Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru sou desu yo

[BionicMeerkat]

Yo!

Just stopping by really quick to let everyone know that Volume 10 illustration are now uploaded. Be warned that they are low quality scans and I take no credit for scanning. Credit goes to /a/, Baidu and the person who provided the pics over at Animesuki, Avaricia. Cheers!

[magref]

ok just found that i liked the wordpress polls that count the number of people frequenting the site
anyways, intuerlude8 bleh... Interlude8 is starting and yea.... we've all been waiting for interlude 8... it's where the battle starts in earnest and thanks for the Image upload, meerkat!
Just wanted to say that there may be lots of editing on my part to do... but I'm lazy to do it now... gonna continue while I still feel the rush of translating....

[BionicMeerkat]

ok just found that i liked the wordpress polls that count the number of people frequenting the site
anyways, intuerlude8 bleh... Interlude8 is starting and yea.... we've all been waiting for interlude 8... it's where the battle starts in earnest and thanks for the Image upload, meerkat!
Just wanted to say that there may be lots of editing on my part to do... but I'm lazy to do it now... gonna continue while I still feel the rush of translating....

Damn the wordpress looks rather nice man. Anyway, hope everyone likes the pics. I royally messed up with pic 7/8 so there are like 3 versions of it

Also, should I transfer the interlude over? I just skimmed through it and it looks like it is done.

[zechs]

uu, i really like the last picture from vol 10..

anyways, is it okay if i upload vol 10 illustration image if i have better version??

[magref]

if i have not dumped the text over here... it's not done.... Might look like it's done but I'm sure that there will always be some mistakes like double words etc hiding somewhere... anyways, omg... My pumpkin sea bass roe fried in cereal was a success! yay me! lols been eating soupy stuff for days... but can't seem to get rid of that sick, gonna be sick feeling... so going to use a poison vs poison method : eating fried food

[zechs]

Meerkat, i'm uploading better version vol 10 illustration.

Edit: Done with upload new picture

Sorry i edit without permission

[Yanaro324]

Meerkat, i'm uploading better version vol 10 illustration.

Edit: Done with upload new picture

Sorry i edit without permission

Kurousagi looks really beautiful

[zechs]

Kurousagi looks really beautiful

agree, the best moment is when kurousagi hug izayoi while crying, and izayoi body still full of bandage..

[BionicMeerkat]

Meerkat, i'm uploading better version vol 10 illustration.

Edit: Done with upload new picture

Sorry i edit without permission

lol what? I'm happy that someone had better scans/illustrations then the ones I had! They were low quality anyway, so I'm glad they got replaced with proper scans. Excellent work, 10/10, would ask to upload illustrations again

[zechs]

lol what? I'm happy that someone had better scans/illustrations then the ones I had! They were low quality anyway, so I'm glad they got replaced with proper scans. Excellent work, 10/10, would ask to upload illustrations again

got it. just tell me, i will upload it.

[Zalfuse]

Congrats on your university acceptance Magref. interlude 8 is looking very good =)

[magref]

thanks Zal... accepted but now stressed... its [High school never ends] all over again... mugging and mugging and mugging loads of text... but I think I would like that lols I also spotted an Anime club there... hmmm wonders if they allow me to join and use all my time during club time to do translations i bet not right?
ok time to go back to translations while i still have the mood

[magref]

I'm fine with letting it go up now... part1 of Interlude7

Spoiler! :

Interlude7

Part1

---Three thousand meters above [Underwood].

The spray of blood across her chest caused Sala to be stumped for words.

She had already mentally prepared herself for death as it was an unavoidable strike. The spear that was thrown at her a speed far exceeding the normal ranges---had almost pierced Sala’s chest.

“……why?”

“…Urgh…”

If it weren’t for that guy---Sakamaki Izayoi who shielded her behind him…

“You…You…”

“Scram! Get Lost! Didn’t I tell you to run! Oi! Those at the back! Do you not have ears grown on your head to hear me?!”

Izayoi, who had leapt from Gry’s back in the nick of time to take the strike for Sala, placed pressure upon his pierced left arm as he roared to the rest.

And Izayoi’s roar seemed to put the flow of time back to normal once more as they started to disperse like a flock of birds sighting a larger predator---Leticia who had suddenly appeared. But this had also been taken into calculations by her.

The bloodshot eyes were locked onto every fleeing figure and whipping up numerous spears from the shadow of the dragon, she aimed towards them. The first strike had been blocked by Izayoi but it would be a different matter altogether if he were to try do the same thing for a hundred spears. For that would be too numerous to be blocked, even for him.

He opened his mouth to shout in the winds as he leaned on Sala to hold his weight up---

“Sala! Do you have any weapons?! Preferably one that has a long handle? I need it to be durable and strong!”

“I…I got it!”

Sala summoned a trident from her Gift Card which she handed over to him.

Grabbing the trident with his right hand, he leapt back to Gry’s back as Gry came over to fetch him.

“My left hand doesn’t seem to be able to exert much strength anymore. The most I can do is to use it to hold the reins so I’m just going to leave the manoeuvring to you.”

“Okay, leave it to me---and here it comes!”

The shadow spears were launched simultaneously. And according to the estimation of what Izayoi could see, there were more than a hundred spears.

Continuously wielding his trident, Izayoi knocked away many of those spears that were travelling at five times the speed compared to the speed of Leticia’s spear on their first meeting.

Sala who couldn’t dodge them completely had released a wall of flames before her to change the trajectory of the spears. But if it weren’t for Izayoi’s help, this situation of coming to a draw wouldn’t have been possible to achieve.

Confirming that the hundreds of spears had been completely thrown, Izayoi gave a sidelong glance at the Citadel protected behind the back of Leticia as he started to think about the situation.

[Why is this happening? Although it doesn’t seem to be the real Leticia, but given the fact that this is still during the period of ceasefire, the host shouldn’t be able to provoke a fight with us right? In other words, that thing should be [something] unrelated to the game……]

For example--- A self-activating Gift that the host had prepared from the start to deal with situations like [Trial Jurisdiction] that is independent from the Game.

And it was Izayoi’s speculation that it must have been a trap laid for them during the creation of the game and has been waiting for people to activate it.

[A defensive Gift that belongs to the Vampire Citadel……That should be the closest conjecture right?]

Izayoi who had reached that temporary conclusion decided to stop thinking about it and he turned back to ask Sala”

“Representative-sama, do you know what that Leticia-looking thing is?”

“No……but the sensation that was emitted from those spears shot at us seemed very similar to that of the Dragon Horn of Shodai-sama.”

“Shodai-sama?”

“The ancestor of [Salamandra], the strongest dragon of the dragon kind---Dragon King of the Stars and Seas[magref notes52]. The remains or relics of the Pure-blooded Dragons can be used as Powerful Gifts. Sandora’s Dragon Horns are one of those.”

“The remains of a Dragon……something equivalent to Śarīra, the sacred relics of Buddhism?”

“Yes. And It’s quite a Strong relic.”

“I see…” Izayoi nodded his head.

[Come to think about it, Ojou-sama did tell me before that Leticia was able to control the shadow of the dragon. Then, could it be that the shadow had taken the form of Leticia?]

But if it were only that, things still felt a little off.

The strength that was behind the spear thrown at him on their first meeting was far inferior to what he had just experienced. If it were the former Leticia he had known, even if he gave her the upper hand, he would have been able to dodge it without any problem.

[Although it could also be the increase in power level due to the return of her Demon Lord status……the biggest possibility might be the [Divinity] that the enemy took from Leticia.]

And if that were so, things would click into place.

The reason for the enemy to take away Leticia.

The reason for releasing her sealed [Authority of Game Master].

[For if things were that way…… the temporarily coined term of [Demon Lord Alliance]’s real identity might just be……]

The mysterious Demon Lord that had laid waste to the [No Name]s three years ago.

Upon reaching that conclusion, Izayoi felt his fighting spirit fired up as it spread in a warm glow radiating in his chest.

[Ha! What great luck we have! For them to come before us even before we go looking for them, this really saves us the trouble!]

Izayoi exposed his incisors as he gave a savage laugh at that before giving a sidelong glance at Sala---

“Representative-sama, you should also return to the ground as well.”

“Eh?!”

“You will just be a bother here.”

Izayoi’s words were merciless as he knew for a fact that an aerial battle was already a disadvantageous position for him and to battle with a shadow of Leticia that had obtained Divinity? According to Izayoi’s judgement, protecting Sala while fighting would eventually cause him to reach his limits---

But Sala shook her head---

“No, I can’t. I’ve been entrusted to search for your comrade by Asuka and since there’s a strong foe appearing before us, I cannot just turn back so easi……”

---Ploom! The next moment, the sound of a huge explosion filled the air.

Thoughts of the Leticia that stood before them were wiped clean from their minds at that sound for the both of them looked down towards [Underwood]---



"---Gahouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhou----!"

The huge army of Titans came into view as they launched their attack upon [Underwood].

“The Titans?......How can it be?! How can they travel here in such a short time?!”

“Beats me. But since they are here, I guess they should have had some method to do so. And from what I see, things below have been thrown into chaos. Without someone to take command, wouldn’t that be bad?”

[So what do you want to do?] Izayoi asked meaningfully with his eyes.

Sala turned to look at the Ancient Citadel and back at [Underwood] before nodding with a bitter expression on her face.

“……I get it. Don’t overdo things yourself as well.”

“I will try my best.”

Izayoi replied while tearing off his uniform’s sleeve to make a tourniquet over his left shoulder to stop the blood flow. Making sure to see off Sala with his eyes as she rapidly descended, he then gave a bitter smile as he told Gry:

“Sorry bud, making you stay with me here.”

“Don’t mind it. After all, it’s just another enemy whom we have to face sooner or later.”

Gry gave a snort as he laughed.

However, the biggest problem that he was uneasy about was the possible difference in agility between them. Though Leticia might not be moving from her original spot, but her speed in flying should have also been heightened by the possession of Divinity.

Izayoi gave his trident a twirl as he gripped the reins of Gry with his other hand.

“Okay. So let’s first compare our speeds. I will handle all the spears that are shot from the enemy while I’ll leave it to you to push forth with the aim of making a landing on the Citadel!”

“Got it!”

Gry flapped his huge wings and controlled the whirlwinds as he started to close the distance. Leticia who was powered up by Divinity had also immediately turned to welcome the fight against Izayoi and Gry who were moving faster than before.

The collision between both sides caused the skies of [Underwood] to reverberate with the sounds of fierce metal clashes as each and every of the Black Spears of Shadow, that were shot towards them, were knocked away.

Soaring through the boundless skies while wielding the trident with such force that it would send tremors through mountains and rivers.

Rippling the air like agitated waves, the battle where the combatants willingly betted their lives on the line, displayed a surprizing amount of strength and will as the fierce battle continued to unfold in the skies.

Part2

---[Underwood], South eastern Plains.

The third attack had truly taken them by surprise.

Moreover, it was much different from the previous surprise attack that was launched in the cover of the fog for the Titans had just appeared on the plains before the hill, without any sign of forewarning and had launched a fierce attack together.

"Gahouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhou----!"

Waving their huge swords that easily reached the size of two grown men, the Titans waded across the river and smashed through the dike.

The sentries on duty scrambled back to the city as fast as they could while blowing their whistles to alert the others.

“Bad News! Things are really bad! The Titans breaking through into our city very soon!”

“Hmph! Didn’t the Representative tell us that the Titans have retreated to the plateau?!”

A disheveled-looking hippogriff who was the leader of [Two Wings] roared loudly from the plaza located at the foot of the Great Tree.

“As expected of them, they had chosen this time for their attack.”

“Of course they did. Now that our strength is divided, it's surely one of the best opportunity for the enemy to take advantage of.”

“Well, I guess that's the cue for us to make our appearance---PERCHER!”

Appearing from the ring of the Pied Piper with a swirl of black wind, Percher stepped out not in her maid attire anymore but dressed in her polka dotted dress that she was she wore during their first meeting.

Though Percher usually had that nonchalant look on her face, it seemed that she still remembered the traumatic experience from before as she frantically turned away from Asuka.

“Jin-chan, have you come up with a plan yet?”

“Yes. Starting off with the threat of the Titans, it shouldn't be much of a problem since we have Percher with us. The main problem would be how to retrieve [The Death Eye of Balor] that has been stolen by the enemy……”

Hearing the words that came from Jin’s mouth, Percher’s brows immediately knitted together.

“…… what? The enemy has [The Death Eye of Balor] in their hands?”

“Nn. But Sala-sama said that it isn’t the original Demon Lord Balor's Eye but a magical eye that has similar properties.”

“What do you mean by similar in characteristics……The beam released by [The Death Eye of Balor] is the same as the [Beam of Medusa]. Once it is awakened and unleashed, there’s no defending against that and without a similar class of God or even Star class spirits, there’s no way for us to even hope of fighting against such a thing!”

Facing Percher’s accusing glare, Jin nodded his head in a half-hearted assent.

“Nn. I feel that way too and that’s why I think of enacting the legend of [Defeating Balor].”

Jin turned to look at KuroUsagi.

And KuroUsagi also seemed to have caught on to the plan as she lifted her rabbit ears up high while nodding her head.

“Could it be……KuroUsagi’s turn to appear?”

“Nn. KuroUsagi has the [Mahabharata Papers] [magref notes53] ---allowing her the use of Indra’s Spear. In theory, it should be able to pierce [The Death Eye of Balor] for if the legends told the truth, the holy spear that defeated Balor was one that was used by the main patron Celtic god which is imbued with the powers of absolute precision.”

Percher kind of frowned in displeasure upon hearing that.

To hear this conversation and the direction it’s heading towards after having been defeated by that kind of spear before, it sure must be a complicated feeling for her.

---It’s just as Jin named it: [Defeating Balor]. The legend of how Balor was defeated. Amongst the Titan tribes, there was one Demon Lord that had immense strength and a body that was as strong as steel. The durability of his body was so tough that even using [Claíomh Solais. The Demonslayer]did not have any effect on that strong warrior.

“The method that defeated Demon Lord Balor was the use of [Holy Spear. Brionac] to pierce through his Death Eye just when he was opening it to use his Gift. I’m hoping to substitute the use of [Brionac] with [Indra’s Spear]…… KuroUsagi, are you up to the task?”

“YES! Leave it to me!”

KuroUsagi had perked up her rabbit ears as she puffed her well- endowed chest with pride.

“Good. The start of the battle will be handled by Asuka-san and Percher to create confusion between their ranks. Upon forcing the enemy into a tight situation, the enemy will surely bring out [The Death Eye of Balor]. And that’s when KuroUsagi who will be stationed at the crown of the [Underwood]’s Great Tree will make her move. After confirming that the enemy’s going to use [The Death Eye of Balor], you would then use Indra’s holy spear to launch the finishing strike……What do you think about it?”

“……Hmph, I guess it’s a tactic that cannot be disputed that easily.”

Percher had a look of surprise on her face which she quickly covered up with her usual nonchalant smile as she looked towards Asuka and KuroUsagi.

“Oh right. I almost forgot that you guys also have a freak rabbit too.”

“Freak……”

“Well then, Little Red girl, let’s make a move.”

“I’m called Asuka. Please call me by my name, [Black Death Demon Lord].”

“Oh really? I will give it some consideration when I’m in a good mood.”

Percher whipped up her black winds as she ended the conversation at that, flying off into the skies in a cloud of smog-like winds, before KuroUsagi could even find her chance to make a retort, as she made a beeline for the Titans that were launching their attack upon [Underwood].

Asuka had also pulled away from the others as she headed off to meet the rush of the Titans.

But where she headed to wasn’t to the front lines of the battle, but the last defence line that protected [Underwood].

“After all, I did promise to protect [Underwood]---So Deen, let’s go!”

Raising her Gift card, Asuka went forth to bolster the ranks of the Eudemons and beastmen.

And as the group of [No Name]s started to join the fray, the battle continued to intensify.

Part3

---Ancient Vampire Citadel, Outer walls

At this point, Yō and the others had finally completed their search mission in the Outer walls that was divided into twelve sectors and have brought the items that represented the [Twelve Zodiacs] together.

Following procedure, Yō who was sitting on an old and broken fountain’s edge started with a question:

“We will now start on collation of the reports. Jack, have you found anything while flying in the skies throughout the whole operation?”

“Yahoho……Unfortunately, no. I’ve not found anything much other than the distinct division of the Citadel into twelve sectors and that there’s a symbol to represent the twelve zodiacs on the outer walls of each sector.”

“Symbol? Is it so for every sector?”

“Yes. The sector that we had first met up in was under the symbol of Libra. And from there, the adjacent ones were Scorpio and Sagittarius and so on. They were all arranged according to the sequence of the twelve zodiacs, but other than that….”

“Is that so? Thank you. Well, Ayesha and Kirino, how were things on your end?”

Hearing that it was their turn, the both of them smiled at each other as they presented a big gunny sack before Yō.

“Hoho. This is our find!”

“We have found shattered pieces that had the twelve zodiacs engraved upon them and fourteen pieces of what might have been another constellation!”

*Klunk!* Ayesha and Kirino poured out the contents in the sack by tipping it upside down at the same time.

Amazed by the find, Yō and Garol started to pick the pieces that have been gathered to have a closer look.

“A constellation that’s not of the [Twelve Zodiacs]?”

“OiOi…… what’s this? Could it be that we have been misled?”

The two looked at each other with unease forming in their hearts for they mustn’t have expected to find an item that depicted a constellation that didn’t belong to the [Twelve Zodiacs].

Ayesha and Kirino who had thought that they would be commended for their job well done had immediately caught on to the mood that was before them and looked crestfallen.

“Eh…. ? Could it be that we have done something unnecessary?”

“No, that’s not it! Just that these shattered fragments could be something left by the enemy to mislead ---”

“……so we did do something extra?”

“Ah…No… I already said that it’s not the case……”

Garol was desperately trying to find a way to explain the situation tactfully.

In the meantime, Yō was holding the fragments of the constellations while constructing the completed form of all the pieces as she fitted them in her mind.

[These shattered pieces seem to be curved like the surface of a sphere. If the zodiacs were to be fitted together, it would probably form a sphere. If the pieces were to be completely gathered, it would probably be something like a jigsaw puzzle that can be fitted together……]

But, how would that be significant?

What if they were to waste all their time on this sort of thing before the start of the punishments? Wouldn’t that be playing exactly into the hands of the Host? If she were to believe in her own conjecture, this might be an unnecessary step to take.

“……Kirino, what kind of structures did these fragments lie under?”

“Eh……The twelve zodiacs were found in a huge ruin that looked similar to a shrine while the others were found when we went through other debris.”

“Is that so.” Yō replied. As she had thought, these twelve zodiacs were treated differently.

But, if she were to get the wrong conclusion due to over-confidence in her own theory, it would be a waste of effort.

Yō worked her brain as she made a checklist of all the key words that they had identified previously.

[---[Zodiac] [magref notes56], [The twelve zodiacs], Satellite created by gods, the same trajectory as the Sun, the division of the celestial longitude, [broken fragments of the constellations]……broken fragments? [magref notes57]]

Yō lifted her head abruptly as she picked up two fragments in her hands. The two that she held were Libra and Scorpio.

And these two fragments had their cracked off seams matching perfectly beside each other---

“……Ah, solved it.”

“Huh?”

“Solved it…… I……solved it! I found the solution!”

Yō abruptly stood from the ledge of the fountain---

“[broken fragments of the constellations] and the satellite! The elliptical path of the Sun! And the other way to explain it……Something that can be [broken, presented]! With that, everything has been connected at last! These broken fragments hold the key to be presented to the throne!”

Even she couldn’t believe what just happened. She had only thought of finding as much clues as possible while waiting for the arrival of Izayoi, Asuka and the others.

Yō gave a whoop of delight, which was the first that ever came out of her mouth, as she hugged Ayesha tightly.

“Eh? Wa…Wait a moment!”

“Ayesha! Kirino! You guys have done very well! With this, Leticia can be saved! [Underwood] will be saved as well!”

Yō continued to act as her feelings dictated as she grabbed Kirino’s hand to shake it up and down vigorously.

Kirino’s face had also lit up as she answered:

“Then this…This game…”

“Nn. Once we bring these broken fragments to present to the throne later…… the game will be cleared!”



Part4

---Top of the Great Tree, [Underwood].

KuroUsagi had positioned herself on the dense growth of Water Tree leaves.

From that vantage point, she could oversee the whole battlefield and at the same time, that position offered her a kind of protection as enemies who might notice her would have a hard time climbing up to where she was.

Watching the black whirlwinds that was Percher, Asuka and Deen’s brave standoff with the enemies, KuroUsagi’s eyes were filled with worry.

“……Asuka-san and Yō-san aren’t weak. Logically speaking, the talents that are germinating in their bodies should be much stronger than KuroUsagi’s. Just that when placed beside Izayoi-san, they seem to be cherry blossoms that are late to bloom…… given ten years, they would surely grow to become a one of the handful that are counted as a strong force to be reckoned with.”

But in human terms, especially for those teenage girls, ten years would be too long. Izayoi was a little more mature in that sense but if it were to be any normal teenage girl or boy to set a goal to be achieved by the end of ten years, that would surely be quite a painful drudgery for them.

And even as she thought of that, KuroUsagi was also at a lost as to the method to guide them along in their development.

Yō’s Gift could not be activated by those that weren’t encompassed in her Phylogenetic tree. Hence even if she were to get close to KuroUsagi who belonged to the Moon faeries, there would be nothing to be gained from the friendship.

On the other hand, Asuka’s Gift seem to have a glimmer of hope but it was still in the guessing stage and couldn’t be confirmed as of yet. No, to be exact, even if the guess was right, that Gift would most probably be something that KuroUsagi have no way to help with either.

“Now we can do is only to wait for them to blossom faster……KuroUsagi must also put in her utmost effort to complete her mission……”

“Yahoo~~~~~~!”

---*Bam!* At that moment, KuroUsagi heard a childish voice and what seemed to be a head of a small child slamming into her from behind.

And following that, they fell.

“……Eh? EYa… ahhhh!”

“Waaaaahhhhhhhhh! ♪”

The leaves and branches rustled and snapped as the two of them tumbled down. Fortunately for those obstacles, they had only fallen a few ways down before coming to a stop. But the current moment did not allow room for such nonsense and moreover, there could only be one Baka who would do such a stupid thing at this time. KuroUsagi was so angry that her rabbit ears couldn’t stop quivering as she spun around to shout at the person behind her:

“SHI…SHIROYASHA-SAMA! Since you’ve already arrived, you should have immediately gone to clean up all those unruly criminals---”

“Wow~! Wow~! Wow~! It’s…It’s a real moon rabbit desu! And those are rabbit ears too! A petite appearance, innocent, tough and unyielding character and also the symbol of selflessness in their dedicated tasks! It’s my first time seeing one!♪”

“---…Eh….”

……who is she? KuroUsagi thought silently to herself.

A black-haired teenage girl whom she haven’t seen before had just attacked her. KuroUsagi had originally been stunned motionless at the same spot due to this unexpected turn of events but her rabbit ears soon turned red as she felt a pair of small hands rubbing at her breasts and she quickly tossed the girl in panic.

“Hm….Swish!~”

“Aya~!”

The mysterious girl was tossed spinning into the crown of the Great Tree.

Pulling out her [Vajra Replica], KuroUsagi accosted the girl:

“You… Who are you?! For you to be able to get that close to KuroUsagi’s back…… what kind of trick did you use?”

“Even if you put it that way, I do not know how to answer that for I had just simply leaned closer to you.” [magref notes58]

The black-haired girl had tilted her head in a cutesy manner and didn’t seem to be lying about it.

And that only made KuroUsagi heighten her vigilance against the girl.

“……Are you our enemy?”

“Nn, that’s right.” The black-haired girl replied with a radiant smile.

In a flash, lightning surrounded the crown of the tree.

The [Vajra Replica] was crackling intensely as KuroUsagi took hold of the spear shaped out of the holy lightning to make a direct shot at the girl. The waves of heat and sparks that swirled around the lightning spear had also set the water tree leaves that held large amounts of water aflame and the surroundings had changed into a sea of flames in an instant.

That was a strike that didn’t leave any doubts about the result.

Though it wasn’t in her nature to act first without further talk, but KuroUsagi felt that it wasn’t the time to fret about this sort of minor details. For that girl to appear before her at this sort of time, she wouldn’t be someone that could be counted as a small fry.

While adjusting the intensity of the lightning to prevent the fire from spreading further to the other tree leaves, KuroUsagi seemed rather worn out as she turned away with a sigh:

“……Even though it’s not the time to play with little kids, I’ve still held back……”

“---Is that so? Well then, I will play my cards seriously from now too.”

KuroUsagi had only managed to turn her head slightly when she caught sight of the eight daggers that were rapidly approaching her after being thrown.

[You must be lying right?]

It was already impossible to dodge them all and KuroUsagi had to release some holy lightning from her [Vajra Replica] to deflect the daggers.

Even then, it wasn’t enough with just that for two daggers that seemed to hunger for a layer of her chest and her belly respectively had to be dodged by her by spinning to the side. And despite dodging them all, the speed of the daggers were still pretty impressive.

[Not only being successful in sneaking up from behind and withstanding the lightning attack from [Vajra Replica]……and to follow up with an attack on KuroUsagi……!]

Facing this enemy whose powers were unknown even if one were to judge by her appearance, KuroUsagi couldn’t help but feel the trickle of cold sweat on her back.

On the contrary, the girl---Rin’s eyes were sparkling as she appraised KuroUsagi with a look of admiration.

[Impressive! I didn’t expect her to dodge that with that kind of reflex and in that sort of timing!]

The daggers had been thrown by her with the certainty that they would hit their target who wouldn’t be able to dodge in time, but KuroUsagi had surpassed her expectations by escaping without a single scrape.

Rin had actually thought that KuroUsagi wasn’t much of an opponent for she made such a rudimentary mistake of facing ones back to an opponent, but in that next moment, her belittlement had changed to envy.

“As expected of a [Highborn of Little Garden]. That was quite admirable.”

“……you took the words out of KuroUsagi’s mouth. What kind of trick did you use just now?”

“Secret♪. But since Usagi-san is so kawaii, I will be willing to tell you the answer if you guess close enough!”

Rin raised her right hand to swear by it.

Was that a show of confidence? Or was that just a playful action meant to provoke?

KuroUsagi judged the distance between them seriously but Rin just smiled wryly as she said:

“Just saying in advance, my mission is just to stop Usagi-san”

“……?”

“Because… isn’t it Usagi-san’s mission to shoot down [The Death Eye of Balor]? If you were to succeed, it would really be quite troublesome for us. So, I’ve come to stop you.” As Rin honestly made her intent clear, a low rolling rumble came from the ground in the South-eastern plains that didn’t seem to be from the army of Titans nor was it the roar of Deen as it displayed its overwhelming might.

But it was one that was much heavier and lower in intonation. Seeming like the sound of a huge sized earthworm squirming around in the ground.
“This kind of feeling…..Could …Could that be Demon Lord Balor?”

“Mhm. You’ve guessed it right. I actually thought that we would only use the Demonic Eye…… but I didn’t expect to find such a use to the [Book of Invasions] as well.”

KuroUsagi’s face turned pale instantly.

[The Book of Invasions] was one of the [Authority of Host Master]s that the Titan tribes had fought over, ten years prior and now it’s said to be in the hands of the enemy. KuroUsagi immediately perked up her rabbit ears to listen and scout out the situation on the ground.

[There should be someone near [Underwood] that is holding this summoning ritual!]

As she collected the information with her ears, KuroUsagi’s worst fears were confirmed.

At the South-eastern plains where the [Draco Greif] Alliance and the Titan tribes were locked in a fierce fight---a woman in long robes was starting up the summoning ritual before an open grimoire at a position behind the armies.

Without a doubt, that would be the same witch[magref notes59] who had kidnapped Leticia.

“---Uu…… KuroUsagi won’t let you succeed in that……!”

If Demon Lord Balor were to be summoned in addition to the huge dragon that was already in the skies, it would definitely spell the end of the Participants. Hence, KuroUsagi started to dash forward in a hurry with the agility and speed like that of an escaping rabbit.

However, she soon drew a sharp intake of breath as she noticed a shadow of a person keeping up with her pace, running shoulder to shoulder with her.

“Usagi-san, I won’t let you get there you know?”

Rin drew a dagger from its leather sheath to throw it at KuroUsagi. KuroUsagi who had rapidly descended in her leap managed to retain her balance as she made a side-leap to avoid the attack of the dagger.

Following that, she gave a harder kick to leap up with all her might.

Even so, Rin was still able to block her path by appearing before KuroUsagi.

[No way…This must be a lie right?!]

KuroUsagi leap once more to the side to try circle around the obstacle that was Rin. But Rin continued to shadow her moves completely and while maintaining a distance that couldn’t be called too far nor could it be called too near as she threw her daggers for the third time.

The daggers that came from the front this time round were also successfully dodged by KuroUsagi once more. Although the daggers might be travelling at a fast speed, it still didn’t reach the extent of being too fast to be dodged. The dagger narrowly passed KuroUsagi’s body and clattered to the ground behind her.

KuroUsagi had also released some lightning from her [Vajra Replica] to return fire at her opponent but with a wave of Rin’s arm, the lightning had disappeared before reaching their target. So KuroUsagi decided to make a call not to get close to her enemy and conclude it to be a dangerous zone as she fired her lightning attacks from a distance, despite knowing nothing of the other’s Gift.

This sort of attack and defending battle continued for five more times and KuroUsagi was still unable to figure out anything on Rin’s Gift.

---But, things aren’t going to go well if this is to drag on any longer.

KuroUsagi stopped her running and seeming to pray silently, she steeled her determination---and raised her [Vajra Replica]

“Though it’s a pity to destroy such a great talent such as you……but please meet your end here!”

KuroUsagi’s hair seemed to be ablaze as it went through a dramatic change while she lifted the [Vajra Replica] high above her head.

---The legacy of the [Moon Rabbit] that jumped into the fire in self-sacrifice. Due to the divine power given to the descendants for their merit being released, KuroUsagi’s black hair started to take on a lotus red glow that seemed to give it the illusion of being ablaze.

The blue lightning that buzzed around the weapon gradually changed to become a reddish lightning wreathed in flames.

The [Vajra Replica] was now charged with a power that could devastate the entire plains and KuroUsagi raised it in an underhand grip---



“Release of Mock Divinity……Pierce it! [Vajra Replica]---!”



And the holy lightning wreathed in lotus red flames shot out towards Rin.

The tip of the red lightning had condensed to become a sharp tip, causing the entire Vajra to become that of a flaming red spear.

This was a Divine Gift that could only be used once with the price of burning up its entire existence. And that was the true power hidden behind the third Gift that had been given to KuroUsagi---[Vajra Replica].

Clouds of dust had been whipped up in huge waves that drove in waves along the ground as the condensed energies of the [Vajra Replica] was released upon impact.

---With that, KuroUsagi was very confident that it would surely finish off the opponent.

Although she did not understand what Gift that black-haired girl might have used to get rid of the lightning earlier, but with this kind of attack, she shouldn’t be able to make it disappear.

Relaxing her shoulders, KuroUsagi tried to catch her breath but soon got it under control as she looked at the cloud of dust with a contorted expression.

“---To actually try demolishing the entire plain with that kind of explosion? Usagi-san sure does things the dramatic and overwhelming way huh?”

“……”

This was the worst case scenario as a girl’s silhouette could be seen faintly in the cloud of dust and smoke.

“And to make sure that I won’t dodge the attack, you actually chose to attack while lining me in the middle between the ritual and yourself……Hm. That’s quite a cool and collected thinking. Seems to me that Usagi-san is much better than the rumours.”

As the dust and smoke resided, KuroUsagi was surprised once more.

For Rin was standing nonchalantly at her original spot without a slightest scratch on her body.

On the other hand, the spot that the impact was supposed to detonate at was only able to cause an effect of just dust and smoke clouds.

(This….This isn’t a barrier, not is it a power to dissipate energy……)

The heat and energy released just now wasn’t something that could be ignored. If it were the dissipation of energy, it shouldn’t be only at the extent of causing clouds of dust and smoke to swirl.

If it weren’t using a similar amount of energy to counter it or a rapid construction of a huge wall to block it, it shouldn’t be the current situation that she saw before her.

“Oh well, let’s continue. I’m also quite fired up now. If you don’t hurry, the ritual will be completed too you know?”

“…Uu…”

The girl smiled happily.

And it was then that KuroUsagi noticed the flaw in her thoughts---

This girl’s a strong opponent. If she couldn’t find a way to overcome her, there would be no stopping the ritual that was in progress.

Part5

---South-eastern Plains, [Underwood].

The fight with the Titan tribes could be described as a one-sided massacre.

The black winds wielded by Percher were especially effective in situations where the enemies were numerous for she toppled the Titans one after another like a sickle to a bunch of wheat. Even if there were a few scattered Titans that managed to break through her line of defence to the back of the lines, Asuka and Deen would also synchronise their attacks to whack them to the ground.

If the combination team of Asuka and Deen would have been in a sticky situation if they were to be surrounded. But so long as the enemy continued to trickle from the front, it didn’t matter how many enemies there were for it just didn’t pose a problem to them.

And it was just moments before that Deen had pinned another Titan to the ground while giving a loud roar:

“DEEEEEEEEeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!”

“Thanks for the good job here. With this, the last defence should be almost cleaned up by now right?”

“---Asuka! There’s still one more heading towards you……” Sala who descended from the sky shouted towards Asuka.

Just as Sala had warned, a Titan holding a spear and heavy metal chains was rushing towards them. Deen rapidly raised its right arm but was slow by a beat as the chains snaked around it, locking it down and causing it to be dulled in its movements.

Next, the Titan proceeded to aim his spear at Asuka with his other hand.

“Irk…Irksome!” [magref notes60]

Asuka raised up her Hand of Ruby that Sala had given to her.

But before she could act, a flash of light sliced the spear head off its shaft.

“Eh……?”

“DEEEEEEEEeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!”

Asuka was still in her bewilderment while Deen grabbed and smashed the Titan’s head into the ground. After giving it two or three hard knocks, the Titan lost all signs of resistance as it lay quietly on the ground. Although Asuka was still surprised by the strange snapping of the spear tip just now, she decided to give the priority of her focus to Sala who had descended.

“Sala, you’re back so early?”

“Sorry. Our party to invade the citadel was confronted by a Demon Lord and we had no choice but to retreat. Currently, it’s just that lad……Izayoi and Gry against the enemy.”

“Is that so? But if Izayoi-san is there, there’s nothing to worry anymore. Well then, Sala, care to join me in the battle against the Titans?” Asuka didn’t mind Sala’s choice of retreating in that situation but had coolly extended her invitation to Sala to fight alongside as comrades.

Feeling surprised though still feeling a little guilty, Sala asked:

“……You aren’t angry with me? I had promised to save your comrade but in the end, I’ve just dumped the task to your other comrade who’s now battling in the skies.”

“Well, you can put it that way, but the person we are talking about is Izayoi-san right? Then that’s nothing to worry anymore. In fact, he would have said something haughty like ‘I’ll stay behind, you guys get out of the way by returning to the ground’ or something along those lines right?”

*Hmph!* Asuka said it in a displeased tone. Although it was really infuriating, Asuka herself was one of the people who was being protected by Izayoi in that way too and it didn’t take much to guess Izayoi’s course of action in an emergency.

Seeing Asuka’s reaction, Sala gave a wry smile as she replied teasingly:

“Looks like you trust him a lot.”

“It’s limited to Gift Games only……Compared to that, was it you who saved me just now?”

“No, it wasn’t me. That arrow must have been shot over from Faceless who’s battling over there.”

Asuka turned to look at the direction where Sala was pointing.

Before her eyes, Asuka could see a litter of Titan corpses heaping the ground around Faceless who was fighting quite a distance away. And it would seem that she picked off all the Titans that tried to invade from the sides that was beyond the effective range of Percher’s black winds of death.

She who was at the frontlines to be able to aim at a point in the last line of defence and slice off a spear tip cleanly with her arrow was truly an incredible display of technique.

“You just said ‘That arrow’……she used a bow?”

“Yes. It sure is something for her to shoot her target from such a distance.”

Asuka who had asked in surprise, turned to look at Faceless once more.

To deal with the Titans that had escaped from the black winds of death, Faceless would pick them off with a bow taken out from her Gift card.

And when the enemies manage to survive the rain of arrows, she would then switch to a sword and unleash the bladed whip mechanism hidden in the Serpent belly sword to slice them down.

And when there were some lucky enough to escape the sword dance, two spears would then pierce through their bodies.

---the continuous switch of weapons from the Gift card.

Depending on the distance and the situation, whether it was long-ranged, mid-ranged or close ranged, choosing the Gift best suited to defeat the enemy and to push the battle towards a favourable tide. That was the battle strategy of Faceless.

“Bow and arrows, the Serpent belly sword and the two long spears. Utilising weapons that suit the needs of the situation with a switch between the weapons is one of the most common techniques, but it’s my first time witnessing a warrior with such a flawless control in the transitions too. And she’s still holding back her true strength in battle which is the scariest thing to note.”

Sala watched on in admiration.

Regarding Faceless and her completely calculated battle dance---Honestly speaking, Asuka was also entranced by it.

(Flexibly alternating……according to the situation……)

For some unknown reason, that sort of battle tactic seem to interest Asuka.

“But, we cannot lose to her either. The back has been cleaned of enemies and we should also move to the frontlines.”

“Ah. Mhm. Got it. If things continue the way it is, we should be able to drive them---”

---Just then, the sound of harpstrings started to reverberate in the air. The two of them who had been quite fired up in their fighting spirits had stopped their conversation as they looked towards the enemy’s lines in recognition of the sound. For that had belonged to the [Golden Harp] which caused much confusion in the previous battles.

The two of them exchanged a knowing look.

The main force of the enemy has made its move.

“We are finally entering the climax of the battle. Do you know what the Gift of the enemy can do?”

“Nn. I remember that it’s a harp capable of creating confusion in the minds of others and summon fog……am I right?”

“No. What it controls isn’t only limited to fogs. I did a little research on it after it was snatched from them and found that it used to belong to one of the elder gods of the Celtic group of gods. A Harp that had a rich and long history in addition to the divine powers that reside in it. [magref notes61]The powers include the control of emotions, lulling people to sleep and the control of weather. With the skies already covered with dark thunder clouds, it would be troublesome if lightning were to be summoned. So better keep an eye out for any signs of trouble.”

“Is that so? That sounds like a large range for its usage... But if you have discovered it to that extent, why did you allow it to be taken back by the enemy? Shouldn’t that be unexplainable by a mere excuse of forgetfulness?”

*Uu* Sala pouted as she turned away her embarrassed face.

“Yes…It’s indeed my fault for letting the enemy get the harp back. So I intend to return the shame to them tenfold from now on.”

“Is that so? Well, you will just have to make sure that I don’t snatch that glory all for myself.”Asuka replied teasingly, causing Sala to be sulk in silence.

And while the two of them exchanged words, the battle at the front lines was starting to develop in a dramatic direction.

Part6

---[Underwood]’s South-eastern plains, At the frontlines.

Percher continued to whip up black winds that smashed the enemies to the ground but she soon found it to be a boring task. Although she was fine physically due to the elemental advantage she had over the opponents, but this sort of repeated action lacked the factor that would have made it interesting.

If it were to continue this way, this would really make the fight with Asuka so much more interesting! As Percher thought of that wryly, she continued to advance deeper into the heart of the enemy’s army. And as she passed, Titans who were touched by her black winds continued to fall to the ground stricken with disease, without any exceptions.

The battlefield had rapidly become a stage where she performed alone. And seeming to mock her haughtiness, the golden melody started to fill the air.

Scrunching her brows in displeasure, Percher turned her gaze towards the heart of the enemy’s forces.

(This is the melody from before?)

She had heard of this information from before but she now understood as she felt it for herself. The already low fighting spirit that she had was almost gone as well……but in fact, without listening to this melody, her fighting spirit would have decreased too.

But no matter what the case was for her, it was clear that the enemy was trying to control the mood in the battle field.

The Titans who have been wasted away by the disease and almost reaching the stage of becoming corpses were starting to struggle to their feet under the control of the melody.

(Hm……Controlling the mood of the battle field and forcing a race to do battle. That sure is distasteful. It’s as if the Titan tribes are just one of the extra chess pieces in their hands.)

Percher had completely lost her fighting spirit by now, but the despicable method of the enemy had gotten on her nerves.

Giving a sidelong glance to the Pied Piper ring on her finger---

“---Okay let’s do this. Although it’s also infuriating to be summoned by the [No Name]s to do their work, but you guys are certainly more despicable.”

Not giving the dying Titans who had struggled to their feet a second look, Percher rapidly ascended into the sky to a spot out of reach of the attack of any Titans and unleashed a strong barrage of attacks in the direction of the melody’s source, striking away at the huddle of Titans in that region.

Amassing the condensed hatred and miasma formed by the eighty million resentful spirits in her hands, she maintained their stability while landing before the enemy.

The black robed female who was holding the ritual with an open [The book of Invasions] before her---Aura noticed her presence.

“Hehe. What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for you, [Black Percher]. Was it fun running around for the [No Name]s?”

“Yep. At least it wasn’t as detestable as helping you guys.”

And without further ado, Percher thrust her palms forward to release the miasma that rushed towards Aura with the screams and moans of millions of tortured souls.

However, that attack exploded a few steps before reaching Aura.

The sudden turn of events caused Percher to widen her eyes in surprise while Aura covered her mouth in a giggle.

“After leaving [The Pied Piper of Hamelin], your spiritual level seem to have fallen haven’t it? Despite being a vessel that holds eighty million resentful spirits, your current self is still a long way off from being at the level of a God-class spirit……Here’s this. Why not come back to our side? This time, we will prepare an excellent Gift to suit the Gift you have attained. How’s that?’

“……”

Percher maintained her nonchalant expression while keeping up with the wave of attacks.

But all these attacks exploded before Aura---No, it would be more precise to say that they have all exploded upon coming into contact with the area demarcated by the ritual’s circle. It was clearly a mechanism of some sort that had been put in place within the circle.

Aura gave a confident smile as she continued to bait Percher with her honeyed words.

“Percher. Just based on attainment alone, you do have the spiritual level sufficient to be a God-class. The number of spirits contained within you could be said to be extraordinary to the point of breaking the boundaries of the rules that govern logic. To form a new group of Gods wouldn’t be a dream for you. If you like, we can arrange some more subordinates for you. It won’t be anything like those useless demons of [The Pied Piper of Hamelin] previously---”

“---shut your trap.”

A red line was traced along Aura’s cheek for the magic circle that was supposed to keep out the black waves of miasma was suddenly breached. And Aura whose face continued to be covered by the long robes twitched, evidently surprised.

Her surprise wasn’t as much as to the cut on her face as it was to the surge of anger that Percher had.

“……Aura. If there’s even something that I have to thank you guys for, that would be for the grimoire of <The Pied Piper of Hamelin>. Just for that single point, I really do owe you guys on the account of those old times……and hence the negotiation just now would have been worth some consideration.”

“……”

“But since you have trampled over such feelings today, even if [Grim Grimoire Hameln] is one of those chess pieces that you conveniently make use of and toss aside……it’s still a flag that I’ve betted my all upon and a Community that the members have given up their lives for.”

Percher’s calmly rebuked Aura while clenching her right hand, feeling the ring of the pied piper digging into her flesh.

---She was originally a group of evil spirits that had no connection with [The Pied Piper of Hamelin]. But to allow her to reappear after being separated from [The Pied Piper of Hameln], this ring was the weak medium that enabled her to do so.

But this is also the wish of Percher herself.

When she was summoned once more to Little Garden, she had brought up a condition for her subordination---

“For remembrance of the two comrades who have died for the ambitions of [Black Death Demon Lord], I don’t care how or what sort of way it is but I wish to retain the flag of [Grimm Grimoire Hameln].”

---Of course, she didn’t deserve that sort of privilege.

Having disrupted the peace as a Demon Lord and having lost to others, why should she get this sort of freedom to choose?

But Shiroyasha had listened to her stubborn request when she was summoned into Little Garden for the second time and given her the hope in her rebirth. The ring with the symbol of the pied piper was now the proof of her subordination contract.

“To insult my comrades, it’s equivalent as insulting my flag---Hence as of today, I will sever all ties with you guys and what’s left for us will be an all-out bloodlust for each other’s lives, you old witch.”

“…Is that so? Well, that’s really a pity.”

Aura gave a sigh as she drooped her shoulders, seemingly sad about the loss.

And happening around that time, Asuka, Deen and Sala and the many Eudemons and beastmen of the [Draco Greif] Alliance who have caught up…broke through into the heart of the enemy’s army and arrived before Aura.

“Good work, Percher.”Asuka said while giving her a sidelong glance.

“No problem. But we haven’t tied up the situation as of yet.”

The gaze of everyone present were riveted onto Aura.

Being the representative, Sala took a step forward to advise Aura to surrender.

“The Titans have already been completely annihilated by us. Even if you continue to control their fighting spirits to force them to do battle, what’s close to dying will be dead anyways and won’t put up much of a fight. It's best to surrender quietly and come into our custody.”

[magref]

part2

Spoiler! :

With that, Sala drew her sword to signal the end of the negotiations.

Aura had lost her Titan army and was surrounded but a smile of disappointment continued to linger at ther lips.

Percher heightened her alertness as she warned Asuka and Sala:

“Guys, you would want to be careful now. This woman is a similar sort of Eudemon like the Titans, a humanoid sort---generally termed as a [Sorceror].”

“……Sorceror? Is it the kind of sorcerer that are told of in stories?”

“Yes. There’s quite a number of classical examples for them too and these sort of people are also termed as [Fay], equivalent to the roots of the term [Faerie](Fairy) that are of a species close to extinction. The more prominent examples would be the [Lady of the Lake] in the stories of [King Arthur], MorganleFay; and the FairyGodmother of [Cinderella] etc. The highest order in the realm of human species.”

“Oh my, you exposed everything about me. But shouldn’t this be something that should have been told to them before the battle?”

“Do I need to repeat myself? Up till just moments ago, I still felt that I’ve owed you guys a little….And moreover, Jin, the little red girl, Freak boy and Freak Usagi seemed to have arrived at some sort of agreement to not ask or listen to me. Wouldn’t it be stranger to talk about morality and fairness in that situation?”

Percher simply stated it a matter-of-factly as she gazed at the army of [Underwood] around her.

Jin who was also observing the battlefield through Percher’s senses gave an involuntary shudder.

(……Peeping-tom.)

(No…It’s not it---)

Percher thought in her mind, and as it happens, Jin also gave a quick reply to that.

(So that’s how it is. Having synchronised their senses, they could also communicate telepathically?) Percher smiled devilishly as she realised that she found something interesting. Percher who was in a good mood after a discovery of such a useful material for her future pranks, turned her gaze back to Aura once more---

“Well then, let’s end things here, Aura. For you, I can give you a special discount now. So long as you beg me to spare your life, I can help you negotiate to be collared up, given three meals and allow you to be a maid.”

“……”

Hearing Percher’s words, Aura wiped all emotions from her face and swept her gaze around the army that surrounded her as she muttered in a low voice:

“……Percher, do you know why the Titans have such a vulnerability to the Black Death disease?”

“Hah?”

“That’s because there was a Titan with overwhelming power who controlled the other Titans. The [System of control based on the manipulation of Black Death disease] is a curse of the Titans that gave you the advantage---but if you look at it from a different perspective, there should also be the [Titans that controlled Black Death to enslave the other Titan tribes] right?”

“……what?” A collective gasp in response came from the [Underwood] army.

Snapping [The book of Invasions] shut, Aura reached her hand towards [The Death Eye of Balor] that was positioned within the ritual grounds.

Not knowing what she was up to, Percher raised her brows at that movement.

And at the recesses of her mind, Jin’s sudden cry jolted through her.

(Percher! Defeat her now! Quickly!)

(Huh?)

(We have fallen for her ploy! It’s Balor! The person whom she said to have created the [System of enslavement through Black Death], it’s the tribe led by Balor himself! The enemy’s true aim might just be……)

Jin’s reminder had also caused Percher to notice something amiss and she turned to look back at the Titans who have been defeated by the Black Death Disease.

However, Aura had already raised [The Death Eye of Balor] and said her last words in a mocking tone---

“Farewell~[Black Death Demon Lord]! The guys from the [Draco Grief] Alliance and the others! Your little oversight shall be your downfall!”

In a flash, [The Death Eye of Balor] emitted a Black ray that swept through the entire battlefield.

Sala and the others who had already mentally prepared themselves before the death ray bathed across them were shocked to find that they were unharmed and nothing was out of the ordinary.

Unable to comprehend the situation, the people of [Underwood] were looking at each other in confusion. But in the next moment---

"---Gahouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhou----!"

The Titans’ roars surrounded them as they were released from the holds of the Black Death disease.

Part7

---[Underwood], South-eastern Plains.

Beads of perspiration reflected light off KuroUsagi’s forehead as she ran around the battlefield.

Having lost her [Vajra Replica], she only had two equipment-typed Gifts remaining that are of [Mahabharata Papers].

And the use of these Gifts carried a huge amount of risk.

(The other time was only because Asuka-san was around to help …… but it would be too dangerous to allow this girl to get close to Asuka-san!)

For the black-haired girl was still chasing KuroUsagi from behind.

That girl---Rin’s agility could be said to match up with KuroUsagi or Izayoi. But since Izayoi was in the midst of an aerial battle, the only other person who could delay this enemy would be KuroUsagi.

She who continued to throw daggers that maintained sufficient speed to hit KuroUsagi never seemed to change the distance between them as she continued to shadow at that ‘not too far and not too near’ distance.

(And there’s still that light just now……It should be safe to presume that [The Death Eye of Balor] has been released! Although the main body hasn’t been summoned, but it must surely be one of the trump cards of the enemy! No matter what, KuroUsagi must summon her holy spear and pull away from this girl…!)

“As the Titans who have been defeated by Black Death were revived one after another, KuroUsagi really wanted to rush to aid the others in the battlefield but this girl just couldn’t stop pestering her……

“Your concentration seems to be wavering, Usagi-san! ♪” And as Rin spoke, she threw a number of daggers at her. [magref notes63]

KuroUsagi had already lost count on the number of times this ‘attack and defend’ kind of game had gone for---Suddenly, all the daggers were cut down by the sharp edge of a certain Serpent belly sword.

“Wa……!”

“NO WAY!”

*Klunk Chink!* The sound of metal sliding back into position after knocking the daggers on the floor hovered in the air. And a masked Knight---Faceless had gotten between them.

Turning her head , she said to KuroUsagi:

“---I’ve come to take over the battle on this side. Please go to stop [The Death Eye of Balor].”

“……Thanks for the timely intervention! KuroUsagi will be leaving it to you!”

Yeah right, there’s still her around. KuroUsagi started to dash towards the battlefield while thanking the skies for such a timely help.

Wanting to chase KuroUsagi who had dashed off like a fleeing rabbit, Rin found herself blocked by Faceless.

Rin frowned as she stared at Faceless.

“You seem to be one of the favoured ones of [Queen Halloween] right? Could it be that you’ve gotten the orders to defeat us?”

“No. That’s not my goal this time. I’ve purely come for the sake of friendship.”

Rin blinked her eyes in disbelief, seeming to doubt the things that she heard.

“Friend…Friendship? The favoured ones of [Queen Halloween] needing friendship?”

“Yes. I’ve been invited over here as a guest of [Willo-O-Wisp] and it’s because of such friendship that I’ve entered this battlefield.”

In other words, it was purely coincidence that she met the Demon Lord. Hearing her monotonous voice that gave such an honest answer, it caused Rin to feel a little sorry for her and not know how to respond to that.

Faceless maintained her serious attitude while keeping her favourite Serpent belly sword.

“And if I wanted to defeat you, it wouldn’t be possible with my current equipment. So I hope that you will stop before we both get seriously hurt.”

“……eh? You know what I’m doing?”

Faceless gave a slight inclination of her head---

“Although I’m not clear on what the technique is based on, but……according to my conjecture, what you are manipulating is the [Distance] between objects right.” Faceless stated it plainly.

And this time, Rin was finally surprised.

Her child-like eyes grew as round as saucers and she fumbled with the daggers in her hands that almost fell to the ground.

“Um…that…How did you know that? Was it that obvious? What kind of mistake did I do?”

“No. Nothing that obvious. Just that I noticed the trajectory of the dagger, immediately falling to the ground after passing KuroUsagi narrowly and it just didn’t seem right to me…… Since the speed and the distance of the throw didn’t seem to match up, your technique should either be the manipulation of time or distance.”

Faceless continued to state in her monotonous voice.

But even if she knew of the type of Gift, there was no counter for it. Attacks towards Rin wouldn’t be [Unable to deal a fatal blow] or [Unable to pierce] but [Unable to reach].

From a perspective of looking at it, this could be said to be a Gift more troublesome than being unable to die. There were killers in Little Garden that were natural counters for those that couldn’t die and there were also weapons that could pierce through miracles. But if all these were to be unable to reach the opponent, all that would have been pointless.

“For the Titan tribes who had set up their encampment far away to appear in this region, could also be explained by such a power and to defend against the lightning of [Vajra Replica] and [Indra’s Spear Vajra] as well. All of those can be blocked if I were to factor it in as a huge [Wall of distance] between you guys.”

“……”

“According to my knowledge, this would really be one of the unique Gifts that have no equal. But if this is the result of the combination of the ideologies of [Maxwell’s demons] and [Laplace Demons], such a thing wouldn’t be inconceivable.”

“……Hm, that can be said as the correct answer, Masked talkative Onee-san.”

Rin shrugged her shoulders while smiling sarcastically.

Faceless tilted her head while raising a brow. [magref notes66]

“So what do you want to do now? Still want to fight?”

“……No. Although you do seem interesting, but I guess I will just retreat here today. After all, I did delay the time and it sure is too early to make an enemy out of [Queen Halloween].”

“Wise choice. No matter what you may do, this game is soon coming to an end already.”

“Eh?” Rin tilted her head quizzically.

Looking up towards the Sun that was obscured by the thick thunderclouds, Faceless said:

“Shiroyasha had returned the Divinity to the Buddhist faction just now.”

“……You’re lying!”

“It’s true. I guess she just didn’t want to repeat her stupidity of three years ago once more. With things the way it is, the Demon Lord that you guys sent to that area will soon be similar to a lone candle standing in the wind and this little commotion here will soon come to a close with her arrival as well.”

Faceless announced in a calm and steady voice.

Rin had a bitter expression as she looked up to the skies before disappearing from the battlefield without a trace.

Looking steadily at the battlefield thrown into confusion once more due to the resurrected Titans, Faceless gave a long sigh before muttering softly:
“I guess it’s time for me to go too. I will leave the rest to you, Jack.”

Following that, Faceless left the battlefield like the dispersal of mist. The spot where the two had originally stood at was now trampled over by the Titan tribes and all traces of them had also disappeared like a wisp of smoke in the wind.

---End of Interlude7---

Interlude7

[magref notes52]Dragon King of the Stars and Seas. 星海龙王Break down of the term: 星 Star, 海Sea, 龙Dragon, 王 King/Lord(I would go with King for this…but if I followed the normal translations so far… it would be Lord. But this time, King is more befitting since he’s really different from the other Dragon Lords. Ch tends to place more status on King…zzz k too much info…) Anyways, thing is 星海 can also mean the Sea of Stars…and it would seem that yes this is another name that the author came up on his own… I don’t remember such a person though it sounds so cool and all. The most that my whole family can recall are the four dragon Kings of the Four corners N,S,E,W. And searching on the net has given me lots of comments that this is another of the author’s invention. Just like the Rare Sacred Iron. Search Ruyi Jingu Bang on wiki if you want to know more on the dragon kings and Sun Wu Kong’s weapon… but it’s not going to be useful for this story’s understanding I’m just rambling again because I found that I had wasted so much research time on nothing…

[magref notes53] [Mahabharata Papers] this refers to sheets/extracts of the Mahabharata and means that she doesn’t have the whole copy. So what she have are only some pieces from the full text. And that is similar to having a power to extract the weapons or equipment from text… hmmmm I don’t think her power allow her to take from any text but only those that has been Gifted to her…

[magref notes54] [Claíomh Solais. The Demonslayer] other name for it is [Sword of Light]. The text I translated from was Sword of light but it didn’t seem to make a large enough impact so I suspected that it could be this… definitely nicer since it’s one of the Treasures of Tuatha Dé Danann.

[magref notes56] Identified the circle of beasts as the zodiacs, so she used the term Zodiac in her thoughts, yes she thought of the English word. The other is also the zodiac , but yea… different name /phrase and was in another language…. Since this one is translated… it looks like a double.

[magref notes58]ok need help with the sound effects… Rin likes lots of her sound effects at the end of her words… kinda like a childish way of talking… but I dunno the jap/eng equivalents…. (I do know of the Singlish equivalent though…but I guess only Singaporeans will understand )

[magref notes59]ok just saying for fun….魔女 can be Magical girl [ie. Mahou shoujou] lols…. But I bet that that’s not the real words… so I translated it as witch XD

[magref notes60]ok I may need the jap words for this part… if anyone can get it somewhere…. Cos the English translation would be too weird and I can’t substitute it with the ch…. :p

[magref notes61]Divinity can be a gift but for this case, it is divine powers since it is conferred to a non-living object.

[magref notes63]Recent implementation… to counter all the possible sound effects that Rin adds to her words…♪

[magref notes65]hmmm this part is strange… the right? Isn’t the question… its more rhetorical, a sense of confidence in one’s conjecture being a matter of fact… so I placed it as ‘.’ Delete this note after reading :]

[magref notes66]no don’t ask me how the Author saw her eyebrow… I got no interest in how he managed to see through the mask nor do I want to know what else he can see through.

[some extra stuff]lols Dragon bones…. Just saying… this one is more on the Taoist side I think…. Always saw advertisements on dragon bone/sarira exhibitions in Singapore … And yea, the author decided to include these relics into his story. Just wondering if he will ever go up to gemstone magics… hmmm >.< my own preference though.

As for the tourniquet over Izayoi’s arm, hmmm it said bandage if I direct translate…. But if it is a pierce wound… blood flowing… yea my medic instincts screamed at me to write it as a tourniquet. It’s a tight style of bandage to stop the blood flow. If it is on for more than 6 hours, the whole arm would have to be amputated for it would have died of hunger/thirst for nourishments in the blood.

Note about [Brionac], it will be talked about again in volume5 so stay tuned :} As for the part of Izayoi being mature, it is about him setting the target of developing the [No Name] Community to be up and completed by 10 years.

Um [Vajra Replica] is gone with this chapter…

and yea this is finally edited as of 15042014.

[stuff for editors]just saying in advance, I might want to start a change of all Willo-O-Wisp to Will o’ wisp that seems to be in the book… cos I’ve been doing the former based on how it sounds like and it’s much easier to type what I’m used to rather than what I’m less accustom to… XD No matter how slow I try to type to omit such mistakes…. I can’t help but like the rush that fast translation brings… so more work for editors

[magref notes57] broken fragments[bold]

[magref notes62]was supposed put it here as a note to myself…Grim Grimoire Hameln… but it seems that now I'm gonna change this to a note to the editor…. yes it's not a spelling mistake... the Community name is Grim Grimoire Hameln (German) Just like Rattenfanger.

[BionicMeerkat]

part2


[stuff for editors]just saying in advance, I might want to start a change of all Willo-O-Wisp to Will o’ wisp that seems to be in the book… cos I’ve been doing the former based on how it sounds like and it’s much easier to type what I’m used to rather than what I’m less accustom to… XD No matter how slow I try to type to omit such mistakes…. I can’t help but like the rush that fast translation brings… so more work for editors

[magref notes57] broken fragments[bold]

[magref notes62]was supposed put it here as a note to myself…Grim Grimoire Hameln… but it seems that now I'm gonna change this to a note to the editor…. yes it's not a spelling mistake... the Community name is Grim Grimoire Hameln (German) Just like Rattenfanger.

This lack of email notification is bugging me out. Screw it, I'm done worrying about it.

No need for the Willo change, I've been doing them for every chapter you have posted So no need for a sweeping project.

Grim has been noted. I'm not quite sure if it is spelled like that on the guidelines but meh. Transfer will likely commence in 3 hrs.

Update: DONE! Wow, took wayyyyy too long imo but text for days. That and jamming out to Kagepro on loop
Well enjoy everyone. Tonight is a friends birthday so there will be no hope for any souls.