken aback.

"Sendai...Fan?"

The word Fan, people who have a little knowledge of Japanese history will think of something, such as Changzhou Fan, Satsuma Fan, Hizen Fan, Tosa Fan... It seems that people living in the 21st century suddenly hear Jiangning Prefecture and the like. The words are the same, with a weird sense of anachronism.

Dongfang Xiansuke waved his hand.

"I'm used to it. Although the feudal clan was abolished and the county was replaced more than ten years ago, the Sendai feudal clan who has been studying for a lifetime has long said that it's easy to say, and it can't be changed..."

"The feudal clan was abolished and the county was replaced more than ten years ago?"

Nero once again looked at the "retro" attire of Dongfang's grandfather and grandson, and instantly realized a problem.

Trouble seems a little big.

Nero couldn't help asking: "What year is this year?"

Dongfang Kensuke blinked.

"To be able to ask such a question, it seems that there is something wrong with your head! This year is the 23rd year of Meiji. According to the calculation of your foreigners, it should be... Let me think about it? One eight..."

"1890."

Nero calculated faster than Dongfang Xiansuke.

Dongfang Kensuke nodded again and again: "That's right, 1890... What do you guys remember? Do you remember your own name? And the "Steel Ball Run" contest?Look at your body, ordinary people can't afford such a strong body like you, no matter how you think, you are also a contestant here, right? "

"Sorry, I don't know anything about the contest you mentioned, as for my name——

"— Zeppelin. Nero Zeppelin."

Chapter 2 Schuttheim One

Dongfang Xianzhu's grandfather and grandson rode horses leisurely.

The horse not only has to carry two people, but also carries a lot of luggage from the grandfather and grandson. It is impossible to carry another Nero.Nero didn't care, just followed Yan, and walked towards the city of Santiago with the grandpa and grandson as "his head was smashed", and inquired about some situations by the way.

At the gate of the city, Dongfang Xianzhu took out a hundred dollars and gave it to Nero.

"Then stop here.

"I don't know much about this country. I really can't help you. You can use the money and buy some food."

"Thank you."

Nero took the hundred dollars seriously.

Nero is not a stuffy person, he is not familiar with the place - it seems not so familiar, but it is not so familiar - he really needs a start-up capital.

Immediately, Nero looked seriously at Dongfang Kensuke in front of him.

"I will definitely pay back the money."

"..."

Dongfang Kensuke met Nero's clear eyes.

Dongfang Kensuke knew nothing about Nero. In his eyes, the young man Nero didn't look like he had a broken head, but he seemed to be out of tune with this world, and he was full of mysteries from head to toe.But that's not what this old bone should worry about, answering a few questions and lending him some money to eat is already the best of humanity.

Dongfang Xiansuke didn't even expect Nero to pay back the one hundred dollars he lent.

But when Dongfang Xiansuke saw Nero's eyes, the old man understood that this young man named Nero Zebelin seemed... a person who would really pay back the money.

"Come on."

Dongfang Xiansuke patted Nero on the back, and left with his beloved horse and granddaughter.

After Nero walked away, Nero walked into a small alley and called softly.

"Suzumi."

"Nero."

The figure of Suzumi Sugimoto slowly appeared beside Nero.

Nero was quite emotional.

"You heard it, our situation seems to be a little... strange."