Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 10 Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Midgard in Turmoil

Part 1

The sound of footsteps from multiple people echoed within a dark and enclosed space.

The meandering staircase seemed endless no matter how far we climbed, causing my feet to feel heavy—However, by the time I thought back to the time when I first descended these stairs, we were almost about to reach the bottom of the clock tower.

"Mononobe~"

Hearing the slightly exhausted voice from behind, I paused at a landing in the staircase.

I looked back to see the panting silver-haired girl—Iris Freyja—looking up at me from the step below me. I could not see the others because the view was blocked by the twisting staircase, but I could hear their footsteps behind me.

Several hours earlier, we had felt a tremor originating from the ground surface... Next, Ariella's betrayal came to light. Since the underground cavern's secrecy might have been compromised, we decided our whole group would head up to the surface.

Our current goal was to confirm what had happened on ground level and find a new hiding place for Shion and Jeanne. Rescuing Ariella was also imperative.

"You're climbing too fast~ Let's take a short break..."

Iris reached out to me and pleaded. I sighed deeply.

"Didn't I say I'll head out first to make sure it's safe? There's no need to force yourself to keep up with my pace."

"B-But what if something happened to you while you're alone, Mononobe!?"

Climbing the stairs faster than she could handle, beads of perspiration kept appearing on Iris' forehead, but she stared at me seriously.

"Am I that untrusted?"

"Because lately... Mononobe, you keep taking action alone. That's not good, right?"

"Ouch."

I fell silent for a moment because her comment struck a sore spot.

That time at the mountain villa, the plan to intercept NIFL had failed because I had separated from the others to act alone. Also during the battle against Kraken Zwei, it was Iris who had saved me from the hopeless situation. Hence, I had no words to refute her.

"That's why I want to follow you as much as possible. R-Right now, Mononobe... I-I am your mate."

Iris blushed red and spoke quietly in embarrassment.

I noticed my face heating up because of her words. However, there was something I had to consider carefully before fighting alongside her.

"—By the way, Iris, can you still use Catastrophe?"

Due to getting marked by me and turned into my kind, it was highly likely that her abilities were affected in addition to her body. During the battle against Kraken Zwei, Iris' staff had turned into a part of her body during the dragonification process, even allowing her to produce the "Third Eye."

"Oh, yes, in a way. We at least confirmed it when I was examined."

"In a way?"

The ambiguous answer made me frown.

"Umm, how should I put it...? Before, I knew how to use Catastrophe without needing to think at all... But I can't do it anymore, no matter what. Because of that, I can't use it unless I transmute dark matter."

"I see—So now it's the same for you like how it is for me and Mitsuki."

Like Iris, Mitsuki and I had inherited powers from dragons—antigravitational matter, Ether Wind, antimatter—And they could only be used by transmuting dark matter. In control of Yggdrasil, Tia also used electricity generated from the transmutation of dark matter in order to connect to the plant network.

However, Iris alone had been able to use Catastrophe directly. Hence, her body had transformed to accommodate power, according to Vritra's explanation.

Having lost this unique aspect of hers, Iris could no longer use Catastrophe beyond her capacity to generate dark matter. Neither would she dragonify like before, I suppose.

However—as the one who had marked her, I might be a dragon, which meant it was possible that Iris had simply turned into "my kind"—another type of dragon...

"That's why I can't attack at a moment's notice like before. And it might explode with a bang like when I generated dark matter in the past."

Iris waved her hands to gesture but I smiled wryly at the thought of her "special skill."

"No matter what you're transmuting, Iris, your dark matter always explodes. Also, Catastrophe's effect cannot be controlled. So don't use them on humans, okay?"

"Sheesh, of course I know that. Mononobe, it's you who should take more care, okay?"

Iris pouted slightly and stared at me.

"Me?"

"That's right. You might have to fight people from NIFL later, so don't go overboard, okay? Killing is wrong!"

Bam—These words caused my chest to tighten.

Iris was bringing up matter-of-fact common sense. A moral worldview shared by all humans. However, I had not used this kind of perspective to distinguish good from evil for a long time now.

During my training under Major Loki at NIFL, I had turned into someone "capable of killing at will."

In the past series of battles, I had gradually lost the luxury of choosing "not to kill." In the battles against Hreidmar, I had fought with clear intent to kill. Although the defeated armored soldiers were empty inside, if they were transformed humans as Major Loki had claimed... I might have committed murder already.

But before that...

"Very well, I got it... I'll remember. Killing people is not our goal. We are trying to rescue Ariella and protect Charl—the principal."

I answered, as though carving these words upon my heart. These were the reasons why we had left the underground hot spring and were currently climbing this long staircase.

Just as Iris had said, killing was definitely wrong. No matter what the reason, it was not an option that should be chosen.

"Then Mononobe, it's a promise!"

Iris nodded deeply and extended her little finger towards me.

"...I promise."

After a moment of hesitation, I entwined my little finger with Iris'.

Optimistic thinking was beyond me. I generally had a tendency to imagine the worst-case scenario. If a situation arose where I had to take a life in order to protect Iris and the others, I did not have the confidence to keep this promise.

On the other hand, people surely exchanged promises with one another precisely because they lacked confidence.

Thinking that, I promised Iris while interlocking our little fingers together.

"Mononobe, let's give it our best together!"

Iris smiled cheerfully and released her little finger.

"—Yeah."

Her smiling face was the one thing I did not want to betray.

"Mm!"

Next, I heard a voice expressing agreement. Having caught up during our break, the petite red-haired girl—Ren Miyazawa—looked up at us with her tiny fist clenched tightly.

"Onee-chan must be saved. Whatever it takes."

She declared strongly and ran up to us. Overtaking Iris and coming to my side, she held my hand tightly.

Next, the rest of the girls arrived one after another and looked at Ren and me.

"Yes, we must save Ariella... We haven't heard her story properly yet."

The girl who normally gave off a spaced-out impression, Firill Crest, concurred with Ren whose eyes were showing intense determination.

Lisa Highwalker tossed her long blonde hair and nodded at them.

"Indeed—There must be some sort of reason. Since Ariella-san is the kind of person who can do anything on their own, she must have reached a conclusion on her own to say nothing to anyone. Goodness gracious... My friends are full of these people who get stuck in their stubborn ways of thinking, how troublesome."

Lisa glanced sideways at my foster sister, Mitsuki.

"...Why are you looking towards me, Lisa-san?"

"Oh my? Would you like me to explain?"

Confronted with Lisa's mischievous expression, Mitsuki went red and averted her gaze.

"N-No, it is fine... I am aware of my similarities with Ariella-san."

Mitsuki replied with some embarrassment. She must be recalling how she had entered conflicts with Lisa many times due to her own obstinate views on the Shinomiya Miyako incident.

Next, Mitsuki held her hand against her chest with a somewhat weary expression. She was panting heavily, probably exhausted from climbing all these stairs in one go. Upon closer examination, I noticed that the redness of her face was not purely due to embarrassment.

"Mitsuki, are you okay? Just take a break if you're tired, or..."

I stopped mid-sentence and looked at Jeanne Hortensia. Although she was dressed in Midgard's male school uniform like me, Jeanne was genuinely female. Back in NIFL, she belonged to the same unit as me, serving as the sniper due to her rare "eyes" of outstanding talent.

And right now, Jeanne was carrying a purple-haired girl on her back. The girl was named Shion Zwei Shinomiya. As the daughter of the Krakenified Shinomiya Miyako, she currently adored Jeanne as family.

"Captain?"

"...Papa?"

Making eye contact with me, Jeanne and Shion tilted their heads in puzzlement. Worried that Shion would experience feelings as my mate, Jeanne had taught Shion that she and I were her family—Still, I had yet to get used to being called "Papa."

However, Shion would feel insecure if I were to look troubled, so I tried to smile back at the two of them as naturally as possible.

"C-C-C-Captain, if you stare at me like this... It would feel a bit..."

I ended up causing Shion to smile with delight while Jeanne lowered her head, slightly flustered.

Seeing them like that, Mitsuki realized what I was suggesting and her face turned even redder.

"No, there is no need for you to carry me! Also, I do not need a break. Our first priority is to make haste and intercept Ariella-san right now!"

Mitsuki refused in a fluster. Nevertheless, as her family and someone who had been living with her for a long time, I could definitely tell that her condition was not normal.

Ever since she transformed into my kind yesterday after making contact with me, Mitsuki had looked very lethargic. She had claimed it was probably dizziness due to soaking in the hot spring for too long, but I concluded it was necessary to consider the effects of being turned into my kind.

Furthermore, Lisa, Firill and the others had gone through their transformations without anything unusual, yet Mitsuki had quite an intense reaction during the process. Although the reason was unknown, it seemed like Mitsuki's body was enduring greater strain than the others.

"—No need to hurry so much. This route leads directly to the bottom of the clock tower. That girl apparently took route that emerges from ground level at the dorms. Since her target is this school's principal, it is all but assured that we will arrive ahead of her."

The one who interjected was the unmotivated Kili Surtr Muspelheim.

She was neither close with Ariella nor had any reason to protect Charlotte, which was why she felt no urgency.

"That being said, we cannot afford to dally while it is unknown how much time remains. Nii-san, let us proceed."

Saying that, Mitsuki began to ascend the stairs. Since she was giving this look of "I shall venture forth even if all of you stop here," I had no choice but to start moving forward again.

"Yuu! Since Mitsuki will walk on her own, Tia wants to be carried!"

But before long, I heard Tia Lightning's voice from behind. I looked back while climbing the stairs, only to see Tia staring at me with her glimmering ruby-like eyes.

"Sure—"

It was fine since she was tired. Just as I nodded in consent, Vritra objected from beside Tia.

"Wait. If thou art going to carry someone, carry me. I am tired of walking."

Identical to Kili in appearance except two sizes smaller, Vritra was climbing the stairs with an expression of utter irritation. Even if one were to tell others that she was the cause of the first dragon disaster that had plunged mankind into panic—the Black Dragon—no one would probably believe it.

"Tia is tired!"

"I am more tired."

"Tia is more more tired!"

Tia and Vritra began a fruitless debate. Although I had no idea how to handle this, Lisa smiled benevolently and said, "Since you both have the strength to fight like this, it implies that you can still climb on your own, doesn't it?", prompting the two of them to shut up immediately.

"Oh, Mononobe! It's a door!"

Iris interjected at just the right moment and pointed up the stairs.

"...Mm."

Ren gripped my hand tightly with nervousness in her demeanor.

"Let's advance as quietly as possible from here on."

I turned my head back, lowered my voice and said to the group. Iris and the girls nodded.

Leading the way, I ascended the stairs quietly and stood in front of the heavy door. There was neither a door knob nor a keyhole. Beside it was a circular handle, probably meant to be rotated in order to open and close the door.

I focused my mind to listen for sounds on the other side of the door. There were no human voices. Neither could I sense any killing intent.

After asking everyone to back away slightly, I turned the handle and the door opened automatically with heavy noise of vibration.

The other side of the door was much brighter than the staircase side. I squinted and observed the surrounding situation. Exposed pipes were running along the passage's ceiling and walls. No one seemed to be here. However, something was different compared to the last time I passed through on my way down.

"Follow me, everyone."

I said to the girls as they stepped into the passage.

"Onii-chan... What's wrong?"

The first to catch up was Ren, who asked in head-tilted puzzlement.

"The route Mica-san showed me has been blocked."

I pointed at the other end of the passage and explained. It looked like it had been blocked off by a very thick partition.

"Then we have to find a detour...?"

Firill murmured, but on the side, Lisa shook her head after giving it a moment's thought.

"Midgard is probably safeguarding against underground invasions. The other passage must surely be the same. In that case, wouldn't it be faster to contact Shinomiya-sensei to have her open the partition?"

Hearing that, Iris brightened up in demeanor.

"Oh right! Although we couldn't use our terminals in the cave, there's reception here!"

"Then allow me to contact Shinomiya-sensei..."

Mitsuki nodded and took out her portable terminal. However, Kili grabbed Mitsuki's shoulder from behind to stop her.

"Hold on. It's better not to underestimate NIFL. Don't you agree, Jeanne-chan?"

Kili looked suggestively at Jeanne, a former member of NIFL. Jeanne frowned slightly and nodded.

"...Yes. Now that NIFL has landed on the island, it would be best not to use communication devices lightly. They might be eavesdropping."

"Ea-ves-drop-ping? Ea-ves-drop-ping?"

Curious about the term, Shion was innocently repeating it while piggybacking on Jeanne.

"It means listening secretly. But it's true that we don't want them to know about our position and situation."

While explaining to Shion, I acknowledged Kili's viewpoint. Then Mitsuki frowned.

"Be that as it may... Are we going to break the partition in order to move forward?"

In order to get there before Ariella, we could not afford to waste time. Although this might aid NIFL, there was no other choice. Just as I was thinking that, someone tugged the corner of my shirt from the side.

I looked there, only to see Tia looking up at me, smiling.

"No problem! Leave it to Tia!"

Walking briskly, Tia approached the partition and pressed her hand on the control panel next to it.

With a spark of electricity near the red horns on her head, followed by a heavy sound of turning, the partition opened.

"Wow..."

Impressed, I exclaimed and Tia puffed out her little chest proudly.

"Compared to hacking Yggdrasil, this kind of machine is too easy! Tia will close it up properly once we all pass through. NIFL won't get easy pickings!"

Listening to her, Kili smiled with satisfaction.

"Fufu, as expected of my Tia. There is no computer in this world that can compare to her, having obtained Yggdrasil's processing power."

Kili probably thought of herself as the one who had raised Tia, but I noticed Lisa's brow twitching on the side.

"Tia-san, you are truly amazing. Recently, you have been helping out all the time."

Walking over to Tia, Lisa bent down and smiled.

"Ehehe... Thanks. But Lisa helped Tia even more."

Hugged by Lisa, Tia smiled demurely. While caressing Tia's head tenderly, Lisa secretly glanced at Kili.

"Hmm..."

Seeing Lisa's actions and gaze that seemed to declare "Tia is not yours," Kili looked displeased.

"Another partition lies ahead. Could you take care of it again?"

"Yes!"

Nodding energetically, Tia held Lisa's hand and walked over there.

While following them, I whispered to the displeased-looking Kili.

"—Although it's not my place to say this, I don't think you can win against Lisa on this front."

"I know that."

Frowning unhappily, Kili replied.

"The moment she decided to live on as a human, it was no longer possible for her to get close to me, the one who had killed her 'human parents.'"

Kili lowered her voice, speaking only loud enough for me to hear. This was the first time for her to broach the subject ever since she joined us.

I took a breath and voiced a concern that had been occupying my heart for a long time now.

"Why did you kill them...? It wasn't necessary to go that far, was it?"

"No, it was necessary. Even now, I still believe I did nothing wrong."

Kili instantly replied in an icy voice.

"Hmm... But Tia was living happily with her parents, right? You destroyed that life and did nothing wrong, are you serious—"

I could not help but find my voice getting louder, so I stopped mid-sentence. Kili responded to my anger with a wry smile.

"Happiness for Tia was not necessarily happiness for her parents."

"...What do you mean?"

After hearing Kili's profound statement, I suppressed my anger and asked. Next, she questioned me instead.

"An armed organization captured Tia before, right?"

"That's right—Those people took her parents hostage and forced her to create gemstones. I was the one who rescued her from there."

After I nodded, Kili smiled sardonically.

"Hostages... eh? Were it not so, they wouldn't have tried to sell their daughter off again."

"What...?"

Was it because I reacted with bated breath exactly as she had predicted? Kili continued with a look of satisfaction.

"The involvement of a large organization is required to efficiently convert gemstones and precious metals into cash. Hence, her parents began to search for a new buyer. However, the news spread too much because they were too unprincipled, finally reaching an anti-dragon organization..."

Anti-dragon organization was the umbrella term for groups of people who hated dragons and treated Ds with hostility, considering them to be on the side of dragons. Naturally, because killing a dragon was impossible for them no matter how much they wanted to, their activities were specifically limited to the likes of fighting dragon-worshiping organizations or antagonizing Ds through witch hunts. In the past, Ariella had belonged to a similar organization.

"Wait, since things ended up that way—"

"Indeed, an attack from those believing themselves to be 'justice,' of course."

Kili shrugged and nodded with a mocking expression.

"Arriving as the official buyer, but a step too late, I fought off those people.. But Tia's parents were mortally wounded by then. From Tia's perspective, it probably looked like I had brought men to attack her parents."

"Huh...?"

In that case, Kili was not the one who had murdered Tia's parents. However, she looked at me with a smile of self-deprecation and shook her head.

"Normally speaking, I could have used biogenic transmutation to save them even if the wounds were hopeless. However, I 'cremated' them instead of doing that."

Kili distanced herself from me, hinting for this whispered conversation to conclude.

After we passed through, the partition automatically closed, and Tia began to work on opening the next partition.

Halting my steps while watching all this, I said to Kili.

"What you told me just now—Does Tia know?"

"No, you're the first to know."

Kili turned her gaze to Tia and answered softly.

"Why didn't you tell her?"

"Even if I told her things that she did not witness personally, she would treat them as lies. It would also taint her memories. Nothing good would come out of it."

Kili replied in resignation.

At this moment, the second partition opened with a deep rumbling noise. While confirming there were no enemies on the other side, I looked at Kili.

"—Sure enough, I take back what I said earlier."

It was not something I could judge on my own—I did not know everything about Kili.

"Huh?"

Kili was looking at me in puzzlement. I said to her with a smile:

"What I said about how you can't win against Lisa. If you're envious, just stop thinking too much and go hold Tia's hand."

Kili was being considerate for Tia in her own way. If this could be conveyed to Tia, surely—

"Wait, h-how did you reach this conclusion? Guh, s-stop pushing me!"

Pushing Kili's back while she was showing a rare unsettled look for once, I walked over to Tia and the others.

Part 3

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