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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume19 Chapter1

2018-10-07T00:39:51Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Chapter 1 - Darkness Awakens */

==Chapter 1 - Darkness Awakens==

===Part 1===

It was an hour and a half after the localized Astral Shift had imploded.

At the school building of Areishia Spirit Academy where the Imperial Knights were stationed, the Sacred Maiden flag symbolizing the Academy was flying, a declaration from the students that they had recaptured the school.

Since the majority of their soldiers had lost the will to fight and surrendered, the Imperial Knights offered virtually no resistance.

The supreme commander, Alendora of the Numbers had gone missing. The airspace was occupied by Dracunia's Knights of the Dragon Emperor. Meanwhile, getting the Academy town caught up in the Astral Shift and the large-scale summoning of demon spirits had generated intense distrust of the Holy Kingdom.

Moreover, what changed the knights' minds was the Dusk Witch's speech.

Suddenly making an appearance at the auditorium, Greyworth had revealed the Holy Kingdom's plot hanging over Ordesia's imperial court and the terrifying research they were conducting in the imperial capital, thus persuading them to take up Legitimate Ordesia's cause.

No one questioned why Greyworth seemed to have reverted prime condition. They probably thought that since she was the legendary witch anyway, altering her appearance would be a piece of cake.

Like the students of Areishia Spirit Academy, there was a large proportion among them who had become spirit knights because they idolized the Greyworth legend. And now, that hero had made her appearance like the legend.

Thus, the princess maidens' school building returned to the students once again.

"...Still, the destruction is quite severe."

"What a tragic sight."

In front of Raven Class' dorm whose outer walls were collapsing, partially incinerated and demolished—

Claire and Rinslet stood there a long time, stunned.

Such brutal devastation did not result from the great quantity of demon spirits summoned from the gate, the angels, or the Imperial Knights.

Rather, they were caused by Demon King's spirits rampaging after Kamito released them using the Ring of Solomon's power.

Out of control, the spirits scattered in the Academy's premises, crashing this way and that, finally using the gate that had appeared during the Astral Shift to return to Astral Zero.

"Our rooms must be a mess too."

"It would have been terrible had Carol not taken our belongings out."

Sighing, Rinslet murmured softly.

Carol had brought out her master's and the others' valuables before the Raven Class dorm was seized by the Imperial Knights.

"Repair costs have risen again."

Ellis pressed her temple and groaned.

"Isn't it great that Ordesia will foot the repair bill?"

"Yes, that is assuming the princess reclaims the throne successfully."

"Fianna and Nee-sama will be fine, I hope..."

"The alliance between the nobles and Dracunia are apparently attacking the imperial capital. After news of the Academy's recapture, the neutral nobles have taken our side apparently."

Ellis was able to listen to the voices of wind spirits. Her intel was probably correct.

"...I'm so glad we made it in time."

Claire exhaled deeply.

"So the Holy Kingdom isn't going to send their army?"

"Apparently. They must have decided that open intervention would be inappropriate, or are biding their time."

Ellis tidied up debris while stepping into the Raven Class dorm.

Though the common kitchen on the ground floor was a mess, its interior seemed intact.

"Despite the destruction of the exterior walls, the damage inside is quite minor—"

She walked around the inside of the dorm, noting down damage in her notebook.

"Wonderful, it looks like the spirit mechanisms sort of work."

Rinslet touched the stove's spirit crystal with her fingertip and a tiny fire was produced.

"Now with this I can cook."

"Look, the canned peaches I hid are still here."

Claire returned from the basement, carrying cans in her arms.

"Claire, hogging them is not the way to go."

"I-Ik know! I'm taking them to Kamito, okay!?"

===Part 2===

Two moons. A sky so red that it seemed like it was burning.

Over a forest more vast than any that Kamito had seen before, countless spirits were flying, weaving between one another.

(...What is this?)

Kamito's gaze was in the sky.

He could not move his body. All he could do was watch the scene before him.

A gigantic flame spirit was burning the forest. In the shape of a dragon, the spirit was turning its surroundings into scorched earth.

Valkyries clad in red armor were fighting courageously against the dragon spirit.

Among the valkyries, Kamito could recognize one of them.

(...That's Scarlet!?)

Ortlinde the Scarlet Valkyrie—The true form of Claire's contracted spirit.

Enveloped in flames, the valkyries all stabbed their weapons at the gigantic dragon spirit.

The dragon spirit roared, loud enough to shake the earth, then collapsed in flames.

Next, in front of the valkyries who had slaughtered their prey, a darkness spirit with jet-black wings appeared.

(—Restia!?)

This was her appearance without a doubt. Kamito's contracted spirit who resided in his left hand.

Smiling mercilessly, Restia unleashed lightning of darkness that completely covered the sky.

Several of the Scarlet Valkyries were struck by lightning and crashed.

"What the heck...?"

...Kamito decided this was a dream.

(But it's not purely a dream. This scene is—)

'The Spirit War. The great war that took place six thousand years ago to split Astral Zero in two.'

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.

"...!?"

This was a familiar voice to Kamito.

A voice of darkness, enticing Kamito.

The voice of Ren Ashdoll, the Darkness Elemental Lord.

Kamito subconsciously clenched his hands to grip his two swords.

However, no swords manifested in his hands.

This was only natural. Because he was in a dream. A dream she had allowed him to see.

'My nemesis has awakened. Consequently, you have no choice but to awaken.'

A writhing black mist gently enveloped Kamito like an embracing arm.

"Nemesis? Are you talking about the Sacred Maiden?"

'Indeed. The Sacred Maiden is the Demon King's opposing existence.'

"I don't plan on becoming your possession!"

'Now that simply wouldn't do. Because you are mine, beloved child—'

Laughing in mockery, her voice echoed repeatedly in his mind.

===Part 3===

"Guh, ooh... Ah...!"

Shouting as hard as he could from the depths of his throat, Kamito jumped from the bed.

The bedsprings creaked intensely.

"Huff... Huff... Huff... Huff..."

He looked at the sweat on his hand then surveyed his surroundings.

Walls of pure white. Shelves of spirit crystals and medications, neatly arranged.

...A familiar place.

As part of his job at the the Sylphid Knights, Kamito often transported students who had been knocked out in training. This was the medical facility at the school building.

(...Right. After fighting the angel, I fainted—)

Instantly figuring out his situation, Kamito sighed in relief.

Was the Greyworth the one who brought me here?

Sitting up, Kamito touched his aching ribs.

The bones fractured by the angel's attacks had healed. It was all thanks to this astounding recovery ability—, or rather, regeneration—though it still hurt a bit. It was also thanks to protection from Est, a steel spirit, that his body was fine. Come to think of it, his body's recovery speed was way too fast.

"Guh...!"

Covering his left eye, Kamito groaned.

Wave after wave, the depths of his eyeball was struck by searing pain.

"Don't worry, Kamito—"

A sweet voice vibrated against Kamito's eardrum.

Pale and soft fingertips gently took Kamito's hand.

"Restia..."

He looked back to see her sunset-colored eyes smiling at him.

Clad in a dress the color of night, the beautiful darkness spirit.

The version of her he had seen in the dream just now, with the calm and piercing eyes of a dispassionate and merciless queen, contrasted with the expression of the adorable girl looking at him right now.

"You saw ''her'' in your dream just now, didn't you?"

"...Yeah."

Kamito nodded mildly to Restia's calmly spoken question.

Due to the contract between them, elementalists and their contracted spirits were capable of sharing some of their memories from dreams.

This was especially true for vivid dreams such as just now.

Ultimately, was that a dream dreamt by Kamito, or Restia?

(...Hell, it's the same thing no matter which side it is.)

He felt really repulsed. No matter what, the fact that Darkness Elemental Lord Ren Ashdoll wanted to control his soul remained unchanged.

"What happened in the dream... Was it real?"

"It was a scene from the Spirit War six thousand years ago."

Restia nodded and answered.

"At the center of Astral Zero, the final battle took place between Ren Ashdoll and the five Elemental Lords. The Elemental Lords' faction suffered heavy casualties whereas the Darkness Elemental Lord was taken down. In the end, she was sealed in the gap between the human realm and Astral Zero—"

"But the seal was imperfect...?"

"Yes. Without the Elemental Lords noticing, she used her own power and succeeded in reincarnating into the weakest race, the humans—"

A glowing fire-red emblem appeared in the depths of Restia's eyes.

An emblem of a sword and a moon. It was identical to Restia Ashdoll's spirit seal.

(...No. What's reflected in her eyes is the light coming from my eye.)

He felt another wave of pain from the depths of his left eyeball.

"...Why is your spirit seal in my eye, Restia?"

"No, that isn't my spirit seal, Kamito."

"...?"

"That is the spirit seal of Darkness Elemental Lord Ren Ashdoll. Having awakened, she wishes to form a spirit contract with you."

"What?"

Restia leaned on the bed and brought her hand gently against Kamito's eyelid.

"In response to the awakening of her nemesis, the Sacred Maiden, I suppose she too has started to awaken."

"H-Hey, Restia!?"

Her body, as light as a feather, was gently pressing down on Kamito, whose eyesight was blocked.

Her gentle arms wrapped around the back of his head, thus hugging him tightly.

Draping down, the tips of her hair brushed against his cheeks. Dark feathers gently enveloped his back.

Back at the Instructional School, she often cuddled Kamito in this manner.

"Don't worry, Kamito. I am your sword. I shan't hand you over to her."

"Restia..."

His left hand heated up faintly. The pain in the depths of his eyeball dissipated gradually.

It probably was through their contract's spirit seal that she had suppressed Ren Ashdoll's power.
[[image:STnBD V19 BW01.jpg|thumb]]

The hand blocking his eyesight moved away.

Moist black feathers gave off faint phosphorescence of darkness.

With a mischievous smile surfacing on her face, gazing downwards at Kamito, she was extremely beautiful, Kamito thought.

Next.

"Fufu, I don't mind if you come in, Miss Hell Cat."

"Hyah!?"

Kamito heard a scream from outside the room.

Then there was the sound of something tumbling to the floor.

"Claire? W-What are you doing?"

Still on the bed, sitting up, Kamito asked in surprise.

With twintails flopping, Claire frantically picked up the cans that had fallen.

"...N-Nothing. I heard you collapsed, Kamito, so I came to have a quick look at you!"

Carrying a pile of cans in her arms, Claire stepped into the room.

Her cheeks were tinged with a bit of red.

(Did she see Restia hugging me tightly...?)

Although there was nothing on his conscience, Kamito felt quite embarrassed.

"Umm, are your injuries okay now?"

Claire coughed to clear her throat and asked.

"Yeah, looks like I'm pretty much okay."

"Really? That's great."

Claire breathed a sigh of relief.

She did not say anything despite making eye contact with Kamito.

The emblem appearing on his left eye had presumably vanished.

Kamito looked at Restia to signal "Don't mention about the left eye."

...He did not want Claire to worry.

Restia nodded with a "I know" look.

"You must be hungry. Anyway, I brought many things from the Raven Class dorm."

Saying that, Claire unloaded the cans in her arms onto the bed.

Venison stew with fish added. Fruit with sweet syrup. These cans were luxury items and had spirit language on the labels because they were used as offering to spirits.

"Ah, perfect. I was just about to wonder what to eat."

Kamito picked a couple cans of fruit and stacked them on a shelf by the bed.

"Umm, darkness spirit..."

"What is it?"

Claire looked to the side while handing cans over.

"U-Umm, thanks for your aid. It was all thanks to the talismans you gave me."

"...Huh?"

"So, this is a return gift of sorts. I don't think there are spirits who hate canned food, right?"

"Oh my, a return gift—"

Shaking her head, Restia smiled.

"I should thank you instead. Because of you, I was able to hurry over to Kamito's side."

"H-Hey now, accept it!"

"Fufu, very well. Thank you."

Restia accepted the cans, somewhat pleased.

It looked like these two, who had a complicated past, had slightly improved their relationship without Kamito knowing.

"By the way, what is this can?"

"Canned mackerel. It's quite popular with the spirits in the Academy, you know?"

"Mackerel..."

"What, you don't like fish?"

"No, I will eat it. Though it's not very often that I eat fish..."

Claire looked at Kamito again.

"O-Originally, I was thinking I should be bringing something for you."

"That's okay. It's the thought that counts."

"...! M-Mmm..."

Claire's twintails jumped lightly.

"Fine, give me that spoon. I-I'll feed you."

"N-No, I said I'm fine! I can move my own hand..."

"What, you got a problem with me?"

Just as Claire pouted...

"Hey hey, is Kazehaya Kamito here~?"

"...?"

A voice was heard.

What suddenly appeared was an adorable girl, roughly ten years old, dressed in a black and white dress.

Her silver hair was reminiscent of steel. Her eyes were red like blood.

Her skin was as pale as wax. Her arms and legs were quite slender.

From head to toe, she was quite a beautiful maiden.

"...W-Who are you!?"

Claire cried out warily, summoning Flametongue to her hand.

She was probably making the right call. Although the girl looked quite cute—

(...I totally did not felt her presence.)

Kamito stared unerringly at the girl. This was no ordinary person.

However, the girl was completely unfazed by Kamito's serious gaze.

"The old lady told me to come. She told me to summon Kazehaya Kamito once he's awake."

"...O-Old lady?"

"Kamito, she's a spirit—"

Restia whispered in Kamito's ear.

"A spirit?"

Spirits capable of taking fully human form were top-tier beings in Astral Zero.

Even for Kamito, he could count the ones he had met on a single hand.

Why would this kind of spirit be here?

"Kiheeheehee, you are right, darkness spirit. We crossed blades at the country of dragons, right?"

"Country of dragons... Don't tell me—"

Kamito finally remembered.

At the Dragon Duchy of Dracunia, what had crossed blades with Restia was—

"You're Greyworth's contracted spirit?"

"Bingo~!"

The girl giggled, showing her fangs.

"I am Vlad Dracul the demon spirit. Nice to meet you!"

===Part 4===

The imperial capital Ostdakia was a hexagonal fortified city surrounded by three layers of walls.

Ever since the founding of the Ordesia Empire, this impregnable city had never been conquered.

Looking down at this city from the sky over the Caldamon Mountain Range—

The forces of Legitimate Ordesia, led by Second Princess Fianna Ray Ordesia, and its ally the Dragon Duchy of Dracunia were in formation.

The flagship Revenant, military ships gathered here to join the resistance, as well as Dracunia's mainstay, the Knights of the Dragon Emperor, were spread out in the air.

Meanwhile, the imperial capital's defense line consisted of many defense teams with militarized spirits lying in ambush on the plains of Sadelka, as well as Duke Fahrengart's airborne knights.

War between the two sides was about to break out as soon as the rays of dawn rose.

"The students have apparently succeeded in recapturing Areishia Spirit Academy."

Standing on the deck of the Revenant, Fianna spoke.

Perched on her shoulder was a demon wind spirit that had brought the good news.

This was Simorgh sent by Ellis. Although using him as as a messenger was a waste of his vast abilities, Ellis had decided to send the fastest wind spirit under her command.

"—I see."

Staring at the Ordesia army's formation, Rubia acknowledged concisely.

"With that, the neutral nobles will take our side."

"Kamito and the others seem to be fine. Of course, so is Claire."

"I see."

There was no change in tone compared to before. However, Fianna did not miss the emotions of relief hidden somewhere in Rubia's voice.

"The Ordesia army seems to be making a move. It is beginning."

"...Yes."

Under a tense atmosphere, Fianna nodded—

And instantly drew the silver sword sheathed at her waist.

Reflecting the sunlight of dawn, the slender blade shone brilliantly.

This was the elemental waffe of the knight spirit Georgios, which had served generations of the Ordesia imperial family.

Raising the silver sword's blade to the sky, Fianna chanted mystic words.

Thou, servant of the king of the child of man, knight and master swordsman—

Thou art my sword, thou art my shield, unleash the light of perpetuity to purify darkness—

"Elemental waffe Zwei Shift—its appellation is Glory of the Queen!"

The instant the words of releasing were unleashed, there was an explosion of silver-white holy light.

The blinding holy light instantly enveloped all the forces on her side. A gigantic holy knight spirit seal, symbolizing the Ordesia imperial family, appeared in the dawn sky.

This was the supreme barrier imbued with spirit blessings and protection, the new power Fianna had gained from her training on Dragon's Peak.

Her spirit seal, shining gloriously in the sky, rendered all arguments inferior.

Fianna Ray Ordesia—The Lost Queen.

She was truly the queen of Legitimate Ordesia—

Holding the shining silver sword up high, Fianna shouted.

"—Lend me your strength, everyone. Let us take back my home country from the Holy Kingdom's puppet!"

The ground shook with thunderous cheering.
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter11

2018-10-07T00:16:34Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 11 - Angel of the Otherworld==

===Part 1===

"...Ah, ooh, ahhhhh... Ahhhhhhhhh!"

The darkness dripping out from Millennia Sanctus' left eye was spreading out on the ground.

This dense darkness was able to corrupt Elemental Lords and render them insane—

Millennia writhed in pain, tearing at her left eye.

The spilled darkness stained her pure white vestments, gradually swallowing her.

"...! What the heck are you doing—"

Faced with the girl who was being devoured by the darkness that she herself was generating, Kamito had no idea what to do.

...Was she unable to control the Otherworldly Darkness?

No. No way in hell—

This cardinal had controlled the Otherworldly Darkness many times before.

"Kamito, be careful."

Gripped in his right hand, Est spoke.

"—There is something inside."

"...What!?"

"Fufuf, so you sensed it, my little sister—"

With half her body swallowed by Otherworldly Darkness, Millennia jeered.

"The Otherworldly Darkness within me is a catalyst for opening a gate—"

"Did you say gate?"

"To summon... The Otherworld..."

The restless Otherworldly Darkness completely swallowed Cardinal Millennia.

Turned into a hovering black sphere in the air, it started vibrating with an earsplitting sound.

"What is going on...?"

"Kamito, hurry, destroy it—"

"...! Got it!"

Hearing Est's urgent voice, Kamito instantly reacted.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Seventh Form—Biting Dragon!"

He unleashed all the divine power gathered in his feet in one go and flew to the air to execute an anti-air interception Absolute Blade Art.

The glow of divine power left a trail of light in the night, dashing through the air like a long dragon.

However—

Wwwwwn!

An invisible barrier appeared around the sphere, deflecting the silver-white blade.

(...What!?)

Almost like bouncing away, Kamito was sent flying to crash into the ground.

Kamito landed.

(...What the heck was that just now!?)

Was it a wall generated by a barrier, or spirit magic—

"...! I can't believe it deflected the Demon Slayer...?"

Kamito looked up and stared into space.

Just then, a crack suddenly appeared in the center of the dark sphere that had swallowed Millennia—

In the next instant, ''the sphere was ripped apart from within''.

Spurting out like blood, Otherworldly Darkness fell all at once, dyeing the ruins black.

Next, two glowing arms emerged from the center of the torn open sphere.

"...!?"

Kamito instantly felt his hairs stand on end with goosebumps.

He felt it instinctively.

This was something that did not belong in this world—

The dark sphere was shredded then ''it'' appeared in this world.

An effigy of a warrior, three times a human's height, with golden glowing wings.

The beautiful face formed from pure white stone looked both masculine and feminine.

Glowing with bright light, the jewel-like eyes looked down coldly at the earth.

(...A spirit?)

Muttering in his thoughts, Kamito decided no and shook his head.

(...No. I've seen something similar to it before—)

At the Forest of Ice Blossoms in Laurenfrost, merged with the dominating ice spirit Zirnitra.

The thing possessing Rinslet's younger sister Judia Laurenfrost—

Inside the Otherworldly Darkness surging in the Elemental Lord's shrine, Kamito had seen it.

"...An angel."

Cold sweat slowly dripped down the back of his hand.

The Demon Slayer in his hand likewise shook slightly.

Millennia Sanctus had said that she was the gate for summoning it.

To summon this visitor from the Otherworld, neither the human realm nor Astral Zero—

The angel slowly descended to the ground and manifested a single-edged sword in its hand.

The sword's length was twice that of the Demon Slayer.

Facing off against it, Kamito readied the Demnon Slayer and poured divine power into his sword.

"Kamito—"

Just then, the glowing silver-white sword spoke.

"Yes, I know. It's—"

"I was created for the purpose of destroying them."

"Huh?"

Hearing what Est said, Kamito asked in return.

"Est, you know that thing?"

"Yes. The primordial memories sleeping inside me told me. I am—No, the original purpose of every spirit weapon created in this world was to destroy such angels."

Held in his hand, Est was exuding an astounding amount of hostility from her blade.

It was like a beast facing a natural enemy with an unforgivable grudge—

"Spirit weapons huh—"

That term had been uttered by Est herself a number of times before.

They were powerful weapons used to annihilate spirits during the Spirit War. Like her, Ortlinde the Scarlet Valkyrie was also a spirit weapon.

If their original purpose was to fight angels from the Otherworld—

(...Then who was it that created them?)

As though to interrupt Kamito's thoughts—

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin—

The angel made a sound in a strange pitch.

"—Kamito, it is coming."

The angel acted.

It slid over like gliding on the ground. In the next instant, it suddenly disappeared from sight.

"...!"

Immense mass, moving with subsonic momentum—

In response, Kamito used the Demon Slayer to block.

Mustering his entire body's divine power, he strained his hardest to resist the earth-shattering impact.

"Kamito, I need even more divine power—Or else we will be overwhelmed."

"...! I'm already doing my best!"

Even though he had drawn upon such a massive amount of divine power in one breath, Kamito was still pushed back.

With his feet scraping against the ground, Kamito was pushed against a building in the training ground.

"Cough... Huff—!"

His breathing stopped momentarily, Kamito spat out blood.

Without Est's Protection of Steel, he might have been crushed to death.

In front of his eyes was an eerie beautiful face carved from pure white stone.

Without any expression, it kept muttering strange notes the whole time.

(...! What is with this brute strength... Ah...!)

Compared to the graceful looking appearance, its strength far surpassed even that of large militarized spirits.

"Combat memory domain connection established. Analysis complete—Kamito, this is Dunamis."

"What? That's this thing's name?"

"No, a classification to distinguish type. The ones seen before were reconnaissance type, but this one is—"

Just then, the angel's shoulders split open to sprout multiple arms wielding swords of light.

"A pure combat type—"

"...! Ohhhhhhhh!"

Kamito shouted. Kicking against the wall in the training ground with one put, he allowed the gathered divine power to explode.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Seventh Form—Biting Dragon Revised!"

The power of this anti-air Absolute Blade Art was supposed to be directed vertically, but he unleashed it towards the front.

Boom—

With a sound like a cannonball, the wall was instantly blown away. The surging divine power dug up a huge hole in the ground.

The contact point of the blade erupted with violent sparks. The angel's gigantic body was pushed back for an instant.

In that instant, Kamito deflected an incoming blade and swiftly turned around. Lowering his stance, he lunged at the enemy's chest.

"Absolute Blade Arts, First Form—"

Just then, the angel's two wings resonated together to produce strange noise.

Instantly, something resembling tiny glowing runes kept appearing, deploying around the angel.

(...Defense magic!? It's not gonna work!)

Unfazed, Kamito unleashed his sword move.

"—Purple Lightning, Flare!"

The sword traveling with godlike speed at pointblank range erupted with lightning as it struck the angel squarely in belly.

However, the sacred sword's tip, concentrated with divine power, was blocked by the barrier of glowing runes.

(...What!?)

Those runes, swiftly rotating around the angel, seemed to resemble High Ancient a little.

(...! What, so it isn't spirit magic!?)

"Anti-field—this rejection barrier has nullified my steel attribute ''on a conceptual level''."

"What the heck!?"

"Not spirit magic. A rewriting of rules. A phenomenon not of this world—"

A halo appeared on the angel's head.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiii—

Making a howl resembling supersonic waves, it blew Kamito away.

"Guh—"

Kamito somersaulted while regaining balance then immediately readied his sword.

"...Did you say your steel attribute has been nullified? What do you mean?

"Reconnecting to combat memory domain—Begin analysis."

While Est said that, words of High Ancient appeared on her blade and flowed swiftly.

"Est? What the heck are you doing—"

"Due to contact with natural enemy, part of the spirit weapon's memory domain has been released. Kamito, I will analyze the barrier. Until that is done, please buy time for now."

He heard Est's calm voice in his mind.

"If I buy time, you'll have a way to deal with that cheating barrier?"

"Yes, Kamito. Upon the name of Terminus Est—"

The Demon Slayer held in his hands glowed with silver-white light.

In front of the enemy, Est's original combat mode seemed to be awakening.

"...I got it. I'm counting on you, Est."

While creating distance to face off, Kamito cautiously bided his time.

Although the subsonic movement was a threat, it was not impossible to evade as long as he discerned the activation time of the movement.

(—Ren Ashbell isn't gonna lose in contest of speed.)

The angel spread its wings of light and raised one hand to the sky.

Instantly, runes of light turned into countless rings, capturing several demon spirits floating in the air.

(...What the heck is going on this time?)

With the Demon Slayer readied, Kamito remained alert.

As though issuing an order, the angel swung a giant sword forcefully down.

In the next instant, a demon spirit roared and charged at Kamito.

The demon spirit opened their jaws to reveal terrifying teeth and flew at him like a cannonball.

(...Don't tell me it can take control of demon spirits!?)

It was different from how elementalists employed spirits.

It was almost like the spirit's existence itself was rewritten—

Kamito instantly reacted and swung his sword—

"Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form—"

"Kamito, no!"

Est's voice rang out. In the nick of time, Kamito chose evasion instead.

Next, the demon spirit exploded.

"...!"

The violent explosion continued to ring in his ears. Kamito rolled on the ground, dodging the heat wave.

If he had struck the demon spirit directly instead of evading, he would have been blown to bits.

"Spirits can become suicide bombers?"

"Yes. It overwrote the demon spirit's nature to launch a suicide attack."

"It can even do that!?"

While dodging the demon spirits that kept flying over to attack, Kamito muttered to himself.

The angel raised its hand again, seizing control of the demon spirits that kept flowing through the crack in space.

"Damn this—"

Heat waves from the explosions were scorching Kamito's skin.

It was like using the massive divine power possessed by spirits, turning it into the energy for an explosion.

For example, this would be like nonstop creation of small auto-tracking spirit detonations.

Using an elemental waffe specialized for close quarters combat against them would be really poor compatibility.

(...It's not like I can summon Restia back, right?)

If he called Restia back now, Claire would have to fight alone.

Aiming at Kamito who had evaded the bombardment, the angel shot a new demon spirit projectile.

(...Infinite ammo!?)

He looked up at the reddened sky and grumbled in his thoughts. Just then...

Suddenly, Kamito noticed a change in the surrounding scenery.

"...Two moons?"

Hanging in the sky over the Academy was Astral Zero's moon.

===Part 2===

"...W-What is going on!?"

In front of the collapsed ruins, Claire looked around in astonishment.

Like a mist of blood, the demon realm's miasma was hanging all around, greatly decreasing visibility.

...The familiar environment of the Academy was practically a different scene.

"—Astral Shift has happened."

Restia spoke softly and calmly.

"...Astral Shift?"

Even an honors student like Claire had never heard of the term.

"It's a phenomenon when the human realm and Astral Zero temporarily overlap. Although it occasionally happens inside the Spirit Forest, I have never seen one on such a large scale."

"W-What is that..."

Claire spoke with an unsettled look.

"Isn't the point of creating the gate is to summon demon spirits?"

While Claire was in confusion, a great number of demon spirits were still pouring through. The crack slicing through the air became even larger. Large demon spirits started to show up.

"I clearly destroyed the ruins here—"

"Looks like the Astral Shift is limited to the Academy's premises. Had these ruins not been destroyed, perhaps the entire Academy town would have been superimposed with the demon realm."

"Then that means there must be a set of ruins yet to be destroyed."

"Yes—"

Restia's sunset-colored eyes stared into the distance.

Claire noticed a measure of worry in those eyes.

(The darkness spirit is worried about Kamito.)

She must want to hurry over to Kamito's side.

Claire gripped Flametongue tightly.

"Go, darkness spirit—"

"Huh?"

"Leave this place for Scarlet and me to handle. You go back to Kamito's side—"

"Claire Rouge..."

Restia thought for a while—

"Unacceptable. I promised Kamito to protect you."

She soon shook her head.

"After Scarlet's true name release, your divine power must be depleted."

"Uh..."

Claire bit her lip.

She was right, Claire had definitely consumed quite a lot of her energy.

But even so—

"I will protect myself. After all, I am Kamito's teammate."

"..."

Hearing such words from Claire—

Restia shrugged and sighed lightly.

"...Fine. Claire Rouge, I have revised my opinion of you a bit."

Saying that, she plucked a few feathers from her black wings and handed them to Claire.

"...These are?"

"Talismans of Darkness. They will surely protect you."

The feathers of darkness spirit Restia were commonly known as Blessings of Darkness.

They were supreme talismans that could not be bought from any shop no matter how much one desired them. In the past, there was even one time when a major nation's royal family started a war because of them. Legendary artifacts indeed.

However, Claire had no idea the priceless value of the gift.

"...Th-Thank you."

She obediently accepted them.

"—I entrust Kamito to you."

"Of course—"

Restia nodded then spread her jet-black wings and flew into the night sky.

===Part 3===

Two moons, red and white, were hanging in the sky over the Academy.

Looking at Astral Zero's moon, Kamito was rooted to the spot in astonishment.

"What's happening, Est?"

Even though he asked his partner, she did not reply.

She was evidently focusing her full attention to analyzing the Dunamis angel.

(—Millennia said it was to make the human realm and Astral Zero overlap.)

Astral Shift referred to such a phenomenon?

(What's the purpose of doing that...?)

But wait, the enemy in front of him was more important right now.

The Dumanis kept rewriting the demon spirits flowing out of the gate to become spirit detonations.

Perhaps due to the Astral Shift's effect, the surroundings were gradually corrupted by the demon realm—

The demon spirits serving as raw materials became much larger than before.

...Kamito dared not imagine their firepower.

The angel's wings glowed with blistering light.

—At the same time, it swung down its massive sword like an executioner.

Seven spirit detonations formed from large demon spirits instantly rushed at Kamito in a charging attack.

Since their firepower had increased, Kamito concluded that dodging them by paper-thin margins like earlier would not work.

He had no method of handling suicide bombs coming from seven different directions at the same time.

(What can I do? Should I use steel magic to create daggers out of divine power and pierce all seven at the same time?)

No good. The demon spirits were all mid-level or above.

Using spirit magic to create improvised weapons would not be enough to cause damage, probably.

(I have to take a gamble and use Purple Lightning's godlike speed to race against the explosions—)

Kamito concentrated a great amount of divine power at his feet.

Failure meant getting blown to bits.

"Absolute Blade Arts, First Form—"

"O black lightning, even capable of incinerating souls to oblivion—Hell Blast!"

—A second just before Kamito released his divine power...

Raging jet-black lightning pierced the seven large demon spirits.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Deafening explosions. A terrifying chain reaction took place. Heat from the scorching flames made Kamito's skin hurt.

"...!?"

While shielding his eyes from the flying sparks, Kamito looked up.

Only to see amid the blazing flames that seemed to incinerate the night sky—

Flapping her jet-black wings, the darkness spirit slowly descended.

"Restia!?"

"Fufu, looks like you are in quite a tough battle, Kamito—"

The spirit seal on his left hand glowed especially brightly.

Landing on the ground, Restia raised her hand lightly and extinguished the blazing flames.

"Restia, why—"

"The ruins over there have been destroyed by Claire Rouge."

Restia replied to the surprised Kamito who was inquiring about what had happened.

"Claire is fine, right?"

"I have her some feathers to serve as talismans. She should be able to endure until she converges with her companions."

Restia chuckled.

"You go back to Kamito's side—That was what she said. What an adorable child."

"Really—"

Claire's feelings warmed Kamito's heart.

"If you're worried about little miss hell cat, hurry up and defeat that thing."

"Yeah, you're right—"

Kamito nodded boldly and took Restia's hand immediately.

"Come, ruler of the night. O merciless goddess of darkness—

Thou art the sword of wisdom, the piercer of truth—!"

He chanted the words of release for an elemental waffe.

—The Demon Slayer and the Vorpal Sword.

Wielding the ultimate sacred and demon swords, Kamito faced the Dunamis angel again.

"—Sorry for making you wait. I am Ren Ashbell, the Strongest Blade Dancer."

The angel's wings of light flashed. That sculpture-like beautiful face still showed no expression—

But it looked confused, apparently.

"Kamito, analysis of concept barrier is complete—"

Words of High Ancient appeared on Est's blade.

"—There is nothing which the ultimate steel cannot cut."

"Well done, Est."

"Yes, Kamito."

An image of Est puffing out her chest with pride appeared in his mind.

"Let's go, you two—"

"Yes." "I am your sword, your wish is my command—"

The two spirit swords replied at the same time.

Despite bickering frequently, the two of them were very in sync when taking action.

The Dunamis raised its great sword. Emitting strange noise, it created bombs out of demon spirits.

"—Stop thinking you'll win by repeating the same old move!"

Kamito took a deep breath and kicked the ground hard.

While shouting, he aimed at the demon spirits raining down on him.

"O darkness, go and pierce—Vorpal Blast!"

Using Ren Ashbell's signature move, he annihilated them in one strike.

Between the flames and heat waves, Kamito enveloped himself in divine power and charged in one go.

"Absolute Blade Arts, First Form—Purple Lightning Revised!"

Drawing the Demon Slayer, he released divine power.

Instantly, Kamito closed in on his target, stabbing the silver-white sword into armor that resembled a breastplate.

Runes of light appeared in front of the sword's tip to form a barrier, but—

At the same time, runes of light likewise appeared on the Demon Slayer and neutralized the generated barrier.

The silver-white blade pierced the breastplate, shattering that marble-like body.

(The attack worked!)

Kamito cheered in his thoughts. Immediately...

Aiming at the angel's massive stumbling body, he unleashed a series of sword moves in continuous succession—

"Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form—Shadowmoon Waltz!" "Absolute Blade Arts, Sixth Form—Crushing Fang!" "Absolute Blade Arts, Fourth Form—Blaze Slash!" "Absolute Blade Arts, Introductory Form—True Bursting Cherry Blossom Flurry!" "Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form, Alpha Variant—Shadowmoon Waltz, Major Double Turn!" "Absolute Blade Arts, Seventh Form—Biting Dragon Double Blossom!"

Every strike of the Absolute Blade Arts, each capable of a one-hit kill, connected—

The armor covering the angel began to flake off and crumble.

Then—

"Absolute Blade Arts, Second Form—Obverse Meteor, Peerless Zetsura!"

A dual-wielding technique using his entire body, he sent the Dunamis' massive body flying.

Crash!

Smashing against the ruins, the angel lost an arm that snapped off tragically.

<—La—La...>

The angel seemed unable to comprehend the phenomenon before its eyes.

Expressionlessly, it looked down at its damaged part.

"...What now? First time getting hurt?"

Kamito grinned savagely.

He could feel a violent power that was sleeping inside him gradually awaken.

The divine power's glow covering his entire body had turned black in color.

After he had exhausted his own divine power, Ren Ashdoll's power was starting to surge.

Just then, the angel's massive body slowly stood up.

It swung its sword to point straight up at the sky, rewriting the demon spirits that were flying to and fro.

"...Ha, don't you remember anything at all—"

Kamito used the Vorpal Sword to summon jet-black demon lightning. However—

Instead of charging at Kamito, the demon spirits gathered around the injured angel.

"What the...?"

As soon as the strangely shaped cluster of demon spirits touched the angel's armor—

They were absorbed like melted ice.

The angel's damaged body began to gradually regenerate—or rather, reconstruct itself.

"...What the heck, are you kidding me?"

Kamito groaned.

"—It is rewriting the demon spirit's structure to meld with itself."

"Where does it get so many cheating skills from..."

Hearing Est's voice in his mind, Kamito could not help but exclaim in despair.

The angel's entire body was covered by armor resembling a hard shell.

(...Come to think of it, the angel at Laurenfrost also merged with spirits and ice dragons.)

Just then, Kamito recalled that incident.

It was like they had the authority to freely write this world's existence.

That was practically...

"...Damn it. Looks like it's a waste of effort I don't finish it off in one attack."

Kamito shrugged and laughed.

...Confronted with such an absurd being, his only choice was to laugh.

(—Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance, I guess?)

Kamito regulated his breathing while readying his two swords in a stance.

The most destructive of the Absolute Blade Arts, meant to be used against large spirits.

If even this move failed to work—

"Then we're dead meat—"

Kamito muttered to himself sardonically. Just then—

"—Decisiveness is a virtue, but there is only a fine line dividing it from recklessness, lad."

A voice spoke to him from across the sea of fire.

"...!?"

Kamito looked back, only to see a petite girl in a gray overcoat appear before him.

Carrying an ominous demon sword with the color of blood, the girl was making her way towards him.

Under the hood, he could catch glimpses of gray eyes, glimmering faintly in the darkness.

"...! You—"

Speechless, Kamito widened his eyes.

The girl took off her hood, her gray hair instantly fluttering in the wind.

"Greyworth!"

Kamito's shout echoed all around.

Yes, she was none other than—

The Greyworth who had gone missing after falling down the canyon in Dracunia.

Having regained her youth as well as her peak capabilities, she had become an assassin for the Holy Kingdom—

"Greyworth, I knew it, you're still alive!"

"Of course. How could the Witch be dead?"

Saying that, the youthful Greyworth grinned.

Seeing that especially nostalgic expression, Kamito understood.

"...You've regained your memory?"

"—Yes. I remember everything. Everything."

Greyworth nodded and looked towards the angel that kept absorbing demon spirits.

"Twenty-four years ago, I saw it too."

"Twenty-four years ago—"

It was the year when Greyworth Ciel Mais had won the Blade Dance.

"However, let us leave that story for later. We must end this before it finishes reconstructing itself."

"Yeah, you're right—"

The Dunamis angel's armor was bulging. Its weight was enough to crush the ground underfoot.

In addition to the demon spirits, it was even starting to absorb the ruins sustaining the gate.

Greyworth drew a blood-colored demon sword—the elemental waffe Vlad Dracul.

Likewise, Kamito readied his two swords and stood beside her.

Ren Ashbell, the Strongest Blade Dancer, and the Dusk Witch—

"—Can you keep up with me, lad?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. By the way, didn't I win that blade dance at Dracunia?"

"I had lost my memory then. Doesn't count."

"...You're going with that excuse? Whatever. I'd win no matter how many times we tried again."

"Oh? You've upgraded your mouth, the boy who used to work as a maid in my mansion."

"...Do me a favor and lose your memory again."

The two bickered while amplifying their divine power.

"—End the battle in one strike. It'll be bad if Ren Ashdoll's power continues to eat away at me."

"My intention all along—"

Both of them kicked the ground at the same time.

Like a flash of purple lightning, they instantly rushed to to the gigantic Dunamis angel to engage in close quarters combat.

The angel raised four arms and entered a defensive stance.

"—Can you break them, Greyworth?"

"Hmph, who do you think you're talking to?"

The angel roared. Against the slashing attacks that were like a storm—

With fluid motions to evade, Greyworth delivered heavy blows aimed at the joints.

"Absolute Blade Dance, Alternate Form—Ice Storm Rakshasa!"

A vine of ice shot out from the demon sword's blade to entangle the angel's entire body.

This was an Absolute Blade Art unique to the Witch, a combination of spirit magic and sword technique.

The angel's movements stopped.
[[image:STnBD V18 BW10.jpg|thumb]]

—However, runes of light immediately appeared, taking only an instant to erase the magical ice that rivaled Rinslet's Ice Nein.

"Oh?"

"Instant disintegration of constitutional elements. All magical effects will be neutralized."

Est explained in Kamito's mind.

"Suits me just fine. Let's see how many times you can neutralize!"

Enveloped in demon lightning, the Vorpal Sword smashed the angel's enlarged legs. Greyworth's demon sword deflected a great sword that was approaching Kamito, then spun around to amputate that arm.

Flash after flash of swords tore through the night—

These movements of swords were almost like a blade dance offered to spirits.

(So this is the Dusk Witch in her prime, huh—)

Kamito clicked his tongue mentally. He was lucky to have won the duel at Dracunia.

"Absolute Blade Dance, Flash Form—Death Butterfly Flash Dance!"

Dodging a storm of violent attacks, Greyworth launched a counterattack. Even though the angel tried to deploy a rune barrier, Est erased it.

Two arms were chopped off. An opening appeared in the enemy's secure defense. In that very instant...

There was no need to signal.

As though they had agreed beforehand...

The two of them unleashed the ultimate Absolute Blade Art at the same time.

" "Absolute Blade Arts, Destructive Form—Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance, Hundred Combination Ashura!" "

Innumerable flashes of the sword criss-crossed and overlapped, turning into a rain of light, flooding the entire space.

It was an ultimate sword technique that originally existed in theory only.

With the Demon King and the Witch performing the strongest Double Absolute Blade Arts together—

—The Dunamis angel was pulverized.
<noinclude>
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter9

2018-09-14T14:01:27Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 9 - Offense and Defense at the Academy ==

===Part 1===

Ominous clouds were hanging low in the sky.

Kamito and company were running in the Academy town where thick miasma was swirling.

Going through the Sylph district, a dense residential area, they rushed straight to the main entrance to the Academy's school building—

This distance was quite short for a well-trained elementalist, but the worry was that more and more demon spirits would surge out from the dimensional gap as time went by.

(...We are in a race against time.)

Looking up at the giant gate in the sky, Kamito muttered to himself.

"The Academy's school building is in sight."

"Charge it in one breath!"

"Yes!"

Claire swung Flametongue in her hand.

With a crimson slash sweeping through the air, demon spirits appearing out of nothing were instantly destroyed.

Noticing the unusual situation, the guards in front of the gate manifested elemental waffen in their hands.

There were five of them. They looked like elite spirit knights.

(...As expected of the Empire's knights. They are well-trained.)

"Charging at us with merely four people... Are they mad!?"

The apparent leader shouted, swinging a mighty hammer.

The shockwave was released radially, tearing up stone tiles on the street.

"O eternal magic ice, turn into a solid castle wall—Ice Wall!"

Rinslet instantly recited defensive spirit magic.

Rising from the ground, the wall of ice blocked the shockwave and debris completely.

Stepping hard on the ice wall in front of her, Ellis jumped into the air.

Raising Ray Hawk, she launched it at the main entrance.

"Fahrengart style of the spear, secret technique—Storm Strike!"

BOOM—

A whirlwind began to swirl, contracting at the spear tip.

The thrown Ray Hawk tore through the air as a flash of light, producing a spiral shockwave.

The Academy entrance was immediately contorted, then blown away in an instant.

The spear turned back into the shape of a demon bird spirit. Circling in the air, Simorgh returned to Ellis' arm.

Standing on the wall of ice, Ellis looked down at the Empire's knights with her blue hair fluttering in the wind.

Seeing her like that—

"...! Don't tell me it's Lady Ellis!?"

The apparent leader of these knights exclaimed in surprise.

"You are the Fahrengart's flagbearer, Inase-dono of the van Browa family, are you not?"

"Indeed. I am Inase van Browa, Captain of the Imperial Knights!"

Answering Ellis, the captain introduced herself openly. As the Fahrengart's flagbearer, she was supposed to be a knight swearing allegiance to Ellis.

However, Inase continued to keep her elemental waffe raised.

Presumably, she intended to remain loyal to her military position.

"Inase-dono, why would an honorable knight like you oppress students!?"

Ellis hated beating around the bush and true to her usual style, went straight to the point.

"I am a knight serving His Majesty the Emperor. I must complete the assigned mission."

The captain's answer left no room for mercy.

"So the Imperial Knights' methods include the use of demon spirits now?"

This time, it was Claire who shouted.

"...! It was the work of the Holy Kingdom. We have nothing to do with it."

"Did you say the Holy Kingdom!?"

(...As expected, the Holy Kingdom is involved, huh?)

Kamito commented in his thoughts. Naturally, he had thought that possibility highly likely to begin with. However, to summon demon spirits in great numbers was an act that would lead to disaster once the surrounding nations found out. Since such an act received military authorization, it meant that Ordesia's higher-ups currently had no power to resist the Holy Kingdom.

"You have admitted your guilt. If you stand by and allow it, you are complicit!"

"...!"

Hearing Rinslet's harsh and valid criticism, the captain became speechless.

"Inase-dono, you will only bring shame to the van Browa family name if you continue to let the Holy Kingdom do as it wishes."

"Even so, I shall never turn back from my oath of loyalty!"

Inase van Browa replied with determination.

"...! Even though I am in no place to say this, I must call you out on your stubbornness!"

"Ellis, looks like you're actually quite flexible for a knight..."

"Captain, I have revised my opinion of you."

"Sh-Shut up..."

Ellis coughed and readied Ray Hawk.

"It is pointless to continue the discussion. Allow me to break through by force!"

"Break through by force? Do you intend to make enemies out of every spirit knight garrisoned here!?"

Alarms kept sounding all around. The militarized surveillance spirits flying in the sky aimed searchlights at Kamito's group.

Reinforcements were apparently arriving.

(...Fine, it's time to take a gamble.)

Kamito wiped away cold sweat while he reached into his chest pocket.

What he took out was a silver ring carved with High Ancient.

This was the Demon King's Ring for commanding the seventy-two spirits.

Although Kamito could only use this ring to control one spirit at a time—

If he eschewed control and simply used it to liberate sealed spirits, there was no limit.

Kamito raised the ring and poured divine power into it.

"As the Demon King's successor, I hereby command. Awaken from your thousand-year-long slumber and flaunt your power to your hearts' content!"

The Ring glowed with intense light.

That blinding brightness frightened the Empire's knights.

Rumble, rumble rumble, rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble...!

In the next second, earthquake sounds kept appearing—

A great explosion happened in the Academy.

"W-What on earth is going on...!?"

The captain of the Imperial Knights sounded confused.

They turned their head to look back—

Only to see an unbelievable scene before their eyes.

A gigantic dragon spirit with as many as eight heads. A two-headed giant wielding a humongous wooden club. A great serpent shrouded in lightning. An enormous turtle with a weird mountain of rock on its back. A warrior clad in armor of steel—

Every spirit was powerful enough to rival archdemon-class.

"—Five, no, six of them. More than I expected."

Restia's voice sounded in Kamito's mind.

What Kamito had liberated were the Demon King's minion spirits that the army had taken from the Demon King's Burial Chamber to safekeep. Although earlier Restia was uncertain whether primordial powerful spirits would heed Kamito's voice, now it was evidently a winning gamble.

Confronted with the sudden appearance of multiple archdemon-class spirits, the Imperial Knights panicked.

"Go wild all you like, servants of the Demon King!"

Kamito continued to pour divine power into the ring and shouted. The Demon King's Ring instantly shattered into fragments.

"Kamito, that was pretty good Demon King style. I award you six Demon King points."

"What kind of stupid points are those..."

Hearing Restia sounding a bit happy, Kamito could not help but retort.

"Anyway, now is the time to charge!"

With dual swords of white and black in his hands, Kamito charged into the knights.

===Part 2===

"...! What happened!?"

The current master of the headmistress' office stood up from her chair and shouted anxiously.

Taken over by the Imperial Knights, the headmistress' office of Areishia Spirit Academy had become the room of Alendora Eva Abyne, commander of the garrisoned force.

Among the aristocracy, the family of Duke Abyne was only second to House Fahrengart in prestige. In addition to her family background, Alendora's power as a spirit knight was also top-notch. Graduating from the Academy as the valedictorian, she currently held the position of Seventh of the Numbers. She was widely known as the user of a void spirit.

As someone of such stature, Alendora was stunned speechless after seeing the scene outside the window.

Large xenomorphic spirits had demolished the Academy's Sealed Library and came out of it.

They were on a rampage and currently attacking the Academy's school building.

No one had any grasp of the current situation.

Why would these spirits, supposed to have been sealed, suddenly awaken?

"...Damn it—"

With a contorted expression, Alendora smashed the headmistress' office's window.

"Fufu, why are you so agitated? Seeing as your are Seventh of the Numbers."

"...! You!"

She shouted angrily and turned her head back, only to see the Holy Kingdom's Cardinal standing in front of the door.

"I did not permit you to enter, Dame Millennia."

"I do not need your permission."

The young girl with an eye patch and dressed in holy vestments smiled nonchalantly.

"Do know that I was sent by his Majesty Emperor Arneus and granted full authority."

"...!

Alendora gritted her teeth. She had always viewed with disdain this cardinal who did whatever she wanted, taking full advantage of the Emperor's decree, despite being among the Imperial Knights.

"What is the matter with this utter mess? Don't tell me this is another of your experiments?"

"No, incorrect. The Demon King is the one responsible—"

"What did you say?"

"Kazehaya Kamito has apparently arrived with his companions to recapture the Academy."

"Kazehaya Kamito—"

There was probably no one in Ordesia who did not know this name by now.

He was the one and only male elementalist in the world.

He was also the ace of Team Scarlet who had obtained victory in the Blade Dance.

At the same time, he was also the wanted criminal who had infiltrated the imperial capital to assist Second Princess Fianna's escape from prison.

"What a joke! How could a handful of people hope to take this military stronghold—"

"He did stop the strategic-class militarized spirit Leviathan in the Theocracy."

The cardinal girl laughed, somewhat amused.

"...!"

Indeed, he was not an opponent to be trifled with.

Currently, the Imperial Knights were in huge disarray—

"I shall personally take to the front line. I suppose even higher-ranking knights might not be able to handle a Blade Dance victor."

With a flutter of her pure white cape, Alendora gallantly turned around and exited the office.

After taking a few glances at her as she left—

Millennia Sanctus murmured softly.

"Unfortunately, you are no match for him either."

She spun around and looked up at the reddened sky outside the cracked window.

"Time to begin. Astral Shift."

In the next instant, countless cracks appeared in the air.

===Part 3===

"Guooooooooooooooo!"

"Kishaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Six spirits, minions of the Demon King, liberated from their thousand-year-long slumber, were running amok, looking as though they were showing off their strength. It looked like a battle between giant monsters.

Everything was unfolding as Kamito had hoped. The Imperial Knights were in utter confusion.

"On the other hand, I'm worrying whether the Academy might turn into rubble!"

While defeating the Imperial Knights standing in his way, Kamito commented.

"Since they have so many knights, I'm sure they'll find a way."

Running beside him, Claire replied.

"I-I guess..."

A total of six spirits, rivaling or even surpassing archdemon-class...

However, if they mobilized spirit knight battalions equipped with militarized spirits, they should manage to vanquish them.

"Send out the anti-spirit Kerberos! Deploy every Glasya-Labolas too!"

Kamito could hear what sounded like the voice of a commander knight. Although the knights deployed militarized spirits in a scattered manner, they soon lost against the Demon King's spirits because they could not muster an organized formation.

"The latest militarized spirits are getting taken out one after another!"

Saying that, Ellis turned pale.

"W-Will they demand compensation later on?"

"Sheesh, there's no use worrying about so much!"

"The princess will think of something!"

Kamito swung the Demon Slayer, chopping a large Glasya-Labolas in two.

In the center of the vast training ground, the pillar of light extended all the way to sky, forming a giant gate in midair. Three smaller pillars of light were sustaining that gate.

Under them were probably the ruins transported from the Spirit Forest.

The Imperial Knights did not seem aware that Kamito's team was targeting the ruins.

To destroy the ruins at three locations in one go, before they could bolster their defenses—That was the plan concocted by Claire.

"We're gonna split up three ways here."

"Yeah."

Kamito was in charge of the ruins deepest in the Academy, located in the direction of the large training ground. Ellis and Rinslet were responsible for the ruins towards the old cathedral in the northwest. As for the dormitory buildings in the northeast side—

At this moment, Kamito released the Vorpal Sword.

The jet-black demon sword transformed into endless darkness that turned into the black-winged darkness spirit.

"—I look forward to working with you, Claire Rouge."

Restia landed next to Claire.

Indeed, Claire and Restia were the ones heading to the third set of ruins.

So long as he had Est in hand, Kamito was enough to fight by himself.

This was the conclusion reached after considering the balance between the three teams.

"Okay, hurry!"

"Yeah!

Just as they were about to break into a run...

Crk, crk crk—

Suddenly, cracks appeared in the space around them.

"...W-What!?"

Claire jumped in surprise and looked around in a circle.

Next—

OUt from the cracks in the air, demon spirits with strange appearances appeared one after another.

"...! Why are there demon spirits here!?"

Summoning great numbers of uncontrollable demon spirits within the Academy's premises.

Doing this would clearly add to the chaos.

Also, the quantity of demon spirits far surpassed what they had fought at the street barricade.

Even the spirits' ranks would be classified as mid-level or above.

Countless cracks swept by, occupying the entire Academy in one go.

"Could they be trying to release demon spirits all over the entire Academy town!?"

Ellis cried out in shock.

"...! We must hurry. Stop the ruins!"

===Part 4===

Crk, crk crk crk—!

With the sound of spatial distortion, many cracks appeared in the air.

"It is coming. Upperclassmen, ready your elemental waffen!"

Standing on the erected barricade, Freya shouted.

The Sylphid Knights' best students and the highest-achieving upperclassmen all deployed their respective elemental waffen. Rakka and Reishia also held their weapons, preparing to intercept the enemy.

"Surround each one with a squad of three or more! The injured should retreat to the back, don't overdo it!"

"Y-Yes!"

Roughly half of Areishia Spirit Academy's students were contracted with spirits above mid-level, but only about 30% were capable of deploying elemental waffen.

And only a handful had actually seen demon spirits before in actual combat.

Facing a large group of demon spirits, baring their teeth as they approached, the students' legs began to shake.

In front of these students, a knight dressed in a white overcoat stood in the front.

"—Fear not. I am the fortress that shall protect you all."

Velsaria Eva Fahrengart.

The Sylphid Knights' original captain, the one bearing the title of the strongest.

Facing the great number of demon spirits, standing there gallantly in the front line, her figure brought courage to the students.

"Deploy elemental waffe—Juggernaut!"

With a flash of light, countless hovering cannons and castle wall shields appeared around her.

Looking back at the students exclaiming in surprise, Velsaria spoke.

"Take a few steps back. My elemental waffe might be a bit destructive—"

Boom! Boom boom boom boom boom!

Countless cannons fired all at once.

The air shook. The astounding supreme firepower swept the demon spirits away.

The round of suppressive fire brought fervent cheering from the students.

"Hmph, pretty good eh—"

Just then, looking down from a building rooftop, Muir smiled with amusement.

She jumped down nimbly from the roof and walked over to a barricade in the opposite direction.

"Muir will show off too."

Taking off a bracelet artifact, she recited the incantation to release the seal.

The cursed armament seal on the back of her hand glowed with ominous light.

Instantly, space was distorted and a gigantic beetle-like militarized spirit appeared.

This was Gargantua, a spirit specializing in building battlefield entrenchment.

Although not a combat-type spirit, its power far surpassed ordinary militarized spirits.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!

With the Jester's Vise removing its limiter, Gargantua swung its two massive arms to crush the demon spirits that were flitting about.

"Ahaha, crush them—Gargantua."

The horrific scene was making the Academy's teachers gasp.

"Muir will earn Onii-sama's praise."

===Part 5===

"Demon spirits? Accursed Holy Kingdom, what on earth are they thinking!?"

Seeing the atrocity before her eyes, Alendora Eva cried out with irritation.

Many demon spirits had appeared out from a dimensional gap to attack the Empire's knights indiscriminately.

The command system was in complete disarray. Even with her arriving the front line as the supreme commander, reorganizing the chaotic troops would be no easy task.

(At the very least, I need to get a grasp on what is happening—)

In addition to the demon spirits, the spirits liberated from the Sealed Library were also on a rampage.

With her elemental waffe—Nether Void—in her hand, she stepped towards the training ground.

Even though the berserk spirits were quite powerful, as one of the Empire's prided Numbers, she was capable of defeating archdemon-class spirits singlehandedly.

—Ahead of her direction of advance...

Suddenly, a petite figure silently appeared.

"...?"

The new arrival was dressed in a gray overcoat with a hood.

On her face was a silver mask.

(A warrior priestess of the Holy Kingdom? No, not right...)

Alendora stopped and carefully examined the opponent before her eyes.

"Is it you? Are you the one who liberated the spirits in the Sealed Library—"

"..."

The masked figure did not answer. She silently drew her sword from her chest.

It was a long sword with the color of blood, completely lacking in ornament.

"I see. You prefer military torture and interrogation. You get your wish."

Alendora whispered icily and poured divine power into the Nether Void.

"This is your unlucky day. To challenge the Empire's strongest, one of the Numbers—"

The surrounding air shook. A chunk of earth by her foot was carved away.

"—Empire's strongest, huh?"

Heh, the opponent seemed to laugh beneath her mask.

She sounded like a young girl. Presumably a student of the Academy—

Suddenly, in the next instant, the opponent disappeared from Alendora's sight.

"...!?"

She did not even get a chance to cry out.

The sword moved like purple lightning. Alendora Eva collapsed on the ground.

In defense of her honor, it is necessary to note—

Without the ability on the Numbers' level, she probably would not have even seen the flash of the sword.

Looking up into the reddened night sky, the masked girl whispered.

"Do they intend to bring about an Astral Shift here?"

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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter8

2018-09-14T13:43:19Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 8 - The Demon Realm Brought Forth==

===Part 1===

A gigantic pillar of fire erupted on the street. The atmosphere shook.

The blazing flame in the black night illuminated the bizarre scene.

"What is that!?"

Rushing nearby, Kamito could not help but gawk, rooted to the spot.

Countless cracks were produced in the air—

Terrifying xenomorphic beings were crawling out from these cracks.

Although the xenomorphs had different appearances, in terms of numbers there were at least a couple hundred.

"...! Demon spirits, where are so many coming from!?"

Claire shouted.

Demon spirits was an umbrella term for spirits whose peculiar mental structure made it impossible for them to form contracts with elementalists.

The majority of demon spirits were violent in nature and would even have a tendency to attack humans and other spirits.

However, there had been virtually no reports of demon spirits manifesting in the human realm.

Even though there were elementalists like Sjora Kahn, known as witches and capable of commanding demon spirits, they were exceptions, after all.

"Why are demon spirits in the Academy town?"

"Looks like it's got something to do with that bizarre gate..."

Kamito looked up at the giant hole in the air above the Academy's school building.

The demon spirits were apparently attacking the barricades erected by the students. Although the students had deployed barriers to resist, at this rate, their defenses were going to be breached.

"Rakka, you girls go protect the barricades. Let us take care of the demon spirits."

Ellis gave directions to her Sylphid Knight comrades.

"Captain, but..."

"Worry not. Despite their numbers, I do not see any particularly strong foe."

"Yes, leave it to us."

Saying that, Ellis and Claire deployed their elemental waffen.

Rakka silently nodded and ran towards the barricades.

Noticing their movements, the demon spirits pounced on them.

However—

"I shall not allow them to succeed! Freezing fangs of ice, go forth and pierce—Freezing Arrow!"

Magic arrows of ice poured down like rain, piercing dozens of demon spirits in one go.

Rinslet went "hmph" and tossed her hair with pride.

"I shall provide cover fire. Very well, make haste—"

"...! You have my utmost gratitude, daughter of Margrave Laurenfrost!"

The Sylphid Knight students were surrounded by countless arrows of ice. The demon spirits pouncing on them had all been pierced by Rinslet's accurate marksmanship.

"Lowly demon spirits, how dare you trample the Academy town under our protection—"

Tranquil rage could be seen in Velsaria's ice-blue eyes. She placed her hand on her chest.

Inside a spirit crystal glowing with ominous light, her fortress spirit was sealed.

The Juggernaut was a spirit of mass destruction, capable of slaughtering even archdemon-class spirits.

If she were to use this power, annihilating the demon spirits in one breath would be easy.

"My esteemed sister—"

Just as she was about to deploy her spirit, Ellis grabbed her arm.

"...?"

"Your fortress spirit is too draining. Leave this to us—"

"Oh? You are commanding me now, Ellis?"

Velsaria looked at her adoptive sister and smiled fearlessly.

"...! My esteemed sister, I—"

"No, I am praising you."

Velsaria shook her head and put down her hand.

"That power of yours that had matured during the Blade Dance. Show it fully to me."

"Y-Yes!"

Ellis instantly straightened her back and picked up Ray Hawk.

"Muir's militarized spirits will make short work of these things, but let Muir have a look at these Onee-chans' abilities first."

Saying that, Muir nimbly jumped onto a rooftop.

"Wait, come on...!"

"No, that is perfect."

Kamito stopped Claire, who was glaring at Muir.

Muir's special power, the Jester's Vise, was akin to a curse and would drive militarized spirits to the point of collapsing.

Before they figured out why demon spirits were appearing in great numbers, it would be best to keep such a trump card unused.

"The three of us are doing it. Claire, what formation?"

"The anti-army Blitz Lightning—Wipe them out in one go."

"—Got it."

"Understood!"

Kamito, Claire and Ellis deployed their respective elemental waffen.

Team Scarlet had used code names for their tactical formations in order to win the Blade Dance tournament. There were a total of twenty-four combinations, capable of rapidly adjusting to enemy characteristics on the battlefield. Since their core defense, Fianna, was absent, while Rinslet was providing support fire at the barricades, the formation was undertaken by the three of them this time.

Kamito, the close combat specialist, was in the center, flanked by Claire and Ellis.

This was a super offensive formation abandoning all defense, seeking to blitz the enemy.

"Let's go—Est, Restia!"

"Yes, Kamito. Your wish is my command—"

"Fufu, let's go wild."

Pouring divine power into the twin swords of steel and darkness, Kamito rushed into the crowd of demon spirits.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form—Shadowmoon Waltz, Black Thunder Dual Strike!"

The Demon Slayer in his right hand sliced through the black night with a trail of silver-white light.

The Vorpal Sword in his left hand devoured darkness, spreading jet-black lightning all around.

Wherever Kamito went, the torrent of white and black followed him like a shadow, mercilessly tearing apart each and every demon spirit.

"We're going too, Scarlet!"

Claire swung Flametongue.

With a whoosh, there was a sound slicing through the air—

"All of you, turn into charcoal—Flare Blaze!"

In the next instant, the demon spirits in front of her were all set aflame.

This was a move executed by imbuing Flametongue with the ultimate spirit magic of Hell Blaze. Following the slash that swept through darkness, scorching flames kept surging to devour demon spirits nonstop.

With her crimson twintails flying in the air, she danced spectacularly in the night, reminiscent of Rubia's ritual dance performance.

As for the barricades in the streets, the students were in disarray due to the sudden arrival of Kamito's team.

Under the holy light of an isolation barrier, noisy voices sounded.

"Isn't that Team Scarlet!?"

"That problem child from Raven Class, Claire Rouge the Hell Cat!"

"That boy... Uh, Kazehaya... The Lecherous King... That's right, the Lecherous King!"

"Demon King of the Night!"

...Despite the odd comment mixed in there, it looked like they had noticed the arrival of comrades at least.

"Ellis, counting on you over there!"

"Yes—!"

Running, Ellis spun Ray Hawk and flew.

Then—

"Fahrengart Style of the Spear—Wind of Death!"

With a terrifying technique name, she launched her spear towards the remaining demon spirits.

The magic spear flew like a bolt of lightning and kept piercing demon spirits.

It was an absolutely unavoidable spear strike, guaranteed to hit.

With her residual momentum, Ellis landed on the barricade.

"Heh, that's pretty good."

Seeing that, Muir whistled from the rooftop.

Under the combined attacks of Kamito's team, the demon spirits were virtually wiped out.

===Part 2===

As Kamito and company made their way to the barricade, the students instantly cheered.

After all, they were the victorious team at the Blade Dance tournament. From the seniors down to the lower years, no one did not recognize Kamito's team.

"Th-The Demon King of the Night is coming, what shall I do..."

"I heard you'll get pregnant just by meeting his gaze—"

"But just now, he looked a bit cool, right?"

"Y-Yes, that's true..."

...However, Kamito's fame seemed to have a different source.

Just then—

"—Perfect timing."

A familiar voice was heard from amid the students.

"Freya-sensei!"

Out came Raven Class' homeroom teacher, Ms Freya Grandol.

Evidently, she had taken part in the student uprising movement.

"I have heard the gist from them. Welcome."

Saying that, Ms Freya motioned with her gaze towards Rakka and the others further in.

While Kamito and his friends were fighting the demon spirits, the Sylphid Knight girls had apparently told the teacher about them.

"We've heard about roughly what happened here too. Things are crazy."

"Indeed, who could have expected the glorious Imperial Knights to have summoned demon spirits?"

Ms Freya spoke quietly with a look of disdain.

"What exactly are those demon spirits...?"

"—No idea."

Freya shook her head at Claire's question.

"I just saw a pillar of light appear over the Academy and then suddenly they were here."

"Who could have expected demon spirits to appear in the human realm..."

"That is completely unheard of."

Rinslet nodded with a strange expression.

Just as she had pointed out, demon spirits usually did not appear in the human realm.

Although Sjora Kahn had summoned a great horde of demon spirits during the Blade Dance tournament, it was only possible inside Astral Zero after all.

Right now, what on earth was happening?

"Regardless, it was all thanks to you that our defenses held up. Allow me to express my gratitude."

"Too soon to say that. There's no telling when those demon spirits might appear again."

Kamito looked towards the Academy's school building, staring at the pillar of light reaching to the sky.

"...True."

Saying that, Freya turned around and invited Kamito's group inside.

"This is no place to stand and chat. Come over, let us discuss our next step."

"Where are we going?"

"There is a restaurant nearby called the Sablefish Pavilion. It is perfect as a conference room."

"I know it. A commoner's shop, isn't it?"

"Yes, that is the place—"

It was where Vivan Melosa of Murders had lurked as a waitress.

Kamito remembered Est ordering an extra large parfait there. It was a crazy situation that time.

"Did anyone get hurt during the attack just now?"

With a pained expression, Ellis looked to the sides of the passage.

Several students were receiving treatment from spirit magic.

"Yes. But thanks to you guys, there were no deaths."

"We wouldn't have made it if she hadn't told us about a shortcut."

"Now that I think about it, I'm surprised we made it in time..."

"We have arrived—"

Freya pushed open the door of the Sablefish Pavilion under lighting.

"W-Welcome! Would you like some food? Or rest a little—Kyah!"

Just then, a girl walked briskly down the stairs—

Then with a thud, she tripped over spectacularly.

"Ooooh~, it hurts..."

Rubbing her head while crawling up, this girl in a maid uniform was very familiar to them.

"Carol, are you alright!?"

"M-Milady!?"

The girl in the maid outfit swiftly stood up and threw herself into Rinslet's embrace.

"Milady, I have been so worried about you!"

"Yes, Carol, I have missed you so much."

The master and servant of the Laurenfrost family hugged each other tightly.
[[image:STnBD V18 BW06.jpg|thumb]]

===Part 3===

While Kamito's group were on the run from the Empire and exiled to Dracunia, Carol had stayed at the Academy instead of returning to the Laurenfrost home.

Her intention was to endure and wait for her master's return as Rinslet's maid, but precisely because of that, she unfortunately got roped into the Academy rebellion.

"Milady, have you been well in my absence?"

Pulling out a chair for her master, Carol wiped the corner of her own eye.

"Yes, please rest assured."

"I-I see..."

Hearing that, Carol seemed a bit depressed.

"Ah, uh, of course, I was sad without seeing you!"

"M-Milady..."

Rinslet hastily covered for herself, prompting Carol to hug her tightly again.

"Carol, do you work at this shop?"

Just then, Claire asked.

"Yes, I work here part time."

"...You're quite resilient."

"Speaking of which, I also work at a crepe store."

It looked like she was quite serious about her work outside of being a maid.

"After the Academy came under occupation, what happened to our rooms?"

"The Knights took over Raven Class' dorm building, apparently to use as their own quarters."

"...Well, figures."

Claire slumped her shoulders dejectedly.

"Did my precious books and treasures get thrown out?"

"So frustrating..."

"Please rest assured, Miss Claire."

"Eh?"

"All the personal belongings from your rooms are with me."

"R-Really!?"

"Yes, I took everything and ran when we were evicted."

"Well done, Carol."

"How wonderful!"

Carol smiled, took out a notebook and licked the end of her pen.

"Miss Rinslet's treasure box contains the Laurenfrost seal. Family heirloom, Dagger of Magic Ice. Also the doll given to her from Miss Claire when they seven, a toy ring from Miss Claire at age eight, also..."

"E-Enough!"

Rinslet blushed heavily and covered Carol's mouth.

"...Y-You kept them all as treasure."

Claire murmured softly.

"Miss Claire's personal belongings include canned peaches, textbooks on spiritology, buried deep in the shelves were ''Noble Young Ladies Flourishing in the Night'', ''Do you like wanton cats?'', ''The Giant Bust Spirit Exists for Real''—"

"H-Hold on a second! Why do you know about hidden books!?"

"Excuse me, do all noble daughters read such racy books?"

"C-Certainly not!"

"Immoral books must be confiscated according to the rules."

Ellis spoke sternly.

"Miss Ellis' ''Ren Ashbell-sama'' Fan Club bulletin notes have been kept safely too."

"Th-Thank you so much! Those are precious materials impossible to gather again!"

Ellis held Carol's hands in gratitude.

(On the other hand, I'd rather burn it all immediately...)

Kamito groaned in his mind.

Carol smiled happily and said:

"Let me bring you something warm. I am sure all of you are hungry."

"Allow me to cook. Carol, are there any ingredients?"

"Yes. Though not a lot, we do have a bit of flour."

"Good enough. Claire, I am borrowing Scarlet."

"Meow—"

"Wait, Scarlet!"

Scarlet skipped along and followed Rinslet.

"Muir will help taste test."

Saying that, Muir ran into the kitchen too.

Watching the back of his adopted little sister, Kamito felt his heart warmed up.

===Part 4===

While Rinslet was in the kitchen, Kamito explained to Freya everything that had happened so far.

"—And so, we came back to take back the Academy."

"I see—"

The intelligent homeroom teacher soon understood his words and nodded.

"In other words, whether the Academy rebellion succeeds or not shall determine the shift in allegiances and the political landscape in the Empire."

"Yeah. Once news of the Academy's recapture spreads, the neutral nobles will throw their support behind Fianna."

"Indeed, calls for the second princess' return are not uncommon among the populace. News of your great achievement in the Theocracy in stopping Leviathan, have reached here too."

"The Empire's people all hope for Fianna's ascension to the throne."

Claire said.

"Indeed. Currently, Arneus' reign is poor no matter how you mince words. However, there are nobles who would rather accept an incompetent monarch than see the beautiful and wise princess in power."

"Have these people realized the shadow of the Holy Kingdom behind the current Emperor?"

"Of course they have. The Holy Kingdom's cardinal has been strutting about in Nefescal Palace. However, they still choose to obey and ingratiate themselves to those in power."

Ms Freya curled her gorgeous lips with mockery.

"By the way, I never expected the glorious Imperial Knights to resort to such tricks—"

Ellis spoke loudly with anger on her face.

Having admired the Knights, she probably could not accept such an atrocity.

"So they have abandoned all scruples—"

Having installed a curse armament seal on herself before, Velsaria murmured.

"However, it is incomprehensible. Once news of releasing demon spirits against students spread out, it will surely cause a huge outrage."

"...That is true indeed."

Freya agreed with Claire.

Except for the Alphas Theocracy, demon spirits were taboo in every country.

If Ordesia's knights were to use them, it would bring all the countries on the continent to condemn them. The nobles in the Empire would also resent Arneus for authorizing such an act.

Also, if they were to quell the rebellion by any means necessary, they could have deployed militarized spirits directly. Why go such lengths to summon demon spirits?

"The summoning of demon spirits is a side effect at most."

"Restia?"

With a flutter of black feathers floating down, Restia appeared next to Kamito.

"Their true goal is probably something else."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think that pillar of light is?"

Saying that, Restia looked out the window.

The pillar of light they had seen from the streets earlier, was currently penetrating the dense clouds in the sky.

Eerie red light was leaking from the gaps in the clouds.

Everyone shook their head silently. Evidently, even Freya was stumped.

"—That is a gate to the demon realm."

"Demon realm?"

"Yes, contrasting with the holy sanctuary, there is a place in Astral Zero known as the demon realm. It is where the majority of demon spirits reside."

Restia looked back at Kamito and the others.

"That pillar of light is the gate for opening a connection to there."

"A gate connecting to Astral Zero? How do you open something like—"

Mid-sentence, Claire widened her eyes.

"Don't tell me, they used the ruins from the spirit forest...!?"

"Yes, that is correct."

Restia nodded slowly.

"Such an immense gate is possible to open so long as resonance is produced from the power of multiple ruins. Those demon spirits earlier came from the demon realm through the gate."

"Then why would they do this...?"

"Then I have no idea..."

Saying that, she shook her head.

"But if we let it continue, the gate will swallow this town sooner or later."

"What did you say!?"

"What is going on!?"

Claire and Ellis shouted at the same time. Velsaria frowned too.

"Please look. Isn't the red glow between the clouds increasing?"

"...!"

Taking a closer look, she was right. The red light's brightness had increased from earlier.

That light came from Astral Zero, huh—

Suppose the gate continued to enlarge, then surely even bigger quantities of demon spirits than earlier would surge into the Academy town.

"...They must not succeed!"

Claire's ruby-like eyes burned with flames in them.

"Yes. As captain of the Sylphid Knights protecting the Academy, I shall not allow this to happen!"

Ellis stood up too.

"So what can we do?"

Just then, Ms Freya spoke.

"Since they are using the ruins' power to open the gate to the demon realm, all we need to do is destroy the ruins and the gate should vanish, right?"

"Indeed. Gates leading to Astral Zero are very unstable. Once the ruins are destroyed, it should vanish naturally."

Hearing Claire, Restia nodded.

"But the Academy has been turned into a fort by the Imperial Knights. Infiltrating will not be easy."

Velsaria pointed out.

"Can't we use your shadow magic to slip in, Ms Freya?"

"Unfortunately, that will not work. The army's alert line will be triggered."

"I see..."

Normally, it would not be a problem, but given the current situation, there were probably many sensing-type barriers set up. In that case, even Kamito and Muir would find it difficult to sneak in unnoticed.

"What about negotiations? Ellis knows many people in the Knights, right?"

"...Negotiations will probably be difficult. I have no right to criticize anyone, but the Imperial Knights are very stubborn."

"If even you say that, then their stubbornness is definitely no ordinary stubbornness."

Claire shrugged slightly.

"So that leaves storming in from the front huh—"

Kamito muttered.

"...That is the only way to go."

"Are you all serious?"

Asked Ms Freya.

"I know it's very reckless but I can't just stand back and watch the Academy get trampled by demon spirits."

Kamito nodded slowly.

"To me, the Academy is a very precious place."

"Kamito..."

Claire showed surprise as she looked at Kamito.

Equally surprised, Restia also looked at Kamito.

These were Kamito's true feelings that had slipped out naturally.

Even though he had only lived at the Academy for two months—

Kamito had experienced so many new things for the first time during that period.

Encountering his comrades. Training night and day to participate in the team battles. Working part time in the Academy town, the Valentine Festival, training camp, mystery hot pot, and even hunting the legendary giant bust spirit.

Every incident was a precious memory for Kamito—

And those memories were all born inside the place called Areishia Spirit Academy.

"Yes, me too."

Next, Ellis added.

"Me too, Kamito."

"It is the same for me!"

Just then, Rinslet came out of the kitchen, bringing sandwiches.

"These are Laurenfrost lucky charms."

"Very tasty."

Muir had her cheeks stuffed full... So cute, like a squirrel.

"But I disagree with storming in without a plan. Let us discuss our plan of action first."

"...I guess you're right."

Kamito steepled his hands on the table and fell into deep thought.

Indeed, breaking into the Academy from the front would probably be very hard.

Was there some way to cause a great diversion first—

"...Oh."

Suddenly, Kamito thought of something.

"Say, Ellis—"

"What is it?"

"Back when I lost my memory, wasn't there a treasure vault of the Demon King that appeared underground of the Academy town?"

So he asked Ellis.

"Yes, that Burial Chamber, right?"

Ellis nodded. She had entered that Burial Chamber together with Kamito.

Indeed, that incident was the reason why the Imperial Knights started garrisoning the Academy in the first place.

Instigated by Millennia, the spirits in the Academy went on a rampage, causing a great calamity.

At the time, Kamito had amnesia due to the blow of losing Restia, but the after coming into contact with Est in the Burial Chamber under the Academy, he recovered his memory.

Summoned as result of Kamito's awakening, the Burial Chamber was where many artifacts and sealed spirits used by the legendary Demon King Solomon in the past were sealed.

"You're going to retrieve the Demon King's weapons, lying dormant in the Burial Chamber, right?"

Claire instantly reacted.

But Ms Freya shook her head.

"Unfortunately, you are too late."

"Why?"

"Reportedly, the Imperial Knights have taken away all the treasure in the underground historical site. Ancient artifacts and powerful sealed spirits, I expect they are all being kept in the Academy's Sealed Library now."

This made sense too. It was only natural that the army would intervene when ancient and valuable artifacts had been dug up.

"Looks like your plan is foiled."

"No, not entirely. This is an opportunity, actually."

Saying that, Kamito reached into his chest pocket.

"Ah. Kamito, I know what you're thinking."

Seeing that, Restia whispered quietly.

As expected of his longtime partner.

"Yeah, we're gonna use everything at our disposal."

===Part 5===

Carrying Second Princess Fianna, Legitimate Ordesia's flagship, the Revenant, had met up with Dracunia's Flying Dragon Knights in Laurenfrost airspace.

Composed entirely of dragon riders, the Flying Dragon Knights were renowned as the continent's strongest.

There were even rumors that Dracunia had stubbornly refused to build a fleet of massive flying ships because they felt that military ships slower than dragon riders had no strategic value.

Under the moonlight, dozens of lying dragons were arranged in a neat and orderly formation.

On the ground, a great bonfire was lit at Winter Gulf Castle. The soldiers serving the family of Margrave Laurenfrost were preparing for battle in an orderly fashion.

Fianna and Rubia were standing on the deck to stoke up morale.

"The neutral nobles still have yet to declare their position."

While staring at the Kyria Mountain Range towering ahead, Fianna spoke.

Although there were a few nobles who had secret correspondence with her and had agreed to march, in the end, the only ones who responded to her call to take action were the anti-Arneus nobles.

"Until the situation clears up, I doubt they will take any action. However, once we recapture the Academy, the situation will tilt in our favor."

Rubia replied. There was no emotional fluctuation in her voice at all.

Fianna withdrew her hand from the railing on the ship's side.

"Are you worried about Claire?"
[[image:STnBD V18 BW08.jpg|thumb]]

"..."

This time, Rubia did not answer.

However, Fianna did not miss the subtle tensing in her fingers.

"She will be fine. After all, Kamito-kun is there."

"Yes—"

The incoming wind caused the two girls' long hair to flutter.

At the latest, their war against the Empire was going to begin in the morning.

(...We must prevail against time.)

Fianna bit hard on her lip that had lost color in the cold wind.

Just then, the crystal in Rubia's hand glowed.

At the same time, a large image was projected in the air.

It was a pitch-black shadow with the appearance of a giant dragon.

"...! Lord Dragon King!"

Surprised, Fianna looked up.

"Princess of Ordesia, you have done very well in the mission to quell the Theocracy's civil war."

The giant dragon silhouette's solemn voice resounded across the entire deck.

"I hereby recognize Legitimate Ordesia as Dracunia's ally and pledge to fight the Holy Kingdom together."

"Thank you for your reinforcements, Lord Dragon King."

Fianna bowed deeply towards the image in the air.

"So, how is the battle situation?"

"More than half the nobles are taking the Emperor's side. The remainder will depend on the situation at the Academy."

"—Hmm, not unusual. The Academy is tantamount to the Empire's heart."

Dracunia's Dragon King spoke gravely.

"But rest assured. I have made arrangements on that front too."

"...What do you mean?"

Fianna blinked her dusk-colored eyes.

"I have sent the strongest ''dragon'' to that heart."

===Part 6===

"My esteemed sister, I leave this in your hands."

"Rest assured. I shall not let even an ant pass."

Facing Ellis, who was in front of the barricade looking back, Velsaria nodded briefly.

According to Claire's attack plan, Velsaria and Muir would stay behind to guard the barricade.

The attacking demon spirits were sure to be back. Since the gate connected to Astral Zero kept expanding, it was highly likely that the next wave would be bigger than the one before. Moreover, openings were about to appear in the barrier set up by the princess maidens.

Hence, it was necessary for Velsaria, capable of deploying the ultimate fortress spirit, and Muir, able to employ militarized spirits, to stay behind as guardians.

"Leave this to us, Captain."

Carrying her hammer elemental waffe on her shoulder, Rakka said.

"As Vice-Captain of the Sylphid Knights, I will protect the students well."

Saying that, Reishia nodded too.

"Yes, I wish you the best of luck."

Ellis shook hands firmly with her best friends.

"...Ah~ ah~, Muir wants to go raise hell with Onii-sama too."

Muir was pouting unhappily.

"Why must Muir protect small fry?"

"Because you're the best suited to it. Hunt down and clean up those demon spirits."

Claire crossed her arms and said.

"Stop ordering others and acting all high and might, you flat-chested charcoal girl."

"W-What are you talking about!? Y-You're the flat-chested one!"

With twintails standing up on end, Claire roared angrily.

"Yeah~ right~, Muir is still growing. Right, Onii-sama?"

Saying that, Muir hugged Kamito's waist.

"Uh, yeah, right..."

Kamito placed his hand on Muir's head.

"Muir, I'm counting on you. Protect everyone."

He gently stroked her ash-gray hair.

"...O-Okay, got it, Onii-sama."

Muir partially closed her eyes in bliss and nodded obediently.

"Kamito, pet me too."

Seeing Est hug him too, Kamito began to pet her on the head at the same time.

"Hua..."

"Sheesh, all you do is indulge that adopted sister and Est!"

Seeing that, Claire was so angry that she cracked her whip loudly.

Behind Kamito and the others—

"Th-There is more, kyah—"

"Uwawa, milady, are you alright!?"

Passing out snacks to those in the front lines, Rinslet was surrounded by spirits.

"Rinslet, stop playing around. We have to go."

"I-I am not playing around!"

Kamito smiled wryly and looked out at Academy in the distance.

The pillar of light, rising into the clouds, it reminded him of the light from the sacred maiden he had seen at the Demon King City.

"Kamito, we are counting on you."

Hearing Ms Freya's words, Kamito nodded briefly.

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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter7

2018-08-15T14:30:36Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 7 - Return to the Academy==

===Part 1===

Twenty-eight hours after setting off from Zohar, Kamito's team took a land route to enter the Spirit Forest in the Alzanu earldom bordering the Theocracy.

Just as Rubia had predicted, slipping into Ordesia was not that hard. Although Earl Alzanu was among the nobles on the Emperor's side, he had not deployed any troops to monitor the Spirit Forest, a notoriously terrifying realm.

(...I guess only suicidal armies would invade this kind of forest.)

It was night. Kamito's team were forcing a march through the dense and lush forest.

Since it was a new moon tonight, there was no moonlight in the forest. However, even during a full moon, moonlight would likely have trouble penetrating such a dense forest.

The ground was illuminated by nothing more than the flame on Scarlet's tail.

"...So eerie. I can clearly sense breathing, but there are no sounds from wild beasts at all."

"The Spirit Forest hates living things. Looks like we're not welcome."

Hearing Claire's murmurs, Kamito replied.

"Avoid making noise as much a possible. The spirits in the forest dislike outsiders."

"Yes, I know."

Across the human realm, the Spirit Forest was the location closest to Astral Zero. In the depths where the density of divine power was highest, it was not unusual to encounter archdemon-class spirits.

(...Greyworth brought me here before.)

Just then, Kamito recalled an unpleasant memory.

Even though he was trained as an assassin at the Instructional School, abandoning the twelve-year-old Kamito in this kind of place was not something a normal person would do.

That being said, this was undoubtedly the fastest route to the Academy.

Assuming safety considerations could be ignored, of course.

"Onii-sama, this is scary♪"

Squish.

Holding Kamito's arm, Muir pressed her developing bosom against it.

Even though she was only thirteen, her chest was starting to show bounciness.

"M-Muir!?"

"H-Hold it right there, get away from him now!"

"No. Onee-chan, isn't his other hand free anyway?"

"Gunununu..."

Sparks flew from Claire's twintails as though they had ignited.

"Settle down, you two. The spirits in the forest have started to clamor."

Walking in the lead, Ellis warned.

"Captain, have we not reached the Academy's area yet?"

"We should be close..."

Ellis murmured. Perched on her arm, Simorgh crowed.

In the forest, maps and compasses were completely useless.

All they could rely on were directions from Simorgh whose hunting grounds was the forest.

Eight hours had gone by since they entered the Spirit Forest. Even for well-trained elementalists, advancing through a danger-filled forest in the night without any rest would naturally be quite exhausting.

"I'll give you a piggyback ride if you're too tired. Just tell me, don't be shy."

"I-I can still manage!"

"The Temple of the Contract should be up ahead."

"The Temple of the Contract?"

"It's where I released Est."

Claire glanced at Kamito beside her and explained.

"Really? So we're around there..."

It was a place where Kamito had suffered greatly soon after transferring into the Academy. In order to protect Claire from Est who had gone out of control, Kamito intervened and established a spirit contract with Est.

Failing to obtain Est, Claire had complained and insisted on taking Kamito as her slave spirit—

(...Now that I think back, everything started at that temple.)

Kamito reminisced with emotions stirring within him.

Although it was merely a couple months of time, those bewildering days at the Academy really felt longer to him than the three years he spent wandering around in search of Restia.

"Y-You jerk! You're remembering the sight of my naked body, a-and groping my chest, right!?"

Claire glared obliquely at Kamito.

"What? I have never heard of this!"

"This is my first time hearing of it!"

Ellis and Rinslet interrogated.

"Y-You've got it wrong! It was Claire herself, swinging Flametongue around wildly..."

"...! What, you did grope me there, didn't you!? And you even said something about poorly developed breasts and having no interest in a child's body, right!?"

(...Crap, now I've really poked a hornet's nest!?)

Probably recalling her experience from that time, Claire flew into a rage.

"Poor you! Claire, your breasts have grown even if only a little!"

"Wait a sec, Rinslet!?"

"Onii-sama, I can't believe you said you're not interested in a child's body. I can't let that slide!"

While the group began to fight—

"Quiet, all of you—"

Velsaria, who had been quiet so far, spoke sternly.

Scolded by the former captain of the Sylphid Knights, Claire and the girls could not help but stand up straight.

Velsaria placed her hand on the sword at her waist and kept staring into the darkness.

Deep behind the crisscrossing trees, there was a deer with large antlers.

"That's—"

"An ancient divine beast spirit inhabiting the Spirit Forest. Do not make a sound."

"...!?"

Everyone held their breaths. This was a high-tier spirit whose appearance had become identical to an animal's.

"I never expected to encounter a spirit of that level not that deep in the forest..."

"I guess we'd better make a detour now."

"Yes, no matter how much longer a path it takes—"

Just as Claire quietly prepared to retreat.

Whoosh, there was a sound of something slicing through the air.

Countless shadows attacked Kamito's group from between the trees.

"...!?"

Kamito hastily jumped and slashed the shadows closing on his feet.

However, Kamito was the only one who managed to react to the sudden incident in the nick of time.

"Hyah, hyahhhhh!"

"Kyahhh, what is it doing... Ahhh♪"

Shadows resembling tentacles ensnared the young ladies' legs within the blink of an eye, tying them up onto the trees.

"...Guh... W-What is this...? Uwah, d-do not touch me there!"

Deprived of her armor, Ellis' voluptuous bosom was vulnerable to all kinds of groping.

"D-Damn it... I cannot believe I would end up, ah..."

Suspended in a bizarre pose, Velsaria was thrashing her limbs, struggling.

Her innocent skirt was boldly lifted. Kamito could see her pure white panties seductively wrapped around the well-developed root of her thighs.

"...! R-Ren Ash—Kazehaya Kamito, what are you staring at!?"

"N-No—"

Glared at by her ice-blue eyes, Kamito frantically avoided eye contact.

"Yahh, Onii-sama, save me...♪"

Muir was the only one who seemed a little happy.

Kamito approached the wriggling tentacles with the glowing Demon Slayer.

Very quickly, he saw the true identity of the tentacles.

...It looked like they were merely plant vines.

"They seem harmless."

Kamito exhaled in relief.

"What are you talking about? Aren't I harmed right now? Hyahhhhhhhh♪"

"I-It has even made its way into my underwear... Nnnn♪"

"...I-In front of Kamito... Huahhh♪"

Entangled by vines, the young ladies kept moaning.
[[image:STnBD V18 BW05.jpg|thumb]]

"Meow?"

Kamito did not know if Scarlet thought her master was playing or if it was due to a cat's instincts, but Scarlet kept jumping around nearby.

"K-Kamito, stop watching and start helping!"

"I-I got it!"

Kamito hastily swung the Demon Slayer.

Just then—

"What are you people doing here!?"

A girl's voice echoed throughout the dense forest.

"...! Y-You're—?"

Kamito turned around—

Only to see a familiar girl riding the back of a giant wolf.

===Part 2===

Inside a certain temple in the forest, fire light was flickering. Hanging on the wall were large decorations made of bones. The pungent smell of herbs filled the air.

"My apologies to you all."

Saying that, the girl bowed towards Kamito's group sitting by the fire.

Her blue eyes were as clear as a lake's surface. She had platinum blonde hair.

Like Kamito and his friends, she was wearing the Academy's uniform.

The girl's name was Horin Shareilia.

She was the druid girl of Team Cernunnos.

A powerful user of a beast swarm spirit, she had defeated Kamito and Claire before in the school tournament. She was one of only a handful of powerful elementalists in the Academy.

Earlier, Kamito and the girls had triggered the traps she had laid in the forest.

"No, we were in the wrong for trespassing."

Kamito apologized. This part of the forest was apparently something like her backyard.

Born in a forest clan, Shareilia was a rare elementalist not hailing from a noble family.

Because of that, even though she was attending the Academy, she obtained special permission to live inside this Spirit Forest together with animals.

"If your home is here, that means that Academy town isn't far off, right?"

Claire asked while drinking herbal tea.

"Hmm, you will soon reach it after going down the hill."

"How are things at the Academy town?"

"...Hmm, sorry."

Shareilia shook her head at Ellis' question.

She was still in the forest when conflict broke out between the students and the Imperial Knights, which was why she could not return to the Academy. Left without a choice, she came to this temple to sleep. As it so happened, Kamito and his group triggered the traps in the yard.

"Why did you set traps like those?"

"It would be dangerous if students accidentally wandered into the forest."

Hearing Rinslet's warning...

"—I set them to prevent those people from damaging the historical sites in the forest."

She replied with a serious look.

"Did you say historical sites?"

Claire and the others exchanged glances.

There were many historical sites in the Spirit Forest, dating back to the age of myths.

For example, the temple dedicated to worshiping Est was one of these sites. The most famous historical site in the forest was probably the gate that allowed people to teleport to Astral Zero.

"Hmm, a bunch of weird looking people entered the forest and took away the gate historical site near the lake."

"Took away? How do they take away—"

"They used militarized spirits—"

Shareilia spoke with chagrin.

According to her, the suspicious group had released militarized spirits in the forest, slicing apart the giant rock that constituted the historical site and carried it away.

"They are not the Empire's knights?"

Ellis asked.

"I don't know. All of them were wearing strange masks. Animals have left because these people chopped down trees in the forest."

"It is hard to believe the Imperial Knights doing something like this—"

Ancient sites were products left behind from a past age when Astral Zero and the human realm were one. The technology of modern spiritology was unable to replicate the power of even the most basic historical sites.

Thus, historical sites were protected by international treaty. Let alone damaging them, even moving them was strictly prohibited. If the Empire's army had taken away the site, it would surely draw violent criticism from domestic nobles and foreign nations.

"What are they planning by taking a historical site away?"

"...I have a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah, we better hurry—"

Kamito nodded. Hearing that, Shareilia stood up and whistled.

"There is a shortcut to the Academy town ahead. I asked wolves to lead the way for you."

===Part 3===

S.. Scr... Screeeeeeeeech...!

The noise of something massive being dragged could be heard at a large training ground at Areishia Spirit Academy.

Under the Imperial Knights' supervision, several large militarized spirits of type Glasya-Labolas were combining gigantic stones together, each as tall as themselves.

This was the historical site they had stolen from the Spirit Forest, the gate dating back to age of myths.

"Excellent. This is sufficient for the gate."

Sitting on the shoulder of a militarized spirit, a girl spoke.

Millennia Sanctus, a cardinal of the Holy Kingdom.

She was separate from the Millennia at the imperial palace in the capital, yet also the same being.

The ability to exist simultaneously across anywhere in space was part of her powers as a spirit.

The militarized spirits were employed by the Holy Kingdom's warrior priestesses instead of the Imperial Knights.

Wearing pure white masks, they belonged to an execution force under the direct command of Des Esseintes—

Moving a gate from the age of myths. Despite such an atrocity happening before their eyes, Ordesia's Imperial Knights were unable to intervene.

Because Cardinal Millennia came here bearing a decree from Emperor Arneus.

The Empire's knights were merely informed that the gate was to be used to perform a large-scale summoning magic experiment.

"Dame Millennia, the third set is complete. Do we begin as planned?"

Just then, a masked warrior priestess reported.

"Very well, let us begin as soon as possible."

Saying that, Millennia curled her lips and smiled.

"—The very first Astral Shift."

===Part 4===

Led by forest wolves along a shortcut, Kamito's team emerged to instantly see the familiar scenery of the Academy town.

Surrounded by town walls, the center of the town showed the use of search lights.

That was the location of Areishia Spirit Academy's school building.

The barricades set up by the student resistance were in the Undine district where small theaters, cafes, clothing stores and various entertainment facilities were gathered.

This was the part of town most familiar to students. Kamito and his friends frequently went there to shop and even held a party in a restaurant once.

There was still plenty of time before dawn.

Overhead were flying militarized spirits with search lights.

"Don't look up, be careful of getting spotted."

In the shadow under trees, Claire whispered.

"Hmph, as a noble, I do not sneak around. Allow me to show you how to shoot down that thing."

Rinslet drew her bow confidently.

"Hold on—Stop it!"

Claire hastily pulled her back by her hair.

One could hear the sound of a neck cracking.

"That really hurts! What are you doing!?"

Rinslet protested with tears in her eyes.

"The patrolling militarized spirits are all connected. As soon as you attack, the army will know where we are."

Watching them, Muir said with exasperation.

"This level of security is nothing. Let's hurry."

"Wait, Muir. You're fine on your own, but we'll definitely get spotted if we move with this number of people."

"Oh my, Onii-sama, just kill whoever sees us."

Muir replied innocently.

...Those with Instructional School origins were all like this. Kamito sighed.

Nothing needed to be said about Kamito and Muir's prowess. Claire and Ellis were somewhat capable of stealth operations, but Rinslet and Velsaria did not quite seem suited to infiltration.

"Fufu, looks like it is my turn to enter the stage—"

Just then, Restia reverted to her original form and spread her jet-black wings.

"Do you have a solution?"

Hearing Kamito's question, Restia began to chant spirit magic.

"O dark night, clothe me as a robe of black—Darkness Mist."

Kamito's group was instantly covered by black mist.

"Hyah! W-What is this!?"

"Totally pitch black!"

"Spirit magic of the darkness element. With this, you can go about unseen, hidden in darkness."

"But my vision is dark too. How can we do anything like this?"

"Your eyes will soon adjust."

Just as Restia claimed, the darkness covering their vision gradually turned clear.

It was apparently possible to look out of the mist.

"I see, that's really handy."

Kamito exclaimed.

Covered in black mist, Kamito's group used wind magic to land on the town wall.

Unnoticed by the patrolling militarized spirits, they made their way towards the Undine district. In addition to hiding them from view, the Darkness Mist magic apparently erased footsteps and presence too.

Just as they reached a wall that separated districts—

"...Someone's coming."

Kamito turned around and stopped his team.

...The footsteps of multiple people running were approaching.

"Imperial Knights?"

Claire asked quietly?

"Who knows? Compared to the sound of military boots, they sound a bit light—"

"...Wait, this noise is familiar."

Ellis realized with surprise. She chanted wind spirit magic to gather surrounding sound.

"This is Rakka's sound. And also the Sylphid Knights—"

"Really?"

"Yes, unmistakable—"

Ellis nodded at Claire's question.

Soon after, girls in the Academy's uniform appeared. Wearing the Sylphid Knights armor on top, they were familiar to Kamito.

"Rakka! And Reishia—"

As soon as Ellis called out to them, the black mist automatically disengaged.

"...Captain!?"

Ellis was originally teammates with Rakka before joining Team Scarlet for the Blade Dance. Rakka rushed over.

"I apologize for worrying you."

"So you are safe, Captain—"

Likewise another former teammate of Ellis', Reishia teared up.

"Excuse me, Captain, why are you and your team here?"

Just then, Rakka asked.

Thus, Ellis gave brief and simple explanation of what led them to come over to reclaim the Academy.

"I see. That is reassuring."

Reishia replied happily.

"Everyone will be so encouraged now that the Blade Dance's victorious team has returned to the Academy."

"Then why are you here? Isn't everyone in Undine district?"

"We came to collect supplies. After all, the town gates are shut."

Rakka answered Claire's question. Although the Undine district itself had many restaurants and did not lack food, most daily necessities had to be moved from the Sylph district, their current location.

"Of course, we keep records at all the shops where we have borrowed supplies. The Sylphid Knights will pay off every debt."

"It is an emergency, after all. You had no choice."

Hearing Reishia's explanation, Ellis nodded.

"How many Imperial Knights are garrisoned in the Academy?"

Kamito asked.

"At least a hundred or so regular knights. The commander is Dame Alendora of the Numbers."

"Dame Alendora huh—"

Velsaria crossed her arms and murmured.

"Do you know her, Velsaria?"

"Seventh of the Numbers. I heard that she is quite accomplished."

"A hundred spirit knights, and on top of that, a member of the Numbers huh..."

Considering each spirit knight was each a formidable warrior in their own right, one could say that the Ordesia Empire had gathered substantial military force here. In addition, they probably possessed plenty of militarized spirits.

"On the student side, there are not a lot of people who can fight. The majority of the teachers are researchers and students using combat-oriented contracted spirits are in the minority. It is anyone's guess how long the barriers and barricades will hold—"

The usually cheerful Rakka spoke in a somber tone of voice.

"In any case, let us head to the barricades first. Please lead the way."

"Yes, right away!"

"Everyone will surely welcome you, Captain."

Hearing Ells, Rakka and Reishia nodded.

Just then, the glow of the Demon Slayer's blade flashed.

"Kamito, I sense an ominous aura."

"Est?"

"Yes, I feel it too—"

Restia agreed.

"What is that!?"

Restia pointed into the air.

"...What the hell!?"

Kamito widened his eyes in shock.

A gigantic pillar of light had appeared at the Academy's school building.

The pillar of light went straight up into the clouds, opening a large hole in the sky.

Eerie red light leaked out from between the clouds, pouring onto the town at night.

At the same time...

There were repeated sounds of explosions in the distance.

"What is that noise?"

"—The barricades are in that direction!"

Rakka shouted and started running towards the sound.
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter7

2018-08-15T14:28:33Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 7 - Return to the Academy==

===Part 1===

Twenty-eight hours after setting off from Zohar, Kamito's team took a land route to enter the Spirit Forest in the Alzanu earldom bordering the Theocracy.

Just as Rubia had predicted, slipping into Ordesia was not that hard. Although Earl Alzanu was among the nobles on the Emperor's side, he had not deployed any troops to monitor the Spirit Forest, a notoriously terrifying realm.

(...I guess only suicidal armies would invade this kind of forest.)

It was night. Kamito's team were forcing a march through the dense and lush forest.

Since it was a new moon tonight, there was no moonlight in the forest. However, even during a full moon, moonlight would likely have trouble penetrating such a dense forest.

The ground was illuminated by nothing more than the flame on Scarlet's tail.

"...So eerie. I can clearly sense breathing, but there are no sounds from wild beasts at all."

"The Spirit Forest hates living things. Looks like we're not welcome."

Hearing Claire's murmurs, Kamito replied.

"Avoid making noise as much a possible. The spirits in the forest dislike outsiders."

"Yes, I know."

Across the human realm, the Spirit Forest was the location closest to Astral Zero. In the depths where the density of divine power was highest, it was not unusual to encounter archdemon-class spirits.

(...Greyworth brought me here before.)

Just then, Kamito recalled an unpleasant memory.

Even though he was trained as an assassin at the Instructional School, abandoning the twelve-year-old Kamito in this kind of place was not something a normal person would do.

That being said, this was undoubtedly the fastest route to the Academy.

Assuming safety considerations could be ignored, of course.

"Onii-sama, this is scary♪"

Squish.

Holding Kamito's arm, Muir pressed her developing bosom against it.

Even though she was only thirteen, her chest was starting to show bounciness.

"M-Muir!?"

"H-Hold it right there, get away from him now!"

"No. Onee-chan, isn't his other hand free anyway?"

"Gunununu..."

Sparks flew from Claire's twintails as though they had ignited.

"Settle down, you two. The spirits in the forest have started to clamor."

Walking in the lead, Ellis warned.

"Captain, have we not reached the Academy's area yet?"

"We should be close..."

Ellis murmured. Perched on her arm, Simorgh crowed.

In the forest, maps and compasses were completely useless.

All they could rely on were directions from Simorgh whose hunting grounds was the forest.

Eight hours had gone by since they entered the Spirit Forest. Even for well-trained elementalists, advancing through a danger-filled forest in the night without any rest would naturally be quite exhausting.

"I'll give you a piggyback ride if you're too tired. Just tell me, don't be shy."

"I-I can still manage!"

"The Temple of the Contract should be up ahead."

"The Temple of the Contract?"

"It's where I released Est."

Claire glanced at Kamito beside her and explained.

"Really? So we're around there..."

It was a place where Kamito had suffered greatly soon after transferring into the Academy. In order to protect Claire from Est who had gone out of control, Kamito intervened and established a spirit contract with Est.

Failing to obtain Est, Claire had complained and insisted on taking Kamito as her slave spirit—

(...Now that I think back, everything started at that temple.)

Kamito reminisced with emotions stirring within him.

Although it was merely a couple months of time, those bewildering days at the Academy really felt longer to him than the three years he spent wandering around in search of Restia.

"Y-You jerk! You're remembering the sight of my naked body, a-and groping my chest, right!?"

Claire glared obliquely at Kamito.

"What? I have never heard of this!"

"This is my first time hearing of it!"

Ellis and Rinslet interrogated.

"Y-You've got it wrong! It was Claire herself, swinging Flametongue around wildly..."

"...! What, you did grope me there, didn't you!? And you even said something about poorly developed breasts and having no interest in a child's body, right!?"

(...Crap, now I've really poked a hornet's nest!?)

Probably recalling her experience from that time, Claire flew into a rage.

"Poor you! Claire, your breasts have grown even if only a little!"

"Wait a sec, Rinslet!?"

"Onii-sama, I can't believe you said you're not interested in a child's body. I can't let that slide!"

While the group began to fight—

"Quiet, all of you—"

Velsaria, who had been quiet so far, spoke sternly.

Scolded by the former captain of the Sylphid Knights, Claire and the girls could not help but stand up straight.

Velsaria placed her hand on the sword at her waist and kept staring into the darkness.

Deep behind the crisscrossing trees, there was a deer with large antlers.

"That's—"

"A ancient divine beast spirit inhabiting the Spirit Forest. Do not make a sound."

"...!?"

Everyone held their breaths. This was a high-tier spirit whose appearance had become identical to an animal's.

"I never expected to encounter a spirit of that level not that deep in the forest..."

"I guess we'd better make a detour now."

"Yes, no matter how much longer a path it takes—"

Just as Claire quietly prepared to retreat.

Whoosh, there was a sound of something slicing through the air.

Countless shadows attacked Kamito's group from between the trees.

"...!?"

Kamito hastily jumped and slashed the shadows closing on his feet.

However, Kamito was the only one who managed to react to the sudden incident in the nick of time.

"Hyah, hyahhhhh!"

"Kyahhh, what is it doing... Ahhh♪"

Shadows resembling tentacles ensnared the young ladies' legs within the blink of an eye, tying them up onto the trees.

"...Guh... W-What is this...? Uwah, d-do not touch me there!"

Deprived of her armor, Ellis' voluptuous bosom was vulnerable to all kinds of groping.

"D-Damn it... I cannot believe I would end up, ah..."

Suspended in a bizarre pose, Velsaria was thrashing her limbs, struggling.

Her innocent skirt was boldly lifted. Kamito could see her pure white panties seductively wrapped around the well-developed root of her thighs.

"...! R-Ren Ash—Kazehaya Kamito, what are you staring at!?"

"N-No—"

Glared at by her ice-blue eyes, Kamito frantically avoided eye contact.

"Yahh, Onii-sama, save me...♪"

Muir was the only one who seemed a little happy.

Kamito approached the wriggling tentacles with the glowing Demon Slayer.

Very quickly, he saw the true identity of the tentacles.

...It looked like they were merely plant vines.

"They seem harmless."

Kamito exhaled in relief.

"What are you talking about? Aren't I harmed right now? Hyahhhhhhhh♪"

"I-It has even made its way into my underwear... Nnnn♪"

"...I-In front of Kamito... Huahhh♪"

Entangled by vines, the young ladies kept moaning.
[[image:STnBD V18 BW05.jpg|thumb]]

"Meow?"

Kamito did not know if Scarlet thought her master was playing or if it was due to a cat's instincts, but Scarlet kept jumping around nearby.

"K-Kamito, stop watching and start helping!"

"I-I got it!"

Kamito hastily swung the Demon Slayer.

Just then—

"What are you people doing here!?"

A girl's voice echoed throughout the dense forest.

"...! Y-You're—?"

Kamito turned around—

Only to see a familiar girl riding the back of a giant wolf.

===Part 2===

Inside a certain temple in the forest, fire light was flickering. Hanging on the wall were large decorations made of bones. The pungent smell of herbs filled the air.

"My apologies to you all."

Saying that, the girl bowed towards Kamito's group sitting by the fire.

Her blue eyes were as clear as a lake's surface. She had platinum blonde hair.

Like Kamito and his friends, she was wearing the Academy's uniform.

The girl's name was Horin Shareilia.

She was the druid girl of Team Cernunnos.

A powerful user of a beast swarm spirit, she had defeated Kamito and Claire before in the school tournament. She was one of only a handful of powerful elementalists in the Academy.

Earlier, Kamito and the girls had triggered the traps she had laid in the forest.

"No, we were in the wrong for trespassing."

Kamito apologized. This part of the forest was apparently something like her backyard.

Born in a forest clan, Shareilia was a rare elementalist not hailing from a noble family.

Because of that, even though she was attending the Academy, she obtained special permission to live inside this Spirit Forest together with animals.

"If your home is here, that means that Academy town isn't far off, right?"

Claire asked while drinking herbal tea.

"Hmm, you will soon reach it after going down the hill."

"How are things at the Academy town?"

"...Hmm, sorry."

Shareilia shook her head at Ellis' question.

She was still in the forest when conflict broke out between the students and the Imperial Knights, which was why she could not return to the Academy. Left without a choice, she came to this temple to sleep. As it so happened, Kamito and his group triggered the traps in the yard.

"Why did you set traps like those?"

"It would be dangerous if students accidentally wandered into the forest."

Hearing Rinslet's warning...

"—I set them to prevent those people from damaging the historical sites in the forest."

She replied with a serious look.

"Did you say historical sites?"

Claire and the others exchanged glances.

There were many historical sites in the Spirit Forest, dating back to the age of myths.

For example, the temple dedicated to worshiping Est was one of these sites. The most famous historical site in the forest was probably the gate that allowed people to teleport to Astral Zero.

"Hmm, a bunch of weird looking people entered the forest and took away the gate historical site near the lake."

"Took away? How do they take away—"

"They used militarized spirits—"

Shareilia spoke with chagrin.

According to her, the suspicious group had released militarized spirits in the forest, slicing apart the giant rock that constituted the historical site and carried it away.

"They are not the Empire's knights?"

Ellis asked.

"I don't know. All of them were wearing strange masks. Animals have left because these people chopped down trees in the forest."

"It is hard to believe the Imperial Knights doing something like this—"

Ancient sites were products left behind from a past age when Astral Zero and the human realm were one. The technology of modern spiritology was unable to replicate the power of even the most basic historical sites.

Thus, historical sites were protected by international treaty. Let alone damaging them, even moving them was strictly prohibited. If the Empire's army had taken away the site, it would surely draw violent criticism from domestic nobles and foreign nations.

"What are they planning by taking a historical site away?"

"...I have a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah, we better hurry—"

Kamito nodded. Hearing that, Shareilia stood up and whistled.

"There is a shortcut to the Academy town ahead. I asked wolves to lead the way for you."

===Part 3===

S.. Scr... Screeeeeeeeech...!

The noise of something massive being dragged could be heard at a large training ground at Areishia Spirit Academy.

Under the Imperial Knights' supervision, several large militarized spirits of type Glasya-Labolas were combining gigantic stones together, each as tall as themselves.

This was the historical site they had stolen from the Spirit Forest, the gate dating back to age of myths.

"Excellent. This is sufficient for the gate."

Sitting on the shoulder of a militarized spirit, a girl spoke.

Millennia Sanctus, a cardinal of the Holy Kingdom.

She was separate from the Millennia at the imperial palace in the capital, yet also the same being.

The ability to exist simultaneously across anywhere in space was part of her powers as a spirit.

The militarized spirits were employed by the Holy Kingdom's warrior priestesses instead of the Imperial Knights.

Wearing pure white masks, they belonged to an execution force under the direct command of Des Esseintes—

Moving a gate from the age of myths. Despite such an atrocity happening before their eyes, Ordesia's Imperial Knights were unable to intervene.

Because Cardinal Millennia came here bearing a decree from Emperor Arneus.

The Empire's knights were merely informed that the gate was to be used to perform a large-scale summoning magic experiment.

"Dame Millennia, the third set is complete. Do we begin as planned?"

Just then, a masked warrior priestess reported.

"Very well, let us begin as soon as possible."

Saying that, Millennia curled her lips and smiled.

"—The very first Astral Shift."

===Part 4===

Led by forest wolves along a shortcut, Kamito's team emerged to instantly see the familiar scenery of the Academy town.

Surrounded by town walls, the center of the town showed the use of search lights.

That was the location of Areishia Spirit Academy's school building.

The barricades set up by the student resistance were in the Undine district where small theaters, cafes, clothing stores and various entertainment facilities were gathered.

This was the part of town most familiar to students. Kamito and his friends frequently went there to shop and even held a party in a restaurant once.

There was still plenty of time before dawn.

Overhead were flying militarized spirits with search lights.

"Don't look up, be careful of getting spotted."

In the shadow under trees, Claire whispered.

"Hmph, as a noble, I do not sneak around. Allow me to show you how to shoot down that thing."

Rinslet drew her bow confidently.

"Hold on—Stop it!"

Claire hastily pulled her back by her hair.

One could hear the sound of a neck cracking.

"That really hurts! What are you doing!?"

Rinslet protested with tears in her eyes.

"The patrolling militarized spirits are all connected. As soon as you attack, the army will know where we are."

Watching them, Muir said with exasperation.

"This level of security is nothing. Let's hurry."

"Wait, Muir. You're fine on your own, but we'll definitely get spotted if we move with this number of people."

"Oh my, Onii-sama, just kill whoever sees us."

Muir replied innocently.

...Those with Instructional School origins were all like this. Kamito sighed.

Nothing needed to be said about Kamito and Muir's prowess. Claire and Ellis were somewhat capable of stealth operations, but Rinslet and Velsaria did not quite seem suited to infiltration.

"Fufu, looks like it is my turn to enter the stage—"

Just then, Restia reverted to her original form and spread her jet-black wings.

"Do you have a solution?"

Hearing Kamito's question, Restia began to chant spirit magic.

"O dark night, clothe me as a robe of black—Darkness Mist."

Kamito's group was instantly covered by black mist.

"Hyah! W-What is this!?"

"Totally pitch black!"

"Spirit magic of the darkness element. With this, you can go about unseen, hidden in darkness."

"But my vision is dark too. How can we do anything like this?"

"Your eyes will soon adjust."

Just as Restia claimed, the darkness covering their vision gradually turned clear.

It was apparently possible to look out of the mist.

"I see, that's really handy."

Kamito exclaimed.

Covered in black mist, Kamito's group used wind magic to land on the town wall.

Unnoticed by the patrolling militarized spirits, they made their way towards the Undine district. In addition to hiding them from view, the Darkness Mist magic apparently erased footsteps and presence too.

Just as they reached a wall that separated districts—

"...Someone's coming."

Kamito turned around and stopped his team.

...The footsteps of multiple people running were approaching.

"Imperial Knights?"

Claire asked quietly?

"Who knows? Compared to the sound of military boots, they sound a bit light—"

"...Wait, this noise is familiar."

Ellis realized with surprise. She chanted wind spirit magic to gather surrounding sound.

"This is Rakka's sound. And also the Sylphid Knights—"

"Really?"

"Yes, unmistakable—"

Ellis nodded at Claire's question.

Soon after, girls in the Academy's uniform appeared. Wearing the Sylphid Knights armor on top, they were familiar to Kamito.

"Rakka! And Reishia—"

As soon as Ellis called out to them, the black mist automatically disengaged.

"...Captain!?"

Ellis was originally teammates with Rakka before joining Team Scarlet for the Blade Dance. Rakka rushed over.

"I apologize for worrying you."

"So you are safe, Captain—"

Likewise another former teammate of Ellis', Reishia teared up.

"Excuse me, Captain, why are you and your team here?"

Just then, Rakka asked.

Thus, Ellis gave brief and simple explanation of what led them to come over to reclaim the Academy.

"I see. That is reassuring."

Reishia replied happily.

"Everyone will be so encouraged now that the Blade Dance's victorious team has returned to the Academy."

"Then why are you here? Isn't everyone in Undine district?"

"We came to collect supplies. After all, the town gates are shut."

Rakka answered Claire's question. Although the Undine district itself had many restaurants and did not lack food, most daily necessities had to be moved from the Sylph district, their current location.

"Of course, we keep records at all the shops where we have borrowed supplies. The Sylphid Knights will pay off every debt."

"It is an emergency, after all. You had no choice."

Hearing Reishia's explanation, Ellis nodded.

"How many Imperial Knights are garrisoned in the Academy?"

Kamito asked.

"At least a hundred or so regular knights. The commander is Dame Alendora of the Numbers."

"Dame Alendora huh—"

Velsaria crossed her arms and murmured.

"Do you know her, Velsaria?"

"Seventh of the Numbers. I heard that she is quite accomplished."

"A hundred spirit knights, and on top of that, a member of the Numbers huh..."

Considering each spirit knight was each a formidable warrior in their own right, one could say that the Ordesia Empire had gathered substantial military force here. In addition, they probably possessed plenty of militarized spirits.

"On the student side, there are not a lot of people who can fight. The majority of the teachers are researchers and students using combat-oriented contracted spirits are in the minority. It is anyone's guess how long the barriers and barricades will hold—"

The usually cheerful Rakka spoke in a somber tone of voice.

"In any case, let us head to the barricades first. Please lead the way."

"Yes, right away!"

"Everyone will surely welcome you, Captain."

Hearing Ells, Rakka and Reishia nodded.

Just then, the glow of the Demon Slayer's blade flashed.

"Kamito, I sense an ominous aura."

"Est?"

"Yes, I feel it too—"

Restia agreed.

"What is that!?"

Restia pointed into the air.

"...What the hell!?"

Kamito widened his eyes in shock.

A gigantic pillar of light had appeared at the Academy's school building.

The pillar of light went straight up into the clouds, opening a large hole in the sky.

Eerie red light leaked out from between the clouds, pouring onto the town at night.

At the same time...

There were repeated sounds of explosions in the distance.

"What is that noise?"

"—The barricades are in that direction!"

Rakka shouted and started running towards the sound.
<noinclude>
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter5

2018-08-15T13:52:48Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 2 */

==Chapter 5 - Celebration==

===Part 1===

—After sundown.

A roaring bonfire was lit in the middle of Scorpia's grand plaza to start the princess' coronation celebration.

The plaza's floor was covered with carpet embroidered with exquisite patterns, a local specialty of the Alphas Theocracy. Served in utensils of silver and gold, cooked dishes and fruit were brought to the venue one after another together with pitchers of wine.

Having bathed, Claire and company were sitting on the carpet, looking at the luxurious feast set before their eyes.

"Having a meal sitting on the ground is quite a new experience."

Claire, her skin smooth and tender after soaking in the bath, tossed her hair while she spoke.

"I heard that this is a traditional banquet custom in the Theocracy."

"I'm actually more used to this."

Thinking back to his Instructional School days, Kamito remarked.

Because the Instructional School originated from the Theocracy's Demon King Cult, Kamito was more familiar with desert culture than the noble young ladies of Ordesia were.

"This carpet is amazing. I wonder how they embroidered it?"

Very interested, Ellis murmured.

Kamito could smell floral fragrance from her neck, probably because she used specially made rose soap.

"This is the work of princess maidens specializing in weaving, guided by spirits. As a result, authentic Alphas textiles contain blessings from spirits."

The knowledgeable Claire raised an index finger and explained.

"...I see. No wonder it feels so comfortable to sit on."

Hearing that, Kamito commented with admiration while sitting between Claire and Ellis.

Apart from Kamito's team, invited guests included the general of the royal guard, leaders of local militias and the courtiers imprisoned by Sjora Kahn.

Practically all of the retainers who had greedily accepted the privileges and authority granted by Sjora were now thrown into prison. They were not executed because Princess Saladia wanted to show she had no intent to continue her sister's reign of terror.

As for Saladia herself, she was currently sitting on the new throne, listening to her retainers' reports.

Her sitting there, dignified and awe-inspiring, it was hard to imagine her as a girl the same age as Kamito and his companions.

"Princess Saladia has a tough job ahead of her."

"Yes, there are still quite a few local warlords coveting succession to the Kahn dynasty."

When Claire stared at the princess and made a comment, Ellis concurred.

Just then—

"Apologies for my tardiness."

Kamito and company heard Fianna's voice from behind.

"Seriously, where did you go?"

"Hmm, something came up, yes..."

Replying quietly, Fianna then sat down gracefully next to Ellis.

"Ellis, I have personally written a letter to Dracunia, could you deliver it to the Lord Dragon King?"

"Affirmative. I will command the fastest wind spirit to send it."

Ellis recited an incantation and summon a wind spirit in the form of a falcon.

At first glance, the spirit looked quite similar to Simorgh except smaller. The falcon took the letter in its beak then flew out of the palace like a gust of wind.

Due to their status as the second princess and a duke's daughter, Fianna and Ellis used to be a bit too formal with each other, but ever since Ellis started working as Fianna's secretary, they had gotten much closer.

"If Dracunia enters a formal alliance with us, I expect Arneus to balk at reckless action."

"Yes, with uncertainty in the Empire's internal situation, he would think twice before angering one of the top military powers in the continent—"

While Claire and the girls were conversing, the palace's sumptuous food was brought out dish by dish.

There was oven-baked barley bread, flat wheat bread, whole-roasted pig, a dish where a whole chicken was stuffed with stuffing, sandfish fried with herbs, deep-fried red scorpions flavored with salt, lamb stewed with fragrant vegetables, meat paired with fruit sauce, grapes on a vine served on silverware, dessert made from roasted apple topped with honey...

"Wow... Everything looks so delicious!"

"There are dishes I have never seen before!"

Claire's gaze was firmly fixated upon a dessert filled with peaches.

After the food was served, a musical ensemble composed of princess maidens made their debut at the center of the plaza and started to play exotic sounding music.

Attracted by the music and the luxurious feast, spirits kept drifting over. This area seemed to be particularly amenable to earth spirits. Many lizard spirits with hard scales and scorpion spirits with hammer-like tails could be found in the surroundings.

Team Scarlet's contracted spirits were freely roaming the plaza.

This was a scene quite rare to see during the gatherings of Ordesian nobles.

The retainers began to chat happily with wine glasses in their hands. Some of them even poked skewers of meat into Scarlet's tail to roast while she was strolling in the plaza.

"Claire, is that really okay? To do that to a high-tier spirit?"

Seeing that, Kamito turned to Claire beside him and asked.

"Sure, Scarlet is just going around, asking to be fed anyway..."

"Like candle service huh?"

"Well I suppose."

"I would beg to differ..."

Ellis quipped quietly.

"Hmph, we must not allow ourselves to be outdone, Fenrir!"

With a toss of her long platinum blonde hair, Rinslet stood up.

Accompanied by a blizzard, the summoned Fenrir froze peaches and grapes that were served on platters, producing instant sherbet.

"Hmm, well played..."

"Claire, let us have a contest. See whose spirit will become the most popular at this banquet!"

"Bring it on!"

"Why do you need to have a contest?"

Seeing the two members of Raven Class clash with sparks flying, Kamito sighed.

"Well, this isn't so bad. It's not every day we get to have a banquet."

Fianna shrugged in response.

"Speaking of which, Georgios rarely gets summoned to banquets like this."

"After all, as a royal heirloom spirit, he must not be displayed too casually."

"Does he eat human food like Scarlet and the others?"

Spirits have no need to eat for the most part, but most of them would happily eat food when offered.

"Hmm, he seems to prefer iron to food. Georgios often sucks in objects like useless broken swords and the like."

"I-I see... That's not too surprising."

Saying that, Kamito raised his gaze a little.

He could see a sacred bird with rainbow tail flying overhead.

The princess' retainers put their hands together and paid respects to the bird.

"It feels like they're worshiping Simorgh..."

"Yes, it has struck me as incredible since just now."

Ellis was equally puzzled.

"The Theocracy apparently worships bird-shaped spirits. I think it is because a giant bird carried the Demon King to battle according to legend—"

Just as Fianna started to explain...

"Onii-sama~!"

"Uwah... Uh—"

A petite figure silently approached and hugged Kamito.

"Muir!?"

"Ehehe..."

He turned his neck—

Only to see Muir smiling shyly behind him.

Instead of her usual Instructional School combat outfit, she was wearing a desert nation dress. Her ash-gray hair was tied on opposite sides of her head, bouncing energetically.

"Muir, you've recovered."

"Yes, I'm fine now, Onii-sama♪"

Saying that, Muir nodded energetically.

In an earlier reconnaissance mission at Zohar, she and Lily were unfortunately absorbed by the strategic-class spirit Leviathan. Consequently, they had been bedridden while Kamito's team went off to Ghul-a-val.

"Has Lily recovered too?"

"She can walk now, but she didn't want to come here."

"I see. That's quite like her."

Kamito smiled wryly. Lily was a member of the Elfim race and hated human crowds.

"Onii-sama, let me feed you."

"...Woah!?"

Muir jumped and sat down on Kamito's lap.

"W-Wait a sec, what are you doing!?"

Seeing that, Claire glared at her.

"Hmph, Onii-sama is the personal seat of Muir, the little sister."

"Y-You're no little sister!"

"Right, sworn sister. A sworn sister can be married, so status is even higher than a real sister."

"...! M-Married...!"

Claire's face instantly flushed bright red.

Just then, the Demon Slayer at Kamito's side suddenly glowed.

"Back off for that is my position—"

"E-Est!?"

...For some reason, even Est joined in.

"No, this is Muir's spot."

"..."

Est still had no expression on her face, but she defiantly tried to squeeze onto Kamito's lap.

Her silver-white hair was glowing faintly.

...She seemed a little angry.

"H-Hey, you two...!"

"K-Kamito, this is shameful public behavior!"

"Forcing two girls to serve you, you seem to be enjoying this!"

"...~T-Turn into charcoal, charcoal!"

"Woah, hold on, Claire!?"

"—What a ruckus."

Suddenly, the girl with jet-black wings floated down in front of Kamito's group.
[[image:STnBD V18 BW03.jpg|thumb]]

Chuckling, Restia smiled mischievously.

"Hmm, you're here, darkness spirit..."

In response, Muir glared at her warily.

"I am not petty enough to say anything like keeping Kamito all to myself."

Restia declared with an expression of full confidence.

"Are you serious?"

"Why don't we all just share Kamito?"

"Share?"

Getting a bad feeling, Kamito asked.

"Yes, we will carve out time when we can monopolize Kamito. I shall take Kamito during the night, while you two can share him for the daytime."

"Bullshit!"

Kamito hastily protested against Restia's suggestion.

"Although manifesting in the daytime is not a problem for a high-tier spirit like me, darkness spirits do find nighttime more comfortable after all♪"

"All at your convenience, huh!?"

"No way I'm agreeing to that. You get Onii-sama all to yourself at night!"

"Darkness spirit, I knew it, we must settle the question of superiority between us—"

This time, Muir and Est started to join forces.

"All of you are getting along so well."

Watching them, Fianna sighed and murmured.

The musicians played a wonderful melody and the princess maidens began to dance.

Princess maidens in the service of spirits were usually beautiful maidens and this time was no exception. However, since Kamito has been in the company of top beauties from the Empire all along, he was more focused on rare desert delicacies than on dancing.

"Est, what do you want? I'll get it for you."

"Yes. I want that rotating meat."

Hearing his offer, Est pointed to a skewered chunk of meat, rotating while being roasted.

"Miss Sword Spirit, that is the kebab."

"Kebab?"

"Slices of lamb are roasted against a charcoal flame while it spins."

"Then you roll it up in vegetables and eat it with a sweet and spicy sauce."

"Kamito, I want kebab."

Est was already holding her fork, her violet eyes shining bright.

Kamito sliced some meat off from the skewer. Then he noticed something weird with Claire's behavior.

"...Claire, what are you doing?"

"Hyah!"

When he called to her, Claire's entire person jumped.

The jump caused several peaches to roll out from under her uniform.

"...This is quite unseemly for a guest at a state banquet. And you used to be a duke's daughter too."

"I-I'm just planning to eat them in my room!"

Claire shook her twintails vigorously and started to pick up the fallen peaches.

"Seriously, what are you doing...?"

Ellis remarked in exasperation.

"Ellis, pardon my late arrival."

"My esteemed sister—"

Just then, Velsaria took a seat next to Ellis, holding a pitcher of wine.

Apparently, she had been finishing a tune-up of her fortress spirit at Vivian Melosa.

"Ellis, would you like a drink?"

"Yes, please, my esteemed sister."

Ellis nodded and raised her cup.

"I heard you fought with that Luminaris inside the Demon King City."

"Yes, she lives up to her reputation as a formidable enemy."

"Nevertheless, you fought on equal terms, did you not?"

"I am honored that I had a chance to meet Luminaris-dono in combat. Even though she is a knight of the Holy Kingdom, her sword is pure and honest."

"Is that so? A valuable experience, I see."

"Yes, my esteemed sister—"

Ellis smiled. Velsaria smiled gently too.

...Their sisterly relationship, which used to be quite stiff, had become much more harmonious.

Seeing that, Claire looked sad for an instant.

"Nee-sama isn't here yet..."

"I guess Rubia doesn't like banquets much."

"Totally wrong. Back in the day, Nee-sama used to be very happy whenever festivals and celebrations came up."

The two twintails were drooping in disappointment.

"Nee-sama was so good at playing Old Maid."

"Really..."

Seeing Claire like that...

"Rubia-sama will be here soon. She is getting ready right now."

Fianna explained.

"Ready? Ready for what?"

"You shall know soon."

Saying that, Fianna kept her gaze on Princess Saladia on the throne.

Even though it was a banquet situation, Fianna seemed oddly nervous.

—Suddenly.

The flute stopped and the throne room went silent.

Everyone's gaze gathered at the entrance to the plaza.

Appearing there was&mash;

"Nee-sama...!?"

Sitting next to Kamito, Claire exclaimed softly.

Indeed, it was Rubia Elstein.

However, instead of her usual military uniform, she was dressed in a princess maiden's ritual attire.

Whispering could be heard from the guests.

"Rubia-dono, what is this outfit for?"

Princess Saladia asked in surprise.

Rubia slowly walked up to the throne and bowed magnanimously.

"To celebrate your ascension, Princess Saladia, I would like to offer a ritual dance."

"You will be one to perform the ritual dance?"

Saladia frowned and asked.

Indeed, this was a natural reaction for anyone who did not know that Rubia Elstein used to be the Queen serving the Fire Elemental Lord.

"Princess Saladia, Rubia-dono is a princess maiden of the Divine Ritual Institute. I am certain she would be able to please the spirits here."

Fianna stood up and offered support.

"I see now. In that case, I look forward to your performance."

The princess nodded and raised her hand lightly. The sound of flute music resumed.

They played music for pleasing spirits.

With a flutter of her crimson hair that looked as though it were burning, Rubia began to dance gracefully.

"Nee-sama..."

Claire widened her ruby-like eyes. It was many years ago since she last watched her sister dancing from up close. The last time was the Great Festival of Spirits at the imperial capital.

With unblinking eyes, Claire stared at her older sister's flame-like dancing figure.

Small flames were produced from her fans, spinning back and forth in Rubia's surroundings.

The spirits gathered at the banquet expressed their joy by flashing nonstop.

Frolicking in the flames, Rubia was so beautiful that Kamito was mesmerized.

"I don't know anything about dancing, but it's really pretty..."

"Yes. This is Nee-sama's dance, Kamito."

Claire spoke with pride.

In the past, Kamito had witnessed Rubia offering a ritual dance performance at the imperial capital.

But back then, he was completely focused on the Instructional School's mission had no leisure to pay attention to that beauty of hers.

Rubia's dance heated up like a blazing fire as the music rose in intensity.
[[image:STnBD V18 BW04.jpg|thumb]]

At that very moment, Kamito suddenly noticed it.

Sitting on the throne, there seemed to be something wrong with Princess Saladia.

(...What's going on?)

"...Ah...Ah..."

She began to moan as though having a seizure.

"Saladia-sama, is something bothering you?"

The retainers noticed the anomaly and began to clamor.

"Princess, are you alright?"

Rinslet stood up with worry.

However, just as she was about to hurry over, Fianna stopped her.

"Wait, Rinslet."

"Your Highness? What is it—"

"Please be quiet, everyone!"

Fianna stood up and shouted.

Instantly, the throne room became silent.

"Ah, guh, oh, ohhh, ohhhhhhhhhh—"

Clutching her chest in pain, Saladia collapsed on the ground.

That hoarse voice of old men did not belong to Saladia.

Sounding like many ghosts, the sound was quite terrifying.

(This voice is—!)

Kamito jumped in surprise. He remembered that voice.

It was precisely the bizarre noise made by Sjora Kahn just before she died.

"Curses, how dare you conspire against us, damn giiiiiirl—"

Like pitch-black mist, dark miasma surged out from the collapsed princess.

The retainers in the surroundings lost consciousness one after another as soon as the thick miasma touched them.

"How is the pain? Hierarchs of the Demon King Cult—"

Coldly looking at the dark miasma, Rubia spoke.

"I first realized your true identity when I was investigating the grimoire about forbidden spells that Sjora Kahn had left behind. A particular type of magic intrigued me."

"...Guh... Urgh. Damn yooooooou...!"

"''Reincarnation magic''. Abandoning the physical body then using one's mind to possess another person—"

"Damn you damn you damn you daaaaaaamn...!"

The terrifying dark miasma surged out and crawled along the floor, trying to escape.

However, its surroundings were already surrounded by a barrier of light.

"An isolation barrier. Escaping is impossible."

Holding Save the Queen by the time Kamito noticed, Fianna spoke sternly.

"What Rubia-sama had performed was the first style of ritual dance—Exorcism Dance. The goal was to force out the evil occupying Saladia's body."

"D-Damn girl, unforgivable, unforgivable!"

The dark miasma crashed around inside the isolation barrier, but only got burned by the barrier of light.

"The fearsome grudge of the Hierarchs, you shall be destroyed here and now!"

Countless blue-white flames lit up at the tip of Rubia's raised fan.

"That flame is..."

Surprised, Claire exclaimed.

Indeed, these flames were not from spirit magic.

Instead, it was the special ability passed down generations of the Elstein family. Even capable of freezing flames—

"—Absolute Flame."

The anomalous flame swallowed the Hierarchs' vengeful souls together with the barrier of light.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Gradually incinerated, the dark miasma screamed, struggling in pain.

Having secretly manipulated the Kahn dynasty from the shadows for hundreds of years, the Hierarchs—

Were easily destroyed here and now.

"Saladia-sama, are you alright!?"

The retainers hurried over to the collapsed Saladia's side.

"Please rest assured. She has only fainted."

After Fianna chanted spirit magic for awakening someone, she soon opened her eyes.

"...mm, ooh... oohhh..."

"Are you feeling alright, Princess Saladia?"

Saladia blinked in puzzlement.

"Uh, what happened? What did, I..."

"The darkness occupying you has been destroyed."

Rubia stepped forward and explained everything to her.

After hearing that, Saladia closed her eyes—

"Evil was lurking inside me just as it had with my sister Sjora, right?"

Surprisingly, she calm accepted it as fact.

"On further thought, there were warning signs. Sjora's change and how I unbelievably decided to head into Ghul-a-val for the sake of the Demon King's Coffin were both due to that darkness, I suppose."

"Successive Hierarchs of the Demon King Cult have used the forbidden spell of reincarnation to lurk within the royal family's bloodline to rule the Alphas Theocracy. However, that history finally drew to a close today."

"Much appreciated, Rubia-dono. And you too, Princess Fianna—"

Saladia bowed deeply. Immediately, the retainers clapped naturally.

"—Very well, resume the banquet. Music to please the spirits will be performed next."

Saladia clapped her hands.

Joyous melodies once again resounded throughout the palace.

===Part 2===

Late at night—

Kamito quietly slipped out of the banquet venue and returned to his room in the imperial villa.

According to the Theocracy's customs, the celebration would continue all the way until morning, but he was too tired to persist.

After all, the Demon King City's collapse was less than a day ago.

Claire and the girls also left the banquet halfway and returned.

After putting Est and Restia, who had turned into sword form after eating to their hearts' content, against the wall, Kamito laid himself down on the bed.

The large round bed featured a decorated canopy. This could very well be a bed that the Lecherous King had used in the past.

(...Now that I think about it, I really get mixed feelings.)

Spreading his arms out, he looked up overhead.

...Although he was far from being drunk, there was a small amount of alcohol from the wine remaining in his body.

"I never thought Velsaria would be so aggressive in forcing others to drink with her..."

...Now that he thought back, she must have been intoxicated back then.

His body still felt hot. It was hard to fall asleep.

Although the mission in the Theocracy was considered done, there was still so much to think about.

(The resurrected Sacred Maiden Areishia... And Alexandros, huh—)

The true culprit who had created Demon King Solomon a thousand years ago.

The most worshiped Elemental Lord on the continent, why did he do something like that?

(Lurie Lizaldia mentioned rebuilding the world...)

Also, the army of ''angels'' that Kamito had seen was coming to the human realm—

...What did that mean?

While he was staring at the bed canopy, lost in deep thought—

"Kamito—"

He felt something squirming under his sheets.

"Est?"

Kamito jumped in surprise and sat up.

He found Est sitting quietly on the bed, naked except for kneesocks.

"...Didn't you change back to sword form?"

"Seeing as you cannot sleep, I shall serve as your pillow, Kamito."

"P-Pillow...?"

"Yes."

Nodding lightly, Est leaned her naked body against him.

"...!?"

Kamito almost cried out.

...By pillow, she meant a body pillow, huh?

(She's cool to the touch, which feels really great, but...!)

With an elemental affinity of steel, Est's body temperature was quite low.

His body felt boiling hot due to the alcohol, so Est's cool sensation was perfect.

"...Wait, stop, put on your clothes first!"

"Pillows do not wear clothes."

"...!"

Est tilted her head slightly, staring straight at him with her clear violet eyes. She was usually very obedient but today, she was oddly stubborn.

...Just then, Kamito noticed.

Est's cheeks were mildly flushed.

"Don't tell me you were drinking?"

"Offerings must not be declined."

Est spoke expressionlessly.

...So that was what had happened. Evidently, she had gotten intoxicated from the alcohol in the divine wine prepared for spirits.

"Hua... I am a sword spirit. I do not get drunk."

"Drunk people always say that..."

Shrugging helplessly, Kamito gave up trying to persuade Est.

He went with the flow and lay back down on the bed. Suddenly thinking of something, he asked.

"Say, Est—Did you dream about her again?"

By "her," he was referring to Sacred Maiden Areishia.

On the way to the Demon King City, Est had dreamed about her again.

"No more dreams since last time."

Est shook her head.

"I see."

"What is the matter, Kamito?"

"Nothing much—"

Kamito quietly dropped the matter. He originally thought that the revival of Sacred Maiden Areishia, Est's original contractor, would have unsettled Est.

(No, I guess I'm the one who's unsettled instead...)

Kamito laughed at himself in his thoughts.

"Kamito—"

"Hmm?"

"I will forever be your sword, Kamito."

"Yeah, that's right—"

Kamito gently stroked Est's shining silver-white hair.

Just then—

"Hold it right there, I will have you know that I am Kamito's first sword—"

"...!?"

Jet-black feathers floated lightly onto the bed.

In the next second, Restia in her dress pounced on Kamito.

Her soft bosom, like bountiful fruit, pressed against the tip of his nose.

"Restia, are you drunk too!?"

"I am upholding my right of possession."

Restia wrapped her arm around Kamito's waist as though competing with Est.

"Darkness spirit, you are in the way. Leave."

"Oh dear, aren't you the one who ought to leave?"

"H-Hey, you two... Uwah!"

Click.

In that instant, there was the sound of something hard getting pushed.

A mechanism hidden by the pillow had apparently been triggered.

Then the was a sound like gears turning—

The great bed started to rotate.

"What?"

A bizarre tune began to play from a music box while pink spirit lights illuminated the entire room.

...Speaking of which, this imperial villa belonged to the legendary Lecherous King.

It would come as no surprise if this room had been used by royals to keep mistresses.

"W-What is this, it started spinning!!"

"Hua, Kamito, my eyes are dizzy."

Kamito was rotating, hugged on the bed by two spirits.

"I-Is this the spirit kebab?"

With eyes spinning, Kamito this stupid thought crossed his mind.

===Part 3===

—While the celebration was taking place in the Theocracy...

A certain incident shook the imperial capital at Ordesia.

"...Did you say rebellion!?"

Woken from his sleep, Emperor Arneus roared angrily at his retainers.

The incident had happened several hours earlier.

After Arneus' ascension to the throne, at the Academy town which was under the Imperial Knights' control, the students and some of the teachers led an uprising.

Even though the principal cause of the rebellion was still under investigation, it was evident that the Imperial Knights' oppressive occupation of the Academy, whose cherished ideals included freedom and independent thinking, had elicited even more resistance.

In isolation, that would not have been too bad. After all, it was nothing rare for students to organize radical protests, and quelling them would be easy just by mobilizing the Imperial Knights' occupation force garrisoned in the Academy town.

However, the timing was terrible this time.

After his ascension, Arneus' policies had incurred dissatisfaction from the noble. Brutal oppression of nobles belonging to the anti-Arneus faction also caused resentment in the populace.

Reportedly, even the neutral nobles with seats in the imperial council had abandoned Arneus, secretly and frequently exchanging correspondence with the exiled second princess Fianna.

Under such circumstances, to think even a rebellion started.

This was like dropping a lighted match into a powder keg.

Left alone, all negative feeling against the Empire would explode all at once.

"Supporting the rebellion at the Academy town, Marquess Boderalume, all the houses of Haldery, and Earl Edelgart have mobilized their forces."

In charge of military matters, Duke Cygnus Fahrengart calmly reported.

"Even though it is not yet confirmed, there are rumors of movements in Margrave Laurenfrost's territories too—"

"Damn it, why!? Why won't they obey my orders, the emperor's orders!?"

Emperor Arneus anxiously threw a cup.

He had gone as far as to take the imperial throne with the Holy Kingdom's aid...

But the only ones who recognized him as emperor were the sycophantic retainers.

"Quell the rebellion at once! I allow the use of militarized spirits—"

"Using militarized spirits against students? The nobles will feel strongly against that."

Duke Fahrengart spoke calmly.

"I don't care. They need to be taught a lesson. I need people to know the consequences of defying me."

"Deployment of militarized spirits against the Academy requires authorization from the imperial council."

"...Shut up! These are emperor's orders!"

Arneus slammed the conference room table, instantly plunging his retainers into silence.

However, Duke Fahrengart remained completely unfazed, not even raising an eyebrow.

"The rebellion at the Academy town can be suppressed using the garrison force. However, nobles engaged in armed rebellion must be punished. A military force will be assembled immediately."

After speaking without any emotion, Duke Fahrengart excused himself.

"Damn it, why... why...!?"

After sending the retainers away, inside the military conference room—

Arneus began to drink sullenly alone.

Eliminating the emperor, framing his younger sister with the crime of attempted assassination, everything had gone so well.

But why?

"Why are you sighing, Your Majesty?"

Just then, having arrived without him noticing—

A girl was standing behind Arneus.

"Dame Millennia!?"

Jumping in surprise, Arneus stood up.

This girl was precisely the Holy Kingdom's cardinal who had incited him to ascend to the imperial throne.

"I shall personally pay the Academy town a visit."

"S-Say that again? But if the Holy Kingdom intervenes with military force, inevitably—"

If that were to happen, the imperial council would definitely hold him accountable.

"The Holy Kindom's forces will not be deployed. I intend to perform an experiment at that location."

"An experiment?"

"—Indeed. To erase the entire Academy town from the face of the earth."

<noinclude>
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter5

2018-08-15T13:41:23Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 5 - Celebration==

===Part 1===

—After sundown.

A roaring bonfire was lit in the middle of Scorpia's grand plaza to start the princess' coronation celebration.

The plaza's floor was covered with carpet embroidered with exquisite patterns, a local specialty of the Alphas Theocracy. Served in utensils of silver and gold, cooked dishes and fruit were brought to the venue one after another together with pitchers of wine.

Having bathed, Claire and company were sitting on the carpet, looking at the luxurious feast set before their eyes.

"Having a meal sitting on the ground is quite a new experience."

Claire, her skin smooth and tender after soaking in the bath, tossed her hair while she spoke.

"I heard that this is a traditional banquet custom in the Theocracy."

"I'm actually more used to this."

Thinking back to his Instructional School days, Kamito remarked.

Because the Instructional School originated from the Theocracy's Demon King Cult, Kamito was more familiar with desert culture than the noble young ladies of Ordesia were.

"This carpet is amazing. I wonder how they embroidered it?"

Very interested, Ellis murmured.

Kamito could smell floral fragrance from her neck, probably because she used specially made rose soap.

"This is the work of princess maidens specializing in weaving, guided by spirits. As a result, authentic Alphas textiles contain blessings from spirits."

The knowledgeable Claire raised an index finger and explained.

"...I see. No wonder it feels so comfortable to sit on."

Hearing that, Kamito commented with admiration while sitting between Claire and Ellis.

Apart from Kamito's team, invited guests included the general of the royal guard, leaders of local militias and the courtiers imprisoned by Sjora Kahn.

Practically all of the retainers who had greedily accepted the privileges and authority granted by Sjora were now thrown into prison. They were not executed because Princess Saladia wanted to show she had no intent to continue her sister's reign of terror.

As for Saladia herself, she was currently sitting on the new throne, listening to her retainers' reports.

Her sitting there, dignified and awe-inspiring, it was hard to imagine her as a girl the same age as Kamito and his companions.

"Princess Saladia has a tough job ahead of her."

"Yes, there are still quite a few local warlords coveting succession to the Kahn dynasty."

When Claire stared at the princess and made a comment, Ellis concurred.

Just then—

"Apologies for my tardiness."

Kamito and company heard Fianna's voice from behind.

"Seriously, where did you go?"

"Hmm, something came up, yes..."

Replying quietly, Fianna then sat down gracefully next to Ellis.

"Ellis, I have personally written a letter to Dracunia, could you deliver it to the Lord Dragon King?"

"Affirmative. I will command the fastest wind spirit to send it."

Ellis recited an incantation and summon a wind spirit in the form of a falcon.

At first glance, the spirit looked quite similar to Simorgh except smaller. The falcon took the letter in its beak then flew out of the palace like a gust of wind.

Due to their status as the second princess and a duke's daughter, Fianna and Ellis used to be a bit too formal with each other, but ever since Ellis started working as Fianna's secretary, they had gotten much closer.

"If Dracunia enters a formal alliance with us, I expect Arneus to balk at reckless action."

"Yes, with uncertainty in the Empire's internal situation, he would think twice before angering one of the top military powers in the continent—"

While Claire and the girls were conversing, the palace's sumptuous food was brought out dish by dish.

There was oven-baked barley bread, flat wheat bread, whole-roasted pig, a dish where a whole chicken was stuffed with stuffing, sandfish fried with herbs, deep-fried red scorpions flavored with salt, lamb stewed with fragrant vegetables, meat paired with fruit sauce, grapes on a vine served on silverware, dessert made from roasted apple topped with honey...

"Wow... Everything looks so delicious!"

"There are dishes I have never seen before!"

Claire's gaze was firmly fixated upon a dessert filled with peaches.

After the food was served, a musical ensemble composed of princess maidens made their debut at the center of the plaza and started to play exotic sounding music.

Attracted by the music and the luxurious feast, spirits kept drifting over. This area seemed to be particularly amenable to earth spirits. Many lizard spirits with hard scales and scorpion spirits with hammer-like tails could be found in the surroundings.

Team Scarlet's contracted spirits were freely roaming the plaza.

This was a scene quite rare to see during the gatherings of Ordesian nobles.

The retainers began to chat happily with wine glasses in their hands. Some of them even poked skewers of meat into Scarlet's tail to roast while she was strolling in the plaza.

"Claire, is that really okay? To do that to a high-tier spirit?"

Seeing that, Kamito turned to Claire beside him and asked.

"Sure, Scarlet is just going around, asking to be fed anyway..."

"Like candle service huh?"

"Well I suppose."

"I would beg to differ..."

Ellis quipped quietly.

"Hmph, we must not allow ourselves to be outdone, Fenrir!"

With a toss of her long platinum blonde hair, Rinslet stood up.

Accompanied by a blizzard, the summoned Fenrir froze peaches and grapes that were served on platters, producing instant sherbet.

"Hmm, well played..."

"Claire, let us have a contest. See whose spirit will become the most popular at this banquet!"

"Bring it on!"

"Why do you need to have a contest?"

Seeing the two members of Raven Class clash with sparks flying, Kamito sighed.

"Well, this isn't so bad. It's not every day we get to have a banquet."

Fianna shrugged in response.

"Speaking of which, Georgios rarely gets summoned to banquets like this."

"After all, as a royal heirloom spirit, he must not be displayed too casually."

"Does he eat human food like Scarlet and the others?"

Spirits have no need to eat for the most part, but most of them would happily eat food when offered.

"Hmm, he seems to prefer iron to food. Georgios often sucks in objects like useless broken swords and the like."

"I-I see... That's not too surprising."

Saying that, Kamito raised his gaze a little.

He could see a sacred bird with rainbow tail flying overhead.

The princess' retainers put their hands together and paid respects to the bird.

"It feels like they're worshiping Simorgh..."

"Yes, it has struck me as incredible since just now."

Ellis was equally puzzled.

"The Theocracy apparently worships bird-shaped spirits. I think it is because a giant bird carried the Demon King to battle according to legend—"

Just as Fianna started to explain...

"Onii-sama~!"

"Uwah... Uh—"

A petite figure silently approached and hugged Kamito.

"Muir!?"

"Ehehe..."

He turned his neck—

Only to see Muir smiling shyly behind him.

Instead of her usual Instructional School combat outfit, she was wearing a desert nation dress. Her ash-gray hair was tied on opposite sides of her head, bouncing energetically.

"Muir, you've recovered."

"Yes, I'm fine now, Onii-sama♪"

Saying that, Muir nodded energetically.

In an earlier reconnaissance mission at Zohar, she and Lily were unfortunately absorbed by the strategic-class spirit Leviathan. Consequently, they had been bedridden while Kamito's team went off to Ghul-a-val.

"Has Lily recovered too?"

"She can walk now, but she didn't want to come here."

"I see. That's quite like her."

Kamito smiled wryly. Lily was a member of the Elfim race and hated human crowds.

"Onii-sama, let me feed you."

"...Woah!?"

Muir jumped and sat down on Kamito's lap.

"W-Wait a sec, what are you doing!?"

Seeing that, Claire glared at her.

"Hmph, Onii-sama is the personal seat of Muir, the little sister."

"Y-You're no little sister!"

"Right, sworn sister. A sworn sister can be married, so status is even higher than a real sister."

"...! M-Married...!"

Claire's face instantly flushed bright red.

Just then, the Demon Slayer at Kamito's side suddenly glowed.

"Back off for that is my position—"

"E-Est!?"

...For some reason, even Est joined in.

"No, this is Muir's spot."

"..."

Est still had no expression on her face, but she defiantly tried to squeeze onto Kamito's lap.

Her silver-white hair was glowing faintly.

...She seemed a little angry.

"H-Hey, you two...!"

"K-Kamito, this is shameful public behavior!"

"Forcing two girls to serve you, you seem to be enjoying this!"

"...~T-Turn into charcoal, charcoal!"

"Woah, hold on, Claire!?"

"—What a ruckus."

Suddenly, the girl with jet-black wings floated down in front of Kamito's group.
[[image:STnBD V18 BW03.jpg|thumb]]

Chuckling, Restia smiled mischievously.

"Hmm, you're here, darkness spirit..."

In response, Muir glared at her warily.

"I am not petty enough to say anything like keeping Kamito all to myself."

Restia declared with an expression of full confidence.

"Are you serious?"

"Why don't we all just share Kamito?"

"Share?"

Getting a bad feeling, Kamito asked.

"Yes, we will carve out time when we can monopolize Kamito. I shall take Kamito during the night, while you two can share him for the daytime."

"Bullshit!"

Kamito hastily protested against Restia's suggestion.

"Although manifesting in the daytime is not a problem for a high-tier spirit like me, darkness spirits do find nighttime more comfortable after all♪"

"All at your convenience, huh!?"

"No way I'm agreeing to that. You get Onii-sama all to yourself at night!"

"Darkness spirit, I knew it, we must settle the question of superiority between us—"

This time, Muir and Est started to join forces.

"All of you are getting along so well."

Watching them, Fianna sighed and murmured.

The musicians played a wonderful melody and the princess maidens began to dance.

Princess maidens in the service of spirits were usually beautiful maidens and this time was no exception. However, since Kamito has been in the company of top beauties from the Empire all along, he was more focused on rare desert delicacies than on dancing.

"Est, what do you want? I'll get it for you."

"Yes. I want that rotating meat."

Hearing his offer, Est pointed to a skewered chunk of meat, rotating while being roasted.

"Miss Sword Spirit, that is the kebab."

"Kebab?"

"Slices of lamb are roasted against a charcoal flame while it spins."

"Then you roll it up in vegetables and eat it with a sweet and spicy sauce."

"Kamito, I want kebab."

Est was already holding her fork, her violet eyes shining bright.

Kamito sliced some meat off from the skewer. Then he noticed something weird with Claire's behavior.

"...Claire, what are you doing?"

"Hyah!"

When he called to her, Claire's entire person jumped.

The jump caused several peaches to roll out from under her uniform.

"...This is quite unseemly for a guest at a state banquet. And you used to be a duke's daughter too."

"I-I'm just planning to eat them in my room!"

Claire shook her twintails vigorously and started to pick up the fallen peaches.

"Seriously, what are you doing...?"

Ellis remarked in exasperation.

"Ellis, pardon my late arrival."

"My esteemed sister—"

Just then, Velsaria took a seat next to Ellis, holding a pitcher of wine.

Apparently, she had been finishing a tune-up of her fortress spirit at Vivian Melosa.

"Ellis, would you like a drink?"

"Yes, please, my esteemed sister."

Ellis nodded and raised her cup.

"I heard you fought with that Luminaris inside the Demon King City."

"Yes, she lives up to her reputation as a formidable enemy."

"Nevertheless, you fought on equal terms, did you not?"

"I am honored that I had a chance to meet Luminaris-dono in combat. Even though she is a knight of the Holy Kingdom, her sword is pure and honest."

"Is that so? A valuable experience, I see."

"Yes, my esteemed sister—"

Ellis smiled. Velsaria smiled gently too.

...Their sisterly relationship, which used to be quite stiff, had become much more harmonious.

Seeing that, Claire looked sad for an instant.

"Nee-sama isn't here yet..."

"I guess Rubia doesn't like banquets much."

"Totally wrong. Back in the day, Nee-sama used to be very happy whenever festivals and celebrations came up."

The two twintails were drooping in disappointment.

"Nee-sama was so good at playing Old Maid."

"Really..."

Seeing Claire like that...

"Rubia-sama will be here soon. She is getting ready right now."

Fianna explained.

"Ready? Ready for what?"

"You shall know soon."

Saying that, Fianna kept her gaze on Princess Saladia on the throne.

Even though it was a banquet situation, Fianna seemed oddly nervous.

—Suddenly.

The flute stopped and the throne room went silent.

Everyone's gaze gathered at the entrance to the plaza.

Appearing there was&mash;

"Nee-sama...!?"

Sitting next to Kamito, Claire exclaimed softly.

Indeed, it was Rubia Elstein.

However, instead of her usual military uniform, she was dressed in a princess maiden's ritual attire.

Whispering could be heard from the guests.

"Rubia-dono, what is this outfit for?"

Princess Saladia asked in surprise.

Rubia slowly walked up to the throne and bowed magnanimously.

"To celebrate your ascension, Princess Saladia, I would like to offer a ritual dance."

"You will be one to perform the ritual dance?"

Saladia frowned and asked.

Indeed, this was a natural reaction for anyone who did not know that Rubia Elstein used to be the Queen serving the Fire Elemental Lord.

"Princess Saladia, Rubia-dono is a princess maiden of the Divine Ritual Institute. I am certain she would be able to please the spirits here."

Fianna stood up and offered support.

"I see now. In that case, I look forward to your performance."

The princess nodded and raised her hand lightly. The sound of flute music resumed.

They played music for pleasing spirits.

With a flutter of her crimson hair that looked as though it were burning, Rubia began to dance gracefully.

"Nee-sama..."

Claire widened her ruby-like eyes. It was many years ago since she last watched her sister dancing from up close. The last time was the Great Festival of Spirits at the imperial capital.

With unblinking eyes, Claire stared at her older sister's flame-like dancing figure.

Small flames were produced from her fans, spinning back and forth in Rubia's surroundings.

The spirits gathered at the banquet expressed their joy by flashing nonstop.

Frolicking in the flames, Rubia was so beautiful that Kamito was mesmerized.

"I don't know anything about dancing, but it's really pretty..."

"Yes. This is Nee-sama's dance, Kamito."

Claire spoke with pride.

In the past, Kamito had witnessed Rubia offering a ritual dance performance at the imperial capital.

But back then, he was completely focused on the Instructional School's mission had no leisure to pay attention to that beauty of hers.

Rubia's dance heated up like a blazing fire as the music rose in intensity.
[[image:STnBD V18 BW04.jpg|thumb]]

At that very moment, Kamito suddenly noticed it.

Sitting on the throne, there seemed to be something wrong with Princess Saladia.

(...What's going on?)

"...Ah...Ah..."

She began to moan as though having a seizure.

"Saladia-sama, is something bothering you?"

The retainers noticed the anomaly and began to clamor.

"Princess, are you alright?"

Rinslet stood up with worry.

However, just as she was about to hurry over, Fianna stopped her.

"Wait, Rinslet."

"Your Highness? What is it—"

"Please be quiet, everyone!"

Fianna stood up and shouted.

Instantly, the throne room became silent.

"Ah, guh, oh, ohhh, ohhhhhhhhhh—"

Clutching her chest in pain, Saladia collapsed on the ground.

That hoarse voice of old men did not belong to Saladia.

Sounding like many ghosts, the sound was quite terrifying.

(This voice is—!)

Kamito jumped in surprise. He remembered that voice.

It was precisely the bizarre noise made by Sjora Kahn just before she died.

"Curses, how dare you conspire against us, damn giiiiiirl—"

Like pitch-black mist, dark miasma surged out from the collapsed princess.

The retainers in the surroundings lost consciousness one after another as soon as the thick miasma touched them.

"How is the pain? Hierarchs of the Demon King Cult—"

Coldly looking at the dark miasma, Rubia spoke.

"I first realized your true identity when I was investigating the grimoire about forbidden spells that Sjora Kahn had left behind. A particular type of magic intrigued me."

"...Guh... Urgh. Damn yooooooou...!"

"''Reincarnation magic''. Abandoning the physical body then using one's mind to possess another person—"

"Damn you damn you damn you daaaaaaamn...!"

The terrifying dark miasma surged out and crawled along the floor, trying to escape.

However, its surroundings were already surrounded by a barrier of light.

"An isolation barrier. Escaping is impossible."

Holding Save the Queen by the time Kamito noticed, Fianna spoke sternly.

"What Rubia-sama had performed was the first style of ritual dance—Exorcism Dance. The goal was to force out the evil occupying Saladia's body."

"D-Damn girl, unforgivable, unforgivable!"

The dark miasma crashed around inside the isolation barrier, but only got burned by the barrier of light.

"The fearsome grudge of the Hierarchs, you shall be destroyed here and now!"

Countless blue-white flames lit up at the tip of Rubia's raised fan.

"That flame is..."

Surprised, Claire exclaimed.

Indeed, these flames were not from spirit magic.

Instead, it was the special ability passed down generations of the Elstein family. Even capable of freezing flames—

"—Absolute Flame."

The anomalous flame swallowed the Hierarchs' vengeful souls together with the barrier of light.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Gradually incinerated, the dark miasma screamed, struggling in pain.

Having secretly manipulated the Kahn dynasty from the shadows for hundreds of years, the Hierarchs—

Were easily destroyed here and now.

"Saladia-sama, are you alright!?"

The retainers hurried over to the collapsed Saladia's side.

"Please rest assured. She has only fainted."

After Fianna chanted spirit magic for awakening someone, she soon opened her eyes.

"...mm, ooh... oohhh..."

"Are you feeling alright, Princess Saladia?"

Saladia blinked in puzzlement.

"Uh, what happened? What did, I..."

"The darkness occupying you has been destroyed."

Rubia stepped forward and explained everything to her.

After hearing that, Saladia closed her eyes—

"Evil was lurking inside me just as it had with my sister Sjora, right?"

Surprisingly, she calm accepted it as fact.

"On further thought, there were warning signs. Sjora's change and how I unbelievably decided to head into Ghul-a-val for the sake of the Demon King's Coffin were both due to that darkness, I suppose."

"Successive Hierarchs of the Demon King Cult have used the forbidden spell of reincarnation to lurk within the royal family's bloodline to rule the Alphas Theocracy. However, that history finally drew to a close today."

"Much appreciated, Rubia-dono. And you too, Princess Fianna—"

Saladia bowed deeply. Immediately, the retainers clapped naturally.

"—Very well, resume the banquet. Music to please the spirits will be performed next."

Saladia clapped her hands.

Joyous melodies once again resounded throughout the palace.

===Part 2===

Late at night—

Kamito quietly slipped out of the banquet venue and returned to his room in the imperial villa.

According to the Theocracy's customs, the celebration would continue all the way until morning, but he was too tired to persist.

After all, the Demon King City's collapse was less than a day ago.

Claire and the girls also left the banquet halfway and returned.

After putting Est and Resita, who had turned into sword form after eating to their hearts' content, against the wall, Kamito laid himself down on the bed.

The large round bed featured a decorated canopy. This could very well be a bed that the Lecherous King had used in the past.

(...Now that I think about it, I really get mixed feelings.)

Spreading his arms out, he looked up overhead.

...Although he was far from being drunk, there was a small amount of alcohol from the wine remaining in his body.

"I never thought Velsaria would be so aggressive in forcing others to drink with her..."

...Now that he thought back, she must have been intoxicated back then.

His body still felt hot. It was hard to fall asleep.

Although the mission in the Theocracy was considered done, there was still so much to think about.

(The resurrected Sacred Maiden Areishia... And Alexandros, huh—)

The true culprit who had created Demon King Solomon a thousand years ago.

The most worshiped Elemental Lord on the continent, why did he do something like that?

(Lurie Lizaldia mentioned rebuilding the world...)

Also, the army of ''angels'' that Kamito had seen was coming to the human realm—

...What did that mean?

While he was staring at the bed canopy, lost in deep thought—

"Kamito—"

He felt something squirming under his sheets.

"Est?"

Kamito jumped in surprise and sat up.

He found Est sitting quietly on the bed, naked except for kneesocks.

"...Didn't you change back to sword form?"

"Seeing as you cannot sleep, I shall serve as your pillow, Kamito."

"P-Pillow...?"

"Yes."

Nodding lightly, Est leaned her naked body against him.

"...!?"

Kamito almost cried out.

...By pillow, she meant a body pillow, huh?

(She's cool to the touch, which feels really great, but...!)

With an elemental affinity of steel, Est's body temperature was quite low.

His body felt boiling hot due to the alcohol, so Est's cool sensation was perfect.

"...Wait, stop, put on your clothes first!"

"Pillows do not wear clothes."

"...!"

Est tilted her head slightly, staring straight at him with her clear violet eyes. She was usually very obedient but today, she was oddly stubborn.

...Just then, Kamito noticed.

Est's cheeks were mildly flushed.

"Don't tell me you were drinking?"

"Offerings must not be declined."

Est spoke expressionlessly.

...So that was what had happened. Evidently, she had gotten intoxicated from the alcohol in the divine wine prepared for spirits.

"Hua... I am a sword spirit. I do not get drunk."

"Drunk people always say that..."

Shrugging helplessly, Kamito gave up trying to persuade Est.

He went with the flow and lay back down on the bed. Suddenly thinking of something, he asked.

"Say, Est—Did you dream about her again?"

By "her," he was referring to Sacred Maiden Areishia.

On the way to the Demon King City, Est had dreamed about her again.

"No more dreams since last time."

Est shook her head.

"I see."

"What is the matter, Kamito?"

"Nothing much—"

Kamito quietly dropped the matter. He originally thought that the revival of Sacred Maiden Areishia, Est's original contractor, would have unsettled Est.

(No, I guess I'm the one who's unsettled instead...)

Kamito laughed at himself in his thoughts.

"Kamito—"

"Hmm?"

"I will forever be your sword, Kamito."

"Yeah, that's right—"

Kamito gently stroked Est's shining silver-white hair.

Just then—

"Hold it right there, I will have you know that I am Kamito's first sword—"

"...!?"

Jet-black feathers floated lightly onto the bed.

In the next second, Restia in her dress pounced on Kamito.

Her soft bosom, like bountiful fruit, pressed against the tip of his nose.

"Restia, are you drunk too!?"

"I am upholding my right of possession."

Restia wrapped her arm around Kamito's waist as though competing with Est.

"Darkness spirit, you are in the way. Leave."

"Oh dear, aren't you the one who ought to leave?"

"H-Hey, you two... Uwah!"

Click.

In that instant, there was the sound of something hard getting pushed.

A mechanism hidden by the pillow had apparently been triggered.

Then the was a sound like gears turning—

The great bed started to rotate.

"What?"

A bizarre tune began to play from a music box while pink spirit lights illuminated the entire room.

...Speaking of which, this imperial villa belonged to the legendary Lecherous King.

It would come as no surprise if this room had been used by royals to keep mistresses.

"W-What is this, it started spinning!!"

"Hua, Kamito, my eyes are dizzy."

Kamito was rotating, hugged on the bed by two spirits.

"I-Is this the spirit kebab?"

With eyes spinning, Kamito this stupid thought crossed his mind.

===Part 3===

—While the celebration was taking place in the Theocracy...

A certain incident shook the imperial capital at Ordesia.

"...Did you say rebellion!?"

Woken from his sleep, Emperor Arneus roared angrily at his retainers.

The incident had happened several hours earlier.

After Arneus' ascension to the throne, at the Academy town which was under the Imperial Knights' control, the students and some of the teachers led an uprising.

Even though the principal cause of the rebellion was still under investigation, it was evident that the Imperial Knights' oppressive occupation of the Academy, whose cherished ideals included freedom and independent thinking, had elicited even more resistance.

In isolation, that would not have been too bad. After all, it was nothing rare for students to organize radical protests, and quelling them would be easy just by mobilizing the Imperial Knights' occupation force garrisoned in the Academy town.

However, the timing was terrible this time.

After his ascension, Arneus' policies had incurred dissatisfaction from the noble. Brutal oppression of nobles belonging to the anti-Arneus faction also caused resentment in the populace.

Reportedly, even the neutral nobles with seats in the imperial council had abandoned Arneus, secretly and frequently exchanging correspondence with the exiled second princess Fianna.

Under such circumstances, to think even a rebellion started.

This was like dropping a lighted match into a powder keg.

Left alone, all negative feeling against the Empire would explode all at once.

"Supporting the rebellion at the Academy town, Marquess Boderalume, all the houses of Haldery, and Earl Edelgart have mobilized their forces."

In charge of military matters, Duke Cygnus Fahrengart calmly reported.

"Even though it is not yet confirmed, there are rumors of movements in Margrave Laurenfrost's territories too—"

"Damn it, why!? Why won't they obey my orders, the emperor's orders!?"

Emperor Arneus anxiously threw a cup.

He had gone as far as to take the imperial throne with the Holy Kingdom's aid...

But the only ones who recognized him as emperor were the sycophantic retainers.

"Quell the rebellion at once! I allow the use of militarized spirits—"

"Using militarized spirits against students? The nobles will feel strongly against that."

Duke Fahrengart spoke calmly.

"I don't care. They need to be taught a lesson. I need people to know the consequences of defying me."

"Deployment of militarized spirits against the Academy requires authorization from the imperial council."

"...Shut up! These are emperor's orders!"

Arneus slammed the conference room table, instantly plunging his retainers into silence.

However, Duke Fahrengart remained completely unfazed, not even raising an eyebrow.

"The rebellion at the Academy town can be suppressed using the garrison force. However, nobles engaged in armed rebellion must be punished. A military force will be assembled immediately."

After speaking without any emotion, Duke Fahrengart excused himself.

"Damn it, why... why...!?"

After sending the retainers away, inside the military conference room—

Arneus began to drink sullenly alone.

Eliminating the emperor, framing his younger sister with the crime of attempted assassination, everything had gone so well.

But why?

"Why are you sighing, Your Majesty?"

Just then, having arrived without him noticing—

A girl was standing behind Arneus.

"Dame Millennia!?"

Jumping in surprise, Arneus stood up.

This girl was precisely the Holy Kingdom's cardinal who had incited him to ascend to the imperial throne.

"I shall personally pay the Academy town a visit."

"S-Say that again? But if the Holy Kingdom intervenes with military force, inevitably—"

If that were to happen, the imperial council would definitely hold him accountable.

"The Holy Kindom's forces will not be deployed. I intend to perform an experiment at that location."

"An experiment?"

"—Indeed. To erase the entire Academy town from the face of the earth."

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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter4

2018-08-04T15:26:35Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 4 - The Princess Maiden of Water==

===Part 1===

"I-I knew it, this is too embarrassing. Can I not wear the Academy's uniform instead?"

Facing Rinslet, who was awkwardly rubbing her knees together with a bright-red countenance—

"No. Although the Academy's uniform can serve as crude ritual attire, you must wear ancient traditional garb for summoning an Elemental Lord."

Claire spoke seriously.

They were at a small shrine in the city of Zohar that princess maidens used to commune with spirits.

Inside the Theocracy where worship of the Demon King ran deep, there were very few shrines dedicated to the Five Great Elemental Lords. Even in high-class venues such as the palace, there would only be a shrine for worshiping the Earth Elemental Lord at most.

That being said, the city was not completely devoid of such shrines. Hence, after obtaining permission from Princess Saladia, Kamito's team borrowed a small shrine used for worshiping the Five Great Elemental Lords.

"...Ooh~, the last time I wore Raiment of Water was in my childhood."

Dressed in a sheer garment that provided tantalizing glimpses to her skin, Rinslet helplessly hung her head.

She had conducted the Winter Serenity Ritual in Laurenfrost when she was younger, but ever since her little sister Judia was sealed in ice, she practically never wore this outfit again.

The Raiment of Water was supreme ritual attire worn by princess maidens serving the Water Elemental Lord. Compared to the ritual attire of fire, which Fianna, Rubia and even Ren Ashbell had worn, this outfit stood out as far more revealing, with a design that especially emphasized the body's curves.

A translucent veil covered the noble young lady's snow-white skin. A skirt with a bold high slit, running past her lovely navel, was wrapped around the graceful curves of her hips.

Every time Rinslet twisted her body in embarrassment, her pale thighs came into view, making Kamito unsure where to look.

Even though it was the Divine Ritual Institute's designated formal ritual attire that even the Water Queen would also wear, it proved to be especially seductive when worn by the pure and innocent Rinslet.

"K-Kamito-san! It is far too embarrassing when you keep staring like that..."

Rinslet's slightly teary eyes were glaring at Kamito resentfully.

Involuntarily mesmerized, Kamito hastily turned his gaze away.

"S-Sorry...! I couldn't help it because you're too pretty..."

"...Ooh, my goodness, w-w-what are you talking about!?"

Rinslet huddled into a ball while steam rose from her head.

On the altar for worshiping the Elemental Lord was a large jar of water.

Kamito had heard that it was for the Elemental Lord to bestow her voice upon the human realm, using water as the medium.

"Will the offering dance be fine?"

Claire asked.

"Of course. I started presiding over the ritual since I was young."

Saying that, Rinslet walked up to the altar.

The bells attached to her ankles sounded.

"—O flowing water, the source of all life. One who embraces the earth gently, grant thy blessings to the earth—"

The bells kept ringing—

Clad in the Raiment of Water, Rinslet began to dance in front of the jar of water. In the darkness, her platinum blonde long hair glowed with beautiful radiance. Her graceful fingers were mesmerizing.

A flowing dance, no less spectacular than those performed by princes maidens of the Divine Ritual Institute.

"Raindrops of tender affection, wind and snow of wrath, O great lord of water ruling over all—"

The Ice Rose seal on the back of Rinslet's left hand glowed with dazzling light.

This was the seal that Iseria Seaward had bestowed upon her at the abandoned city on Ragna Ys.

Even though it was not a formal spirit contract's seal, Rinslet was able to establish a connection to her through this seal.

"—I implore thee to listen to the voice of your princess maiden!"

The light surging from the ice rose painted the surroundings white—

"—What is the matter, Rinslet?"

Suddenly, a voice was heard from ''the mouth of Fenrir'', who was crouching in a corner of the shrine.

"W-What!?"

Kamito could not help but exclaim in surprise.

"Over there!?"

Hearing the voice, Rinslet could not help but cry out in the middle of her dance offering.

Unconcerned with the speechless Kamito and company—

Fenrir slowly stood up and walked unsteadily up to Rinslet.

"Compared to that water mirror, possessing your contracted spirit is easier, right?"

"R-Really?"

"Yes. I previously used this dog spirit's mouth to speak, right?"

Indeed, last time, Kamito had received a clue to Restia's whereabouts from Iseria speaking through Fenrir. To think that the specially prepared jar of water turned out to be a waste of effort.

"Rinslet, why did you call for me?"

"Y-Yes, we would like to inquire something of you, Iseria-sama."

Kneeling on the ground, Rinslet bowed her head before Fenrir.

Claire and the others hastily did the same.

...It was quite a ridiculous scene from a bystander's point of view.

"Dispense with the formalities. I am nothing more than the Water Elemental Lord's avatar."

"No, absolutely not."

Rinslet slowly shook her head.

"...Fine. Then what do you wish to inquire of me?"

"About the great Holy Lord Alexandros, leader of the Elemental Lords—"

Rinslet told Iseria, who was in the form of a white wolf, about what had happened in the Demon King City.

"...How unbelievable, never did I expect Alexandros to revive in the human realm."

Moments later—

After listening to the whole story, Iseria entered a pensive pose with Fenrir's jaw propped against his front paw.

Since she looked like Fenrir, it looked quite hilarious—

"Iseria-sama, may I ask what do you know about the Holy Lord?"

Fenrir shook his head at the question.

"...My apologies. I have almost no memories from my time as an Elemental Lord. It was only with your help that I finally recovered a portion of my memories and power."

"Well, figures..."

"H-Hey, mind your manners!"

Hearing Claire's quite murmur, Ellis scolded.

"As the ruler of wisdom and power, Alexandros is the leader of us Elemental Lords. However, at the very end of that Spirit War, he was corrupted by the Otherworldly Darkness summoned by Darkness Elemental Lord Ren Ashdoll. Like us—"

"I heard that the Holy Lord tempted the hero Solomon and created the opportunity for the Demon King's creation. Why exactly did he do that?"

Kamito asked a question at this point.

"This is my first time hearing of the Holy Lord interfering in the human realm. However, it is decidedly odd. We Elemental Lords bestowed power on the Sacred Queen precisely for the sake of quelling the chaos brought by the Demon King."

"I knew it, there must be some kind of secret in the Sacred Maiden..."

Crossing his arms, Kamito muttered.

What was Alexandros going to do do after obtaining Sacred Maiden Areishia's physical body?

Also, Lurie had mentioned resetting the world, what exactly—

"Do you know anything about the Fire Elemental Lord?"

This time, it was Claire's turn to ask.

Probably because Iseria was using Fenrir's appearance, Claire did not muster any respect at all. Kamito could hardly blame her after seeing Fenrir shake while scratching an ear with his hind leg—

"...Well, from what I have heard, although I cannot be certain, it is possible that Volcanicus is bound by some kind of covenant with the Holy Lord."

"Covenant?"

"Yes. On the brink of the Spirit War, the Elemental Lords entered into an inviolable covenant with one another. For the sake of building a solid alliance to oppose Ren Ashdoll."

"So that's why she couldn't come with us..."

Claire whispered regretfully.

"Has anything strange happened on your end?"

"Hmm, it has been ordinary as ever—Oh."

"...What is the matter?"

"Well, speaking of strange, there is one matter I am slightly concerned about."

Iseria spoke in a serious tone of voice.

"What is it?"

"Gates to Astral Zero have apparently opened in the human realm."

"...? Does that not happen all the time?"

In places like the Spirit Forest, powerful spirits would occasionally pass through naturally occurring gates to invade the human realm. Taking out such spirits was also part of the Syphid Knights' job.

"The quantity is a bit too great. Even though investigations are ongoing, it is certain that some kind of situation has arisen in Astral Zero."

"...I see."

Such a phenomenon was definitely worrying. However, it did not seem related to the problems Kamito and company were currently facing.

"This is the extent of what I know. I apologize for not being of much help."

"You are too humble, Iseria-sama."

Rinslet shook her head frantically.

"Goodbye. I look forward to your pancakes next time you happen to pass through Astral Zero."

The glow in Fenrir's eyes vanished, turning them back into his original round eyes.

"...To be honest, that wasn't very useful."

"C-Claire! You are talking about an Elemental Lord, you know!?"

"I went as far as to wear this outfit!"

Hearing Claire's comment, Ellis got angry and Rinslet grumbled.

"Well, it can't be helped that she lost her memory. Next, we should do more research on the Holy Lord."

"...Yeah."

Claire stood up.

"Let's return to the palace. Princess Saladia said she had a celebration prepared."

"I-I shall change back into my uniform first."

"You're going to take off this pretty outfit? That's a shame."

"K-Kamito-san!"

===Part 2===

"I, Saladia Kahn, daughter of Rajihal Kahn, express my gratitude for your assistance on this occasion. I hereby swear to an alliance with Legitimate Ordesia."

"Much obliged, Princess Saladia—"

At the throne room in Scorpia, Fianna and Princess Saladia shook hands.

Saladia had completed her coronation ceremony, albeit a simple one. The many retainers serving Sjora Kahn had been arrested and imprisoned by the army under her command.

For Legitimate Ordesia, this was yet another powerful ally they had gained after Dracunia.

Although they could not expect much in terms of military support, the fact that they had gained a new allied nation would definitely help in securing support from the Ordesia nobles.

"I have prepared a small celebration banquet to deepen the friendship between our nations. Please honor me with your attendance."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Princess Saladia—"

Fianna bowed gracefully then took her leave with Rubia, leaving the throne room.

When they walked out of the palace, the sun was already setting. A crowd of small spirits had started gathering in the courtyard. They must have noticed that humans were holding a celebration banquet.

"With this, we have recruited two allied nations at least."

"Yes, people in the Empire are sure to make a move after receiving reports of this."

"The nobles will rebel?"

"No, that would be too soon—"

Just then, Rubia suddenly stopped walking and looked around the courtyard.

"Rubia-sama?"

"Fianna, do you sense it?"

Rubia asked quietly.

"...Huh?"

"I am referring to Princess Saladia. At close range, did you sense anything?"

Fianna widened her dusk-colored eyes.

"Now that you mention it, you noticed too, Rubia-sama?"

"Indeed. Something ominous evidently lurks within Princess Saladia."

"...Yes."

Fianna nodded.

Had it been anyone other than a Queen candidate and a former Queen, they might not have noticed that faint evil presence.

"Something seems to have possessed the princess."

"I fear it is the same entity that had possessed Sjora Kahn."

Rubia said.

"During the final round of the Blade Dance, that witch's personality clearly changed. I suspect this time, it has abandoned Sjora Kahn's body and possessed Princess Saladia instead."

"Something like that is possible?"

"Generations of the Demon King Cult have passed down ancient curses unknown to the Divine Ritual Institute. I expect they include magic of this sort."

Rubia turned her head back towards Scorpia and said slowly.

"—Tonight we hunt. Get ready."

===Part 3===

The sacred capital Alexandros of the Holy Kingdom of Lugia was situated at the foot of the holy mountain of Rondinia, the birthplace of Areishia Idriss, the legendary Sacred Queen.

It was a mountain city surrounded by walls of pure white. As the capital of one of the three great nations of the continent alongside Ordesia and Quina, the city's size was surprisingly small with an extremely small population.

The entire city had evolved into a gigantic shrine dedicated to worshiping the Holy Lord, because the city's core functions of politics and commerce had moved over to the secondary capital of Meria roughly two hundred years earlier.

This was a city where scholarly pursuits and worshiping rites were directed by princess maidens.

At the very center of the sacred capital of Alexandria...

In the grand cathedral known as the Ivory Tower—

A girl in pure-white vestments entered.

It was an empty place.

The worshiped king's was clearly no longer present.

The girl stood on a map of the continent carved on the floor.

"—''Est'', you are here, yes?"

Suddenly, she called out to empty space.

Particles of light appeared, followed by a cardinal dressed in vestments of pure white.

"—How may I serve you, Holy Lord?"

The girl addressed as "Est"—

Was precisely the Holy Kingdom's cardinal, Millennia Sanctus.

Reflected in her clear eyes of violet was the face of Areishia Idriss.

Areishia's expression relaxed a little.

"—Well done, Est. You succeeded in liberating my vessel."

Millennia bowed her head.

"However, your faithful apostle, Lurie Lizaldia, has perished."

"Yes, indeed. A sad fact perhaps."

Areishia shook her head calmly.

"Nevertheless, her long-cherished wish shall come into fruition. Just like yours."

The Sacred Maiden looked up at the cathedral's painted ceiling and spoke in a voice filled with sorrow.

The painting depicted the likeness of the Holy Lord meting out punishment to Darkness Elemental Lord Ren Ashdoll.

It was a primordial fresco named Final Judgment.

"Time is ripe. The Sacred Maiden vessel has awakened. Time to put the plan into action, Est. We must rectify the world that the Darkness Elemental Lord's sins has set on a path towards destruction."

"Everything is ready, my lord. I await your command."

"Has the candidate location been selected?"

"Yes, how about here—?"

Millennia nodded and tapped the tip of her staff against the map on the floor.
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter2

2018-07-18T14:04:39Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 2 - Sacred Maiden==

===Part 1===

"...''Sacred Maiden'', you say?"

Kamito's voice echoed within the dimensional gap.

Kamito could not understand what Solomon was saying at all.

"...By Sacred Maiden, are you referring to Sacred Maiden Areishia?"

"Indeed."

Solomon nodded and replied to confirm Kamito.

"The true identity of what lies asleep in the Demon King's Coffin is the Sacred Maiden's soul that had been lost a thousand years ago."

"...What do you mean by that?"

Kamito had heard that it was the Demon King's remains that were sealed in the Coffin.

But no, Kamito himself did not believe in the existence of such a thing in the first place.

He thought it more likely to be a legend made up by the Demon King Cult to reinforce their faith.

However, this man was saying that the Sacred Queen was sealed inside there.

"This joke is not funny at all."

Kamito shook his head.

"After vanquishing the Demon King, Sacred Maiden Areishia should have turned to stone because of the Demon Slayer's curse."

Kamito had shared Est's dream before.

Inside that dream, Kamito had witnessed the final moments of Areishia Idriss.

He had seen her entire body turned into stone by the sacred sword's curse, finally shattering into fragments—

"Yes, the Sacred Maiden's physical body turned into stone and shattered."

Solomon nodded and admitted it readily.

However, he continued.

"That stone, imbued with the Sacred Maiden's divine power, turned into the world's purest spirit crystal. Even now, it continues to seal the Sacred Maiden's soul within it."

"...! Don't tell me—"

Kamito widened his eyes forcefully.

"Indeed, that crystal was precisely the result of Sacred Maiden Areishia turning into a crystal."

Solomon declared in a calm tone of voice.

"What...!?"

The gigantic spirit crystal had held the projection of the spirit Iris.

(...I can't believe that crystal is what the Sacred Maiden turned into.)

Facing the speechless Kamito—

Solomon made an even more shocking announcement.

"She is still alive, simply sealed in the crystal, in a state of deep sleep."

"Say that again...?"

Kamito was at a loss for words.

...This revelation was truly unbelievable.

Under normal circumstances, one would simply laugh off such absurdity.

However, the person telling Kamito this was—

None other than Solomon himself, the Demon King of legend, even though he was just a memory fragment.

And that gigantic spirit crystal definitely existed.

"Suppose what you say is true—"

Kamito sighed deeply and started to speak.

"Why are you guarding something like that?"

Next—

"—In that case, allow me to ask you a question. First of all, what is the Sacred Maiden?"

The Demon King answered with a question of his own.

"What the heck is that, out of the blue?"

"Answer me."

Solomon stared intently into Kamito's eyes.

"The Sacred Maiden is the Demon King's natural enemy. A being created by the Five Great Elemental Lords for the sake of vanquishing the Demon King."

Kamito shrugged in response and answered.

During the Blade Dance's final round when they clashed blades, Rubia had told him this.

The Sacred Maiden was the counter born in response to the Demon King's awakening.

"Correct. I expected no less from my successor."

"Are you making fun of me?"

Kamito narrowed his eyes at the Demon King.

"Indeed, the Elemental Lords had granted her immense power as an elementalist. However, Alexandros—the Lord who stands as the leader of the Five—also poured a portion of himself, what you could call a soul, into Areishia Idriss."

"...What did you say?"

Alexandros. The true culprit who had created Demon King Solomon—

He had poured a part of himself into her?

"...What is going on? What exactly does this mean?"

"I suspect it was to prevent the Sacred Maiden from disintegrating as a vessel."

Solomon spoke.

"A human's body of flesh cannot withstand the power granted by the Elemental Lords. Hence, the Holy Lord made her into a suitable vessel by merging part of his being with hers."

"...I see."

It made plausible sense.

Like how the majority of people who inherited the Darkness Elemental Lord's power turned into Nepenthes Lore, the excessive power granted by the Elemental Lords would exceed a human body's ability to withstand.

"So that is the reason why we sealed the Sacred Maiden."

Solomon spoke calmly.

"Originally, after the Sacred Maiden completed her mission of destroying the Demon King, the soul poured into her body was supposed to return to the Holy Lord. However—"

"I get it now—"

Kamito finally understood.

Turned into stone by the curse of Terminus Est—

Taking the Holy Lord's soul with her, she was sealed inside the spirit crystal...?

"In other words, Iris and you ''sealed the soul of the Holy Lord.'' Is that what you mean?"

If the Holy Lord's soul that was poured into the Sacred Maiden remained sealed—

Then it could not reincarnate era after era like that of the Darkness Elemental Lord's.

"Indeed. As for the reason, since you have seen my past, there is no need for me to elaborate here."

What triggered the hero, the man from the Zoldia Kingdom, to become the Demon King was all thanks to an opportunity offered by Holy Lord Alexandros, leader of the Elemental Lords.

Creating the Demon King by his own hand on one side—

While giving part of his soul to the Sacred Maiden to destroy the Demon King.

Why did the Holy Lord do such things?

"Sealing Holy Lord Alexandros' soul inside the Sacred Maiden was the least I could do for atonement and revenge for bringing devastating calamity to the continent."

Kamito could see a faint flame light up in the eyes of the weakly whispering young man.

"...However, the Sacred Maiden's seal has been broken. By the Holy Kingdom's hand."

"Yes, indeed."

The Demon King nodded.

At that moment, what resembled an earthquake's noise was heard from a distance.

Solomon looked up into thin air.

Following his gaze, Kamito saw countless small cracks spreading in the pitch-black space.

"...What now?"

"The Demon King's Tomb is collapsing. This dimension will soon vanish."

"What will happen when the dimension vanishes?"

"You will be trapped in the dimensional gap, unable to return to the human realm."

"...! H-Hey!?"

"Rest assured. I shall deliver you out of here safe and sound."

Saying that, Solomon began to recite an incantation of High Ancient.

A crack appeared in space with bright light pouring out from it.

"This Demon King City will disappear. Leave as quickly as possible before the Sacred Maiden completely awakens. Otherwise, she will annihilate you, the Demon King."

"...Yeah, I get it."

Kamito nodded.

Although he was quite curious about Est's contractor from a thousand years ago, now that the Holy Lord was involved, it was a completely different matter.

He must meet up with Claire and the others and leave the city as quickly as possible.

"By the way, allow me to offer this to you, my junior Demon King. A parting gift from me."

Saying that, Solomon took out something from his chest pocket.

"...What is this?"

Kamito cocked his head.

It was an ancient silver ring without any decoration.

"A ring used by the Demon King in the past. It should prove handy to you."

"...There's no weird curse cast on it, right?"

"Rest assured, you will be fine."

"What's that supposed to mean...?"

With suspicious eyes, Kamito accepted the ring.

"Next, I have one more thing—"

"What else?"

"Yes, take this too... The famous Demon's Mask of legend."

Out from thin air, he plucked out—

A skull mask that looked a little familiar.

...It was identical to the impostor Demon King mask that Rubia had personally made.

"No, thank you. I mean it."

Kamito resolutely refused.

"Why? This is a legendary-class magic artifact that Demon King cultists can only dream of acquiring."

"Like hell anyone would want something so tasteless!"

"I cannot believe you called it tasteless..."

The Demon King was taken aback... He looked a little shocked.

Putting the ring in his pocket, Kamito stepped before the crack in space.

He looked back.

"Say, what happens to you after the Demon King City vanishes?"

"My existence is akin to a reflection in the water. I will disappear once the Pyramid disappears."

"I see..."

With a mixed expression, Kamito lowered his head.

Solomon Yelsion, the previous Demon King born a thousand years ago.

Kamito wondered if he was being too sentimental... But upon meeting someone like himself for the first time, he felt some kind of camaraderie.

"Please do not wear such a look, ''my descendant''. It was a great pleasure to meet you."

"...Thanks for looking after me."

"Not at all. Sending lost travelers on their way is precisely my job."

Facing Kamito, who was smiling with his head bowed, Solomon laughed magnanimously.

After shaking hands lightly with the Demon King, Kamito stepped into the crack in space.

"Walk a different path from mine, Kazehaya Kamito."

With these last words—

Kamito's view turned pure white.

===Part 2===

"...! This place... is...?"

When he opened his eyes—

Kamito found himself at a plaza in the city, some distance away from the Pyramid.

It was where he had bought the ring as a gift for Est.

Almost all of the surrounding buildings had collapsed. There was a great deal of dust hanging in the air.

He was just about to get up when an earthquake happened. The air shook from a terrifying roar.

(...What is that?)

Looking up at the sky, Kamito frowned.

He saw a red dragon, covered in burning-hot scales, fighting in midair with a gigantic bird with outspread wings.

The red dragon breathed blazing flames. At the same time, the giant bird flapped its wings to create a storm.

This was a fight between high-tier spirits, rare to find even in Astral Zero.

"Why would spirits like these...? By the way, what the heck is going on!?"

Kamito grumbled about the Demon King Solomon who was no longer present.

(At least tell me what's going on outside before sending me back...)

In any case, staying under these spirits would be too dangerous.

Kamito stood up and prepared to escape the plaza. At that moment...

His left hand's spirit seal reacted.

"Kamito, where have you disappeared!?"

With a flash of darkness before his eyes, the girl in the night-colored dress appeared.

"Restia—"

"Sheesh, I have been calling you all this time!"

With her jet-black wings outspread, the beautiful darkness spirit landed lightly on the ground.

She was carrying the Demon Slayer in her arms.

Est had apparently exhausted her power during the fight against Lurie.

"...Sorry, I was visiting the Demon King for a bit."

"...?"

Hearing that, Restia frowned in puzzlement.

"Let's talk later. We have to get out of here as quickly as possible."

Another crack opened in the ground, causing buildings at the plaza to collapse.

A shadow resembling a horned giant could be seen behind the billowing cloud of dust.

Apart from the spirits fighting in the sky, there were evidently other spirits running amok in the city.

"...Where did these spirits come from?"

"They are the Demon King's spirits that had been sealed."

"The Demon King's spirits?"

"Yes, some of the seventy-two spirits commanded by the Demon King were sealed here, probably serving as guardians of the Demon King City like the Sphinx. However, due to the Pyramid disappearing, they are starting to rampage."

"...I see. So that's why they're all such troublesome spirits."

Since they had been used by the Demon King, that red dragon and giant bird were surely no less powerful than archdemon-class spirits.

"—Eh, what a sec. Did you just say the Pyramid disappeared?"

At Kamito's question, Restia pointed behind him.

"See. The Pyramid, which even my spirit magic could not damage the slightest, has vanished completely."

"...!?"

Kamito turned his head to look back—

She was right. The Pyramid had disappeared.

Taking its place was a pillar of light, radiant with a holy glow.

However, for some reason, the beautiful beam of light seemed especially ominous to Kamito's eyes.

(Sacred Maiden Areishia—)

While staring at the pillar of sacred light with a strained face, Kamito muttered in his heart.

Est's contractor from a thousand years ago.

The being with Holy Lord Alexandros' soul sealed inside.

Also—

(...''The one who had vanquished the Demon King'', huh?)

Did that pillar of light foretell the Sacred Maiden's imminent revival?

With a serious expression, Kamito turned his gaze to Restia.

"Have Claire and the others escaped from here?"

"Who knows? Given the current situation, escaping is no easy task."

"I see..."

Kamito's voice contained notes of anxiety. Even after meeting up successfully, they were still in the center of Ghul-a-val, the Desert of Red Death. Without a sand ship, they had no way of leaving.

(...That asshole Solomon, telling me to leave. Easier said than done! But how do I escape?)

Kamito grumbled mentally against the previous Demon King again. Just then—

"What's that, Kamito?"

Restia asked him with curiosity.

She was staring intently at the chest pocket of his uniform.

"Oh, this? Someone gave it to me—"

Kamito took out the plain-looking ring and showed it to her.

Instantly, Restia widened her sunset-colored eyes.

"Kamito, isn't that the Demon King's Ring!?"

The darkness spirit with a great fondness for magic artifacts flapped her wings in excitement.

"Kamito, where did you get this from?"

"Nowhere. He gave it to me himself."

"...?"

"Forget the ring for now. Let's figure out how to leave first—"

"What are you talking about!? Kamito, pour divine power into that ring."

"...Eh?"

"Pour divine power into it. Come on, hurry—"

"F-Fine..."

At her forceful urging, Kamito poured divine power into the ring with a puzzled look on his face.

Next, words in High Ancient appeared on the ring's surface.

"What's this? Some words appeared."

"Don't fret. Assuming this is the real Demon King's Ring—"

Restia looked up into the air.

At that instant, something astonishing happened.

One of the two spirits that had just been fighting in the sky above, the giant bird, left the red dragon spirit behind and rushed towards Kamito, gliding straight to the plaza.

"Restia, that giant bird is coming!?"

"Don't worry."

However, Restia remained unfazed, using her hand to hold down her hair that was blowing in the storm.

The giant bird spirit flapped its wings in the air and landed in the center of the plaza.

With a bird of prey's eyes, glowing golden, it stared straight at Kamito.

...Kamito felt that he was going to be eaten if he moved.

"...What!?"

Just as Kamito was frozen in shock—

Restia gently caressed the giant bird's beak and turned to Kamito.

"Kamito, this giant bird spirit, the Roc, is your loyal servant."

"What are you talking about?"

"This ring has the power to control the seventy-two spirits under the Demon King's command. Together with the Garb of the Lord and the Demon's Mask, they are known as legendary artifacts."

"This ring?"

Kamito carefully examined the faintly glowing ring.

In fact, the giant bird spirit, which had been acting out a giant monster battle in the sky just earlier, was obediently standing there as though waiting for Kamito's command.

"So that guy gave away something so precious, huh?"

"If we use this spirit, it should be easy to find little Miss Hell Cat and the others, and cross the desert too."

Restia stroked the Roc's beak. The giant bird spirit cooed in response, sounding surprisingly adorable.

"I'm not completely reassured, but there's no time to hesitate..."

Once this Demon King City collapsed, Kamito and his friends would very likely remain trapped in the dimensional gap, outside both the human realm and Astral Zero.

Clutching the ring tightly, Kamito gallantly leaped onto the giant bird.

"...Uh, all I have to do is give out orders?"

"Yes."

"Here goes... Fly, giant bird spirit Roc!"

At Kamito's command—

The Roc flapped its wings powerfully, rising into the sky over the Demon King City that was shrouded in dust and smoke.

===Part 3===

"...! Turn into charcoal!"

Claire's Flametongue delivered a mighty blow to the one-eyed giant crawling out from a crevasse in the ground.

However, the giant spirit did not seem damaged at all.

With a grin, it raised its arm, trying to catch Claire.

"Claire!"

At that moment, Ellis struck the giant's back with the spear tip of Ray Hawk.

Clang! This strike produced a violent scattering of sparks as though she had struck steel with her spear.

Seizing the chance when the giant was distracted, Claire swiftly distanced herself...

Only to see the one-eyed giant scratch its back nonchalantly, completely unfazed.

"Damn it, I cannot inflict any damage, huh..."

Ellis showed anxiety on her face. After clashing with the Sacred Spirit Knights repeatedly, she and Claire had expended a great deal of divine power. Simply sustaining their elemental waffen was already quite a stretch.

The powerful spirits that had emerged from underground one after another were blocking the path of Claire and Ellis. An elementalist's power seemed to attract these spirits.

"...Kuh, there's no end to this!"

Panting, Claire spoke.

"Yes, this is too difficult..."

Ellis stabbed Ray Hawk into the ground and complained in a rare moment. After fighting one-on-one against Luminaris and using spirit magic to fly continuously, she was at her limit.

"Take a break first. Scarlet and I will open up a path."

"But..."

The giant spirit caused earthquakes while approaching them.

"Let's go, Ortlinde—"

Just as Claire was about to unleash her ultimate move, a True Name Release...

"Freezing fangs of ice, go forth and pierce—Freezing Arrow!"

Countless projectiles of ice rained down on the giant's head.

With his prided eye shot with pinpoint accuracy, the giant gave a terrifying roar and rolled on the ground in pain.

Claire jumped in surprise and looked to where the rain of arrows came from—

"That was close, Claire."

On a mountain of collapsed debris, Rinslet had puffed out her chest, wielding her bow.

"Rinslet, you're safe...!"

"Hmph, of course. Who do you take me for?"

"Rinslet, where is Her Highness?"

Ellis asked.

"Yes, she is with me."

After a moment's delay, the sound of clanging armor could be heard.

Appearing from the billowing cloud of dust and sand—

Georgios, carrying Fianna and an unknown girl in his arms.

"...Your Highness, I am so glad."

Seeing that, Ellis could stop worrying

"Fianna, it's good you're okay... Uh, who is this girl?"

"Allow me to introduce Princess Saladia Kahn."

Getting down from Georgios' arm, Fianna announced.

"What did you say!?"

"What!?"

Claire and Ellis both exclaimed in surprise.

"What on earth—"

"I shall explain later. We must first escape from here as soon as possible."

"Yes, you're right..."

Claire nodded.

Taking a closer look, the giant spirit was about to get up.

Presumably, that level of injury should be quick to recover from.

"Fenrir and I shall lead the way to exit the city!"

Allowing her magic bow of ice to return to dire wolf form, Rinslet jumped onto Fenrir's back.

"Understood!"

She was just about to start running when in that instant...

Claire felt bone-chilling terror and stood there frozen on the spot.

"Claire, what is the matter?"

"Just now, something—"

She was able to notice ''that'' possibly because of her instinct as a princess maiden stemming from her shared lineage with her sister.

Claire slowly turned her head and looked back.

Only to see a blinding pillar of light in front of her gaze.

"What's over there?"

===Part 4===

The giant bird spirit was circling in the sky while sparks flew below.

Black smoke was fuming all over the city. Collapsed buildings were falling into crevasses in the ground.

Freed, the Demon King's spirits were apparently having a blast, running amok.

"—Found them. Over there."

From behind Kamito, Restia pointed diagonally downward.

"Where?"

"Look, along the path towards the city gate."

Kamito looked down and focused his eyes.

With smoke rising nonstop, visibility was quite bad.

"They look like they're fighting spirits, locked in a difficult battle."

"Any ideas how to use the Demon King's Ring to help?"

"Unfortunately, the ring can only control one spirit at a time."

"Really..."

Ultimately, this ring only had a fraction of Demon King Solomon's power sealed in it. Thus, its power to control was far inferior to the real Demon King's.

"Roc, land in that vicinity."

Kamito poured his thoughts into the ring, commanding the giant bird spirit.

The Roc cried out and obeyed its master, gliding over while slicing through the air.

"—Kamito."

Just then, Est, who had been sleeping in her sacred sword form, spoke out.

"Your'e awake, Est!?"

"Kamito, hurry and leave this air space."

In a rare moment, Est was speaking with a nervous tone of voice.

"—''She'' is awakening."

"She?"

Kamito jumped in surprise and turned his head to look behind.

—Only to see a change in the pillar of light piercing the center of the Demon King City.

(...What the heck?)

The rainbow-colored light contracted into a point in the air, coalescing into a small sphere.

Inside the sphere was a young girl's floating figure.

A girl with blonde hair and holy armor of pure white.

She was holding a sword in her hand.

This was Millennia Sanctus' sacred sword, the one Lurie had used.

The instant he saw the girl—

Kamito's heart began to race violently.

All the divine power in his body seemed to reverse all at once, boiling up.

An uncontrollable torrent of emotion was raging within Kamito.

Instinctively, Kamito felt that this was his fated nemesis.

—Indeed, ''fated nemesis''.

The one and only being capable of annihilating the Demon King who served as a vessel for Darkness Elemental Lord Ren Ashdoll's power—

Areishia Idriss, the Sacred Queen.

Having shared Est's dreams in the past, Kamito recognized her face.

And standing in that sphere of light, that girl's appearance was identical to the Sacred Maiden he had seen in the dreams.

However, the ambiance around her was completely different.

Est's master in the dreams had displayed human expressions on her face.

In contrast, this girl's face did not show any emotion at all.

"—Kamito, that is not Areishia."

"Yeah, I agree."

Suppose what Demon King Solomon had said was true—

What had awakened after a thousand years was not the Sacred Maiden—

But the vessel containing the soul of Holy Lord Alexandros.

Just then—

The girl's sharp eyes looked at Kamito—At least, that was what he felt.

(...! We're spotted?)

Instinctively, he felt it.

In the next instant—
[[image:STnBD V18 BW02.jpg|thumb]]

The Sacred Maiden casually raised the sacred sword in her hand—

"—Roc, evade!"

Hastily, Kamito shouted.

The Roc instantly obeyed and rapidly descended.

In the next second, a flash of pure white brushed past the Roc's giant wing, firing into the desert area out in the distance.

BOOOOOOM!

Kamito's view turned white.

He felt an overwhelming shockwave weighing down on him.

"...!?"

The giant bird spirit spun in the air, dealt a heavy blow by raging winds.

The Roc flapped its wings hard several times before it finally regained stability.

An intense sandstorm blocked their view of the surroundings.

"...! W-What the heck was that just now!?"

Kamito exclaimed, outraged.

"—Deus Ira."

Restia responded.

"—Annihilation-class spirit magic used during the Spirit War era."

"Restia, you—"

Looking back, Kamito stared wide-eyed.

Half of Restia's wings had vanished without trace.

That flash of light apparently brushed past her wings.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes... More importantly, we must leave as quickly as possible—"

"Yeah—"

With a flap of the Roc's wings, the sand and dust was instantly blown away.

Next, from the city gate, Kamito spotted Claire and the others lying prone on the ground.

It looked the earlier shockwave had knocked them down, but they seemed to be fine.

"Roc, pick them up!"

Gooroorooroorooroorooroo!

"W-What is this!?"

Lying on the ground, Claire looked up, unsure what was happening.

"All of you, get on now!"

Kamito shouted loudly.

"K-Kamito!? What do you mean, get on? This is so sudden!"

"W-What is with that bird...?"

Claire and Rinslet were baffled with puzzled faces.

However, the Roc glided straight towards them—

Opening its beak, it swallowed Fenrir and Georgios in one mouthful.

"Kyahhhhhhhhh!"

"W-What in the world!? Kyah—"

No sooner had Claire and Rinslet screamed than they were interrupted.

"H-Hey, what are you doing!? Hurry and spit them out!"

Seeing the unexpected manner of retrieval, Kamito frantically slapped the Roc's neck, but...

"Don't worry, the inside of the Roc is connected to a safe dimension."

"...Are you serious?"

"Serious. Let us do everything we can to escape first. We might not be so lucky as to dodge the next shot—"

Restia cast her gaze out into the distant desert.

A gigantic crater had formed where the beam of light of Deus Ira had pierced.

...A single attack contained enough firepower to annihilate a city.

"I guess you're right—"

Kamito poured powerful divine power into the ring. The Roc instantly sped up.

A howling sandstorm blocked their view of the Sacred Maiden.

===Part 5===

"...So they have left?"

In a corner of the gradually vanishing Demon King City—

Staring at the spirit flying out into the desert, the Demon King muttered to himself.

His body was already on the verge of disappearing. Most likely, before the city vanished completely, he would be gone without a trace like grains of sand in the wind.

He looked down at the tiny glowing stones held in his hands.

They were the final fragments of the spirit Iris.

Likewise, she was going to vanish together with this Demon King City.

For spirits with their enduring lifespans, a thousand years was not long.

However, he had enjoyed his time together with her.

The Demon King's spirits, which had rampaged to their hearts' content, were beginning to return to Astral Zero.

As for the knights of the Holy Kingdom, he had placed them in the desert. Although he had no obligation to help them, it was his job after all. With enough luck, they should end up rescued.

At this time, in this city that was supposed to be empty...

"Hey you, what are you doing here?"

A gruff voice spoke to him.

He looked back to see a young man with a dark complexion standing there.

"And who may you be?"

"Huh? Me?"

Hearing that, the young man grinned.

"I am Jio Inzagi, the Demon King's successor."

The young man introduced himself.

"Huh...?"

The Demon King could not help but make a sound in astonishment.

...''A poor child with delusions, I see.''

"Hey, who the heck are you?"

"I am Safian, a traveling merchant."

"A merchant? What a weirdo."

''I could say the same for you''. Suppressing these words, the Demon King spoke.

"This place is about to collapse. You should escape soon."

"And you aren't gonna?"

"No, after all, this is my homeland."

"...Hmph. Suit yourself."

The young man seemed to lose interest and prepared to leave.

Just then, the Demon King suddenly had an idea and called to the young man.

"Oh, please wait a second."

"What now?"

"I suppose our encounter is owed to fate. Let this be my gift to you."

"...What the heck is this?"

Seeing him pull out the Demon's Mask from thin air, the young man frowned in surprise.

"A leftover product from my wares. I have no use for it."

"...Eh, now that I take a closer look, this design isn't half bad."

"Hmm, it seems like your sense of aesthetics matches the Demon King's."

"Okay, I'll take it. Bye—"

"Yes."

The young man took the Demon's Mask and very swiftly departed.

His physical abilities far surpassed that of ordinary people.

...Even though the Demon King had no idea who he was, he found the young man quite amusing.

After seeing the young man disappear into the desert—

"Very well, my time will be up soon—"

His gaze settled on the glow in his hands.

"—My wish is for what that king took, ''my beloved daughter's soul, to find salvation''."

Next, having confirmed that the faint light had vanished—

Like grains of sand blown in the wind, he vanished without trace.
<noinclude>
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter1

2018-07-13T17:08:05Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 2 */

==Chapter 1 - Demon King==

===Part 1===

"...These spirits are relentless!"

"They are most likely following the scent of our divine power—"

Ellis complained in suffering while racing through the streets of the Demon King City like the wind.

The spirits sent by the Sacred Spirit Knights were behind, chasing after them. They belonged to the special operative Ayla Cedar whose contracted spirit Shade Wolf was a spirit collective. As a fully autonomous type of spirit, they were able to stay in the shadows of Claire and Ellis and keep following them while they kept running.

Several minutes earlier, the two of them had encountered the Sacred Spirit Knights in a plaza in the Demon King City. Luminaris was searching for the Fire Elemental Lord's avatar that they had lost track of, whereas Claire and Ellis happened to be moving around with the Fire Elemental Lord.

"The Holy Kingdom has found out we're here."

"Yes, looks like it would be wise to meet up with Kamito and the others then get out of here!"

Ellis turned her body and swung Ray Hawk.

The wind blade generated from the spear tip sliced a chasing shadow hound into two.

However, the bifurcated hound silently melted into the ground, then emerged from the shadow of another building.

"There is no end to this."

"Collective spirits specialized in tracking ability, what a pain..."

"I was chased by that shadow hound during the final round on Ragna Ys. Looks like fate has brought us together again."

The hound attacked from above. This time, Claire intercepted it using Flametongue.

With the sound of air being torn apart, the hound was instantly burned to nothing.

(...This kind of pursuit is to the enemy's advantage. This is bad.)

Without even glancing at the shadow that had been turned to charcoal, Claire silently pondered. It was quite likely that the knights under Luminaris' command were lying in wait ahead of time at the exit of this road.

Given Claire and her companions' current level, they could probably hold their own in a fight against Luminaris or the spirit knights of the Holy Kingdom. However, fighting so many of them at the same time would still be too challenging.

(That being said, we can't use Ellis' wind magic to fly either—)

That would end up playing into enemy hands, since the Sacred Spirit Knights included a couple professional snipers.

"Seriously, where has Kamito gone off to at a time like this!?"

"I really doubt that Kamito has been caught by the Holy Kingdom—"

"This way, circle around the back and capture them!"

Luminaris' command sounded on the main street.

Ahead of them, footsteps of multiple people approached.

"They have us surrounded front and back. What do we do?"

"That leaves us no choice but to break through directly...!?"

Claire and Ellis prepared themselves, stopping to manifest their elemental waffen. Just then...

A terrifying explosion was heard. The ground shook intensely.

"...W-What!?"

"The ground is splitting open!?"

Cracks appeared in stone buldings, which then collapsed in the massive earthquake.

This was not the Sacred Spirit Knights attacking, because they could see Luminaris and her subordinates up ahead in the main road in confusion just as Claire and Ellis were.

"—Claire, we are taking flight!"

"Got it!

Claire swiftly nodded and Ellis grabbed her arm. Using this moment of confusion would allow them to capitalize on openings in the enemy snipers. What a bold yet accurate judgment call.
[[image:STnBD V18 BW01.jpg|thumb]]

Ellis swung Ray Hawk with one hand, producing intense wind that formed a hurricane. The two girls instantly passed over the roofs of buildings and flew.

Released by the snipers, arrows of holy light fell like rain. However, because they reacted to late due to the chaos, they committed a serious mistake.

Turning swiftly in the air, Ellis evaded the rain of arrows spectacularly.

"Turn into charcoal!"

As payback, Claire released a Fireball, blowing away all the snipers hiding in the shadows of a building.

"Anyway, let's escape to the hotel where Fianna and the others are standing by—"

"Yes, but what was the earthquake just now...?"

Ellis wiped sweat with her sleeve while looking down at the Demon King City beneath them.

A sudden massive fissure that had appeared across the land, swallowing roads and buildings, looked like it had gotten bigger.

"This is no ordinary earthquake—"

"Yes. All things considered, earthquakes are phenomena caused by angry earth spirits. In this Ghul-a-val, the land forsaken by spirits, earthquakes should be impossible—"

"Ellis, look now! There's something in the fissure!"

"...What is that?"

Ellis looked at where Claire was pointing at.

In the depths of the giant fissure, amid viscous darkness, some kind of gigantic shadow was trying to crawl out.

"Could it be a spirit...?"

"...Come on, what the heck is going on!?"

===Part 2===

"What the hell happened...?"

Surrounded by darkness, unable to see his own outstretched hand, Kamito opened his eyes.

He felt waves of pain from his head.

How much time had passed since he lost consciousness?

"...Say, where is this place?"

While pressing on his temple, Kamito looked around him.

A small lamp was lit with an ancient silver candlestick, providing illumination.

The stone floor had moss on it with fallen stone pillars.

The paintings on the walls had almost completely flaked off, indicating the sad state of affairs.

It was most likely some kind of decrepit ancient shrine. Kamito could not help but recall the final round of the Blade Dance, which was held at the ruins of Megidoa the abandoned city.

(Wait, why am I here...!?)

Kamito was more and more confused.

His memories from before losing consciousness had broken off somewhere suddenly.

(—I remember I was supposed to be fighting Lurie underground in the Demon King's Tomb.)

The assassin sent by the Holy Kingdom to target the Demon King's Coffin was Lurie Lizaldia, the Blade Dance winner fifteen years ago. After an intense blade dance against her, Kamito defeated her.

However, she still had a final resort.

She activated the spirit detonation installed in her own heart, a weapon of mass destruction using the power of spirits, intending to destroy the Demon King's Tomb that was protected by a barrier.

Ironically, she, who hated war and had wished upon the Elemental Lords to eliminate war—

Had now used the most terrifying weapon to be produced during the Ranbal War.

(...I still remember everything up to this point. What's interrupted is my memory afterwards—)

Back then, what had happened to him, closest to the blast center as he was?

"Don't tell me..."

Kamito thought of a terrifying possibility and broke out in cold sweat.

Even though he survived many perils thanks to Est's Protection of Steel, one would not expect him to emerge unscathed from spirit detonation, a weapon of mass destruction boasting of firepower sufficient to annihilate a city completely once activated.

(—Normally, I'd get vaporized.)

That must be it.

Trying to explain why he still existed, Kamito concluded...

"...I'm already dead, so this place is Valhalla?"

Thinking calmly, Kamito reached such a conclusion.

Valhalla was a resting place for the souls of the dead.

Legend spoke of it as a paradise located somewhere in Astral Zero. However, this was just what the Divine Institute claimed to the outside world. No one knew if it really existed or not.

As a paradise, his current location was rather crude.

(No wait, now is not the time to relax!)

Kamito was just about to stand up—

When he suddenly noticed—

His right hand, touching the floor of black stone.

The spirit seal on the back of his hand was glowing faintly.

Were he dead and sent off to the afterlife—

Then his spirit contract with Est would be broken, hence the spirit seal should be erased.

Kamito took off his left hand's leather glove.

The emblem of a sword crossed with a moon—Restia's spirit seal—was intact too.

(Oh right, where are they!?)

Kamito poured divine power into the spirit seals on his hands to summon the two sword spirits.

...But there was no response. If the spirit seals were still visible, then the connections should not be cut—

"Relax. Time here is separated from that of the human realm."

"...!?"

Kamito heard a voice that he seemed to recall hearing somewhere previously.

At the same time, a man suddenly appeared before him.

"...You're...?"

Kamito had trouble getting his voice out of his throat.

The young man was dressed like a desert merchant.

He was Safian, the Zohar merchant whom Kamito had met in the Demon King City.

"What's going on? Why are you here?"

Kamito stood up, staring sharply at the man before his eyes. Although he claimed to be a poor merchant who was shipwrecked in the desert and ended up in the Demon King City, this clearly was impossible.

...Who the hell was he?

"Do not be so wary. I am not trying to win you over by favors, but I did save your life at least."

"You?"

Kamito stared at Safian with skepticism in his eyes.

"Where is this? We're not inside the pyramid, right?"

"This place is a dimensional gap—neither in the human realm nor Astral Zero."

"A dimensional gap?"

"After the spirit war, the originally unified world was split into the human realm and Astral Zero. At the same time, a few dimensional gaps were formed by chance. This is one of them."

"...So it's a different dimension from the Demon King's Tomb, huh?"

"You are quick on the uptake. As expected of the Demon King's successor. Or perhaps, you asked Iris already?"

"She mentioned that this Demon King City consists of the Demon King's memory fragments anchored in a dimensional gap through the power of the Demon King's Tomb. To be honest, I can't fully understand it, but there are other places apart from the Demon King City that exist in dimensional gaps, right?"

"Indeed. And this dimension is a tiny gap that I can use freely."

As though proud of his crude private room, Safian spread his arms.

"This dimension doesn't seem to offer much. What are these ruins?"

"This used to be a historical site belonging to the Elves. However, the majority of such sites were destroyed in the Spirit War."

...''So that's why it had a similar feel to the ruins on Ragna Ys''.

"Anyway, let me thank you first. Looks like you really did save me."

"I am glad I made it in time. Any later and you would have been vaporized."

"Yeah&mash;"

Kamito spoke softly.

"What happend to Est and Restia? Are they here too?"

"No, you are the only one transported here. After all, it all happened at great haste. However, there is no need to worry abou those two spirits. No matter what, they are the legendary sacred sword and the Demon King's demon sword."

"So you even know about Est and Restia—"

Kamito replied. Safian shrugged and smiled wryly.

"Safian, who exactly are you? By now, are you still going to insist you're just an ordinary merchant?"

"Oh? I thought you would have realized my true identity after meeting with Iris."

"Well, although I have a rough guess—"

Kamito took out a gold coin from his chest pocket and flicked it lightly with his thumb.

"This is coin of the Demon King City that you exchanged for me. I've been wondering the whole time whose face the face on it resembled... If I take a closer look, it's identical to yours."

"Hmm, and so?"

"Gold coins have the highest value among coins. The face on the coin must be the ruler's face. And the Demon King City's ruler is—"

"I see."

"You're ''Demon King Solomon'', right?"

"..."

Safian smiled without answering.

Kamito took it as a silent yes and continued.

"But it was only just now when I became convinced of this. In the burial chamber, I saw what happened a thousand years ago. Although the Demon King's face was blurred, at least I can tell he doesn't look like a monster like the legends say."

"Is that so? Did Iris show you everything?"

"Yeah. How you were called a hero, then falling to become the Demon King. I saw it all."

Kamito stared at the man before him.

This was precisely the man who was known as a hero to an ancient kingdom—

The evil Demon King Solomon, who had brought unprecedented terror and chaos to the continent.

"You are half correct."

"Half correct?"

Kamito frowned in surprise.

"I am different from the Demon King described in legends. I am a product of the regrets from the final moments of the human named Solomon Yelsion. A lingering grudge, if you will. A pathetic being without the Demon King's power and can only wander between dimensional gaps."

Saying that, the Demon King, who looked like a young man, laughed in self-deprecation.

...So that was how it was. This man was a fragment of memory as mentioned by the spirit Iris.

Like the Demon King City's residents, was he a bubble-like existence?

From the time when he was still a human hero before he was known as the Demon King—

(...That being said, this image is way too different from the Demon King legends circulating in folklore.)

Kamito whispered in his thoughts.

From appearance, he looked like just a fine young man.

In the case of Kamito, who was similarly just a male elementalist, yet he had been called the Demon King of the Night. This notorious name was totally imposed by popular opinion.

"Then what is your job?"

"What do you mean by job?"

He cocked his head in puzzlement at Kamito's question.

"The spirit Iris is the guardian of the Demon King's Coffin's seal. You have a job too, right?"

"...Indeed. If she is the guardian of this place, then I am the administrator of the Demon King City. Repairing dimensional tears, sending occasional travelers back to the human realm when they are drawn here by accident or intent, etc. I suppose such things would count, speaking of jobs."

"I can't believe there's nothing big."

"I have said so already. I wield none of the former Demon King's power."

Safian—Demon King Solomon—smiled wryly.

"But now, my job is coming to an end."

"...What do you mean?"

"This Demon King City is about to vanish."

Kamito was speechless.

Did the spirit detonation used by Lurie cause destruction of such great scale...?

(No, that Bloodstone should be no bigger than a heart—)

It should not have the firepower to destroy an entire city.

"This city relies on the pyramid, the Demon King's Tomb, to stay anchored to the dimensional gap. Once the pyramid is damaged, this city would naturally collapse. Moreover, this city was originally generated in an unstable dimension, akin to a building built on sand."

"Then she—"

What was going to happen to the spirit Iris, the guardian of the Demon King's Tomb?

Solomon shook his head. Did he notice what Kamito was thinking?

"Her existence is inseparable from the Demon King's Tomb. Once this place collapses, of course she will vanish and so will I."

Surprisingly, there was no sadness in his voice.

Had he already prepared himself for this day to arrive eventually?

"When Iris loses power, the seal on the Demon King's Coffin will be lifted. The woman who fought you must have figured this out, which is why she used spirit detonation there."

"...So what exactly is sealed inside the Demon King's Coffin?"

Kamito asked.

According to legends passed down by the Demon King's cult, told to him by Restia, the Demon King's remains lay dormant in the coffin. One would obtain great power should one lay their hands on the coffin.

But—

"''How utterly ignorant''—"

That was what Lurie Lizaldia had said.

Sleeping inside that coffin was not the so-called Demon King's power—

But a holy relic of the Holy Kingdom's instead.

Solomon quietly shook his head.

"—Ultimately, the so-called Demon King's Coffin did not exist in the first place."

"...Huh?"

Kamito could not help but widen his eyes.

"It was nothing more than a rumor spread by the Demon King cult."

"Th-Then what was the spirit Iris guarding here?"

Kamito was stunned.

"You have already seen it."

"What are you talking about?"

"The spirit crystal within which the spirit Iris is sealed, ''that'' is what she had been protecting for the past thousand years."

"...The crystal!?"

The gigantic crystal, glowing with iridescent light.

It was what the spirit Iris had been protecting till now—

Just then, the candlestick's flame suddenly extinguished.

Not because the wind blew it out. There was no wind here.

By the time Kamito noticed, Solomon had changed to a serious expression, staring off into the darkness of empty space.

"...It appears she has awakened."

"She?"

"—Yes. The sealed Sacred Maiden."

===Part 3===

"What is going on?"

"I have no idea either—Kyah!"

A violent earthquake was taking place. Seeing the ground in front of them suddenly crack open, Georgios, who was carrying Fianna in his arms, jumped and leaped over the gap.

With the heavy sound of metal, the knight spirit landed safely.

"Your Highness, are you alright?"

Leading the way, Rinslet looked back from riding Fenrir's back.

"I am fine, though I accidentally bit my tongue."

Frowning, Fianna stuck out her reddened tongue.

"Let us exit the city first. The buildings here are too densely packed, which is dangerous."

"What about Claire and the others? Also, we have yet to locate Kamito-kun."

"Those three will be fine. Your safety is of paramount importance, Your Highness."

Listening to Rinslet, Fianna bit her lip lightly.

Currently, she was the symbol of Ordesia's anti-Emperor faction.

She must not lose her life here.

"...I understand. Georgios, sprint out of the city gate!"

<Yes, Master!>

Answering in a hollow voice, the knight spirit began to run, crushing stone tiles underfoot.

"Time to go, Fenrir!"

"Woof!"

No one on the streets paid attention to the two escaping girls. As the city began to collapse, the residents of the Demon King City turned into particles of light and disappeared.

(...The Pyramid is gradually vanishing.)

From the knight spirit's arms, Fianna stared in astonishment at the scene.

The gigantic structure, standing where the Demon King's palace used to be situated in the past, was visible from anywhere in the city.

Right now, it was gradually disappearing, turning into particles of light as though it were melting into the air.

What connection was there between the Pyramid fading away and the sudden earthquake?

Amid the earthquake's intense tremors—

Georgios and Fenrir forcibly jumped over the bulging ground and continued to run.

Suddenly, Fenrir halted.

"Your Highness, please stop!"

Rinslet called out.

"What is the matter?"

"Something is emerging!"

"...!?"

Grrr, Fenrir growled as a warning.

In the next instant...

An explosion was heard. The ground in front of them cracked open wide.

With a billowing dust cloud, some kind of giant shadow emerged from underground.

ROAR!

"W-What is that!?"

Terrifying roar shook the atmosphere.

From the crack in the ground appeared a wild beast. A ridiculously gigantic beast.

It was a double-headed lion with burning claws and teeth.

"Could this be a spirit...?"

Fianna widened her dusk-colored eyes.

Furthermore, this was quite a high-tier spirit. A rare archdemon-class spirit, seldom encountered even in the depths of the Spirit Forest, no, even in Astral Zero—

"Why is there a spirit in a place like this!?"

"I-I have no idea either... Oh no, more are coming!?"

After the lion spirit, a giant spirit clad in armor of ice blades appeared.

Its total height far exceeded that of the surrounding buildings. With dense blades of ice sprouting from them, the arms looked like they could smash houses of stone in an instant.

"Unbelievable..."

"What on earth is going on...!?"

Facing the humongous spirits emerging from underground, the two girls stood astonished, rooted to the spot, unable to move.

The two spirits, slowly crawling out of the ground, glared at each other and began to face off.

ROAR!

Then they roared at the same time—

Unbelievably, they began to fight.

"...! H-Hold on a second, this must be some kind of joke, right!?"

A giant piece of stone debris flew over, Georgios deflected it with his sword.

The clash of fists against claws was ripping up the stone tiles on the ground, creating craters.

"Looks like this path is closed. Let us take a detour."

"I-I suppose—"

While taking care to avoid discovery by the fighting spirits, the two girls quietly made plans to leave.

Just then...

"...Save... me!"

Hearing a scream, so faint that it seemed like their imagination, the two girls exchanged a glance.

"Did you hear that just now?"

"Yes, it was... a cry for help, right?"

Rinslet nodded.

The residents of this city should have vanished already.

Then whose voice was it just now?

Woof woof. Fenrir barked twice.

"What is the matter?"

"Someone's scent seems to be coming from that side!"

Rinslet hastily urged Fenrir to go over there.

Arriving at a pile of rubble collapsed during the earthquake, Fenrir stopped.

"Is anybody here?"

Rinslet called out loudly while explosions continue to sound.

However, she did not hear any response.

"Georgios, dig this up!"

At Fianna's command, the knight spirit began to deftly clear away large pieces of rubble.

After the biggest piece of rubble had been moved away—

"Wait, there is someone!"

Fianna cried out.

"...Ooh... Oooooh... Ooh..."

A girl dressed in a gray overcoat was groaning, her leg was trapped under rubble.

"A-Are you okay!?"

"Stay still. I will heal you right away."

Fianna hurried over and directed Georgios to move away the surrounding rubble. As she swiftly chanted spirit magic for healing, the girl's leg injury gradually vanished.

"...T-THank you... very much..."

Despite the pain showing in her expression, the girl still voiced her gratitude.

After all, spirit magic was only able to heal but not erase the pain.

"That leg does not look like it can walk yet. I will have Georgios carry you."

"May I ask who are you...?"

"I am Rinslet of House Laurenfrost."

"Lauren...?"

Hearing that, the girl tilted her head in puzzlement.

At that moment—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Especially loud rumbling could be heard nearby. An adjacent building collapsed at the same time.

The resulting cloud of dust caused Fianna and the others to cough incessantly.

"Let us chat properly later. We must get out of here first."

"V-Very well—"

The girl nodded and was picked up by Georgios.

Suddenly, Fianna noticed a certain object the girl was clutching tightly to her chest.

It was a book written in High Ancient.

"That book—"

As a talented princess maiden, Fianna could tell from a single glance that this was no ordinary book.

Exuding a mysterious aura, this was a book-shaped elemental waffe.

In other words, this girl was an elementalist.

"...Could it be that you are Princess Saladia!?"

"Eh!?"

Hearing the name uttered by Fianna, Rinslet could not help but exclaim.

The girl widened her eyes forcefully and closed her lips tightly.

Upon closer examination...

Her face did resemble that of her older sister, Sjora.

"N-No, I..."

Saying that, she frantically hid her face under her hood and tried to deny.

However, Fianna held the girl's hand and introduced herself.

"I am Fianna Ray Ordesia, the second princess of Ordesia."

"The second... princess...?"

"We offer a warmest welcome to you, Princess Saladia."

The girl widened her crimson eyes.
<noinclude>
{{SeireiDance Nav|prev=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Prologue|next=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume18 Chapter2}}</noinclude>

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter10

2018-05-21T14:16:03Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 6 */

==Chapter 10 - The Two Blade Dancers==

===Part 1===

—Dispassionate Queen of Steel, the sacred sword that incubates true darkness.

—Now form the Sword of the Celestial Demon and be the power in my hand!

Lurie Lizaldia reached into the air.

Millennia Sanctus' body then turned into particles of light and vanished.

Seeing the object that manifested in Lurie's hand the next instant—

(...! What the hell?)

Kamito mentally jumped in surprise.

His memories from the underground battle under the Academy town awakened. The elemental waffe he had witnessed back then was supposed to be a terrifying demon sword, quite similar to Greyworth's.

But this time, held in her hand was a double-edged sword shining with silver-white sacred light.

Millennia Sanctus.

Although the spirit Iris had described her as ''a being neither spirit nor human''—

Since she could turn into an elemental waffe, that meant she was a spirit after all?

Kamito stared at the silver-white sword held up in Lurie's hands.

Probably a sword spirit like Est. The hilt's decoration also seemed a bit similar.

Although probably not in the same class as the Demon Slayer, given that Millennia could also take on human form, then surely she must be high-level spirit.

Kamito's neck perspired a little.

"Hand over the ''sacred relic'', Ren Ashbell."

"Sacred relic?"

"What lies hidden in the deepest part of this Tomb."

Lurie held up her sword-shaped elemental waffe at a slant.

Kamito had never seen such a stance before. It was not Ordesian swordsmanship.

"How ironic. The Holy Kingdom considers the Demon King's Coffin a sacred relic?"

"—Fufu, ''how utterly ignorant''."

Instantly, Lurie's blood lust exploded.

"...!?"

A flash within a breath's duration. Lurie closed the distance all at once.

This was terrain reduction, a basic martial arts skill executed by concentrating divine power underfoot then exploding it. However, her speed was extraordinary. In merely an instant, she had closed in on Kamito far away to engage in combat.

A scattering of sparks. The violent clash of steel resounded throughout the temple.

Using the Demon Slayer, Kamito blocked the heavy first strike.

(...! What's with this crazy strength!?)

Using her momentum, Lurie swung her sword fully.

Kamito was blown away by the impact.

"Damn it...!"

Hastily, Kamito stabbed the Demon Slayer into the floor to resist the force.

With a savage grin on her face, Lurie stepped forward.

Boom—With a noise resembling the firing of a projectile, she charged.

Kamito swung his sacred sword from its downward pointing position, using the reaction force from his movement to deflect Lurie's blade.

While the sword traced out a semi-circular flash, Kamito jumped at the same time.

Moonlit Sky Dash—This was a half-baked move of the Absolute Blade Arts that did not consume divine power.

The Demon King's black garb spun in the air. Then—

"Absolute Blade Arts, Second Form—Meteor!"

Kamito crossed his two swords and swung them down.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The astounding impact was unleashed together with the sound of an explosion.

The stone floor was dug up radially, forming a huge crater.

—However, he was a moment too late. Lurie had already jumped.

Follow-up attack. With his back to the scattering debris, Kamito kicked the ground.

"Absolute Blade Arts, First Form—Purple Lightning."

He released explosive divine power in an instant. Leaving an afterimage, he charged right up to his enemy.

The activation speed of this move was as quick as lightning streaking across the sky, hence its name.

However, Lurie was already prepared. Her lips fluttered slightly.

"—Day of wrath, sword apostles, to your positions with haste!"

"...!?"

What appeared before Kamito were countless swords of light, sprouting from the floor.

This was spirit magic of steel affinity. It would be easy to use the Demon Slayer's strength to sweep them all away, but—

(A trap, huh?)

Kamito felt from instinct. There was something ominous about Lurie's sword stance.

The spirit magic was a ruse to lure him into charging in.

Clang—!

Kamito stabbed his sword into the ground to halt his momentum. Immediately, he jumped sideways next.

Lurie's eyes widened slightly. Sure enough, she had planned to counterattack.

All pointing at Kamito, the swords of light began to pursue him like a shoal of fish.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form—Shadowmoon Waltz, Double Turn!"

Three simultaneous flashes of the sword completely shredded the swords of light.

He landed. Just as the hem of his garment touched the ground, Lurie instantly closed in from the front.

"—Mistral Arc!"

Exhaling sharply, she executed killing sword move.

It was a swift thrust rivaling the Purple Lightning Kamito had just performed.

Too late to block. Kamito twisted his head in the nick of time and dodged. His cheek was scratched lightly, producing a splatter of blood. Had he evaded a beat slower, Kamito's head would have separated from his body.

"...!"

Kamito lost balance slightly. Immediately—

"—Éclair Orage!"

A storm-like flurry of sword strikes attacked Kamito.

Kamito hastily used both swords to defend. However, he failed to deflect everything. The frenzy of silver-white sword moves mercilessly slashed Kamito's shoulder.

"Gah...!"

'—Kamito!'

Est cried out.

"...Ohhhhhhhhh!"

Kamito exhaled mightily. Instead of faltering, he stepped forward.

Caught by surprise, Lurie hastily backed away.

"—Go forth and pierce, Vorpal Blast!"

Released from the demon sword's blade, jet-black lightning poured towards Lurie—

"—Day of punishment, may the branded be protected!"

A magic circle appeared in front of her. The barrier of light neutralized the demon lightning of darkness.

Grand Alexandros—Top-tier spirit magic only talented individuals bearing the rank of saint were capable of using.

"—What a shame. A darkness spirit's power doesn't work against me."

Indeed, the holy spirit magic she used was extremely unfavorable for Restia, a darkness spirit. This was precisely why during the Blade Dance three years ago, Ren Ashbell had faced an unexpectedly tough battle against the paladin Luminaris.

(She's strong—)

Among all the opponents Kamito had ever fought, Lurie was undoubtedly top-class.

If Greyworth's sword was like a storm, then Lurie's would be like swift wind.

Sure enough, last time they fought underground of the Academy, she was only testing him.

"Strong as they say, expected of the strongest Blade Dancer."

Lurie spoke praise.

"Same goes for you. Miraculous Healer, gimme a break."

Holding his shoulder, Kamito brought up her nickname back when she was part of the Numbers.

"Healing is my profession. Swordsmanship is just a hobby."

"Liar. You're stronger than anyone in the Numbers."

Saying that, Kamito spat blood at his feet.

"Yggdra Saint Asoritess, winner of the Blade Dance fifteen years ago."

"Ah, so you know—"

Hearing him, Lurie smiled wryly.

"Even though my appearance is completely different from back then."

She was a top-tier healer. Altering her appearance would have been a piece of cake.

"Why are you joining forces with the Holy Kingdom when you're a Blade Dance winner?"

Entering a stance with the dual swords of darkness and steel in his hands, Kamito asked.

"I'll tell you if you can defeat me."

Likewise, Lurie readied her sacred sword at a slant.

"We are both winners of the Blade Dance. Let us decide here and now who deserves the name of the Strongest Blade Dancer."

"...Both winners? Please—"

Kamito laughed fearlessly.

"There are plenty of Blade Dance winners, ''but I am the strongest of all time and no one else''."

Saying that, he took off the Garb of the Lord that he had been wearing.

"...? What are you doing—"

Unable to understand Kamito's actions, Lurie frowned.

Kamito moved his neck in a circle and pressed his hand on his shoulder.

There were no wounds at the place where Lurie's sword had slashed.

Presumably, the Garb of the Lord had defended him. Living up to its name as a legendary artifact, its properties were nothing to sneer at.

'Kamito, what are you doing!?'

Seeing Kamito take off the black garment, Restia grumbled.

"...Wait, you must have noticed halfway through."

'...'

When confronted with his argument, the darkness spirit stayed silent in embarrassment.

"Although I'll have to say sorry to Iris-san, but this is too far away from my own style."

In fact, Kamito had felt a tiny sense of dissonance when he first put on the black garment—

He confirmed it when he performed an Absolute Blade Art—Purple Lightning.

Apparently, the curse woven into the black fabric would disrupt the flow of divine power.

Even though its defensive properties were outstanding, wearing it would dull the sharpness of the Absolute Blade Arts, which required precise control of divine power.

Sure enough, this was something that only Demon King Solomon could use to full effect.

Back in his familiar Areishia Spirit Academy uniform look, Kamito performed a few swings of the sword in a relaxed manner.

"I knew it, this outfit prepared by the hag suits me better."

"Are you sure? Ren Ashbell."

Watching him, Lurie spoke.

"It was all thanks to that black outfit that you escaped a critical wound just now, right?"

"I guess..."

Kamito admitted it simply.

Just as she had pointed out, if the slash earlier had cut him directly, his shoulder would have been deeply injured.

However—

"Don't worry. ''Your sword will no longer hit me''."

"...! What a joke—Ren Ashbell!"

Lurie's blood lust exploded.
[[image:STnBD V17 BW10.png|thumb]]

===Part 2===

"What on earth are you doing!?"

"W-What choice do I have? We'll both get turned to charcoal if I refused."

"Fair enough..."

While walking along the main road, Ellis and Claire were whispering to each other.

They glanced behind them—

A spirit with the appearance of a young girl was walking a few steps behind them, looking at the buildings with curiosity.

For some unknown reason, the spirit seemed to like Claire in particular, asking about this or that in the streets and even inquired about things such as customs in the human realm.

(...Who exactly is this child?)

She was undoubtedly quite a high-ranked spirit, but in that case, why was she traveling with the Holy Kingdom's knights? Suppose she were a spirit converted for military use, there was no way she would be able to behave so independently and arbitrarily.

(Or maybe she's not part of their group?)

No matter what, the current situation must be unexpected for the Holy Kingdom's knights too.

Right now, the knights were surely sending spirits to track them. Although Ellis had sent out wind spirits to interfere with tracking, however—A fight was guaranteed as soon as they encountered each other.

(Before that happens, we have to meet up with Kamito as soon as possible...)

While strolling the streets with the girl and keeping her happy, they had to look for Kamito without the Holy Kingdom's knights finding them. This was quite a tough mission.

"Hell cat girl, what is that building? I sense the powers of my fire spirit kin."

With eyes filled with curiosity, the girl pointed to a building that had a chimney.

"That's a pottery workshop. Inside, they have fire spirits working kilns for firing pottery."

A knowledgeable honors student, Claire explained to her.

"Oh I see... Earth is good. Even though earth is stubborn, we get along well."

The girl nodded with satisfaction, murmuring incomprehensibly to herself.

"Large pottery workshops would also have water spirits and wind spirits, as well as princess maidens to serve them. Water spirits are in charge of kneading clay while wind spirits are in charge of drying them."

"Water... That girl is hard for me to deal with..."

Tugging Ellis' sleeve, Claire whispered in her ear.

"Hmm, she doesn't seem to be that bad a spirit. Let's continue observing."

"I have no opinion on that. However, why are you the only one she acts friendly towards? Any clues to that?"

"Like I said, I just happen to resemble the princess maiden who used to be contracted to her—"

"Are such coincidences likely?"

"Who knows..."

"What are you two whispering about?"

"...!"

Secretly conversing, the two girls instantly jumped in surprise.

"N-Nothing!"

"J-Just discussing where to continue our tour next."

"Hmm, then it is fine—"

Hearing Claire's explanation, the girl soon returned to a good mood—

"Then what place are you showing me next?"

With eyes filled with anticipation, she looked at them.

Claire pondered briefly—

"Before I lead the way, there's something I'd like to ask."

"Request permitted. You are in my favor. Ask away."

Always maintaining her haughty attitude, the girl nodded.

"Just now in the plaza, weren't you together with those Holy Kingdom knights? Are they your friends?"

"Those people, huh—"

Hearing that, the girl fidgeted with her hair in boredom.

"I merely lend them some power because they said they wanted to borrow my help. As for what they are doing, I have no idea."

(...In other words, even though they're cooperating, she's not being commanded?)

Claire wondered in her mind.

"Then they were the ones who asked you to wreck the city?"

"Hmm. More precisely, they asked to open a hole in the pyramid."

"I-I see..."

Sure enough, the straight line of destruction in the city was merely for creating a shortcut.

"W-What!? I cannot believe you wrecked the city for such a reason!"

As expected, Ellis began to get mad.

"Why get so worked up? Aren't there plenty of such mere buildings?"

"...What!?"

"Ellis, calm down!"

Claire hastily tried to restrain the justice-minded Ellis—

Then she asked the girl, who was tilting her head in puzzlement.

"...I get it now. But please don't burn the city any more."

Claire looked straight into the girl's eyes.

In response, the girl blinked her eyes, which happened to be the same color as Claire's—

"...So alike, as I thought."

She murmured quietly.

"Very well. I burned it only because it was in my way. Unnecessary destruction is not to my liking either."

(...Hmm, she does listen.)

Originally worried if she might get angry, Claire breathed a sigh of relief.

...Next, the trio continued to walk the streets, arriving at another plaza.

There was not a single person in sight in this plaza. Probably due to the explosion earlier, everyone had fled.

"Looks like Kamito had been to this plaza—"

Hearing whispers from the wind, Ellis spoke.

"Jeez, where the heck has he run off to..!?"

Never did it occur to the two girls that he was already inside the pyramid.

Just then, the spirit girl sniffed.

"There is an aroma in the air. Hell cat girl, what is it?"

She pointed at an unattended shop.

"It's a food stand. Until just now, this should've been a busy market—"

"But everyone seems to have fled."

"I-I already said I wouldn't!"

The girl looked away in embarrassment.

"By the way, is that an offering?"

With a flutter of her scarlet dress, she walked briskly to approach the shop.

"Oh no, don't take things without permission!"

"Stealing is wrong!"

Claire and Ellis hastily chased after her.

It seemed to be a shop selling baked goods.

Unlike the fashionable shops at the Academy town, there were no glass display windows or the like here.

What the spirit girl was especially interested in were baked goods resembling donuts with abundant sugar sprinkled over deep-fried dough.

"Hell cat girl, I want that one."

"Wanting it is fine, but you have to pay properly."

"No. Isn't it a matter of fact that whatever I want must be offered up to me?"

She brought up a barbaric philosophy in response.

"If denied to me, I suppose I might as well burn everything—"

"W-Wait, stop it right there! Why are you jumping to that conclusion!?"

Seeing a fireball appear in the girl's hand, Claire could not help but shout.

"Didn't you just promise not to destroy the city!?"

"Hmm, true..."

Unexpectedly, the girl nodded obediently and dispelled the surging flames.

"Sigh, I feel like I'm being dragged around by the nose..."

Claire sighed and took out some silver coins that she had exchanged earlier.

"We have to put down the money properly. Then it's okay, right?"

"...That still is not right, but I shall overlook it this once."

The rigid Ellis seemed to acquiesce.

"..."

Holding a donut, the spirit girl stared intently at it.

"What's the matter, you're not going to eat it?"

"How do I eat this?"

"Take a bite, like this—"

Claire opened her mouth and bit a donut. Daughters of nobility normally had little chance of coming across this type of food, but Rinslet frequently made donuts as refreshments

Although the donut was not fresh out of the fryer, it was sweet, fluffy with a crisp surface. Very delicious.

"Hmm..."

Imitating Claire, the girl began to take big bites.

"I see. This is good. Praiseworthy."

With her mouth stuffed with donut, she looked as adorable as a small pet.

Probably because she was in a good mood, the tips of her curved horns even had small flames lighting up.

(...If I had a little sister, would she be like this?)

Claire suddenly remembered something.

"Say..."

"What is it, hell cat girl?"

"...What is your name again?"

"Claire, umm—"

Ellis had panic on her face.

Asking a high-level spirit for their name would be regarded as rude behavior.

In fact, the girl seemed quite angry when Claire asked for her true name previously.

However—

"After all, it's hard to address her without a name."

Claire argued back.

"It doesn't have to be a true name. A nickname like Scarlet is fine too."

"Hmm, a nickname, huh? In that case—"

The spirit girl nodded.

"I am addressed as Lord."

"...Huh?"

"Hmm, how now, what is with your reaction?"

"Uh, you got the wrong idea—"

Just as Claire was about to complain...

"—''Lord Volcanicus''!"

A sharp voice resounded across the entire plaza.

"...!?"

Claire looked back—

Only to see a team of knights with swords drawn, surrounding the plaza.

The voice belonged to Luminaris of the Sacred Spirit Knights.

"...! We are discovered—!?"

Ellis immediately deployed her elemental waffe—Ray Hawk.

Ayla Cedar was the special operative in the Sacred Spirit Knights. She specialized in espionage and tracking. Presumably, her shadow spirit, Shade Wolf, had followed them.

Luminaris' eyes widened in surprise.

"Claire Rouge of Ordesia. Why are you here!?"

"...! Claire, what do we—"

Ellis bit her lip and asked Claire behind her.

...But Claire did not answer.

"Claire?"

Ellis looked back—

"...Did you say ''Volcanicus''?"

Gone pale in the face, Claire was staring at the spirit girl.

===Part 3===

"—Hiver Défense!"

Lurie Lizaldia's thrust traced a trajectory like lightning. This was a sword skill executed with extreme mastery of terrain reduction. Its speed was comparable to Purple Lightning's.

Faced with such a blade—

"Don't think you're still fighting the me just now—"

"!?"

As the two fighters crossed, Kamito used his demon sword to counter her move.

Timing perfectly to take into account his enemy's sword speed and even the angle of her blade, Kamito mounted a perfect counterattack.

Her thrust was designed to execute a follow up attack any time even if the first strike failed to connect.

But Kamito easily thwarted that intention.

Lurie was shoved aside, blown away while brushing against the ground.

The brightness of divine power left a trail of afterimages in the darkness. In that instant, she spun and kicked the ground, slashing with her sword like a whip.

However, Kamito read her attack in advance. Forcibly executing an attack while off balance would lead to critical openings—Kamito raised the Demon Slayer fluidly.

With the acute noise of metal clashing, Lurie's arm was deflected upwards.

Kamito immediately swung the demon sword of darkness, striking the body of her blade heavily.

"Gah...!"

Witnessing his blade dance movements that almost seemed like spectacular performance, Lurie shuddered in terror.

His entire body's movements were completely different from just now.

Did such a massive change come about simply from him taking off the black outfit?

"...I see. Looks like you weren't bluffing."

Probably realizing she would be overwhelmed in close quarters combat, she kicked the floor and backed away.

Then making a hand sign, she swiftly chanted spirit magic.

Zap zap—seven spheres of light appeared out of thin air with lightning, hurtling towards Kamito.

This was Lightning Ball—high-level spirit magic that launched a homing ball of holy elemental lightning.

There were only a handful of elementalists in the Holy Kingdom capable of reciting the incantation seven times simultaneously.

"Can you dodge all of them, Ren Ashbell!?"

"I don't need to dodge!"

Kamito took a breath and spun around, swinging the Demon Slayer.

Glowing with silver-white brilliance, the blade swept away the lightning balls surrounding Kamito all at once.

"You erased them simply with the sword's aura!?"

Lurie's face was contorted by shock.

Amazingly, simply touching the divine power enveloping the sacred sword's blade was enough to erase high-level spirit magic.

"Sorry, petty tricks don't work on me—"

Kamito exploded divine power under the soles of his feet against the ground, closing the distance in one go.

Before the impact arrived, the flash of his sword came first.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Introductory Form—Bursting Cherry Blossom Flurry!"

The liberated rain of swords fell with countless afterimages.

This was an offshoot skill derived from the Destructive Form, ninth of the Absolute Blade Arts.

An anti-personnel sword skill that was key to mastering the ultimate move, Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance.

A frenzy slashing dance of light and darkness.

The countless consecutive attacks performed by the two swords were overwhelming Lurie's defense by sheer quantity.

The speed and precision of his sword was on a completely level than before.

Soon enough, Lurie's defense was forced open and she took a misstep.

"—I've waited a long time for this, Lurie."

Seeing that, Kamito said.

"—This is Ren Ashbell, the Strongest Blade Dancer."

"...!?"

Using the Demon Slayer, Kamito dealt a heavy blow to her raised sacred sword.

With a scattering of sparks, her petite frame was sent flying from the impact.

"...Cough... Huff—"

"..."

Looking down at her, crouching on the floor, Kamito pointed his sacred sword at her.

"Someone on your level should be able to understand. You can't beat me."

"It's not, over yet... Ren Ashbell...!"

"...!?"

Lurie stood up, stabbing the sacred sword against the floor.

Her entire body became shrouded in holy light as her wounds slowly began to heal.

She smiled savagely.

(...I see—)

Kamito noticed what supported her formidable strength.

No matter who—

Even accomplished martial artists would be vulnerable to instinctive fear in their subconscious.

However, Lurie did not fear injury.

Her talent as a miraculous healer was inborn and would automatically heal her injured body without needing conscious intent.

Hence, her instinctive fear of injury was weakened.

Indeed, this could be considered a kind of strength.

(However, that's—)

A very twisted kind of strength. It was also a kind of strength that one obtained only through painful experiences.

Lurie used both hands to raise her glowing sacred sword.

"Come, let's continue our blade dance, Ren Ashbell—"

"..."

Kamito readied his dual swords again.

'—Kamito, you understand, right?'

"Yeah."

Hearing Restia's voice, Kamito nodded lightly.

Even though he held the advantage all this time—

...This was unsustainable. The battle must not drag on.

Consecutive use of the Absolute Blade Arts would consume divine power, causing Kamito's own reserves to dwindle.

(This will be bad unless I settle things as quickly as possible.)

===Part 4===

"...Did you say ''Volcanicus''?"

Claire was so surprised that her entire body froze.

There was probably no one on the continent who did not know this name.

Fire Elemental Lord Volcanicus, ruling over the fire spirits, was one of the five Elemental Lords.

(Don't tell me... this child is...?)

Her mind in chaos, Claire suddenly remembered something.

(Come to think of it, Nee-sama said before—)

She remembered it was when they were heading to rescued the imprisoned Fianna—

On board the flying ship, her sister had mentioned it.

At the Elemental Lord's shrine, they had liberated the Fire Elemental Lord from the Otherworldly Darkness' corruption.

At the time, the Fire Elemental Lord vanished and was transported somewhere—

Wasn't that the holy capital of Alexandria?

(Right, no mistake...)

Claire bit her lip hard.

This girl was the incarnation of the Fire Elemental Lord.

She was the same as the Iseria Seaward's incarnation that had teleported to Astral Zero.

In that case, it was only natural for her to wield powers capable of destroying a city in an instant.

(This child is the Fire Elemental Lord... who destroyed my homeland...!)

"Lord Volcanicus, please distance yourself from those people!"

At the plaza's entrance, Luminaris called out.

However, the spirit girl glared at her.

"What is the matter with you people? I am currently having fun with them."

The girl's crimson hair stood up on end, wavering like flames.

That astounding aura of wrath made the Sacred Spirit Knights all freeze.

Only Luminaris managed to stand firm and hold her ground.

"O Lord, please forgive us. We are only fulfilling our responsibilities as your bodyguards."

"Oh? Who are you to worry about my safety?"

"...!?"

Confronted by the Fire Elemental Lord's blazing wrath, Luminaris turned deathly pale.

The only reason why the Fire Elemental Lord had not turned the paladinss into charcoal was because she had promised Claire just now.

"I have no need for bodyguards. I shall remain in these people's company."

Saying that, she turned to Claire.

Now, she noticed for the first time.

Claire's gaze towards her had changed completely.

"Seriously, ah..."

"...What is it?"

"You really are the Fire Elemental Lord..."

Claire's twintails were standing up like burning flames.

As though looking at a mortal enemy, Claire glared at the girl.

"What now, hell cat girl?"

"You, it's all because of you, Nee-sama and my parents...!"

Tears flowed out of her clear ruby-like eyes.

The downpour of the rain of fire. Cities burning in a blaze. Endless cries of suffering. The people rushing to the castle.

With the people's curses in the background, that very day when she had been banished from the castle together with her parents—

"...What are you talking about?"

The spirit girl made a perplexed look, standing there frozen.

Most likely concluding this to be the best opportunity to reclaim her—

"Please leave them, Lord."

Luminaris drew her sword and charged swiftly. She intended to take this opportunity to take Claire out.

"—Do not think you will succeed!"

Holding Ray Hawk, Ellis blocked her path.

"Get lost, small fry!"

Luminaris swung her sacred sword, Murgleis.

Faced with that sword, glowing with holy light—

"...!"

Ellis blocked using the shaft of her magic spear.

"What?"

Luminaris widened her blue eyes in shock.

She never expected her merciless strike to be blocked.

"Is this all you can do, Dame Luminaris?"

"...Gah!?"

Wind gathered at Ray Hawk's spear tip, producing a thunderous rumble.

"Take that...!"

Releasing the compressed air, Ellis blew away the holy sword.

Not expecting a counterattack from whom she thought was a small fry, Luminaris lost balance.

Ellis did not miss the opportunity. Immediately, she rotated her magic spear and attacked with lightning speed.

Enveloped with magical wind, the spear tip pierced the paladin's mythril gauntlet, shattering it.

"Damn you!"

Luminaris was plunged into confusion.

Ellis Fahrengart.

The second daughter of Duke Fahrengart, hailing from a prestigious Ordesian noble house with generations of military tradition.

That was the extent of what Luminaris knew about her.

When entering the Blade Dance, Luminaris had focused virtually all her attention on Ellis' adopted sister Velsaria Eva, completely unconcerned about the younger sister.

"Dame Luminaris, I used to admire you, having blade danced against Ren Ashbell—"

Spinning the magic spear of wind fluidly in one hand, Ellis spoke.

"—But as I am now, ''I am stronger than you''."

She stepped forward, closing the distance all at once.

The thrust of godly speed, enveloped in a storm, was deflected by Luminaris with the holy sword.

"Don't get too full of yourself, mere student knight!"

"I return the same words to you. Do not belittle the Sylphid Knights!"

Their elemental waffen clashed intensely again.

A hurricane-like storm surrounded the crossing blades.

Just as their blade dance gradually intensified—

Claire and the Fire Elemental Lord continued to stare at each other silently.

"Hell cat girl—"

Volcanicus was the first to break the silence.

"Do you hate me?"

"...Uh—"

Claire was speechless.

She was not even sure of her own feelings.

(...Is this child really the Fire Elemental Lord who destroyed my homeland?)

No wait, this girl was undoubtedly the incarnation of the Elemental Lord, but—

Claire thought back to the Water Elemental Lord's incarnation she had met on Ragna Ys.

(She had lost virtually all of her memories as an Elemental Lord...)

In that case, this Fire Elemental Lord might have lost her memories too.

In other words, she might not remember what she had done in the past.

"...Can I ask a question?"

Claire said.

"Do you still remember the name of the princess maiden who resembles me a lot?"

"..."

The Fire Elemental Lord shook her head calmly.

"I do not remember her name, but—"

She replied with apparent sadness.

"She is my precious friend. This is the one thing I recall clearly."

"...I see. In that case—"

Hearing that—

Claire steeled a certain measure of determination in her heart.

This girl was the enemy who had destroyed Elstein. However—

"Volcanicus, I want to bring you to meet someone."

"...What?"

"Make your decision now. Will you return to those Holy Kingdom people or will you come with us?"

"...!"

The Fire Elemental Lord stared intently into Claire's ruby-like eyes. Perhaps through Claire, she was looking at the image of the dear friend who greatly resembled Claire.

After several seconds of silence—

"...That will not be possible."

She shook her head.

"Why?"

"I am bound by a covenant with those people. I cannot break it."

"No way...!"

With a weak smile, the Fire Elemental Lord fluttered her dress.

"Although it was brief, I greatly enjoyed myself on this occasion, hell cat girl."

Surrounded by intense crimson flames, the girl gradually disappeared.

Claire went "ah" but could not chase after her.

"...W-What the heck, this sucks!"

Unable to vent emotions that she could not tell was anger or something else, Claire kept stomping the ground.

Just then—

"Claire—"

Holding the magic spear, Ellis landed softly next to her.

"She went back to Astral Zero, right?"

"Yeah, looks like it..."

Nodding, Claire straightened her standing posture.

She looked around, only to see the two of them surrounded by ten members of the Sacred Spirit Knights.

...All things considered, chances of victory were slim if they had to fight this many knights at the same time.

"Break through the encirclement and retreat."

"...Yes."

Saying that, Ellis readied Ray Hawk while Claire deployed Flametongue.

The two girls ran at the same time.

===Part 5===

On the stage where the Demon King and the Sacred Maiden had dueled, came endless sounds of blades clashing.

Coincidentally, one of the combatants was a princess maiden whom people called a miraculous sacred maiden—

While the other was the Demon King's successor, wielding the Demon Slayer.

The blade dance being performed all over this grand hall seemed to reenact a past era of legends.

"This very day, the blue sky wails, the earth shakes with anger—"

Pure white vestments fluttered up. Lurie Lizaldia chanted spirit magic.

Countless blades of holy light flew across the floor, slicing rows of stone pillars at their base.

However, Kamito had already disappeared from the ground.

Jumping freely between the collapsing stone pillars, he charged at Lurie to engage in combat.

This was high-level three dimensional movement—Assassination skills from the Instructional School.

For someone on his level, walls and floors were no different for him.

"—Go forth and pierce, Vorpal Blast!"

Released from a dead angle, jet-black demon lightning followed an unpredictable trajectory to attack Lurie.

In response, Lurie chanted defensive magic to neutralize the demonic lightning.

"A darkness spirit's power is useless against me."

"Of course I know that!"

Craaash!

With the fall of the stone pillars came an expanding cloud of dust.

In this environment with their vision completely obscured, a silver-white blade flashed.

The Demon Slayer and Lurie's nameless sacred sword crossed, producing sparks repeatedly.

"...!"

"This is not a knight's swordsmanship, Ren Ashbell. Are you getting anxious?"

"We are dueling here, not performing a blade dance for an audience."

Crossing blades up close, Kamito shouted.

Speed, power, judgment, experience, divine power, level of contracted spirit—

In all these respects, Kamito was superior to Lurie.

However—

(But I'm the one who's getting cornered, huh?)

He groaned in his thoughts.

Lurie's vestments glowed with phosphorescence.

Her injuries would always heal in an instant. That inborn freakish power—a power that one could very well call a curse—kept protecting her automatically.

It would do the same even if she herself did not want it, right?

Defeating the miraculous sacred maiden would require delivering a fatal blow to her in one hit.

However, Kamito could not bring himself to kill her. After all, there were things he had to ask.

...No, that was not the real reason.

(I am no longer an assassin of the Instructional School.)

Restia and the friends he had met at the Academy had given him a human heart.

Hence, he would never use the power of spirits to take other's lives.

Then the only way to defeat the endlessly regenerating Lurie would be to wait until she exhausted her divine power.

However, Kamito could not do that either.

He had a troublesome time limit.

If he were to keep consuming divine power like this—

The Darkness Elemental Lord's power would devour him.

No, the power of darkness ahd already started invading Kamito's consciousness.

Time was running out.

He had to decide.

"—Your sword has slowed down, Ren Ashbell!"

Lurie's sacred sword flashed.

Instead of using orthodox knightly swordsmanship, she was using moves modified from the dance of princess maidens.

She had trained in blade dancing, originally meant to serve as offerings to spirits, and attained dizzying heights in mastery.

"—So happy."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

While blocking sword strikes, Kamito spoke.

"I feel exhilarated purely from engaging a blade dance with the Strongest Blade Dancer."

"—Really?"

Kamito felt a dull sting in his heart, as though pierced by a small barb.

What he was about to do—

In a certain way, it might be even more cruel than taking her life.

If he were to use this move from the Absolute Blade Arts, she would never be able to blade dance again.

This was a taboo Absolute Blade Art that Greyworth had forbidden him to use.

After using it once, he had sworn to never use it ever again.

Kamito kicked the ground, jumping back.

Lurie stopped where she was instead of chasing after him.

The two backed away from each other, facing off.

"Are you out of options, Ren Ashbell?"

"No."

Saying that, Kamito stabbed the Vorpal Sword into the ground.

'...Kamito?'

Restia reacted with a surprised voice.

"—Sorry, Restia. This move of the Absolute Blade Arts cannot be used with two swords."

Also, the darkness element was ineffective against Lurie.

Restia seemed to realize what Kamito was about to do and soon fell silent.

Kamito held the Demon Slayer in both hands.

"What are you planning?"

"I'm not going to say 'don't hate me.' Prepare yourself."

He concentrated the divine power circulating through his entire body into the sword's blade.

—He had not used this move for three years.

But his body still remembered this Absolute Blade Art.

Ironically, that was because he had the most misgivings about this one move.

Probably feeling Kamito's silent pressure...

Lurie poured divine power into her nameless sacred sword in return.

Then—

The two of them moved.

Both took a step forward at the same time and ran.

"—Hiver Défense!"

Lurie used a move similar to Purple Lightning.

A thrust of reckless abandon, executed by one who did not fear injury.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!"

As for Kamito—

He bravely and decisively took the blow with his left arm.

The blade entered his flesh. Intense pain. But Kamito endured that and—

Aiming at the heart where all circulating channels gathered, he stabbed his sacred sword right there.

"Cough—Huff—"

Instead of steel, the Demon Slayer was a sword of pure light.

Up until this point, everything happened just like the time when he had pierced Velsaria's heart—

Last time, Kamito had erased a cursed armament seal.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Void Form—Soul Extinction!"

The instant Kamito shouted, the release divine power ran amok inside her body.

===Part 6===

"Looks like this is the end."

Holding her sacred sword, Lurie Lizaldia collapsed on the spot.

She seemed to understand what had happened to her.

The phosphorescence enveloping her vanished. The miraculous power would no longer heal her, presumably.

Stabbed by the Demon Slayer, her chest showed no scar or wound.

However, something of paramount importance to elementalists had been destroyed by Kamito.

Absolute Blade Arts, Void Form—Soul Extinction.

The Absolute Blade Art that his master had banned.

He had shattered the circulation system in the human body for controlling divine power.

She could no longer chant spirit magic or form contracts with spirits.

The miraculous power to heal others. This power, which had saved innumerable people in the past, had been wrecked at Kamito's hands.

Kamito did not regret it. After all, there was probably no way to defeat her any other way.

Precisely because she was strong, Kamito to resort to this forbidden move of the Absolute Blade Arts.

Kamito looked down at Lurie, collapsed on the ground.

Then—

"You promised to tell me if I win, right? Can you tell me why you served the Holy Kingdom when you were already one of the Empire's Numbers?"

"...I suppose I did promise. Sigh, so be it."

With her head down, Lurie muttered to herself.

"I was born with the power to heal. I thought that using this power to save people was the mission entrust to me, so I healed the numerous injured on battlefields."

However—She smiled weakly at this point.

"My belief was wrong. For each life I saved, double that would be lost when those I saved returned to the battlefield. Such absurdity repeated time and again."

Lurie recounted in a calm voice, which made her despair stand out more and more.

"Hence, that is why I wanted change. To take this absurd world and—"

"Then you entered the Blade Dance to—"

"Yes, hoping to change the world, I placed all my hopes on the ''wish'' granted by the Elemental Lords—"

Lurie looked up, staring off into space as though reminiscing about fifteen years ago.

"Uh, your wish..."

Mid-sentence, Kamito halted.

...It was clear as day once he thought about the current state of affairs on the continent.

"Yes, it was impossible. Even the miracle of the Elemental Lords could not grant the wish—"

"..."

"...But it was at that moment, in my disappointment I heard my master's voice in my mind."

"Your master?"

Kamito repeated her words. Lurie continued.

"Three years ago, ''when you won, wasn't there an empty throne''?"

Kamito gasped violently.

The Lord of Light—Holy Lord Alexandros.

Was this Lurie the one who had liberated the Holy Lord?

"What is the Holy Lord's goal? What is the intention in secretly controlling the Holy Kingdom behind the scenes?"

Kamito's voice turned rough as he interrogated Lurie.

Lurie giggled, possibly because she enjoyed seeing Kamito lose composure.

"My master intends to rebuild the world from zero, to return everything to their rightful state. To take this world, which has strayed into the wrong path because of the Darkness Elemental Lord's mistakes—"

"...! What do you mean by—"

"You will understand eventually, Ren Ashbell. At the Elemental Lords' shrine, you saw ''that'' too, didn't you?"

Kamito silently gulped.

At the Elemental Lords' shrine, devoured by Otherworldly Darkness—

Kamito had saw that scene.

—An army of countless ''angels'' standing amid endless darkness.

"Sooner or later, ''that will be here''."

Lurie Lizaldia spoke in a sadistic voice.

"...What did you say!?"

Kamito was speechless.

...What the hell did she mean?

"All we can do is be prepared for when that time arrives. For this purpose, the Coffin hidden inside this Tomb is essential—"

Lurie shook her head lightly then stumbled up to her feet.

"...! Lurie, you...?"

Kamito frowned.

As she was now, she should not be able to do anything, but—

'Kamito, I have a bad feeling about this—'

Restia's voice warned in his mind.

Just then, Kamito noticed.

There was an eerie glow from her heart as she stood up like a ghost!

(That's...!)

Shining on her chest was a spirit crystal the size of a fist.

Also, it was blood-red Bloodstone—

"...A Bloodstone!"

Kamito groaned involuntarily.

This was a spirit crystal of the highest purity that could only be excavated from the sanctuary of Astral Zero.

Previously, Kamito had seen Jio Inzagi use one to dominate spirits.

Compared to normal spirit crystals, it was able to seal much more powerful spirits.

"Have you heard of the weapon called spirit detonation?"

Saying that, Lurie Lizaldia smiled savagely.

"...!?"

Spirit detonation was a weapon from the Ranbal War era that had been designated sealed by international treaty.

It was capable of sealing hundreds of spirits together, compressing them then inducing them to react with one another to produce a massive explosion.

Its firepower was enough to level a small city easily.

It was a product of insanity, created during wartime.

"This pyramid is used to protect the Coffin's seal. Hence, all I need to do is destroy the pyramid itself."

"...! You planned this from the start—"

"...It was just a last resort."

Lurie smiled.

"...I am honored to have had a blade dance with the Strongest Blade Dancer. These are my true feelings."

Saying that, she stabbed herself in the heart with her sacred sword.

In that instant, crimson light exploded in a flash.

<noinclude>{{SeireiDance Nav|prev=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter9|next=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Epilogue}}</noinclude>

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter10

2018-05-21T14:10:11Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 5 */

==Chapter 10 - The Two Blade Dancers==

===Part 1===

—Dispassionate Queen of Steel, the sacred sword that incubates true darkness.

—Now form the Sword of the Celestial Demon and be the power in my hand!

Lurie Lizaldia reached into the air.

Millennia Sanctus' body then turned into particles of light and vanished.

Seeing the object that manifested in Lurie's hand the next instant—

(...! What the hell?)

Kamito mentally jumped in surprise.

His memories from the underground battle under the Academy town awakened. The elemental waffe he had witnessed back then was supposed to be a terrifying demon sword, quite similar to Greyworth's.

But this time, held in her hand was a double-edged sword shining with silver-white sacred light.

Millennia Sanctus.

Although the spirit Iris had described her as ''a being neither spirit nor human''—

Since she could turn into an elemental waffe, that meant she was a spirit after all?

Kamito stared at the silver-white sword held up in Lurie's hands.

Probably a sword spirit like Est. The hilt's decoration also seemed a bit similar.

Although probably not in the same class as the Demon Slayer, given that Millennia could also take on human form, then surely she must be high-level spirit.

Kamito's neck perspired a little.

"Hand over the ''sacred relic'', Ren Ashbell."

"Sacred relic?"

"What lies hidden in the deepest part of this Tomb."

Lurie held up her sword-shaped elemental waffe at a slant.

Kamito had never seen such a stance before. It was not Ordesian swordsmanship.

"How ironic. The Holy Kingdom considers the Demon King's Coffin a sacred relic?"

"—Fufu, ''how utterly ignorant''."

Instantly, Lurie's blood lust exploded.

"...!?"

A flash within a breath's duration. Lurie closed the distance all at once.

This was terrain reduction, a basic martial arts skill executed by concentrating divine power underfoot then exploding it. However, her speed was extraordinary. In merely an instant, she had closed in on Kamito far away to engage in combat.

A scattering of sparks. The violent clash of steel resounded throughout the temple.

Using the Demon Slayer, Kamito blocked the heavy first strike.

(...! What's with this crazy strength!?)

Using her momentum, Lurie swung her sword fully.

Kamito was blown away by the impact.

"Damn it...!"

Hastily, Kamito stabbed the Demon Slayer into the floor to resist the force.

With a savage grin on her face, Lurie stepped forward.

Boom—With a noise resembling the firing of a projectile, she charged.

Kamito swung his sacred sword from its downward pointing position, using the reaction force from his movement to deflect Lurie's blade.

While the sword traced out a semi-circular flash, Kamito jumped at the same time.

Moonlit Sky Dash—This was a half-baked move of the Absolute Blade Arts that did not consume divine power.

The Demon King's black garb spun in the air. Then—

"Absolute Blade Arts, Second Form—Meteor!"

Kamito crossed his two swords and swung them down.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The astounding impact was unleashed together with the sound of an explosion.

The stone floor was dug up radially, forming a huge crater.

—However, he was a moment too late. Lurie had already jumped.

Follow-up attack. With his back to the scattering debris, Kamito kicked the ground.

"Absolute Blade Arts, First Form—Purple Lightning."

He released explosive divine power in an instant. Leaving an afterimage, he charged right up to his enemy.

The activation speed of this move was as quick as lightning streaking across the sky, hence its name.

However, Lurie was already prepared. Her lips fluttered slightly.

"—Day of wrath, sword apostles, to your positions with haste!"

"...!?"

What appeared before Kamito were countless swords of light, sprouting from the floor.

This was spirit magic of steel affinity. It would be easy to use the Demon Slayer's strength to sweep them all away, but—

(A trap, huh?)

Kamito felt from instinct. There was something ominous about Lurie's sword stance.

The spirit magic was a ruse to lure him into charging in.

Clang—!

Kamito stabbed his sword into the ground to halt his momentum. Immediately, he jumped sideways next.

Lurie's eyes widened slightly. Sure enough, she had planned to counterattack.

All pointing at Kamito, the swords of light began to pursue him like a shoal of fish.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form—Shadowmoon Waltz, Double Turn!"

Three simultaneous flashes of the sword completely shredded the swords of light.

He landed. Just as the hem of his garment touched the ground, Lurie instantly closed in from the front.

"—Mistral Arc!"

Exhaling sharply, she executed killing sword move.

It was a swift thrust rivaling the Purple Lightning Kamito had just performed.

Too late to block. Kamito twisted his head in the nick of time and dodged. His cheek was scratched lightly, producing a splatter of blood. Had he evaded a beat slower, Kamito's head would have separated from his body.

"...!"

Kamito lost balance slightly. Immediately—

"—Éclair Orage!"

A storm-like flurry of sword strikes attacked Kamito.

Kamito hastily used both swords to defend. However, he failed to deflect everything. The frenzy of silver-white sword moves mercilessly slashed Kamito's shoulder.

"Gah...!"

'—Kamito!'

Est cried out.

"...Ohhhhhhhhh!"

Kamito exhaled mightily. Instead of faltering, he stepped forward.

Caught by surprise, Lurie hastily backed away.

"—Go forth and pierce, Vorpal Blast!"

Released from the demon sword's blade, jet-black lightning poured towards Lurie—

"—Day of punishment, may the branded be protected!"

A magic circle appeared in front of her. The barrier of light neutralized the demon lightning of darkness.

Grand Alexandros—Top-tier spirit magic only talented individuals bearing the rank of saint were capable of using.

"—What a shame. A darkness spirit's power doesn't work against me."

Indeed, the holy spirit magic she used was extremely unfavorable for Restia, a darkness spirit. This was precisely why during the Blade Dance three years ago, Ren Ashbell had faced an unexpectedly tough battle against the paladin Luminaris.

(She's strong—)

Among all the opponents Kamito had ever fought, Lurie was undoubtedly top-class.

If Greyworth's sword was like a storm, then Lurie's would be like swift wind.

Sure enough, last time they fought underground of the Academy, she was only testing him.

"Strong as they say, expected of the strongest Blade Dancer."

Lurie spoke praise.

"Same goes for you. Miraculous Healer, gimme a break."

Holding his shoulder, Kamito brought up her nickname back when she was part of the Numbers.

"Healing is my profession. Swordsmanship is just a hobby."

"Liar. You're stronger than anyone in the Numbers."

Saying that, Kamito spat blood at his feet.

"Yggdra Saint Asoritess, winner of the Blade Dance fifteen years ago."

"Ah, so you know—"

Hearing him, Lurie smiled wryly.

"Even though my appearance is completely different from back then."

She was a top-tier healer. Altering her appearance would have been a piece of cake.

"Why are you joining forces with the Holy Kingdom when you're a Blade Dance winner?"

Entering a stance with the dual swords of darkness and steel in his hands, Kamito asked.

"I'll tell you if you can defeat me."

Likewise, Lurie readied her sacred sword at a slant.

"We are both winners of the Blade Dance. Let us decide here and now who deserves the name of the Strongest Blade Dancer."

"...Both winners? Please—"

Kamito laughed fearlessly.

"There are plenty of Blade Dance winners, ''but I am the strongest of all time and no one else''."

Saying that, he took off the Garb of the Lord that he had been wearing.

"...? What are you doing—"

Unable to understand Kamito's actions, Lurie frowned.

Kamito moved his neck in a circle and pressed his hand on his shoulder.

There were no wounds at the place where Lurie's sword had slashed.

Presumably, the Garb of the Lord had defended him. Living up to its name as a legendary artifact, its properties were nothing to sneer at.

'Kamito, what are you doing!?'

Seeing Kamito take off the black garment, Restia grumbled.

"...Wait, you must have noticed halfway through."

'...'

When confronted with his argument, the darkness spirit stayed silent in embarrassment.

"Although I'll have to say sorry to Iris-san, but this is too far away from my own style."

In fact, Kamito had felt a tiny sense of dissonance when he first put on the black garment—

He confirmed it when he performed an Absolute Blade Art—Purple Lightning.

Apparently, the curse woven into the black fabric would disrupt the flow of divine power.

Even though its defensive properties were outstanding, wearing it would dull the sharpness of the Absolute Blade Arts, which required precise control of divine power.

Sure enough, this was something that only Demon King Solomon could use to full effect.

Back in his familiar Areishia Spirit Academy uniform look, Kamito performed a few swings of the sword in a relaxed manner.

"I knew it, this outfit prepared by the hag suits me better."

"Are you sure? Ren Ashbell."

Watching him, Lurie spoke.

"It was all thanks to that black outfit that you escaped a critical wound just now, right?"

"I guess..."

Kamito admitted it simply.

Just as she had pointed out, if the slash earlier had cut him directly, his shoulder would have been deeply injured.

However—

"Don't worry. ''Your sword will no longer hit me''."

"...! What a joke—Ren Ashbell!"

Lurie's blood lust exploded.
[[image:STnBD V17 BW10.png|thumb]]

===Part 2===

"What on earth are you doing!?"

"W-What choice do I have? We'll both get turned to charcoal if I refused."

"Fair enough..."

While walking along the main road, Ellis and Claire were whispering to each other.

They glanced behind them—

A spirit with the appearance of a young girl was walking a few steps behind them, looking at the buildings with curiosity.

For some unknown reason, the spirit seemed to like Claire in particular, asking about this or that in the streets and even inquired about things such as customs in the human realm.

(...Who exactly is this child?)

She was undoubtedly quite a high-ranked spirit, but in that case, why was she traveling with the Holy Kingdom's knights? Suppose she were a spirit converted for military use, there was no way she would be able to behave so independently and arbitrarily.

(Or maybe she's not part of their group?)

No matter what, the current situation must be unexpected for the Holy Kingdom's knights too.

Right now, the knights were surely sending spirits to track them. Although Ellis had sent out wind spirits to interfere with tracking, however—A fight was guaranteed as soon as they encountered each other.

(Before that happens, we have to meet up with Kamito as soon as possible...)

While strolling the streets with the girl and keeping her happy, they had to look for Kamito without the Holy Kingdom's knights finding them. This was quite a tough mission.

"Hell cat girl, what is that building? I sense the powers of my fire spirit kin."

With eyes filled with curiosity, the girl pointed to a building that had a chimney.

"That's a pottery workshop. Inside, they have fire spirits working kilns for firing pottery."

A knowledgeable honors student, Claire explained to her.

"Oh I see... Earth is good. Even though earth is stubborn, we get along well."

The girl nodded with satisfaction, murmuring incomprehensibly to herself.

"Large pottery workshops would also have water spirits and wind spirits, as well as princess maidens to serve them. Water spirits are in charge of kneading clay while wind spirits are in charge of drying them."

"Water... That girl is hard for me to deal with..."

Tugging Ellis' sleeve, Claire whispered in her ear.

"Hmm, she doesn't seem to be that bad a spirit. Let's continue observing."

"I have no opinion on that. However, why are you the only one she acts friendly towards? Any clues to that?"

"Like I said, I just happen to resemble the princess maiden who used to be contracted to her—"

"Are such coincidences likely?"

"Who knows..."

"What are you two whispering about?"

"...!"

Secretly conversing, the two girls instantly jumped in surprise.

"N-Nothing!"

"J-Just discussing where to continue our tour next."

"Hmm, then it is fine—"

Hearing Claire's explanation, the girl soon returned to a good mood—

"Then what place are you showing me next?"

With eyes filled with anticipation, she looked at them.

Claire pondered briefly—

"Before I lead the way, there's something I'd like to ask."

"Request permitted. You are in my favor. Ask away."

Always maintaining her haughty attitude, the girl nodded.

"Just now in the plaza, weren't you together with those Holy Kingdom knights? Are they your friends?"

"Those people, huh—"

Hearing that, the girl fidgeted with her hair in boredom.

"I merely lend them some power because they said they wanted to borrow my help. As for what they are doing, I have no idea."

(...In other words, even though they're cooperating, she's not being commanded?)

Claire wondered in her mind.

"Then they were the ones who asked you to wreck the city?"

"Hmm. More precisely, they asked to open a hole in the pyramid."

"I-I see..."

Sure enough, the straight line of destruction in the city was merely for creating a shortcut.

"W-What!? I cannot believe you wrecked the city for such a reason!"

As expected, Ellis began to get mad.

"Why get so worked up? Aren't there plenty of such mere buildings?"

"...What!?"

"Ellis, calm down!"

Claire hastily tried to restrain the justice-minded Ellis—

Then she asked the girl, who was tilting her head in puzzlement.

"...I get it now. But please don't burn the city any more."

Claire looked straight into the girl's eyes.

In response, the girl blinked her eyes, which happened to be the same color as Claire's—

"...So alike, as I thought."

She murmured quietly.

"Very well. I burned it only because it was in my way. Unnecessary destruction is not to my liking either."

(...Hmm, she does listen.)

Originally worried if she might get angry, Claire breathed a sigh of relief.

...Next, the trio continued to walk the streets, arriving at another plaza.

There was not a single person in sight in this plaza. Probably due to the explosion earlier, everyone had fled.

"Looks like Kamito had been to this plaza—"

Hearing whispers from the wind, Ellis spoke.

"Jeez, where the heck has he run off to..!?"

Never did it occur to the two girls that he was already inside the pyramid.

Just then, the spirit girl sniffed.

"There is an aroma in the air. Hell cat girl, what is it?"

She pointed at an unattended shop.

"It's a food stand. Until just now, this should've been a busy market—"

"But everyone seems to have fled."

"I-I already said I wouldn't!"

The girl looked away in embarrassment.

"By the way, is that an offering?"

With a flutter of her scarlet dress, she walked briskly to approach the shop.

"Oh no, don't take things without permission!"

"Stealing is wrong!"

Claire and Ellis hastily chased after her.

It seemed to be a shop selling baked goods.

Unlike the fashionable shops at the Academy town, there were no glass display windows or the like here.

What the spirit girl was especially interested in were baked goods resembling donuts with abundant sugar sprinkled over deep-fried dough.

"Hell cat girl, I want that one."

"Wanting it is fine, but you have to pay properly."

"No. Isn't it a matter of fact that whatever I want must be offered up to me?"

She brought up a barbaric philosophy in response.

"If denied to me, I suppose I might as well burn everything—"

"W-Wait, stop it right there! Why are you jumping to that conclusion!?"

Seeing a fireball appear in the girl's hand, Claire could not help but shout.

"Didn't you just promise not to destroy the city!?"

"Hmm, true..."

Unexpectedly, the girl nodded obediently and dispelled the surging flames.

"Sigh, I feel like I'm being dragged around by the nose..."

Claire sighed and took out some silver coins that she had exchanged earlier.

"We have to put down the money properly. Then it's okay, right?"

"...That still is not right, but I shall overlook it this once."

The rigid Ellis seemed to acquiesce.

"..."

Holding a donut, the spirit girl stared intently at it.

"What's the matter, you're not going to eat it?"

"How do I eat this?"

"Take a bite, like this—"

Claire opened her mouth and bit a donut. Daughters of nobility normally had little chance of coming across this type of food, but Rinslet frequently made donuts as refreshments

Although the donut was not fresh out of the fryer, it was sweet, fluffy with a crisp surface. Very delicious.

"Hmm..."

Imitating Claire, the girl began to take big bites.

"I see. This is good. Praiseworthy."

With her mouth stuffed with donut, she looked as adorable as a small pet.

Probably because she was in a good mood, the tips of her curved horns even had small flames lighting up.

(...If I had a little sister, would she be like this?)

Claire suddenly remembered something.

"Say..."

"What is it, hell cat girl?"

"...What is your name again?"

"Claire, umm—"

Ellis had panic on her face.

Asking a high-level spirit for their name would be regarded as rude behavior.

In fact, the girl seemed quite angry when Claire asked for her true name previously.

However—

"After all, it's hard to address her without a name."

Claire argued back.

"It doesn't have to be a true name. A nickname like Scarlet is fine too."

"Hmm, a nickname, huh? In that case—"

The spirit girl nodded.

"I am addressed as Lord."

"...Huh?"

"Hmm, how now, what is with your reaction?"

"Uh, you got the wrong idea—"

Just as Claire was about to complain...

"—''Lord Volcanicus''!"

A sharp voice resounded across the entire plaza.

"...!?"

Claire looked back—

Only to see a team of knights with swords drawn, surrounding the plaza.

The voice belonged to Luminaris of the Sacred Spirit Knights.

"...! We are discovered—!?"

Ellis immediately deployed her elemental waffe—Ray Hawk.

Ayla Cedar was the special operative in the Sacred Spirit Knights. She specialized in espionage and tracking. Presumably, her shadow spirit, Shade Wolf, had followed them.

Luminaris' eyes widened in surprise.

"Claire Rouge of Ordesia. Why are you here!?"

"...! Claire, what do we—"

Ellis bit her lip and asked Claire behind her.

...But Claire did not answer.

"Claire?"

Ellis looked back—

"...Did you say ''Volcanicus''?"

Gone pale in the face, Claire was staring at the spirit girl.

===Part 3===

"—Hiver Défense!"

Lurie Lizaldia's thrust traced a trajectory like lightning. This was a sword skill executed with extreme mastery of terrain reduction. Its speed was comparable to Purple Lightning's.

Faced with such a blade—

"Don't think you're still fighting the me just now—"

"!?"

As the two fighters crossed, Kamito used his demon sword to counter her move.

Timing perfectly to take into account his enemy's sword speed and even the angle of her blade, Kamito mounted a perfect counterattack.

Her thrust was designed to execute a follow up attack any time even if the first strike failed to connect.

But Kamito easily thwarted that intention.

Lurie was shoved aside, blown away while brushing against the ground.

The brightness of divine power left a trail of afterimages in the darkness. In that instant, she spun and kicked the ground, slashing with her sword like a whip.

However, Kamito read her attack in advance. Forcibly executing an attack while off balance would lead to critical openings—Kamito raised the Demon Slayer fluidly.

With the acute noise of metal clashing, Lurie's arm was deflected upwards.

Kamito immediately swung the demon sword of darkness, striking the body of her blade heavily.

"Gah...!"

Witnessing his blade dance movements that almost seemed like spectacular performance, Lurie shuddered in terror.

His entire body's movements were completely different from just now.

Did such a massive change come about simply from him taking off the black outfit?

"...I see. Looks like you weren't bluffing."

Probably realizing she would be overwhelmed in close quarters combat, she kicked the floor and backed away.

Then making a hand sign, she swiftly chanted spirit magic.

Zap zap—seven spheres of light appeared out of thin air with lightning, hurtling towards Kamito.

This was Lightning Ball—high-level spirit magic that launched a homing ball of holy elemental lightning.

There were only a handful of elementalists in the Holy Kingdom capable of reciting the incantation seven times simultaneously.

"Can you dodge all of them, Ren Ashbell!?"

"I don't need to dodge!"

Kamito took a breath and spun around, swinging the Demon Slayer.

Glowing with silver-white brilliance, the blade swept away the lightning balls surrounding Kamito all at once.

"You erased them simply with the sword's aura!?"

Lurie's face was contorted by shock.

Amazingly, simply touching the divine power enveloping the sacred sword's blade was enough to erase high-level spirit magic.

"Sorry, petty tricks don't work on me—"

Kamito exploded divine power under the soles of his feet against the ground, closing the distance in one go.

Before the impact arrived, the flash of his sword came first.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Introductory Form—Bursting Cherry Blossom Flurry!"

The liberated rain of swords fell with countless afterimages.

This was an offshoot skill derived from the Destructive Form, ninth of the Absolute Blade Arts.

An anti-personnel sword skill that was key to mastering the ultimate move, Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance.

A frenzy slashing dance of light and darkness.

The countless consecutive attacks performed by the two swords were overwhelming Lurie's defense by sheer quantity.

The speed and precision of his sword was on a completely level than before.

Soon enough, Lurie's defense was forced open and she took a misstep.

"—I've waited a long time for this, Lurie."

Seeing that, Kamito said.

"—This is Ren Ashbell, the Strongest Blade Dancer."

"...!?"

Using the Demon Slayer, Kamito dealt a heavy blow to her raised sacred sword.

With a scattering of sparks, her petite frame was sent flying from the impact.

"...Cough... Huff—"

"..."

Looking down at her, crouching on the floor, Kamito pointed his sacred sword at her.

"Someone on your level should be able to understand. You can't beat me."

"It's not, over yet... Ren Ashbell...!"

"...!?"

Lurie stood up, stabbing the sacred sword against the floor.

Her entire body became shrouded in holy light as her wounds slowly began to heal.

She smiled savagely.

(...I see—)

Kamito noticed what supported her formidable strength.

No matter who—

Even accomplished martial artists would be vulnerable to instinctive fear in their subconscious.

However, Lurie did not fear injury.

Her talent as a miraculous healer was inborn and would automatically heal her injured body without needing conscious intent.

Hence, her instinctive fear of injury was weakened.

Indeed, this could be considered a kind of strength.

(However, that's—)

A very twisted kind of strength. It was also a kind of strength that one obtained only through painful experiences.

Lurie used both hands to raise her glowing sacred sword.

"Come, let's continue our blade dance, Ren Ashbell—"

"..."

Kamito readied his dual swords again.

'—Kamito, you understand, right?'

"Yeah."

Hearing Restia's voice, Kamito nodded lightly.

Even though he held the advantage all this time—

...This was unsustainable. The battle must not drag on.

Consecutive use of the Absolute Blade Arts would consume divine power, causing Kamito's own reserves to dwindle.

(This will be bad unless I settle things as quickly as possible.)

===Part 4===

"...Did you say ''Volcanicus''?"

Claire was so surprised that her entire body froze.

There was probably no one on the continent who did not know this name.

Fire Elemental Lord Volcanicus, ruling over the fire spirits, was one of the five Elemental Lords.

(Don't tell me... this child is...?)

Her mind in chaos, Claire suddenly remembered something.

(Come to think of it, Nee-sama said before—)

She remembered it was when they were heading to rescued the imprisoned Fianna—

On board the flying ship, her sister had mentioned it.

At the Elemental Lord's shrine, they had liberated the Fire Elemental Lord from the Otherworldly Darkness' corruption.

At the time, the Fire Elemental Lord vanished and was transported somewhere—

Wasn't that the holy capital of Alexandria?

(Right, no mistake...)

Claire bit her lip hard.

This girl was the incarnation of the Fire Elemental Lord.

She was the same as the Iseria Seaward's incarnation that had teleported to Astral Zero.

In that case, it was only natural for her to wield powers capable of destroying a city in an instant.

(This child is the Fire Elemental Lord... who destroyed my homeland...!)

"Lord Volcanicus, please distance yourself from those people!"

At the plaza's entrance, Luminaris called out.

However, the spirit girl glared at her.

"What is the matter with you people? I am currently having fun with them."

The girl's crimson hair stood up on end, wavering like flames.

That astounding aura of wrath made the Sacred Spirit Knights all freeze.

Only Luminaris managed to stand firm and hold her ground.

"O Lord, please forgive us. We are only fulfilling our responsibilities as your bodyguards."

"Oh? Who are you to worry about my safety?"

"...!?"

Confronted by the Fire Elemental Lord's blazing wrath, Luminaris turned deathly pale.

The only reason why the Fire Elemental Lord had not turned the paladinss into charcoal was because she had promised Claire just now.

"I have no need for bodyguards. I shall remain in these people's company."

Saying that, she turned to Claire.

Now, she noticed for the first time.

Claire's gaze towards her had changed completely.

"Seriously, ah..."

"...What is it?"

"You really are the Fire Elemental Lord..."

Claire's twintails were standing up like burning flames.

As though looking at a mortal enemy, Claire glared at the girl.

"What now, hell cat girl?"

"You, it's all because of you, Nee-sama and my parents...!"

Tears flowed out of her clear ruby-like eyes.

The downpour of the rain of fire. Cities burning in a blaze. Endless cries of suffering. The people rushing to the castle.

With the people's curses in the background, that very day when she had been banished from the castle together with her parents—

"...What are you talking about?"

The spirit girl made a perplexed look, standing there frozen.

Most likely concluding this to be the best opportunity to reclaim her—

"Please leave them, Lord."

Luminaris drew her sword and charged swiftly. She intended to take this opportunity to take Claire out.

"—Do not think you will succeed!"

Holding Ray Hawk, Ellis blocked her path.

"Get lost, small fry!"

Luminaris swung her sacred sword, Murgleis.

Faced with that sword, glowing with holy light—

"...!"

Ellis blocked using the shaft of her magic spear.

"What?"

Luminaris widened her blue eyes in shock.

She never expected her merciless strike to be blocked.

"Is this all you can do, Dame Luminaris?"

"...Gah!?"

Wind gathered at Ray Hawk's spear tip, producing a thunderous rumble.

"Take that...!"

Releasing the compressed air, Ellis blew away the holy sword.

Not expecting a counterattack from whom she thought was a small fry, Luminaris lost balance.

Ellis did not miss the opportunity. Immediately, she rotated her magic spear and attacked with lightning speed.

Enveloped with magical wind, the spear tip pierced the paladin's mythril gauntlet, shattering it.

"Damn you!"

Luminaris was plunged into confusion.

Ellis Fahrengart.

The second daughter of Duke Fahrengart, hailing from a prestigious Ordesian noble house with generations of military tradition.

That was the extent of what Luminaris knew about her.

When entering the Blade Dance, Luminaris had focused virtually all her attention on Ellis' adopted sister Velsaria Eva, completely unconcerned about the younger sister.

"Dame Luminaris, I used to admire you, having blade danced against Ren Ashbell—"

Spinning the magic spear of wind fluidly in one hand, Ellis spoke.

"—But as I am now, ''I am stronger than you''."

She stepped forward, closing the distance all at once.

The thrust of godly speed, enveloped in a storm, was deflected by Luminaris with the holy sword.

"Don't get too full of yourself, mere student knight!"

"I return the same words to you. Do not belittle the Sylphid Knights!"

Their elemental waffen clashed intensely again.

A hurricane-like storm surrounded the crossing blades.

Just as their blade dance gradually intensified—

Claire and the Fire Elemental Lord continued to stare at each other silently.

"Hell cat girl—"

Volcanicus was the first to break the silence.

"Do you hate me?"

"...Uh—"

Claire was speechless.

She was not even sure of her own feelings.

(...Is this child really the Fire Elemental Lord who destroyed my homeland?)

No wait, this girl was undoubtedly the incarnation of the Elemental Lord, but—

Claire thought back to the Water Elemental Lord's incarnation she had met on Ragna Ys.

(She had lost virtually all of her memories as an Elemental Lord...)

In that case, this Fire Elemental Lord might have lost her memories too.

In other words, she might not remember what she had done in the past.

"...Can I ask a question?"

Claire said.

"Do you still remember the name of the princess maiden who resembles me a lot?"

"..."

The Fire Elemental Lord shook her head calmly.

"I do not remember her name, but—"

She replied with apparent sadness.

"She is my precious friend. This is the one thing I recall clearly."

"...I see. In that case—"

Hearing that—

Claire steeled a certain measure of determination in her heart.

This girl was the enemy who had destroyed Elstein. However—

"Volcanicus, I want to bring you to meet someone."

"...What?"

"Make your decision now. Will you return to those Holy Kingdom people or will you come with us?"

"...!"

The Fire Elemental Lord stared intently into Claire's ruby-like eyes. Perhaps through Claire, she was looking at the image of the dear friend who greatly resembled Claire.

After several seconds of silence—

"...That will not be possible."

She shook her head.

"Why?"

"I am bound by a covenant with those people. I cannot break it."

"No way...!"

With a weak smile, the Fire Elemental Lord fluttered her dress.

"Although it was brief, I greatly enjoyed myself on this occasion, hell cat girl."

Surrounded by intense crimson flames, the girl gradually disappeared.

Claire went "ah" but could not chase after her.

"...W-What the heck, this sucks!"

Unable to vent emotions that she could not tell was anger or something else, Claire kept stomping the ground.

Just then—

"Claire—"

Holding the magic spear, Ellis landed softly next to her.

"She went back to Astral Zero, right?"

"Yeah, looks like it..."

Nodding, Claire straightened her standing posture.

She looked around, only to see the two of them surrounded by ten members of the Sacred Spirit Knights.

...All things considered, chances of victory were slim if they had to fight this many knights at the same time.

"Break through the encirclement and retreat."

"...Yes."

Saying that, Ellis readied Ray Hawk while Claire deployed Flametongue.

The two girls ran at the same time.

===Part 5===

On the stage where the Demon King and the Sacred Maiden had dueled, came endless sounds of blades clashing.

Coincidentally, one of the combatants was a princess maiden whom people called a miraculous sacred maiden—

While the other was the Demon King's successor, wielding the Demon Slayer.

The blade dance being performed all over this grand hall seemed to reenact a past era of legends.

"This very day, the blue sky wails, the earth shakes with anger—"

Pure white vestments fluttered up. Lurie Lizaldia chanted spirit magic.

Countless blades of holy light flew across the floor, slicing rows of stone pillars at their base.

However, Kamito had already disappeared from the ground.

Jumping freely between the collapsing stone pillars, he charged at Lurie to engage in combat.

This was high-level three dimensional movement—Assassination skills from the Instructional School.

For someone on his level, walls and floors were no different for him.

"—Go forth and pierce, Vorpal Blast!"

Released from a dead angle, jet-black demon lightning followed an unpredictable trajectory to attack Lurie.

In response, Lurie chanted defensive magic to neutralize the demonic lightning.

"A darkness spirit's power is useless against me."

"Of course I know that!"

Craaash!

With the fall of the stone pillars came an expanding cloud of dust.

In this environment with their vision completely obscured, a silver-white blade flashed.

The Demon Slayer and Lurie's nameless sacred sword crossed, producing sparks repeatedly.

"...!"

"This is not a knight's swordsmanship, Ren Ashbell. Are you getting anxious?"

"We are dueling here, not performing a blade dance for an audience."

Crossing blades up close, Kamito shouted.

Speed, power, judgment, experience, divine power, level of contracted spirit—

In all these respects, Kamito was superior to Lurie.

However—

(But I'm the one who's getting cornered, huh?)

He groaned in his thoughts.

Lurie's vestments glowed with phosphorescence.

Her injuries would always heal in an instant. That inborn freakish power—a power that one could very well call a curse—kept protecting her automatically.

It would do the same even if she herself did not want it, right?

Defeating the miraculous sacred maiden would require delivering a fatal blow to her in one hit.

However, Kamito could not bring himself to kill her. After all, there were things he had to ask.

...No, that was not the real reason.

(I am no longer an assassin of the Instructional School.)

Restia and the friends he had met at the Academy had given him a human heart.

Hence, he would never use the power of spirits to take other's lives.

Then the only way to defeat the endlessly regenerating Lurie would be to wait until she exhausted her divine power.

However, Kamito could not do that either.

He had a troublesome time limit.

If he were to keep consuming divine power like this—

The Darkness Elemental Lord's power would devour him.

No, the power of darkness ahd already started invading Kamito's consciousness.

Time was running out.

He had to decide.

"—Your sword has slowed down, Ren Ashbell!"

Lurie's sacred sword flashed.

Instead of using orthodox knightly swordsmanship, she was using moves modified from the dance of princess maidens.

She had trained in blade dancing, originally meant to serve as offerings to spirits, and attained dizzying heights in mastery.

"—So happy."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

While blocking sword strikes, Kamito spoke.

"I feel exhilarated purely from engaging a blade dance with the Strongest Blade Dancer."

"—Really?"

Kamito felt a dull sting in his heart, as though pierced by a small barb.

What he was about to do—

In a certain way, it might be even more cruel than taking her life.

If he were to use this move from the Absolute Blade Arts, she would never be able to blade dance again.

This was a taboo Absolute Blade Art that Greyworth had forbidden him to use.

After using it once, he had sworn to never use it ever again.

Kamito kicked the ground, jumping back.

Lurie stopped where she was instead of chasing after him.

The two backed away from each other, facing off.

"Are you out of options, Ren Ashbell?"

"No."

Saying that, Kamito stabbed the Vorpal Sword into the ground.

'...Kamito?'

Restia reacted with a surprised voice.

"—Sorry, Restia. This move of the Absolute Blade Arts cannot be used with two swords."

Also, the darkness element was ineffective against Lurie.

Restia seemed to realize what Kamito was about to do and soon fell silent.

Kamito held the Demon Slayer in both hands.

"What are you planning?"

"I'm not going to say 'don't hate me.' Prepare yourself."

He concentrated the divine power circulating through his entire body into the sword's blade.

—He had not used this move for three years.

But his body still remembered this Absolute Blade Art.

Ironically, that was because he had the most misgivings about this one move.

Probably feeling Kamito's silent pressure...

Lurie poured divine power into her nameless sacred sword in return.

Then—

The two of them moved.

Both took a step forward at the same time and ran.

"—Hiver Défense!"

Lurie used a move similar to Purple Lightning.

A thrust of reckless abandon, executed by one who did not fear injury.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!"

As for Kamito—

He bravely and decisively took the blow with his left arm.

The blade entered his flesh. Intense pain. But Kamito endured that and—

Aiming at the heart where all circulating channels gathered, he stabbed his sacred sword right there.

"Cough—Huff—"

Instead of steel, the Demon Slayer was a sword of pure light.

Up until this point, everything happened just like the time when he had pierced Velsaria's heart—

Last time, Kamito had erased a cursed armament seal.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Void Form—Soul Extinction!"

The instant Kamito shouted, the release divine power ran amok inside her body.

===Part 6===

"Looks like this is the end."

Holding her sacred sword, Lurie Lizaldia collapsed on the spot.

She seemed to understand what had happened to her.

The phosphorescence enveloping her vanished. The miraculous power would no longer heal her, presumably.

Stabbed by the Demon Slayer, her chest showed no scar or wound.

However, something of paramount importance to elementalists had been destroyed by Kamito.

Absolute Blade Arts, Void Form—Soul Extinction.

The Absolute Blade Art that his master had banned.

He had shattered the circulation system in the human body for controlling divine power.

She could no longer chant spirit magic or form contracts with spirits.

The miraculous power to heal others. This power, which had saved innumerable people in the past, had been wrecked at Kamito's hands.

Kamito did not regret it. After all, there was probably no way to defeat her any other way.

Precisely because she was strong, Kamito to resort to this forbidden move of the Absolute Blade Arts.

Kamito looked down at Lurie, collapsed on the ground.

Then—

"You promised to tell me if I win, right? Can you tell me why you served the Holy Kingdom when you were already one of the Empire's Numbers?"

"...I suppose I did promise. Sigh, so be it."

With her head down, Lurie muttered to herself.

"I was born with the power to heal. I thought that using this power to save people was the mission entrust to me, so I healed the numerous injured on battlefields."

However—She smiled weakly at this point.

"My belief was wrong. For each life I saved, double that would be lost when those I saved returned to the battlefield. Such absurdity repeated time and again."

Lurie recounted in a calm voice, which made her despair stand out more and more.

"Hence, that is why I wanted change. To take this absurd world and—"

"Then you entered the Blade Dance to—"

"Yes, hoping to change the world, I placed all my hopes on the ''wish'' granted by the Elemental Lords—"

Lurie looked up, staring off into space as though reminiscing about fifteen years ago.

"Uh, your wish..."

Mid-sentence, Kamito halted.

...It was clear as day once he thought about the current state of affairs on the continent.

"Yes, it was impossible. Even the miracle of the Elemental Lords could not grant the wish—"

"..."

"...But it was at that moment, in my disappointment I heard my master's voice in my mind."

"Your master?"

Kamito repeated her words. Lurie continued.

"Three years ago, ''when you won, wasn't there an empty throne''?"

Kamito gasped violently.

The Lord of Light—Holy Lord Alexandros.

Was this Lurie the one who had liberated the Holy Lord?

"What is the Holy Lord's goal? What is the intention in secretly controlling the Holy Kingdom behind the scenes?"

Kamito's voice turned rough as he interrogated Lurie.

Lurie giggled, possibly because she enjoyed seeing Kamito lose composure.

"My master intends to rebuild the world from zero, to return everything to their rightful state. To take this world, which has strayed into the wrong path because of the Darkness Elemental Lord's mistakes—"

"...! What do you mean by—"

"You will understand eventually, Ren Ashbell. At the Elemental Lords' shrine, you saw ''that'' too, didn't you?"

Kamito silently gulped.

At the Elemental Lords' shrine, devoured by Otherworldly Darkness—

Kamito had saw that scene.

—An army of countless ''angels'' standing amid endless darkness.

"Sooner or later, ''that will be here''."

Lurie Lizaldia spoke in a sadistic voice.

"...What did you say!?"

Kamito was speechless.

...What the hell did she mean?

"All we can do is be prepared for when that time arrives. For this purpose, the Coffin hidden inside this Tomb is essential—"

Lurie shook her head lightly then stumbled up to her feet.

"...! Lurie, you...?"

Kamito frowned.

As she was now, she should not be able to do anything, but—

'Kamito, I have a bad feeling about this—'

Restia's voice warned in his mind.

Just then, Kamito noticed.

There was an eerie glow from her heart as she stood up like a ghost!

(That's...!)

Shining on her chest was a spirit crystal the size of a fist.

Also, it was blood-red Bloodstone—

"...A Bloodstone!"

Kamito groaned involuntarily.

This was a spirit crystal of the highest purity that could only be excavated from the sanctuary of Astral Zero.

Previously, Kamito had seen Jio Inzagi use one to dominate spirits.

Compared to normal spirit crystals, it was able to seal much more powerful spirits.

"Have you heard of the weapon called spirit detonation?"

Saying that, Lurie Lizaldia smiled savagely.

"...!?"

Spirit detonation was a weapon from the Ranbal War era that had been designated sealed by international treaty.

It was capable of sealing hundreds of spirits together, compressing them then inducing them to react with one another to produce a massive explosion.

Its firepower was enough to level a small city easily.

It was a product of insanity, created during wartime.

"This pyramid is used to protect the Coffin's seal. Hence, all I need to do is destroy the pyramid itself."

"...! You planned this from the start—"

"...It was just a last resort."

Lurie smiled.

"...I am honored to have had a blade dance with the Strongest Blade Dancer. These are my true feelings."

Saying that, she stabbed herself in the heart with her sacrd sword.

In that instant, crimson light exploded in a flash.

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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter9

2018-05-20T22:32:26Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 3 */

==Chapter 9 - Lurie Lizaldia==

===Part 1===

BOOOOOOOOOM!

A crimson blazing fireball struck the pyramid directly from the front.

This wall, which ordinary spirit magic could not harm in the slightest, instantly had a hole melted by the fire.

Residents of the Demon King City scattered and fled screaming. Even these virtual life forms created from the Demon King's memories felt fear—

Sparks flying in the wind were reflected in the eyes of the girl standing in front of the Tomb.

The girl simply stared at the melted wall emotionlessly.

"—So this is the extent of my current power, I see."

The girl bowed her head, looking at her palm, murmuring calmly.

The Sacred Spirit Knights serving as bodyguards were watching her with terror on their faces.

To think she would dismiss her flames, capable of vaporizing militarized spirits in an instant, of being merely "this extent"—

"Blowing away the Tomb would be a piece of cake if full power were recovered, I suppose."

Millennia Sanctus said.

Even though her words were slightly disrespectful towards a lord, the girl did not care.

"I have no interest in a tomb. Rather—"

Saying that, she looked to the streets in the opposite direction.

"I would like to have another look at a human city."

"Elemental Lord, you are interested in a human city?"

Luminaris could not help but interject her doubt.

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

"N-Not at all. Forgive my insolence!"

Luminaris' voice trembled as she hastily knelt on the ground.

The girl cast a cold glaze upon her then...

"I have fulfilled the covenant. Here on, I shall do as I please."

Saying that, she walked towards the plaza.

"...W-Will there be a problem, Cardinal!?"

With a panicking expression, Luminaris asked.

"Uh... L-Letting that kind of ''monster'' run loose like this—"

"She isn't that easy to control."

The one to reply was Lurie Lizaldia.

"Just let her do as she wants, since our master's covenant continues to restrain her, after all. Well, I suppose bodyguards ought to be arranged—or should I say, surveillance?"

"Understood...!"

Luminaris bowed, took a few subordinates with her and ran after the girl.

"Very well—"

Lurie turned around and stared at the hole melted in the Demon King's Tomb.

"The path is opened. Time to welcome the ''sleeping princess'', Millennia."

===Part 2===

"...Intruders?"

Kamito asked Iris. Ordinary attacks should not be able to breach the walls of this Demon King's Tomb—

However, the Queen of the Demon King City stared at the ceiling gravely.

"A human elementalist. Also, the other one is... a spirit? No, incorrect... A being neither human nor spirit, is coming towards here."

"A being neither human nor spirit?"

"Yes, approaching a spirit in fundamental nature, but with an unfathomable side—"

"—Millennia Sanctus."

Just then, Restia spoke up.

"A cardinal of the Holy Kingdom's. At Dracunia, she tried to assassinate the Dragon King—"

"That girl huh..."

Memories from the attack on the Academy flashed through Kamito's mind.

Covered by an eye patch, her left eye contained Otherworldly Darkness capable of rendering Elemental Lords insane.

That girl definitely felt somehow different from ordinary spirits—

"So the Holy Kingdom's knights have found this city?"

"Evidently."

"...No way, that is impossible!"

The spirit Iris' voice trembled.

"In theory, unless judged worthy by the Sphinx, other people should have no way of reaching this place, let alone finding it—"

"But reality is that people have come. So that's that."

Kamito shrugged and said.

"Those people must have their eyes on the Demon King's coffin you are guarding."

"...!"

The queen widened her crimson eyes.

According to Rubia, the Holy Kingdom's knights had started exploring Ghul-a-val even before Princess Saladia made her way to the desert. In that case, their target probably was neither the princess nor Kamito's group, instead, it would be something hidden inside this Demon King's Tomb.

(But it's hard to imagine they'd really believe in a legend about the Demon King's power lying dormant in the coffin—)

Looking at the ceiling, Kamito placed his hand on the hilt of the Demon Slayer.

Then staring into the queen's eyes, he said simply.

"That suggestion just now... Sorry, I have to refuse. Living here in peace might not be bad, but it looks like the situation won't allow me to do that."

In the end, he had to rely on himself to protect what he cared about and places he considered home.

That was precisely the basic tenet that Greyworth had imparted to him.

"I see."

The Queen of the Demon King City shook her head sorrowfully.

"How unfortunate. However, I cannot stop your decision. In fact, the peace of this city is being broken right before my eyes."

"Yes, the peace is broken."

Kamito responded.

"But don't worry. I will protect what you have devoted yourself to protecting."

After all, the Kamito had to settle his score with the Holy Kingdom sooner or later.

They had tried to target Restia during the Blade Dance, then attacked Areishia Spirit Academy.

One would expect them to know of Kamito's presence here by now.

"I am very grateful, successor. I only wish to guard the one who sleeps in peace."

The Queen of the Demon King City bowed deeply to Kamito.

"Yeah, just leave it to me. Although we're not blood-related, Demon King Solomon counts as an ancestor of sorts for me, I guess—"

Hearing Kamito's casual joke, the queen smiled happily.

"Indeed. Then I shall offer you, his descendant, a little gift."

"...Gift?"

Kamito asked in surprise—

Only to see the queen begin reciting unfamiliar verses in High Ancient.

In the next instant...

A vortex of darkness appeared over Kamito's head, then something fell into his arms.

"—Please take this, Ren Ashbell, Demon King's successor."

"This is...?"

Looking down at the pitch-black fabric in his arms, Kamito asked with puzzlement.

"...! That's the Garb of the Lord, Kamito."

"...Garb of the Lord?"

Hearing the darkness spirit speak in excitement for once, Kamito asked.

"It is the legendary item worn by Demon King Solomon on the battlefield."

"...! N-No way!?"

Kamito almost let go of the pitch-black fabric.

"Yes, this black garment is undoubtedly what he had worn. The high-density curse woven into the fabric is capable of absorbing spirit magic of all affinities and deflecting enemy blades."

"A-A curse... Is that really okay? Uh, like, would I get cursed..."

"Please rest assured. It will have minimal effect on you, who possesses the power of darkness."

"I-I see..."

...Then without the power of darkness, what would happen to the wearer?

(I somehow feel scared to ask...)

"You definitely need to accept this, Kamito!"

Restia kept flapping her jet-black wings.

...For as long as he could remember, Restia would always get strangely excited about magic artifacts.

"...G-Got it. Then I'll accept this with thanks."

Kamito opened up the black garment and draped it over his Academy uniform.

...What material was this made of? It felt almost weightless.

Impervious to weapons, capable of absorbing spirit magic, were such claims really true?

"Now that you have put on the ''real thing''... I feel that you exhibit some Demon King style at last."

"Fufu, it looks great on you, Kamito."

'Dark Kamito, very dashing.'

Restia aside, even Est was speaking like that now.

...What the heck is Dark Kamito?

"It really looks great."

Looking at Kamito in that outfit—

The queen seemed to reminisce, her eye lids partially lowering, her eyes showing a gentle look.

"—Good luck."

===Part 3===

"No mistake, it's the Holy Kingdom's knights."

Looking down at the plaza, Claire said quietly.

"...! How on earth did they get here!?"

Hearing that, Ellis lowered her voice and murmured.

"Who knows? Did they defeat the Sphinx too?"

They were on a bell tower tall enough to get a view of the whole plaza.

After hearing the explosion while they were at Quseir Amra, Claire and the girls immediately put on their uniforms. Claire and Ellis, with her outstanding mobility, were the first to go scouting.

Looking down, they saw a scene of horrifying destruction.

From the city gate to the pyramid, all the buildings along this straight line had vanished completely.

(Why would they do that...?)

It was impossible to understand with common sense.

Was it merely to open a path to the pyramid?

"No matter what, their goal must be the Demon King's Coffin hidden there, right?"

"Yes..."

While hiding behind a pillar on the bell tower, Ellis agreed quietly. Although she had used wind magic to insulate sound, preventing them from being heard in theory, there were no downsides to being careful and alert.

"Enemy numbers, roughly ten or so. A conservative estimate would include militarized spirits, I suppose."

"Hmm, that Luminaris Saint Leisched is here too—"

Looking down at the plaza, Claire calmly analyzed the enemy's combat potential.

The enemy consisted of spirit knights under the military. More than likely, they were an elite unit.

Although the two of them could hold their own against spirit knights after their training at Dracunia, fighting against so many at the same time would be unwise.

(Also—)

Claire kept her eyes on a girl standing in the center of the plaza.

It was an adorable young girl with long crimson hair and dressed in a scarlet dress.

(Who is that child...?)

Claire gulped.

She could feel pressure that made one break out in cold sweat even when looking from afar.

"She is a high-level spirit. Probably on Ortlinde's level, maybe even higher—"

"...Not an enemy we can handle."

Ellis agreed. Her forehead showed perspiration too.

"You still haven't reached Kamito yet?"

"No. I sent out wind familiars over a large area just now, but—"

"...Tsk, damn him. Where did he go at such a critical time!?"

"Hmm, I think he probably has not noticed the situation..."

Ellis murmured with worry.

"Let's go back to meet up with Fianna and the others."

"I agree. It would be best to relocate Her Highness to somewhere safe."

Just as they were about to stop scouting and retreat...

—''Bone-chilling terror''.

"...!?"

Feeling like someone had grabbed her heart, Claire's entire body froze.

"What is the matter, Claire?"

"...Ugh, El...lis... Run now—"

"What?"

Ellis looked back towards the plaza, only to see—

The crimson-haired girl staring straight in their direction.

"Are we found!?"

At this distance, with a wind barrier to boot. Impossible!

A small fireball appeared in the girl's palm.

The fireball flew over with a whoosh.

"Ellis!"

"...! Vicious wind, rampage!"

It was a split-second decision.

The fireball flying head on was about to hit the bell tower.

The magic spear generated countless vacuum blades to intercept.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An explosion. The spreading flames instantly engulfed the surroundings.

"Kyahh!"

Blown away by the blast, the two girls were tossed into the air.

"...! Simorgh!"

In the air, Ellis released her elemental waffe. Appearing out of thin air, the demon wind spirit caught the two falling girls and repelled the howling wave of scorching flames with a Wind Wall.

"Ellis, we're saved...!"

"...! What is going on!?"

With a dust cloud blocking their view, the two landed on a mountain of collapsed debris.

Standing with blazing flames all around, Claire wiped sweat from her forehead.

They were surrounded by intense flames. They had not seen anyone near the bell tower, so there were apparently no casualties—

"W-What on earth was with that firepower... Isn't it spirit magic?"

The instant just before the explosion, they had seen a small fireball on the fingertips of the girl.

Could such a small fireball cause such great destruction in an instant?

"It does look quite similar to Fireball magic—"

"You are saying this was Fireball!?"

Hearing Claire's murmurs, Ellis groaned.

Fireball was a beginner's spell in fire magic with mediocre firepower.

For example, a Fireball cast by Claire, even with a full incantation, would blow away a house at best.

"Insolent ones. That was no Fireball just now—"

"...!?"

Hearing a girl's voice, Claire and Ellis turned their heads back.

Only to see—

Standing there was the girl from plaza just now.

She had long crimson hair. On the sides of her head were what seemed to be curved horns.

Wearing a scarlet dress, the girl was standing on the collapsed bell tower, haughtily looking down at them.

"—It was Flare Burst."

"...! What!?"

"Flare Burst, you say?"

Flare Burst was a type of diversion spell that used flashing light to distract the enemy's vision by firing off countless balls of light from one's palm. Its damage potential was virtually zero.

But that attack just now—

(...No way, it was even more powerful than my Hell Breath!)

Hell Breath was the strongest fire spell in Claire's arsenal of spirit magic.

Although Claire's rational mind rejected the idea that the attack was just meant to scare—

The girl exuded overwhelming pressure.

As a princess maiden, Claire's natural talent rivaled that of Fianna's. Her sharp intuition made her even more able than Ellis to sense the powerful aura in front of them.

However, Claire used her extraordinary willpower to glare at this unfathomable spirit.

"Y-You, who exactly are you? You're the one who destroyed the city, right!?"

Next—

"—''Are you asking for my true name?'' Little girl."

"...!?"

Blazing flames surged from all over the girl's body.

A dust cloud billowed. Claire and Ellis could not help but back away.

"I am displeased by your rude stares. What gives you the gall to look down at me? If your answer fails to satisfy me—"

The girl's figure suddenly vanished like a mirage.

In the next instant, she appeared right before Claire and Ellis all of a sudden.

"Death is the punishment."

"...Ah... ooh...!"

Claire's entire body was frozen, like a mouse under a cat's stare.

The terrifying pressure had paralyzed her legs.

Just then—

"Hisssss!"

From a vortex of flame appearing in the air, a crimson hell cat jumped out to block the girl.

With intensely burning flames released from her entire body, she threatened the spirit in front of them.

"Scarlet!"

"Oh?"

Staring at the hell cat at her feet, the girl seemed surprised.

"An amazing spirit. I can see that it is a named spirit."

She instantly discerned Scarlet's rank, but remained unfazed.

(...This implies how powerful this spirit is—)

With sweat emerging from her forehead, Claire desperately racked her brain.

Was there any way to create an opening to escape while this spirit was not attacking with full strength?

Ellis, with the protection of wind, might be able to escape on her own. But with her sense of chivalry, she would never agree to such a suggestion.

Just then—

"Hmm..."

Did she recall something?

The spirit with a girl's appearance kept looking back and forth between the hell cat at her feet and Claire.

Then—

Extending her index finger, she lightly pointed at Claire's nose.

"...!"

Bracing herself for a fireball to be shot out from the fingertip, Claire closed her eyes.

"—''I have changed my mind''."

"...Huh?"

Claire opened her eyes and made a stupid sound.

"I like you. Hence, I shall overlook your crime of looking down at me."

"U-Uh..."

"What now? Are you dissatisfied?"

Seeing the girl frown, Claire hastily shook her head.

"N-No! B-But why so suddenly..."

"A feeling... You greatly resemble..."

"Greatly resemble? Who?"

"...Who? I do not know either."

"...?"

A questioning look appeared on Claire's face.

"But in my memory, there is a princess maiden with a face quite similar to yours."

The girl's clear eyes, like rubies, stared at Claire's face.

(...W-What is up with this girl?)

The girl was undoubtedly a high-level spirit, absurdly powerful.

But for such a powerful spirit—

Why would she show such an unsettled expression?
[[image:STnBD V17 BW09.png|thumb]]

(...Also, a princess maiden who resembles me a lot?)

At this moment, the girl slowly reached out and caught the sleeve of Claire's uniform.

"Hell cat girl, I can pardon your crime, but you must follow my orders."

"...Huh?"

Claire could not help but react.

...What was she going to demand?

(Will she take Ellis as a sacrifice in exchange for sparing my life?)

Claire would never agree to such a demand—

Looking straight at Claire, the girl spoke.

"Show me around this city—"

===Part 4===

Wearing the Garb of the Lord over his clothes, Kamito quickly passed through the corridor leading to the Great Temple of the Celestial Demon.

The place where the Demon King and the Sacred Maiden's final duel had taken place.

He would be able to wield his dual swords freely in that place.

The intruder was Cardinal Millennia Sanctus.

In that case, his opponent would not be someone from a lower tier like Luminaris. If his hunch was correct, the other intruder would be none other than the former Numbers knight who had accompanied Millennia in the attack on the Academy.

(Lurie Lizaldia, huh?)

He had fought her just once.

It was underground beneath the Academy town, in the place called the Demon King's Burial Chamber—

At the time, Kamito had amnesia.

(An elementalist extremely skilled in martial arts. She is stronger than any Numbers knight I have fought.)

However, she was inferior to Greyworth. This was Kamito's impression of her.

Still, she apparently had not gone all out back then—

"Restia, about what the queen said—"

Suddenly remembering something, Kamito spoke to the demon sword of darkness in his hand.

'What is it?'

"Is it true? She said the Holy Lord offered a contract to Demon King Solomon."

'This is my first time hearing of it. I never thought the Demon King's birth would involve the leader of the Elemental Lords—'

"Figures. You didn't know either."

'Yes, I mentioned it before. To the Demon King, I was nothing more than an excellent weapon. I was normally sealed in the ring, forbidden from speaking to him like this. Now that I think about it, he might have known that I was the guide created by the Darkness Elemental Lord—'

"Legends describe him as using seventy-two spirits. But for the Demon King, only that lady Iris was his true contracted spirit..."

While running, Kamito muttered with a strange expression.

"But if what she said was true, why would Holy Lord Alexandros form such a contract with the Demon King?"

Logic dictated that the Five Great Elemental Lords should be responsible for maintaining peace and order in the world.

Hence, that was why they fought the Darkness Elemental Lord who disrupted the world's balance.

Then why...?

(A thousand years ago, was the Holy Lord already insane, corrupted by the Otherworldly Darkness?)

If that were true, it made some sense, but—

(Three years ago, the day I won the Blade Dance, the Holy Lord's throne was empty—)

...Starting when had it been empty? Fifteen years ago, at the previous tournament, or twenty-four years ago when Greyworth won?

Why was the Holy Lord's throne the only one empty?

The mystery was impossible to ravel.

—Was the Holy Lord ''really corrupted by the Otherworldly Darkness''?

(...No matter what, the only way to find out is to ask those Holy Kingdom people, right?)

The Holy Kingdom of Lugia was a religious country that worshiped Holy Lord Alexandros.

They took action according to the will of the missing Holy Lord. This should probably be the case.

Putting his hands on the hilts of his two swords, Kamito quickened his pace.

===Part 5===

Lurie Lizaldia advanced straight through the dark space of the Demon King's Tomb.

Demon King Solomon's headquarters in the past, this place was spatially warped, turned into a chaotic labyrinth.

This must be the work of the Tomb's caretaker.

"Petty trick to prevent easy intrusion."

Lurie revealed a faint smile and used spirit magic to dispel the space in front of her.

Once the space was severed, yet another disorganized passage appeared.

"Where is your patience, ''Yggdra''? How unlike you."

"Yes, I am definitely impatient. After all, my ''wish'' will soon come true—"

Lurie unleashed harsh holy light at the floor.

The hall's floor instantly collapsed, cracking open to reveal a great dark hole.

Millennia created a spherical force field and the two of them descended gradually.

Yggdra Saint Asoritess.

This was the name of the girl who once harbored dreams of saving mankind.

Born in a border village, she was gifted with talent for healing since birth.

Called the sacred maiden reborn, this girl went all over the world to help villagers suffering in war and the injured on battlefields.

She firmly believed that her mission in the world was to save the weak.

However, at some point, the girl noticed... She realized.

The Ranbal War. During this most cruel war, sparked by conflict between nations—

The people she saved would soon end up sent to the next battlefield. Some of them died while others took many enemy lives.

In the end, her act of saving people only served to generate even more deaths.

For the sake of changing this mad world—

—Fifteen years ago, Yggdra participated in the Blade Dance.

Her intention was to use the Elemental Lords' power of miracles to eliminate hatred from the world.

(—If I put an end to everything, then my deep sins can be forgiven, right?)

Vestments of pure white, without the slightest speck of dirt, fluttered. She looked down into depths of the dark hole.

When holy light illuminated the darkness, the world shall be reborn with everything good and right, yes?

(A world with neither hatred nor war—)

The light from the holy staff held up by Millennia Sanctus illuminated the dark hole.

The two of them descended slowly into what appeared to be a great hall.

The Great Temple of the Celestial Demon, this was where the Sacred Maiden had fought the Demon King in the past.

"Perfect location for a blade dance. Is he here?"

"—Yes. ''I can sense the other me.''"

Millennia's violet eye glowed eerily in the darkness.

Countless spirit crystals in the Great Temple of the Celestial Demon lit up.

"Hey there, I've been waiting. Lurie Lizaldia—"

At the same time, a figure appeared out of the darkness.

A young man dressed in black, wielding a demon sword of darkness and a sacred sword of steel—

"We meet again, Ren Ashbell."

Lurie Lizaldia chuckled and slowly reached out into the air.

The winner of the Blade Dance fifteen years ago and the winner from three years ago.

—The Two Blade Dancers met.

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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter4

2018-05-05T03:51:59Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 3 */

==Chapter 4 - The Sphinx of the Tomb==

===Part 1===

"...Sheesh. No wonder this is called the Desert of Red Death."

"My goodness, Lady Rubia. She should have told us ahead of time."

"Don't blame my sister. Nee-sama might not know this kind of monster was living here."

Listening to Fianna grumbling while brushing off the sand stuck to her hair, Claire shrugged and replied.

After sundown, in the desert at night—

Kamito and company were sitting on the sand, looking up at the starry night sky.

Swallowed by the desert vortex, the ship had a huge crack, almost turning it into wreckage.

The exposed drive reactor's spirit crystal glowed with pale white phosphorescence, faintly illuminating the surroundings.

...This only happened because Kamito screwed up—Not.

While Rinslet was using Freezing Arrow to seal the monster's movements, Kamito had executed a special move from the Absolute Blade Arts, spectacularly defeating the giant jawed beast in one hit.

...However, what happened next was unexpected.

In the desert vortex, unbelievably, there were dozens of Antlions with even bigger jaws.

"Who could have thought that the center of the vortex was the beast's lair. Even I failed to discern that with my very own eyes."

"Yes, no one could have expected so many monstrous beasts like these to be gathered together, normally speaking..."

Seeing one of their own defeated, the enraged swarm of beasts crushed the sand ship with their jaws.

In the nick of time, Kamito and company escaped the ship and successfully defeated the beasts, but ended up stranded in the middle of the desert with no choice but to camp outside.

A survey of the surroundings revealed a graveyard of many sand ships buried in the sand apart from the one Kamito's team was riding. Most likely, numerous merchant ships heading into Ghul-a-val had been swept into that monster's lair after losing contact.

"...The sun has completely set."

"The driver reactor's spirit crystals are intact. Can't the ship be repaired?"

Claire asked.

"That would be far too difficult."

Glancing at the ship's broken remains, Ellis shook her head.

Even for Ellis, whose expertise in carpentry had allowed her to build a home for Kamito in three hours, with the aid of Simorgh's powers, repairing the ship here would be impossible.

"Looks like we have to camp here tonight."

"Yeah..."

Advancing through the desert blindly without any sense of direction would be tantamount to suicide. Having been dropped off in the wilderness during his Instructional School days, Kamito had poignant memories of such experiences.

Fortunately, the majority of their luggage had been given to Fianna to keep inside the alternate dimension inside Georgios and was thus safe. Had they lost their food and water too, everyone would most likely perish here, with the desert as their grave.

"O flames, dance—"

Claire ignited some broken timber embedded in the sand to serve as illumination.

"O eternal wind, grant us peace—Air Wall."

Ellis recited an incantation, using a wall of wind to cover the vicinity of their camp.

"What a disaster. I hope Princess Saladia is safe—"

Fianna sighed and murmured.

Indeed, there was no guarantee that Saladia Kahn could remain safe in this desert where monstrous beasts lurked. Even though the princess was reputedly a powerful elementalist herself, one would not expect her to last long defending against wave after wave of attacks from beasts.

"I heard Princess Saladia has a bodyguard."

"Yes, according to rumors, someone apparently took care of the Theocracy's royal guard."

Ellis nodded.

"Must be quite an amazing guy—"

Suddenly, Kamito looked at the ground by his feet, only to see the sand bulging slightly.

"...Hmm?"

Kamito deftly inserted his hand into the sand and grabbed the wriggling object under the sand.

He held it up for a look, only to see a sand-colored creature with large mandibles, resembling a lobster.

"What? Is this a young version of the Antlion just now?"

"Kamito, this is a sand scorpion."

Eyes brightening up, Rinslet stood up.

"Don't tell me, it's edible?"

"...The red color creeps me out. I'd rather not."

Making a subtle expression, Claire commented.

"Although there is some paralyzing poison, if you cut off the tail and drain out the poison, it will be fine."

"Really...?"

"Just leave it to me—Come, Fenrir!"

At the snap of Rinslet's' fingers, a demon ice spirit appeared out of thin air, surrounded by a blizzard. From his mouth that was connected to Astral Zero, kitchenware kept emerging one after another.

Particularly striking was a deep pot with metallic luster.

"What are you planning to make?"

Seeing that, Ellis asked.

"Special curry made with sand scorpions."

"Curry? What is that?"

"I suppose it is not common home cooking in Ordesia, after all. Curry first originated in the Balstan Kingdom but nowadays, it is more famous as food cooked by the Divine Ritual Institute's princess maidens."

"This was made by the Queen serving the Earth Elemental Lord, for princess maidens undergoing strict training. Not only does it nourish and strengthen the body, but also replenishes divine power. In the Divine Ritual Institute, they serve curry once every week."

Fianna, who used to live at the Divine Ritual Institute, raised an index finger and explained to the group.

"I see. Then I look forward to it."

"First, I need to cook some spices to make a roux. Claire, ready Miss Hell Cat spirit."

"Sheesh, Scarlet isn't a stove, okay?"

Despite complaining, Claire still summoned her hell cat spirit.

Crouching in a small ditch in the sand, Scarlet curled up into a ball. After putting the pot on Scarlet's back, Rinslet rhythmically added powdered herbs and spices into the pot one after another.

Soon after the pot was lidded, boiling sounds could be heard.

Everyone sat around the flames enveloping Scarlet, waiting to the curry to be done.

"...In any case, going after the Demon King's Tomb right now would be the worst idea."

Claire sighed and murmured to herself.

She was right. Now that they had lost the ship, their only choice was to retreat to a town with an oasis.

"Where in Ghul-a-val are we?"

"No idea. Spirit crystals for identifying direction do not work here."

"We should be approaching the central region of the desert, but we cannot even find a single sign of ruins."

"Besids, we do not even know what the Demon King's Tomb looks like."

Ellis and Rinslet shrugged together.

"...I really wanna find a place to purify myself. Too much dirt and the circulation of divine power gets affected."

Claire looked down at her uniform, all covered in sand. Indeed, putting aside Kamito, a boy, not being able to take a bath would be a matter of life and death for these young ladies of nobility.

"Are we going to find an oasis?"

"I do not think it will be so easy to stumble upon one. After all, this is the Desert of Red Death, forsaken by the spirits—"

"Fair enough."

"..."

At that moment—

Fianna, who had been lost in deep thought with her head down, saying not a word, suddenly lifted her head.

"Say, who wants to try a sand bath?"

"A sand bath?"

Claire and the rest of the girls raised their eyebrows with surprise on their faces.

"Yes, did you know that sand that has been purified by sunlight is as clean as pure water?"

"I-Is that true?"

"I have never heard of this."

"There is always a first time for everything, come—"

Confronted with questions from Claire and the others, Fianna nodded and replied with a confident look.

===Part 2===

With his view completely dark—

"...H-Hey, are you done yet?"

Kamito timidly asked.

"N-Not yet!"

"Certainly not!"

However, all he could get were answers of this sort.

"To be honest, this posture is quite uncomfortable..."

The ''blindfolded'' Kamito tried to turn his body.

However, the sand weighing upon him did not budge the slightest.

Well, he could squirm his way out if he really wanted to escape—

But in that case, he would have to prepare himself to suffer attacks from Claire and all the girls.

"..."

...He could hear what sounded like alluring rustling of clothing.

Could it be that they happened to be removing their underwear...?

(...By the way, this looks really bad from all kinds of perspectives.)

Kamito sighed deeply in his heart.

His entire body was buried in the sand, and he was blindfolded to boot.

If anyone were to see this, they would probably treat him as some kind of massive freak... No, this was deviant enough even without requiring an observer.

Sigh, that being said, being buried in the sand like this also counted as a sort of purification.

(Rather than blindfolding me, why not get changed somewhere farther away?)

That was what he thought.

Rather, Claire and the girls possibly thought that he was far enough away.

...Only at times like these did Kamito truly curse his especially keen hearing, honed during his training at the Instructional School.

"S-Somehow, my heart is beating especially fast, a-as soon as I realize I am getting naked outdoors..."

"Y-Yes... I feel like I am doing something unmentionable..."

Presumably unaware that Kamito could hear them, the girls began to whisper among themselves.

"But this feeling of liberation is really great. Even addictive...♪"

"Fianna, w-what are you talking about!?"

More rustling.

"...Ugh, th-the sand... is getting into weird places... Ah... What a pain."

"The sensation... ugh... feels a bit disgustng. I-I prefer bathing with water after all."

Rustle... The sound of thighs rubbing together.

(Hey, give me a break...!)

In the sand, Kamito could not help but blush.

"U-Uwah! W-What is this...!?"

Just then, Ellis cried out.

"Ellis, what is the matter?"

"N-Nothing... Uh, umm..."

"Wait a sec, what is with that underwear! It's constricting your breasts tightly, isn't it!?"

"And here I thought Ellis was so prim and proper. You are unexpectedly bold..."

"Captain, th-this is indecent!"

"W-Wrong!"

Ellis denied with a sobbing tone of voice.

"What do you mean, wrong?"

"Th-This is my esteemed sister's swimsuit! Looks like it got into my luggage by accident..."

"Ah, I see..."

"A unexpectedly clumsy girl."

Fianna murmured with some exasperation.

"...Sob."

...Unable to see anything, Kamito imagined the scene.

Compared to Ellis' outstanding figure, Velsaria would definitely be considered slender.

If Ellis were to put on her underwear, what would it look like...?

...No matter what, Kamito was a teenage boy.

Currently, girls in his age group were putting on embarrassing underwear nearby.

Even though his eyes were covered, it only stimulated his imagination further.

(...! N-No...!)

Kamito could not help but shake his head, trying to dispel the annoying thoughts surfacing in his mind.

However, the girls began to purify themselves with a sand bath, ignorant of Kamito's efforts.

"Okay, let us first rinse our bodies with sand."

Fianna seemed to be enjoying herself.

"I-I feel a bit repulsed..."

"It feels weird."

Despite their verbal grumbling, Kamito could hear the rustling from the girls scooping sand.

"...~, nn... Ah... The feeling of sand moving feels so itchy."

"It is getting to my bottom... Nn, it is sticking..."

"...Ah, s-sliding across... my breasts... Hyah♪"

"Ellis, bathing like that is not going to get your breasts clean♪"

"Y-Your Highness, what are you doing, guh... Ah♪"

Even moans were coming from the usually prim and proper Ellis.

(W-What the hell is going on...!?)

Kamito could not help but gulp.

...At this rate, it felt like all kinds of crazy things were going to happen!

(I-I guess I'll dive into the sand and leave first...)

Earth Stealth Movement—Using an assassination technique from the Instructional School, he twisted his body, burrowing into the sand.

But perhaps because of this, or possibly because it was not tightly tied in the first place, his blindfold fell off.

"...!"

Thus, the scene illuminated by fire entered Kamito's eyes.

Claire froze, in the middle of removing her panties to get rid of the sand. Rinslet had her adorable butt raised in Kamito's direction. As for Fianna, she was using sand to rub Ellis' soft breasts, overflowing from the triangular pieces of fabric straining to contain them.

The dream-like scene made Kamito's brain short circuit for an instance, leaving him frozen in his spot.

"...! U-Uwah! K-Kamito, w-what, w-what are you doing!?"

Noticing his gaze, Claire cried out with her face all red.

"S-Shameless!"

"K-Kamito, what a pervert!"

"N-No wait! The blindfold accidentally fell off—"

Realizing his life was in danger, Kamito instantly stood up from the sand.

Seeing his bare upper torso, the girls screamed.

"W-What are you exposing to us!? W-What a pervert! Exhibitionist! Lewd beast!"

"Now who's the exhibitionist, look at yourselves..."

Hit by Claire's one-sided wave of accusations, Kamito did not back down.

"B-Besides, if you're going to take a sand bath, why not do it somewhere farther away!?"

"W-Well—"

"Certainly not. It's not every day that I get to wear a swimsuit. Kamito-kun has to take a good look♪"

"Y-You, y-you, what are you talking about? You idiot princess, you perverted princess!"

Claire kept hammering her fists against Fianna. Her developing body, clad in swimwear, was so adorable that it made Kamito's heart race.

"A-Anyway, Kamito, turn around now!"

"Fine..."

Seeing Claire about to swing her whip any time, Kamito hastily turned his gaze away.

Just as he was sighing "good grief"...

"...Huh?"

He could not help but make a stupid sound.

In front of him was—

''A giant floating in the air, glowing with blue-white light.''

"Wha—"

Before he could finish saying the word "what," in that instant...

CRAAASH!

THe giant landed on the ground.

"Kyahhhhh!"

"W-What is going on!?"

The landing's shockwave blew away everything in the surroundings, creating a massive cloud of sand and dust.

"...! W-What is this thing!?"

Barely managing to stand firm, Kamito opened his eyes and looked at the giant before him once more.

The giant had a muscular body and a bull's head.

Carrying a massive double-edged sword, it stood with upright posture while staring down intently at Kamito.

"W-What the heck, you...!"

Coughing repeatedly from the sand, Claire shouted, still in her swimsuit.

"...! How dare you... the curry... Unforgivable!"

Rinslet swiftly deployed her elemental waffe bow. Blown away by the wind, the empty pot was rolling at her feet.

...The curry was a total loss.

"Hold on, you two!"

Seeing Claire and Rinslet about to attack, Fianna hurried to stop them.

"That is a spirit, you know?"

"A spirit? But Your Highness, aren't there no spirits in this desert?"

Ellis raised her doubt.

Indeed, there were no spirits residing in Ghul-a-val... That was the way it was supposed to be.

(Then what the heck is this thing...?)

Kamito secretly jumped in surprise.

...No, the giant in front of him was definitely a spirit.

Moreover, it was very close to humanoid—A high-level spirit. Indeed, it would come to no surprise if a high-level spirit had been living in the desert all along—

In the next instant...

Wham—The bull-headed giant swung the great sword in its hand.

The tip of the sword was pointed right at Kamito's nose.

"...! Kamito!"

Claire cried out in fright.

However, Kamito remained motionless, because he did not sense any hostility.

<I am the judge—the one to judge whether thou art worthy.>

The giant spoke. The deep voice echoed throughout the desert at night.

"Worthy? Of what?"

<My master welcomes only the worthy to the Tomb—>

"Did you say ''tomb'?"

Kamito instantly realized with alarm.

(Could this spirit be...?)

"The guardian of the Demon King's Tomb...?"

Behind him, Claire spoke with surprise.

"...I see. So you're the ''door guard''."

Staring at the sword tip pointed at him, Kamito said.

The Demon King's Tomb had some kind of guardian, this was expected.

However, he never thought the guardian would actively show up like this—

(But this is actually to our advantage...)

Since this spirit appeared—

Then it was highly likely that the Demon King's Tomb actually existed in this desert.

"Then—"

Glaring back at the spirit, Kamito spoke.

"Then how do we prove whether we're worthy or not?"

<—There is only one method to judge. Demonstrate thy power.>

"...Thought so."

Kamito shrugged.

He took a few steps back and pulled out the two swords, his contracted spirits, embedded in the ground nearby—The Demon Slayer and the Vorpal Sword.

Then he smiled fearlessly.

"—Suits me just fine."

If the condition demanded was royal blood or something like that, Kamito would honestly be in a bind—

But an opponent that only needed to be conquered by force, that made things easy.

'—Kamito, better not be careless.'

As soon as he picked up the demon sword of darkness, Restia's voice sounded in his mind.

"Restia, do you know this spirit?"

'Yes. This was is one of the seventy-two spirits used by the Demon King in the past, the guardian spirit, the Sphinx. According to the human system of classification, it's archdemon-class.'

"Archdemon-class, huh?"

Among missions at Areishia Spirit Academy, this was a target of maximum difficulty. They were said to be spirits that lived only in the deepest reaches of the Spirit Forest. Even Velsaria Eva had taken several weeks to singlehandedly take down an archdemon-class spirit.

However, Kamito was unfazed.

"It's not like legend-class or mythic-class, right? ''No problem''—"

Throwing out bold words, Kamito poured divine power into his two swords.

The sacred sword of steel glowed with silver-white brilliance while the demon sword of darkness became shrouded in jet-black demonic light.

"Kamito, we'll fight too."

"I must avenge my curry!"

The young ladies had readied their respective elemental waffen and were about to rushing over.

However, Kamito shook his head.

"Thanks, but it's better if you girls stand back—"

"W-Why!?"

"Even if it is us, we are able to help!"

"Yeah, I know. But you won't be able to make the most of your contracted spirit's power unless you properly finish purifying yourselves, right?"

"Uh..."

Claire instantly became speechless.

The Flametongue in her hand only had a fraction of its usual flames. Ellis and Rinslet's elemental waffen were also in a similar state.

"Everyone, leave this to Kamito-kun."

"F-Fine..."

You leave me no choice—Muttering, Claire dispelled Flametongue.

"Kamito, you're on your own if you lose, okay?"

Kamito silently nodded and stepped forward.

In fact, there was another reason why Kamito had chosen to fight alone.

This spirit had said—Demonstrate thy power.

If the whole team ganged up to defeat the spirit, they might not be recognized as worthy.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The judge—The Sphinx—roared, shaking the ground like an earthquake

The atmosphere instantly grew tense. Kamito felt an intensely oppressive aura stimulating his skin.

"Perfect timing. Now let's see if I'm worthy or not—"

Kamito grinned.

In the next instant, he released the divine power concentrated beneath his feet and charged forward all at once.

===Part 3===

(A large archdemon-class spirit, I'll use the Destructive Form to end this in one go!)

The combat style of performing a blade dance was very different from that of hunting spirits.

The former emphasized exchanging exciting and varying sword moves with the opponent while the latter emphasized the direct clash of power against power.

Pouring his entire divine energy into his elemental waffen, Kamito unleashed a heavy strike in one breath—

This was the hunting method that Greyworth had taught him through practical combat.

"Ohhhhhhhh!"

The glowing divine power released from hi entire body illuminated the night desert brightly.

Kamito unleashed a dual-wielding move from the Absolute Blade Arts—Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance, Thousand Strikes of Swift Thunder.

Rather than an anti-personnel sword technique, this move was created for defeating large spirits.

The Sphinx swung its large sword horizontally.

Accompanied by a howling sandstorm, it attacked Kamito.

(Cheap trick—)

Confronted with a mad dance of innumerable wind blades, Kamito dashed forward resolutely.

The trajectories of the wind blades were impossible to discern.

However, just by seeing the flow of sand in the air, evasion was nothing difficult.

The wind blades brushed past his cheek, splashing blood, but Kamito lunged at the giant's chest, completely unfazed.

"Absolute Blade Dance, Destructive Form—Bursting Blossom Spiral—"

Suddenly, he stopped the sword move's activation and took a defensive stance with his twin swords crossed.

A crimson heat beam silently flew past the edge of the swords.

(...What!?)

BOOOM!

An explosion produced a shockwave, sending Kamito flying.

"Guh—"

While he was recovering his posture and landing on the sand, a second heat beam shot at him.

Before his mind actively made a decision, his right hand reflexively swung the Demon Slayer.

Clang—A harsh sound rang out.

Deflected, the heat beam struck somewhere diagonally behind him. A giant pillar of flame erupted with the sound of an explosion.

A direct hit would have turned Kamito to charcoal in an instant. No, even an attempt to defend would have been futile if he did not have the strongest sword spirit in his hand.

Such terrifying power and accuracy in attack—

(...Tsk, that attack just now was—)

Kamito could now read the Sphinx's movements completely.

In that case—

Kamito forcefully looked up into the sky.

Only to see—

A dog-headed giant floating in the air, holding a staff in its hand.

"...Tsk, there's another one!?"

Kamito's expression stiffened involuntarily.

"Wait a sec, no one told me anything..."

In contrast to the bull-headed Sphinx specialized for close combat, the dog-headed one seemed to be the type focusing on long-range attacks.

'—The Sphinx is a system of four entities in charge of different roles.'

"What the heck, telling me after the fact is so unfair!"

'Kamito, you will surely find a way to handle it.'

Restia replied nonchalantly.

...Her words were the exact same as when Greyworth tossed him into a forest three years ago.

However, fighting two archdemon-class spirits simultaneously was not a challenge he had encountered during Greyworth's inhumane training—

'Low-level spirits like these are no match for Kamito.'

Est chimed in with a comment in the same vein.

(Low-level spirits...)

From Est's perspective, perhaps even archdemon-class spirits were merely on that level—

While grimacing in his heart, Kamito readied his two swords.

...Sigh, he had already bragged to Claire and the girls that he would handle things alone.

Even if his opponent increased by one, he had no choice but to charge head on.

(I have two ultimate spirits on my side after all—)

The bull-headed giant roared and charged.

This Sphinx probably symbolized strength.

A close combat type with emphasis on strength—This was not hard to handle for Kamito.

(The dog-headed one is the problem, huh—)

Hovering in the air, the dog-headed one seemed to be responsible for covering the bull-headed one. Finding an opening would not be that easy.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Faced with the Sphinx's downward swing at full strength—

Kamito used the back of the Demon Slayer to block and parry.

A simple contest of strength would be too disadvantageous for him. With nimble footwork, Kamito—

"Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form—Shadowmoon Waltz—Major Double Turn."

He executed a flowing flurry of haphazard strikes.

The storm of black and white slashes instantly swirled. The particles of divine power constituting the Sphinx's body were scattered on the red desert like droplets of blood.

However, the archdemon-class spirit did not suffer critical damage.

(Too weak, huh—)

Shadowmoon Waltz was a move from the Absolute Blade Arts for group battles.

Despite the overwhelming quantity of attacks, it was somewhat inferior in power.

(No, that's not the issue here—)

The Sphinx's great sword swept across. Kamito ducked down slightly, evading the sword in the nick of time.

(I'm subconsciously scared of using divine power—)

The Absolute Blade Arts required unifying the manipulation of divine power with the attack motion. If he were to consume too much divine power by accident, the Darkness Elemental Lords's power lying dormant in his body might awaken. Overly afraid of this, Kamito was unintentionally limiting himself.

However, this made it impossible to defeat highly durable spirits.

(One instant. Within a very brief instant, an explosion of divine power—)

While evading the massive swinging attacks, Kamito stepped into his opponent's opening.

(Ten seconds—No, seven. I'm going all out. Will you endure it?)

'Yes, Kamito—'

'Leave it to me—'

The strongest twin swords replied with white and black brilliance.

The Sphinx in front of him swung its great sword, enveloped in a gale. Dodging the strike in the nick of time, Kamito stepped on the flat of the sword while it embedded itself into the ground, then jumped on to the enemy's head.

Then—

"Absolute Blade Arts, Second Form—Meteor!"

A move derived from Purple Lightning—Meant to kill in one strike, it struck the head violently.

The Demon Slayer, infused with his entire body's divine power—

Smashed the Sphinx's horn.

'Kamito—!'

Restia warned. Of course, Kamito was aware. In the earlier attack, he had learned to read the preparatory motions of the Sphinx in the air.

While landing, he immediately moved. Kamito circled around to the bull-headed spirit's back, using its massive body as a shield.

The downpour of heat beams rained down, piercing the Sphinx's body all over.

BOOOOOM!

An explosion. Even with the spirit as a shield, one would not survive unscathed if caught up in the explosion.

However, Kamito was no longer visible there. The moment the heat beams struck, Kamito had used the dust cloud as cover to approach the Sphinx in the air.

The dog head turned, creating countless fireballs around its staff.

(Too late—)

Kamito skillfully launched the Demon Slayer.

However, instead of aiming at the Sphinx above, the target was the ground a couple steps in front of him.

Gathered at the staff's tip, the fireballs turned into heat beams, pouring down as a scorching rain of fire—

In that instant, Kamito jumped high. Stepping on the hilt of the sacred sword embedded in the ground, he allowed his divine power to explode.

This was different from ordinary Terrain Reduction executed by concentrating divine power beneath his feet and letting it explode—

Instead, he caused the divine power poured into the Demon Slayer to return to him, in a very violent manner.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Seventh Form—Biting Dragon!"

Like an arrow leaving the bowstring—

Fired upwards, Kamito swung the demon sword of darkness in the air.

Together with the staff in its hand, the Sphinx was cut into two immediately.

The dog-headed spirit turned into particles of light, disappearing into thin air. As expected, this Sphinx was lacking in durability.

Somersaulting using his residual momentum, Kamito then landed on the sand.

"Now, it's one versus one—"

Pulling out the Demon Slayer, Kamito turned around to face the bull-headed Sphinx.

"Let's end this next—"

Pouring divine power into both swords, Kamito readied himself to execute the Absolute Blade Arts' ultimate move—the Destructive Form.

Just then—

<—Thy power, comprehensible.>

The Sphinx lowered the great sword in its hand and spoke.

"...?"

<—The Tomb's path opens. The Demon King's successor is granted an audience with the Queen.>

Saying that, the Sphinx's body turned into particles of light and gradually disappeared—

"H-Hey...!"

Before Kamito could stop the Sphinx—

It vanished without trace.

...Only leaving dust in the wind.

"Uh, I guess, I'm approved...?"

Faced with a conclusion that came too anticlimactically—

Kamito could not help but feel drained, frozen to the spot.

"Kamito!"

"Kamito-kun!"

The girls rushed over from behind the ship's wreckage from where they had been watching the battle.

"Kamito-san, are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's nothing..."

Kamito nodded ambiguously.

Although the two archdemon-class spirits were formidable fores, compared to the Greyworth in her prime that he had fought at Dracunia, they were nothing at all.

"By the way, what exactly is that worthiness..."

Kamito muttered to himself. Just then...

"What is that!?"

Ellis shouted, pointing out into the desert where sand was blowing.

"...?"

Everyone looked in the same direction.

Only to see—

"W-What is that—?"

From beyond the horizon, a giant shadow emerged.

"It clearly was not there just now..."

"Indeed..."

The young ladies murmured in surprise, exchanging looks.

After a beat's delay—

"Say, could it be..."

Fianna slow began to speak.

"...Is that the Demon King's Capital?"

===Part 4===

Late at night. Inside an office where a small lamp was lit—

Rubia Elstein was currently reading secret documents uncovered from Scorpia.

Most of these secret documents were about the Ranbal War.

This great war started from a minor territorial dispute between Ordesia and the Holy Kingdom of Lugia that finally drew in the entire continent.

Even though an eternal truce had been signed between the two nations since twenty-odd years ago, the war's effects still linger everywhere.

(Experiments for transferring to power of spirits to humans, experiments for inducing spirits to self-destruct so that their internal energy went amok... This is more terrifying that imagiend—)

Rubia lit a fire at her fingertips and burned the stack of documents to cinders.

Such severe crimes, going as far as to turn spirits into instruments of war, it was nauseating.

The Theocracy was not alone. In those days, every country did similar things.

Even her home country, the Ordesia Empire, had been researching cursed armament seals and strategic-class militarized spirits that had been modified into weapons of mass destruction.

(I have no right to mock such folly, I suppose—)

Rubia Elstein narrowed her ruby-like eyes and mocked herself.

She had corrupted her own body with cursed armament seals for the sake of obtaining power, thus disqualifying herself as a pure princess maiden.

Of course, she had no regrets. But—

(This filthy body no longer has the right to hold my little sister's hand—)

This was the only thing that she missed, weighing on her mind.

(But that man—)

Suddenly, Kamito's face appeared in her mind.

Recalling the first time in her life to show her naked body to a man, she instantly blushed, her face turning hot.

She had never experienced such feelings in her entire life.

As soon as she thought of him, her heart became strangely unsettled.

(Why—?)

Just then, suddenly, she felt intense pain from her right hand.

Her face contorted by the sharp pain, as acute as being burned by fire, she cast her gaze upon her right hand, only to see—

A crimson emblem, symbolizing fire, was glowing brilliantly.

"...Wh... at...?"

Rubia widened her ruby-like eyes.

This was the brand that had not disappeared even after she had disqualified herself as a princess maiden.

—The seal of the spirit contract formed with the Fire Elemental Lord.
<noinclude>{{SeireiDance Nav|prev=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter3|next=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter5}}</noinclude>

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter4

2018-05-05T03:51:06Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 3 */

==Chapter 4 - The Sphinx of the Tomb==

===Part 1===

"...Sheesh. No wonder this is called the Desert of Red Death."

"My goodness, Lady Rubia. She should have told us ahead of time."

"Don't blame my sister. Nee-sama might not know this kind of monster was living here."

Listening to Fianna grumbling while brushing off the sand stuck to her hair, Claire shrugged and replied.

After sundown, in the desert at night—

Kamito and company were sitting on the sand, looking up at the starry night sky.

Swallowed by the desert vortex, the ship had a huge crack, almost turning it into wreckage.

The exposed drive reactor's spirit crystal glowed with pale white phosphorescence, faintly illuminating the surroundings.

...This only happened because Kamito screwed up—Not.

While Rinslet was using Freezing Arrow to seal the monster's movements, Kamito had executed a special move from the Absolute Blade Arts, spectacularly defeating the giant jawed beast in one hit.

...However, what happened next was unexpected.

In the desert vortex, unbelievably, there were dozens of Antlions with even bigger jaws.

"Who could have thought that the center of the vortex was the beast's lair. Even I failed to discern that with my very own eyes."

"Yes, no one could have expected so many monstrous beasts like these to be gathered together, normally speaking..."

Seeing one of their own defeated, the enraged swarm of beasts crushed the sand ship with their jaws.

In the nick of time, Kamito and company escaped the ship and successfully defeated the beasts, but ended up stranded in the middle of the desert with no choice but to camp outside.

A survey of the surroundings revealed a graveyard of many sand ships buried in the sand apart from the one Kamito's team was riding. Most likely, numerous merchant ships heading into Ghul-a-val had been swept into that monster's lair after losing contact.

"...The sun has completely set."

"The driver reactor's spirit crystals are intact. Can't the ship be repaired?"

Claire asked.

"That would be far too difficult."

Glancing at the ship's broken remains, Ellis shook her head.

Even for Ellis, whose expertise in carpentry had allowed her to build a home for Kamito in three hours, with the aid of Simorgh's powers, repairing the ship here would be impossible.

"Looks like we have to camp here tonight."

"Yeah..."

Advancing through the desert blindly without any sense of direction would be tantamount to suicide. Having been dropped off in the wilderness during his Instructional School days, Kamito had poignant memories of such experiences.

Fortunately, the majority of their luggage had been given to Fianna to keep inside the alternate dimension inside Georgios and was thus safe. Had they lost their food and water too, everyone would most likely perish here, with the desert as their grave.

"O flames, dance—"

Claire ignited some broken timber embedded in the sand to serve as illumination.

"O eternal wind, grant us peace—Air Wall."

Ellis recited an incantation, using a wall of wind to cover the vicinity of their camp.

"What a disaster. I hope Princess Saladia is safe—"

Fianna sighed and murmured.

Indeed, there was no guarantee that Saladia Kahn could remain safe in this desert where monstrous beasts lurked. Even though the princess was reputedly a powerful elementalist herself, one would not expect her to last long defending against wave after wave of attacks from beasts.

"I heard Princess Saladia has a bodyguard."

"Yes, according to rumors, someone apparently took care of the Theocracy's royal guard."

Ellis nodded.

"Must be quite an amazing guy—"

Suddenly, Kamito looked at the ground by his feet, only to see the sand bulging slightly.

"...Hmm?"

Kamito deftly inserted his hand into the sand and grabbed the wriggling object under the sand.

He held it up for a look, only to see a sand-colored creature with large mandibles, resembling a lobster.

"What? Is this a young version of the Antlion just now?"

"Kamito, this is a sand scorpion."

Eyes brightening up, Rinslet stood up.

"Don't tell me, it's edible?"

"...The red color creeps me out. I'd rather not."

Making a subtle expression, Claire commented.

"Although there is some paralyzing poison, if you cut off the tail and drain out the poison, it will be fine."

"Really...?"

"Just leave it to me—Come, Fenrir!"

At the snap of Rinslet's' fingers, a demon ice spirit appeared out of thin air, surrounded by a blizzard. From his mouth that was connected to Astral Zero, kitchenware kept emerging one after another.

Particularly striking was a deep pot with metallic luster.

"What are you planning to make?"

Seeing that, Ellis asked.

"Special curry made with sand scorpions."

"Curry? What is that?"

"I suppose it is not common home cooking in Ordesia, after all. Curry first originated in the Balstan Kingdom but nowadays, it is more famous as food cooked by the Divine Ritual Institute's princess maidens."

"This was made by the Queen serving the Earth Elemental Lord, for princess maidens undergoing strict training. Not only does it nourish and strengthen the body, but also replenishes divine power. In the Divine Ritual Institute, they serve curry once every week."

Fianna, who used to live at the Divine Ritual Institute, raised an index finger and explained to the group.

"I see. Then I look forward to it."

"First, I need to cook some spices to make a roux. Claire, ready Miss Hell Cat spirit."

"Sheesh, Scarlet isn't a stove, okay?"

Despite complaining, Claire still summoned her hell cat spirit.

Crouching in a small ditch in the sand, Scarlet curled up into a ball. After putting the pot on Scarlet's back, Rinslet rhythmically added powdered herbs and spices into the pot one after another.

Soon after the pot was lidded, boiling sounds could be heard.

Everyone sat around the flames enveloping Scarlet, waiting to the curry to be done.

"...In any case, going after the Demon King's Tomb right now would be the worst idea."

Claire sighed and murmured to herself.

She was right. Now that they had lost the ship, their only choice was to retreat to a town with an oasis.

"Where in Ghul-a-val are we?"

"No idea. Spirit crystals for identifying direction do not work here."

"We should be approaching the central region of the desert, but we cannot even find a single sign of ruins."

"Besids, we do not even know what the Demon King's Tomb looks like."

Ellis and Rinslet shrugged together.

"...I really wanna find a place to purify myself. Too much dirt and the circulation of divine power gets affected."

Claire looked down at her uniform, all covered in sand. Indeed, putting aside Kamito, a boy, not being able to take a bath would be a matter of life and death for these young ladies of nobility.

"Are we going to find an oasis?"

"I do not think it will be so easy to stumble upon one. After all, this is the Desert of Red Death, forsaken by the spirits—"

"Fair enough."

"..."

At that moment—

Fianna, who had been lost in deep thought with her head down, saying not a word, suddenly lifted her head.

"Say, who wants to try a sand bath?"

"A sand bath?"

Claire and the rest of the girls raised their eyebrows with surprise on their faces.

"Yes, did you know that sand that has been purified by sunlight is as clean as pure water?"

"I-Is that true?"

"I have never heard of this."

"There is always a first time for everything, come—"

Confronted with questions from Claire and the others, Fianna nodded and replied with a confident look.

===Part 2===

With his view completely dark—

"...H-Hey, are you done yet?"

Kamito timidly asked.

"N-Not yet!"

"Certainly not!"

However, all he could get were answers of this sort.

"To be honest, this posture is quite uncomfortable..."

The ''blindfolded'' Kamito tried to turn his body.

However, the sand weighing upon him did not budge the slightest.

Well, he could squirm his way out if he really wanted to escape—

But in that case, he would have to prepare himself to suffer attacks from Claire and all the girls.

"..."

...He could hear what sounded like alluring rustling of clothing.

Could it be that they happened to be removing their underwear...?

(...By the way, this looks really bad from all kinds of perspectives.)

Kamito sighed deeply in his heart.

His entire body was buried in the sand, and he was blindfolded to boot.

If anyone were to see this, they would probably treat him as some kind of massive freak... No, this was deviant enough even without requiring an observer.

Sigh, that being said, being buried in the sand like this also counted as a sort of purification.

(Rather than blindfolding me, why not get changed somewhere farther away?)

That was what he thought.

Rather, Claire and the girls possibly thought that he was far enough away.

...Only at times like these did Kamito truly curse his especially keen hearing, honed during his training at the Instructional School.

"S-Somehow, my heart is beating especially fast, a-as soon as I realize I am getting naked outdoors..."

"Y-Yes... I feel like I am doing something unmentionable..."

Presumably unaware that Kamito could hear them, the girls began to whisper among themselves.

"But this feeling of liberation is really great. Even addictive...♪"

"Fianna, w-what are you talking about!?"

More rustling.

"...Ugh, th-the sand... is getting into weird places... Ah... What a pain."

"The sensation... ugh... feels a bit disgustng. I-I prefer bathing with water after all."

Rustle... The sound of thighs rubbing together.

(Hey, give me a break...!)

In the sand, Kamito could not help but blush.

"U-Uwah! W-What is this...!?"

Just then, Ellis cried out.

"Ellis, what is the matter?"

"N-Nothing... Uh, umm..."

"Wait a sec, what is with that underwear! It's constricting your breasts tightly, isn't it!?"

"And here I thought Ellis was so prim and proper. You are unexpectedly bold..."

"Captain, th-this is indecent!"

"W-Wrong!"

Ellis denied with a sobbing tone of voice.

"What do you mean, wrong?"

"Th-This is my esteemed sister's swimsuit! Looks like it got into my luggage by accident..."

"Ah, I see..."

"A unexpectedly clumsy girl."

Fianna murmured with some exasperation.

"...Sob."

...Unable to see anything, Kamito imagined the scene.

Compared to Ellis' outstanding figure, Velsaria would definitely be considered slender.

If Ellis were to put on her underwear, what would it look like...?

...No matter what, Kamito was a teenage boy.

Currently, girls in his age group were putting on embarrassing underwear nearby.

Even though his eyes were covered, it only stimulated his imagination further.

(...! N-No...!)

Kamito could not help but shake his head, trying to dispel the annoying thoughts surfacing in his mind.

However, the girls began to purify themselves with a sand bath, ignorant of Kamito's efforts.

"Okay, let us first rinse our bodies with sand."

Fianna seemed to be enjoying herself.

"I-I feel a bit repulsed..."

"It feels weird."

Despite their verbal grumbling, Kamito could hear the rustling from the girls scooping sand.

"...~, nn... Ah... The feeling of sand moving feels so itchy."

"It is getting to my bottom... Nn, it is sticking..."

"...Ah, s-sliding across... my breasts... Hyah♪"

"Ellis, bathing like that is not going to get your breasts clean♪"

"Y-Your Highness, what are you doing, guh... Ah♪"

Even moans were coming from the usually prim and proper Ellis.

(W-What the hell is going on...!?)

Kamito could not help but gulp.

...At this rate, it felt like all kinds of crazy things were going to happen!

(I-I guess I'll dive into the sand and leave first...)

Earth Stealth Movement—Using an assassination technique from the Instructional School, he twisted his body, burrowing into the sand.

But perhaps because of this, or possibly because it was not tightly tied in the first place, his blindfold fell off.

"...!"

Thus, the scene illuminated by fire entered Kamito's eyes.

Claire froze, in the middle of removing her panties to get rid of the sand. Rinslet had her adorable butt raised in Kamito's direction. As for Fianna, she was using sand to rub Ellis' soft breasts, overflowing from the triangular pieces of fabric straining to contain them.

The dream-like scene made Kamito's brain short circuit for an instance, leaving him frozen in his spot.

"...! U-Uwah! K-Kamito, w-what, w-what are you doing!?"

Noticing his gaze, Claire cried out with her face all red.

"S-Shameless!"

"K-Kamito, what a pervert!"

"N-No wait! The blindfold accidentally fell off—"

Realizing his life was in danger, Kamito instantly stood up from the sand.

Seeing his bare upper torso, the girls screamed.

"W-What are you exposing to us!? W-What a pervert! Exhibitionist! Lewd beast!"

"Now who's the exhibitionist, look at yourselves..."

Hit by Claire's one-sided wave of accusations, Kamito did not back down.

"B-Besides, if you're going to take a sand bath, why not do it somewhere farther away!?"

"W-Well—"

"Certainly not. It's not every day that I get to wear a swimsuit. Kamito-kun has to take a good look♪"

"Y-You, y-you, what are you talking about? You idiot princess, you perverted princess!"

Claire kept hammering her fists against Fianna. Her developing body, clad in swimwear, was so adorable that it made Kamito's heart race.

"A-Anyway, Kamito, turn around now!"

"Fine..."

Seeing Claire about to swing her whip any time, Kamito hastily turned his gaze away.

Just as he was sighing "good grief"...

"...Huh?"

He could not help but make a stupid sound.

In front of him was—

''A giant floating in the air, glowing with blue-white light.''

"Wha—"

Before he could finish saying the word "what," in that instant...

CRAAASH!

THe giant landed on the ground.

"Kyahhhhh!"

"W-What is going on!?"

The landing's shockwave blew away everything in the surroundings, creating a massive cloud of sand and dust.

"...! W-What is this thing!?"

Barely managing to stand firm, Kamito opened his eyes and looked at the giant before him once more.

The giant had a muscular body and a bull's head.

Carrying a massive double-edged sword, it stood with upright posture while staring down intently at Kamito.

"W-What the heck, you...!"

Coughing repeatedly from the sand, Claire shouted, still in her swimsuit.

"...! How dare you... the curry... Unforgivable!"

Rinslet swiftly deployed her elemental waffe bow. Blown away by the wind, the empty pot was rolling at her feet.

...The curry was a total loss.

"Hold on, you two!"

Seeing Claire and Rinslet about to attack, Fianna hurried to stop them.

"That is a spirit, you know?"

"A spirit? But Your Highness, aren't there no spirits in this desert?"

Ellis raised her doubt.

Indeed, there were no spirits residing in Ghul-a-val... That was the way it was supposed to be.

(Then what the heck is this thing...?)

Kamito secretly jumped in surprise.

...No, the giant in front of him was definitely a spirit.

Moreover, it was very close to humanoid—A high-level spirit. Indeed, it would come to no surprise if a high-level spirit had been living in the desert all along—

In the next instant...

Wham—The bull-headed giant swung the great sword in its hand.

The tip of the sword was pointed right at Kamito's nose.

"...! Kamito!"

Claire cried out in fright.

However, Kamito remained motionless, because he did not sense any hostility.

<I am the judge—the one to judge whether thou art worthy.>

The giant spoke. The deep voice echoed throughout the desert at night.

"Worthy? Of what?"

<My master welcomes only the worthy to the Tomb—>

"Did you say ''tomb'?"

Kamito instantly realized with alarm.

(Could this spirit be...?)

"The guardian of the Demon King's Tomb...?"

Behind him, Claire spoke with surprise.

"...I see. So you're the ''door guard''."

Staring at the sword tip pointed at him, Kamito said.

The Demon King's Tomb had some kind of guardian, this was expected.

However, he never thought the guardian would actively show up like this—

(But this is actually to our advantage...)

Since this spirit appeared—

Then it was highly likely that the Demon King's Tomb actually existed in this desert.

"Then—"

Glaring back at the spirit, Kamito spoke.

"Then how do we prove whether we're worthy or not?"

<—There is only one method to judge. Demonstrate thy power.>

"...Thought so."

Kamito shrugged.

He took a few steps back and pulled out the two swords, his contracted spirits, embedded in the ground nearby—The Demon Slayer and the Vorpal Sword.

Then he smiled fearlessly.

"—Suits me just fine."

If the condition demanded was royal blood or something like that, Kamito would honestly be in a bind—

But an opponent that only needed to be conquered by force, that made things easy.

'—Kamito, better not be careless.'

As soon as he picked up the demon sword of darkness, Restia's voice sounded in his mind.

"Restia, do you know this spirit?"

'Yes. This was is one of the seventy-two spirits used by the Demon King in the past, the guardian spirit, the Sphinx. According to the human system of classification, it's archdemon-class.'

"Archdemon-class, huh?"

Among missions at Areishia Spirit Academy, this was a target of maximum difficulty. They were said to be spirits that lived only in the deepest reaches of the Spirit Forest. Even Velsaria Eva had taken several weeks to singlehandedly take down an archdemon-class spirit.

However, Kamito was unfazed.

"It's not like legend-class or mythic-class, right? ''No problem''—"

Throwing out bold words, Kamito poured divine power into his two swords.

The sacred sword of steel glowed with silver-white brilliance while the demon sword of darkness became shrouded in jet-black demonic light.

"Kamito, we'll fight too."

"I must avenge my curry!"

The young ladies had readied their respective elemental waffen and were about to rushing over.

However, Kamito shook his head.

"Thanks, but it's better if you girls stand back—"

"W-Why!?"

"Even if it is us, we are able to help!"

"Yeah, I know. But you won't be able to make the most of your contracted spirit's power unless you properly finish purifying yourselves, right?"

"Uh..."

Claire instantly became speechless.

The Flametongue in her hand only had a fraction of its usual flames. Ellis and Rinslet's elemental waffen were also in a similar state.

"Everyone, leave this to Kamito-kun."

"F-Fine..."

You leave me no choice—Muttering, Claire dispelled Flametongue.

"Kamito, you're on your own if you lose, okay?"

Kamito silently nodded and stepped forward.

In fact, there was another reason why Kamito had chosen to fight alone.

This spirit had said—Demonstrate thy power.

If the whole team ganged up to defeat the spirit, they might not be recognized as worthy.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The judge—The Sphinx—roared, shaking the ground like an earthquake

The atmosphere instantly grew tense. Kamito felt an intensely oppressive aura stimulating his skin.

"Perfect timing. Now let's see if I'm worthy or not—"

Kamito grinned.

In the next instant, he released the divine power concentrated beneath his feet and charged forward all at once.

===Part 3===

(A large archdemon-class spirit, I'll use the Destructive Form to end this in one go!)

The combat style of performing a blade dance was very diffrent from that of hunting spirits.

The former emphasized exchanging exciting and varying sword moves with the opponent while the latter emphasized the direct clash of power against power.

Pouring his entire divine energy into his elemental waffen, Kamito unleashed a heavy strike in one breath—

This was the hunting method that Greyworth had taught him through practical combat.

"Ohhhhhhhh!"

The glowing divine power released from hi entire body illuminated the night desert brightly.

Kamito unleashed a dual-wielding move from the Absolute Blade Arts—Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance, Thousand Strikes of Swift Thunder.

Rather than an anti-personnel sword technique, this move was created for defeating large spirits.

The Sphinx swung its large sword horizontally.

Accompanied by a howling sandstorm, it attacked Kamito.

(Cheap trick—)

Confronted with a mad dance of innumerable wind blades, Kamito dashed forward resolutely.

The trajectories of the wind blades were impossible to discern.

However, just by seeing the flow of sand in the air, evasion was nothing difficult.

The wind blades brushed past his cheek, splashing blood, but Kamito lunged at the giant's chest, completely unfazed.

"Absolute Blade Dance, Destructive Form—Bursting Blossom Spiral—"

Suddenly, he stopped the sword move's activation and took a defensive stance with his twin swords crossed.

A crimson heat beam silently flew past the edge of the swords.

(...What!?)

BOOOM!

An explosion produced a shockwave, sending Kamito flying.

"Guh—"

While he was recovering his posture and landing on the sand, a second heat beam shot at him.

Before his mind actively made a decision, his right hand reflexively swung the Demon Slayer.

Clang—A harsh sound rang out.

Deflected, the heat beam struck somewhere diagonally behind him. A giant pillar of flame erupted with the sound of an explosion.

A direct hit would have turned Kamito to charcoal in an instant. No, even an attempt to defend would have been futile if he did not have the strongest sword spirit in his hand.

Such terrifying power and accuracy in attack—

(...Tsk, that attack just now was—)

Kamito could now read the Sphinx's movements completely.

In that case—

Kamito forcefully looked up into the sky.

Only to see—

A dog-headed giant floating in the air, holding a staff in its hand.

"...Tsk, there's another one!?"

Kamito's expression stiffened involuntarily.

"Wait a sec, no one told me anything..."

In contrast to the bull-headed Sphinx specialized for close combat, the dog-headed one seemed to be the type focusing on long-range attacks.

'—The Sphinx is a system of four entities in charge of different roles.'

"What the heck, telling me after the fact is so unfair!"

'Kamito, you will surely find a way to handle it.'

Restia replied nonchalantly.

...Her words were the exact same as when Greyworth tossed him into a forest three years ago.

However, fighting two archdemon-class spirits simultaneously was not a challenge he had encountered during Greyworth's inhumane training—

'Low-level spirits like these are no match for Kamito.'

Est chimed in with a comment in the same vein.

(Low-level spirits...)

From Est's perspective, perhaps even archdemon-class spirits were merely on that level—

While grimacing in his heart, Kamito readied his two swords.

...Sigh, he had already bragged to Claire and the girls that he would handle things alone.

Even if his opponent increased by one, he had no choice but to charge head on.

(I have two ultimate spirits on my side after all—)

The bull-headed giant roared and charged.

This Sphinx probably symbolized strength.

A close combat type with emphasis on strength—This was not hard to handle for Kamito.

(The dog-headed one is the problem, huh—)

Hovering in the air, the dog-headed one seemed to be responsible for covering the bull-headed one. Finding an opening would not be that easy.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Faced with the Sphinx's downward swing at full strength—

Kamito used the back of the Demon Slayer to block and parry.

A simple contest of strength would be too disadvantageous for him. With nimble footwork, Kamito—

"Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form—Shadowmoon Waltz—Major Double Turn."

He executed a flowing flurry of haphazard strikes.

The storm of black and white slashes instantly swirled. The particles of divine power constituting the Sphinx's body were scattered on the red desert like droplets of blood.

However, the archdemon-class spirit did not suffer critical damage.

(Too weak, huh—)

Shadowmoon Waltz was a move from the Absolute Blade Arts for group battles.

Despite the overwhelming quantity of attacks, it was somewhat inferior in power.

(No, that's not the issue here—)

The Sphinx's great sword swept across. Kamito ducked down slightly, evading the sword in the nick of time.

(I'm subconsciously scared of using divine power—)

The Absolute Blade Arts required unifying the manipulation of divine power with the attack motion. If he were to consume too much divine power by accident, the Darkness Elemental Lords's power lying dormant in his body might awaken. Overly afraid of this, Kamito was unintentionally limiting himself.

However, this made it impossible to defeat highly durable spirits.

(One instant. Within a very brief instant, an explosion of divine power—)

While evading the massive swinging attacks, Kamito stepped into his opponent's opening.

(Ten seconds—No, seven. I'm going all out. Will you endure it?)

'Yes, Kamito—'

'Leave it to me—'

The strongest twin swords replied with white and black brilliance.

The Sphinx in front of him swung its great sword, enveloped in a gale. Dodging the strike in the nick of time, Kamito stepped on the flat of the sword while it embedded itself into the ground, then jumped on to the enemy's head.

Then—

"Absolute Blade Arts, Second Form—Meteor!"

A move derived from Purple Lightning—Meant to kill in one strike, it struck the head violently.

The Demon Slayer, infused with his entire body's divine power—

Smashed the Sphinx's horn.

'Kamito—!'

Restia warned. Of course, Kamito was aware. In the earlier attack, he had learned to read the preparatory motions of the Sphinx in the air.

While landing, he immediately moved. Kamito circled around to the bull-headed spirit's back, using its massive body as a shield.

The downpour of heat beams rained down, piercing the Sphinx's body all over.

BOOOOOM!

An explosion. Even with the spirit as a shield, one would not survive unscathed if caught up in the explosion.

However, Kamito was no longer visible there. The moment the heat beams struck, Kamito had used the dust cloud as cover to approach the Sphinx in the air.

The dog head turned, creating countless fireballs around its staff.

(Too late—)

Kamito skillfully launched the Demon Slayer.

However, instead of aiming at the Sphinx above, the target was the ground a couple steps in front of him.

Gathered at the staff's tip, the fireballs turned into heat beams, pouring down as a scorching rain of fire—

In that instant, Kamito jumped high. Stepping on the hilt of the sacred sword embedded in the ground, he allowed his divine power to explode.

This was different from ordinary Terrain Reduction executed by concentrating divine power beneath his feet and letting it explode—

Instead, he caused the divine power poured into the Demon Slayer to return to him, in a very violent manner.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Seventh Form—Biting Dragon!"

Like an arrow leaving the bowstring—

Fired upwards, Kamito swung the demon sword of darkness in the air.

Together with the staff in its hand, the Sphinx was cut into two immediately.

The dog-headed spirit turned into particles of light, disappearing into thin air. As expected, this Sphinx was lacking in durability.

Somersaulting using his residual momentum, Kamito then landed on the sand.

"Now, it's one versus one—"

Pulling out the Demon Slayer, Kamito turned around to face the bull-headed Sphinx.

"Let's end this next—"

Pouring divine power into both swords, Kamito readied himself to execute the Absolute Blade Arts' ultimate move—the Destructive Form.

Just then—

<—Thy power, comprehensible.>

The Sphinx lowered the great sword in its hand and spoke.

"...?"

<—The Tomb's path opens. The Demon King's successor is granted an audience with the Queen.>

Saying that, the Sphinx's body turned into particles of light and gradually disappeared—

"H-Hey...!"

Before Kamito could stop the Sphinx—

It vanished without trace.

...Only leaving dust in the wind.

"Uh, I guess, I'm approved...?"

Faced with a conclusion that came too anticlimactically—

Kamito could not help but feel drained, frozen to the spot.

"Kamito!"

"Kamito-kun!"

The girls rushed over from behind the ship's wreckage from where they had been watching the battle.

"Kamito-san, are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's nothing..."

Kamito nodded ambiguously.

Although the two archdemon-class spirits were formidable fores, compared to the Greyworth in her prime that he had fought at Dracunia, they were nothing at all.

"By the way, what exactly is that worthiness..."

Kamito muttered to himself. Just then...

"What is that!?"

Ellis shouted, pointing out into the desert where sand was blowing.

"...?"

Everyone looked in the same direction.

Only to see—

"W-What is that—?"

From beyond the horizon, a giant shadow emerged.

"It clearly was not there just now..."

"Indeed..."

The young ladies murmured in surprise, exchanging looks.

After a beat's delay—

"Say, could it be..."

Fianna slow began to speak.

"...Is that the Demon King's Capital?"

===Part 4===

Late at night. Inside an office where a small lamp was lit—

Rubia Elstein was currently reading secret documents uncovered from Scorpia.

Most of these secret documents were about the Ranbal War.

This great war started from a minor territorial dispute between Ordesia and the Holy Kingdom of Lugia that finally drew in the entire continent.

Even though an eternal truce had been signed between the two nations since twenty-odd years ago, the war's effects still linger everywhere.

(Experiments for transferring to power of spirits to humans, experiments for inducing spirits to self-destruct so that their internal energy went amok... This is more terrifying that imagiend—)

Rubia lit a fire at her fingertips and burned the stack of documents to cinders.

Such severe crimes, going as far as to turn spirits into instruments of war, it was nauseating.

The Theocracy was not alone. In those days, every country did similar things.

Even her home country, the Ordesia Empire, had been researching cursed armament seals and strategic-class militarized spirits that had been modified into weapons of mass destruction.

(I have no right to mock such folly, I suppose—)

Rubia Elstein narrowed her ruby-like eyes and mocked herself.

She had corrupted her own body with cursed armament seals for the sake of obtaining power, thus disqualifying herself as a pure princess maiden.

Of course, she had no regrets. But—

(This filthy body no longer has the right to hold my little sister's hand—)

This was the only thing that she missed, weighing on her mind.

(But that man—)

Suddenly, Kamito's face appeared in her mind.

Recalling the first time in her life to show her naked body to a man, she instantly blushed, her face turning hot.

She had never experienced such feelings in her entire life.

As soon as she thought of him, her heart became strangely unsettled.

(Why—?)

Just then, suddenly, she felt intense pain from her right hand.

Her face contorted by the sharp pain, as acute as being burned by fire, she cast her gaze upon her right hand, only to see—

A crimson emblem, symbolizing fire, was glowing brilliantly.

"...Wh... at...?"

Rubia widened her ruby-like eyes.

This was the brand that had not disappeared even after she had disqualified herself as a princess maiden.

—The seal of the spirit contract formed with the Fire Elemental Lord.
<noinclude>{{SeireiDance Nav|prev=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter3|next=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter5}}</noinclude>

Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 12 Chapter 1

2018-01-27T10:40:40Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 4 */

==Chapter 1 - Marduk of Mechanized Aviation==

===Part 1===

From my—Mononobe Yuu's—perspective, Mononobe Mitsuki was someone with greater fortitude than anyone else.

Back when she lost both parents in the car accident, my young self thought thus. Had I been in her place, what would I do?

The death of parents felt totally surreal and I could not imagine how life would continue after that. However, there was no way I would be able to hang in there—That was what I felt.

However, Mitsuki somehow recovered her past smile after becoming my little sister. After developing a fear of riding cars due to the accident, Mitsuki overcame her trauma through her own efforts.

Of course, I would protect Mitsuki as her older brother, and support her—But in the majority of cases, Mitsuki would always rely on her own strength to surmount adversity.

It was the same when "Blue" Hekatonkheir approached our town.

Mitsuki went alone to stand before the dragon. I followed only because I worried about her. To fight Hekatonkheir—Had Mitsuki not spelled it out, such a notion would never had occurred to me.

Watching that delicate silhouette of hers from behind... Challenging a dragon hundreds, no, thousands of times bigger than herself, I could never forget that image.

Even though Mitsuki was crying, even though she was trembling, but that image of her back was the brave silhouette that I still know.

I made a transaction with Yggdrasil to fight Hekatonkheir, only because I wanted to aid Mitsuki. I simply wanted to protect what she hoped to protect, that was all.

Three years after that, I was reunited in Midgard with a Mitsuki who had grown to become even more resolute and brave.

Despite going through the tragic ordeal of killing her best friend who had turned into a dragon, she still led the Ds in battle as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad.

Despite her sorrow, despite her pain, she continued to stand strong stoicly.

But now—

"I am sorry... Nii-san, I am sorry—"

Lying on against my chest, Mitsuki kept apologizing. Sobbing and weeping, Mitsuki kept apologizing hoarsely—

I had never seen Mitsuki this "weak."

When Kraken Zwei, the orphaned child left behind by her best friend, showed up, Mitsuki had left the battlefield once.

But this time was different.

The pillar that had kept her going all this time had been totally demolished.

It was evident without needing to ask. Because, it was the same for me too.

—These feelings of mine, regarding Mitsuki as the one dearest to me.

They were what constituted my very being to this day.

But after Vritra informed me that these feelings stemmed from my instincts as a counterdragon, even I was plunged into confusion.

With wavering thoughts and emotions, I was unable to offer any consoling words to Mitsuki.

Acting like this... I must be an even "weaker" person than Mitsuki right now.

===Part 2===

At the dormitory where all of us lived—inside my bedroom at the far end of the corridor—There was a currently a tense atmosphere.

"Mononobe... What on earth happened?"

"Yuu, you look like you're in so much pain..."

Dressed in yukatas, Iris and Tia inquired with puzzled voices.

Midgard's principal, Charlotte, had organized a fireworks party. The staff had opened stalls for everyone to enjoy, but something had just happened. It was only natural for the girls to be confused by the pained expression on my face.

"Mononobe-kun, you clearly said you were going to meet up with us after talking to Mitsuki... But you never came."

"We were so worried about you two."

Also dressed in yukatas, Firill and Lisa spoke. Then Ariella and Ren also stared at me seriously.

"What happened to your important conversation?"

"Mm... Onii-chan, tell us."

Jeanne and Shion also went "Captain" and "Papa..." respectively, nodding to urge me to explain.

"—Looks like my mother already knows what happened."

Kili narrowed her eyes and looked at Vritra, who was beside me.

In addition to the students of Brynhildr Class, Shinomiya-sensei and Mica-san were also in my room.

They were looking in surprise at Mitsuki who was sleeping on the bed and Vritra and me, who were standing on the side. Since I had suddenly called everyone over on my portable terminal, this was only to be expected. I still had not told them the situation.

Principal Charlotte was apparently occupied so she sent Mica-san to come on her behalf.

Currently, a heavy silence shrouded the room. There was no sound outside the dorm either.

After the fireworks, night at Midgard had returned to its usual serenity.

Having enjoyed the festivities, the students began to return to the girls dorms. The stalls on the sides of the coastal road also began to pack up.

Before replying to Iris' question, I first checked on Mitsuki's condition on the bed.

Apologizing nonstop, exhausted from crying, Mitsuki had fallen asleep only just earlier. If possible, I wanted to take her somewhere else without waking her up, but for the time being, I must not leave her side.

It was impossible to know when that darkness might begin to devour Mitsuki again—

That darkness, invading Mitsuki's body and manifesting the figures of the deceased... It was something Vritra called "end matter."

Recalling that darkness that was even blacker than night, I looked up at everyone present.

"Please stay calm and listen quietly to what I have to say, so that we avoid waking up Mitsuki. First of all, this is about 'true dragons' and the ninth calamity."

Saying that, I shifted my gaze, settling on Tia. This was something I had heard from Tia and Vritra but had not informed the others. To allow everyone to comprehend Mitsuki's condition, it was necessary to start from there.

"Yuu..."

Tia called my name uneasily, probably understanding the gravity of the situation. The others also waited quietly for me to continue.

To reassure Tia, I nodded and began to speak.

Leviathan, Basilisk, Hraesvelgr, Yggdrasil, Vritra—The dragons we had fought in the past were all counterdragons, born to fight "true dragons"—great calamities on a global scale. Charlotte's Code Acht and the Code Lost held by myself, Ariella, and the others, were abilities for keeping humanity, the eighth calamity, in check—

And the next great calamity... was perhaps already imminent.

Listening to these matters, everyone began to grow restless. However, I explained to them the fact that a new authority would arise to oppose this calamity.

And the being possessing this authority was "Neun." In other words, the ninth counterdragon.

Perhaps Neun was me—Mononobe Yuu.

"True dragons and counterdragons... Even if you suddenly tell us about all this, we will only end up even more confused."

Lisa sighed with her forehead against her hand. Firill nodded too with undisguised puzzlement.

"Hmm... It feels like the subject has suddenly grown somber. Oh well, we already knew you were no ordinary D, Mononobe-kun, back when you selected us, but..."

Next, Iris cried out in a realization.

"Oh—Then when you touched us, Mononobe... turning us into ''your kind'', does that also mean we've turned into the ninth counterdragon species too?"

"Yes—Indeed 'tis so. Undoubtedly, ye could be considered Neun."

The one who answered Iris' question was not me but Vritra. Kili mocked her.

"That was my intention from the very start. I've always believed Yuu to be Neun and understood what it meant to be his mate. Mother, you were the one who refused to believe."

"...Hmm. I had my own reasons... Nevertheless, I confess that I have erred on this matter. Daughter, thy view was correct. Now, there is no longer any reason to doubt this person of being Neun."

Vritra replied to Kili in a slight sulk, then lightly tapped my arm. I was standing beside her.

Seeing this, Kili frowned.

"Since you are asserting so strongly, Mother, it means that there is 'reason' strong enough to prove this, right?"

Saying that, she looked at Mitsuki on the bed.

Judging from the situation, it was quite easy to associate this "reason" with the matter of Mitsuki.

"Mononobe-kun, you've been together with Mitsuki all this time?"

"Onii-chan... Where were you two during the fireworks?"

Looking at Mitsuki, Ariella and Ren asked me.

"I was talking to Mitsuki on the beach. At the time, a strange change suddenly occurred to Mitsuki."

I clenched my fist and answered.

Next, Shion, who was originally staying next to Jeanne, ran over to and looked up at me in worry.

"...Papa, aRe yOU oKaY?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

I unclenched my fist an patted Shion on the head.

Now was not the time to be wallowing in regret. Mitsuki was the one in true pain. What I should be doing now was to tell everyone the whole story and ask for their help so that Mitsuki could be saved.

Perhaps, these thoughts and actions came from a counterdragon's instincts... But whatever, forget it for now.

Stroking Shion's hair, I looked up and saw Shinomiya-sensei standing behind Iris and the girls.

Starting from there, I swept my gaze across Mica-san and everyone else—slowly composing my words.

"In hindsight, the ninth calamity—that "darkness"—has been lurking inside Mitsuki the whole time. And just a while ago, that darkness seeped out and almost devoured Mitsuki. Vritra called it 'end matter.'"

Everyone gasped.

In sequence, I told the speechless girls what had happened on the beach.

Suddenly in horrendous pain, Mitsuki's hand had turned ambiguous in outline and corrupted by pitch blackness. Just as the darkness was devouring Mitsuki, I touched her, causing my dragon mark to glow blue, blowing the darkness away...

"—The blue light caused Mitsuki's body to return to normal. However, the end matter scattered outside turned into pitch-black human forms, which I then ''killed'' using the power of Code Lost."

I omitted the detail that the shadows looked like Mitsuki's parents. Although I had no intention of keeping secrets... Even though Mitsuki was currently asleep, this was not something I could talk about without her presence.

And right now, what agonized Mitsuki and me the most was whether my wish to protect Mitsuki came sincerely from the heart. In other words, it was a personal issue between the two of us. Discussing this with anyone would have to be left until later.

"I definitely encountered the ninth calamity in my childhood. During that car accident which killed Mitsuki's parents—I encountered the darkness of end matter at the time. Most likely, I saved Mitsuki back then using Neun's authority, but from that point on, the darkness began to lurk inside Mitsuki."

I paused at this point. Next to me, Vritra took a step forward and said:

"According to the prophesy I received from Kiskanu—in other words, a prediction of the future—There ought to be more time before the ninth dragon's arrival. However, Mononobe Mitsuki's transformation into Neun hath ended the ninth calamity's dormancy. Judging from the effects Neun's authority was capable of producing, 'tis still possible to suppress it... Be that as it may, I cannot say for sure what will happen next. Hence, I wish to enlist assistance from all of ye, Neun's mates, and Yggdrasil's successor."

Looking at everyone in turn, Vritra finally settled her gaze firmly on Tia.

As the new core of Yggdrasil that had turned into Neun too, Tia nodded solemnly.

"Tia understands the basic situation now. But what should Tia do?"

"I hope thou couldst search the Akashic Record for as much information about the seventh dragon—'Disasterification' Apocalypse—as possible, then taking the current situation into account to produce a new prediction of the future."

After listening to Vritra's request, Tia tilted her head in puzzlement.

"...The seventh calamity? Isn't it the ninth right now?"

"Kiskanu said that the seventh calamity was a prelude to an even greater calamity. And this greater calamity is precisely the ninth dragon—Hence, 'twould be highly valuable to comprehend the seventh calamity. At the time... I evaded the seventh calamity by hiding in a higher dimension, thus surviving in my complete state, and used dark matter to restore the world after the fact. Consequently, I did not have a chance to obtain a clear view of the seventh calamity."

Saying this with a depressed expression, Vritra continued.

"However, Kiskanu was destroyed by the seventh calamity. Although my restoration of plant life gave rise to a new plant network, Yggdrasil... Its core consciousness was exceedingly obsessed with prioritizing its own survival, completely unwilling to listen to mine advice. Ostensibly, it was conquered by fear."

"Fear..."

Tia gulped and Vritra nodded solemnly.

"Indeed—Hence, I wish to know that which Kiskanu witnessed at the moment of its destruction, the true nature of the seventh calamity. If this were known, 'twould be possible to find a way to counter the ninth calamity, mayhap."

"Got it. Tia will try to contact the Akashic Record."

Tia answered with a voice of determination but next to her, Lisa showed an expression of worry.

"Tia-san, are you sure? Wouldn't there be possible danger unless you approach this cautiously?"

"Yes, so Tia wants to concentrate inside the bedroom. Also, with you accompanying Tia, if possible..."

Slightly hesitant, Tia looked up at Lisa.

"—Certainly, if I can be of assistance. I wanted to accompany you in the first place. Rest assured."

Lisa gently stroked Tia's head then looked at me.

"Mononobe Yuu, Tia-san an I shall excuse ourselves for now. Although I have yet to come to terms with the whole affair... I entrust Mitsuki-san to your care."

"Yes—I got it."

Enduring the severe pain in my heart, I agreed with Lisa.

"However, you are not allowed to be reckless."

Did Lisa feel concerned about my behavior? After giving a final reminder, she left the room with Tia.

With the shutting sound of the door, the room instantly fell silent again. Next, Iris spoke up hesitantly.

"U-Umm, is there anything we can do? How can we save Mitsuki-chan?"

"Iris, well..."

Unable to suggest any concrete action, I could only grit my teeth. How to save Mitsuki, what to do from this point onwards, I still had not come up with anything yet.

However, Vritra tugged at my clothing during my silence.

"My comrade Neun and his mates, what ye ought to do is to keep Mononobe Mitsuki company. According to what transpired earlier, including Mononobe Mitsuki herself—End matter can be suppressed so long as two possessors of Neun's authority are present. Hence, 'twould be wise if ye were to take shifts to remain by her side."

"Vritra-chan... Yes, I got it! Then let's take turns to watch over Mitsuki-chan!"

Saying that, Iris approached me.

"Let me have the first shift. Mononobe, you should take a bit of a break. You seem so tired."

Iris urged seriously but I could not bring myself to nod and agree.

"No, since I'm the only one who has actually used Neun's authority. I can't leave Mitsuki's side—"

However, the others began to speak as though to drown out my words.

"This is your room, Mononobe-kun. I think it's best if you rest on the sofa over there, since you'll be able to know immediately if anything happened."

Firill pointed to the sofa in the room. Ariella and Ren agreed.

"We'll take turns to watch Mitsuki, don't worry."

"Mm. We will first take a nap and arrange shifts to keep watch over the night."

Listening to them, Kili sighed lightly.

"No helping it... I will help out too since there's nothing for me to do until Tia finishes her task. It seems like a nice chance to chat with Yuu. Well then, Iris-chan, I'm leaving the first shift to you."

"Yes, leave it to me!"

Iris clenched her fist hard and nodded.

Thus, after Firill and the other girls left the room, Shinomiya-sensei and Mica-san also walked to the door.

"Mononobe Yuu, we shall go report the situation to the principal. Mononobe Mitsuki is supposed to be sent underground for isolation and detailed examination... However, after analyzing what was said just now, we conclude that it is not the time to separate you two. For the purpose of isolation, this dormitory is already capable of serving the same function. Please do not go out until we contact you and watch over her well."

Holding the doorknob, Shinomiya-sensei finished. Mica-san also spoke:

"Mononobe-san, we entrust her care to you. However, just as Iris-san and the others have suggested, you should rest for a while."

"Yes, I understand."

I nodded and saw the two of them off.

"Umm, Captain, Zwei is already..."

At that moment, Jeanne, who had been silent all this time, spoke timidly. Next to her, Shion was already rubbing her eyes, about to fall asleep.

"She's already sleepy, right? I'm sorry for making you two stay with us for so long. Take Shion back to your room, Jeanne."

The conversation just now was probably a bit too hard for Shion to understand. I smiled wryly.

"Roger that. Sorry... I am just an ordinary person without special powers... I cannot aid you in this matter, Captain."

"Don't worry about this kind of stuff. Jeanne, you're working hard as Shion's surrogate mother. This is an important job that no one can do but you. Everyone, including me, of course, are very grateful for that."

I thanked Jeanne apologetically. Staying in the room for the first shift, Iris also nodded vigorously.

"That's right! Jeanne-chan, you don't need to push yourself. Just think of Shion-chan."

"—Thank you. Then let's go, Zwei."

Smiling with a reassured look, Jeanne took Shion's hand.

"Yawn... Papa... gOoD niGHt."

"Yeah, goodnight."

Waving to me, Shion yawned lightly and I bade her goodnight.

After she left the room, the only ones remaining were the four of us—me, Iris, Vritra, and Mitsuki sleeping on the bed.

"An ordinary person without special powers?"

Looking at the doorway through where Jeanne had left, Vritra murmured in thought.

"You seem to be implying something."

Vritra smiled faintly when I cast a questioning look at her.

"No, what one might beg to differ would be the implication that humanity is not a special existence. A species regarded with hostility by Gaia twice, as the second and the eighth calamities, could not possibly be ordinary, could it?"

It looked like Jeanne's comment had prompted Vritra to make her point. She shrugged lightly and continued.

"—Furthermore, she definitely possesseth a pair of extraordinary ''eyes'', yes?"

"Yeah, that's true. Jeanne's eyes are definitely not ordinary."

Vritra's question made me nod stiffly.

Capable of capturing all objects within her field of view and discerning them, it would be no exaggeration to describe Jeanne as gifted. Sleipnir was a team assembled from people like her.

"The same applieth to the authorities of counterdragons—Exceptional abilities do not exist without reason. Perhaps her abilities were inherited from Atlantis or some other origin...? 'Tis this that I am curious."

Saying that, Vritra shrugged and turned her back to me.

"You're going back to your room too, Vritra?"

"Nay, I intend to have a look at Tia Lightning's condition. Though I have informed her in detail of the type of information she needeth, one would presume that the extraction of data from the Akashic Record must be difficult indeed."

Shaking her head, Vritra left my room.

Thud. After the door closed, the room suddenly became very quiet. Mitsuki was sleeping soundly, hence, it was as though Iris and I were alone together.

"Oh, umm, Iris."

Noticing I was obliged to say something to Iris, I composed my words.

"W-What is it?"

The cowardly aura emanating from me was making Iris nervous in turn. Tensing herself, she asked in response.

"......"

However, I failed to continue. My thoughts could not come together at all. Looking at Mitsuki on the bed, I sighed.

"Nothing, really. I guess I'm a bit tired."

Resting my forehead against my hand, I shook my head. Iris frowned in worry.

"Are you okay, Mononobe? I'll watch over Mitsuki-chan properly, so get some rest, Mononobe."

Saying that, she pushed me from behind, forcing me to the sofa.

"Hey—"

I reacted with a confused voice, but Iris ignored me. After sitting me on the sofa, she moved a chair to the side of the bed and sat down.

"Until Firill-chan comes for the next shift, I'll stay awake on watch for sure! So don't you worry."

Iris asserted forcefully and turned her face towards Mitsuki on the bed. Seeing Iris stare unblinkingly at Mitsuki, I smiled wryly.

"Got it, I'm counting on you, Iris. However, you might fall ill too if you push yourself too hard, so relax a bit."

"Yes, okay."

Seeing Iris start taking deep breaths, I lay down on the sofa. Only then did I notice I was still wearing a yukata. However, deciding I could change later, I switched to a more comfortable posture on the sofa.

After I reclined sideways to the right, the bed entered my view. Also dressed in a yukata, Iris was watching the sleeping Mitsuki with a serious look on her face.

Watching the side of her face, the words that I had been unable to compose earlier naturally surfaced in my mind.

Yes—This matter must be conveyed to Iris.

"Iris."

"What is it?"

After I called her name, Iris took her eyes off Mitsuki, but asked while still keeping the same posture.

"Mitsuki asked me. She wanted me to tell her the answer to the question as to who was the dearest to me. She only hoped for me to make a decision rather than a choice—That was the idea."

Without touching upon explanations about the ninth dragon, I talked about "my personal issue."

"...........To make a decision rather than a choice... I see..."

After a moment's silence, Iris repeated my words then smiled.

"Iris?"

"Oh, okay, sorry—I think I understand something. I'm sure Mitsuki-chan wanted you to be certain about not making a mistake."

Gazing at Mitsuki on the bed with gentle eyes, Iris replied.

"Mistake?"

"The current situation, our relationships, your inner self, Mononobe, she simply wanted to know how you feel without changing any of these—That's what I think. I'm the same too. I want to understand you better, Mononobe."

Iris answered with a blush, but she continued to speak while staying in her posture without making eye contact with me.

"However, I already know what Mitsuki-chan wanted to find out. Mononobe, you replied that Mitsuki-chan is the dearest to you, right?"

"......How do you know that?"

When I asked in surprise, Iris scratched her face.

"I know this much at least, because you are the one I love."

"—"

The straightforward confession caused my face to heat up.

"Mononobe, you said you loved me, right? That feeling is not a lie. I already knew when you selected me—However, if the question was who is the most important to you, Mitsuki-chan will definitely come to your mind. I feel that this is on a different level than simply liking someone."

"Iris—Looks like you know me better than myself."
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v12 039.jpg|thumb]]

Smiling wryly, I made fun of myself.

On a different level than simply liking someone. That was definitely true.

"That's right, it's just as you said, Iris. My reply to Mitsuki was that she was the dearest to me. But that apparently stems from my instincts as Neun, the ninth counterdragon."

Covering my face with my hands, I spoke stiffly.

"Eh...?"

"That darkness—The ninth calamity is sealed inside Mitsuki. That's why I've been instinctively protecting Mitsuki, according to Vritra. Mitsuki also heard this already."

My voice trembled slightly. I recalled how Mitsuki had apologized to me endlessly.

"N-No way—"

"To be honest, I haven't put my feelings in order yet. I can't tell which emotions come from myself and which ones are out of Neun's instincts. It's precisely because I'm currently in this state that I wasn't able to say anything to Mitsuki."

I bit my lip hard as chagrin gripped my heart.

"Mononobe..."

"Sorry, I'm not asking for you to comfort or trying to discuss this with you. I'll find the answer on my own, but it's just that I feel that I must tell you about this. That's why—"

Unable to think of words to continue, I stopped there.

The room plunged into silence. After who knew how long, I heard Iris' whisper.

"Yes—I believe in you. If it's you, Mononobe, things will surely work out."

===Part 3===

Somehow, I fell asleep.

I opened my eyes, realizing after my nap.

So sleepy—I really wanted to remain in the land of dreams.

However... Strangely, my body felt heavy.

As for where this weight came from, I found out as soon as I opened my eyes, greeted by the sight before me.

"Gu..."

A petite red-haired girl—Ren Miyazawa—was sleeping on top of me. She was curled up like a cat, soundly asleep...

Having changed, she was wearing her usual uniform instead of a yukata.

What on earth was happening? I looked waround then noticed Ariella sitting on the chair next to the bed.

Having taken over Iris' seat, Ariella had been watching the sleeping Mitsuki the whole time.

I shifted my body slightly and the sofa sank down. This sound prompted Ariella to look over.

"Oh, Mononobe-kun—You woke up. Hmm... Are you okay like that?"

Smiling wryly, Ariella rose up from her chair and came over to me. Since Ren was sleeping on me, I could not get up. Lying there on the sofa, I looked at Ariella.

"It'd be great if you could explain the current situation."

When I asked, Ariella scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"Umm... It's my turn to watch over Mitsuki and Ren came along."

"Why?"

Unable to comprehend, I asked.

"Well, Ren and I are roommates—Since I came over here, it means that Ren'd be left alone in the room, right?"

"Yeah, but what's the problem there?"

I frowned and looked up at Ariella. Then glancing at Ren, she knelt down next to me and whispered in my ear.

"I hope you'll keep this a secret... But Ren is scared of sleeping alone... She can't sleep like that."

Ariella spoke with an expression as though revealing an important secret. But for Ren, perhaps this really was strictly confidential.

"—I see, I get it now. I'll pretend I never heard the previous exchange. But I can't believe she chose to sleep on top of me out of all places."

Sighing, I looked at the soundly sleeping Ren. Inside my room, the only places to sleep comfortably were the bed and the sofa. Sleeping on me should not be very comfy.

"Ren is able to sleep anywhere as long as she's by the side of someone she finds reassuring. Your heartbeat allows her to relax and fall asleep straight away. As expected of Ren's 'Onii-chan'."

Now that she pointed it out, indeed, Ren's ear was pressed against the left side of my chest. After stroking her red hair softly, I looked at Ariella again.

"I'm glad that Ren trusts me so much, but I can no longer sleep in this posture. I'm going to yield the sofa to her, so could you pick her up gently without waking her up?"

"Got it. Leave it to me."

Ariella nodded and used her arms to pick up Ren securely. Taking the opportunity, I got off the sofa and stood up to stretch. Despite her petite size, having a person's entire weight on me still made me stiff and uncomfortable. It felt like sleep paralysis. Thinking that, I looked at Mitsuki sleeping on the bed.

"How is Mitsuki doing?"

I whispered to Ariella, who was poking Ren's cheeks while she was sleeping on the sofa.

"She woke up once when Firill was on watch, but she immediately went back to sleep without making a scene."

"She woke up once, huh—Uh, what's the time now?"

Since it was dark outside the window, I had no sense of the passage of time. I glanced at the clock, only to see the hands indicating 4am. This hour could be considered morning.

"Mononobe-kun, you slept for almost five hours. Well, I'm really glad you woke up before Kili's shift. If you were still sleeping, I'm sure she'll... Umm, do weird things."

Ariella spoke with mild blush. Perhaps she was recalling last time when Kili visited me during the night.

"No, you probably don't need to worry about that. If it's Kili, I'll definitely wake up the moment she tries to do anything."

I smiled wryly and shook my head. Ren was able to climb on top of me without waking me up because she was not someone I needed to keep my guard up against. Against anyone dangerous, I had full confidence in my ability to wake up immediately to handle the situation.

"Very well... But I get the feeling you might get swayed by the situation even if you're careful, Mononobe-kun—"

"..."

Unable to deny her words, I could not say anything.

"I said it before, Mononobe-kun, but you need to pull yourself together. Especially against Kili, you have to be more assertive."

Arms akimbo, Ariella cautioned me.

"But she's not someone who'll comply obediently, right?"

"That's where you're wrong. I think she'd go along with your demands, Mononobe-kun, if you're forceful. Rather, she'd be happy about it."

"H-Happy?"

The unexpected word left me confused. I looked at Ariella questioningly.

"She is similar to me in some ways, so I know. Kili probably likes a partner who's better and stronger than her. So on a basic level, she's a passive person, or rather, she wants to be led."

"A passive person... In other words, she's a masochist?"

I shared my view to concur with Ariella's opinion, but she instantly went red in the face.

"M-Masochist—What are you suddenly talking about!? If Kili's like that, then aren't I also... Th-That's so obscene..."

Seeing Ariella totally flustered, I hastily waved my hands.

"No, what I mean is personality tendencies—I didn't mean to say anything obscene. Ariella, haven't you ever chatted with others about whether someone looks like an S or an M?"

"...Looks like? Oh, you mean in that sense. I thought you were being serious..."

"Serious?"

Puzzled, I asked Ariella who was wiping sweat from her brow in relief, then she immediately went red and denied it.

"Nothing, nothing at all! It's true that I've discussed this with Lisa and the others in detail! Firill even brought a book with a personality quiz."

"Eh, then which one came out as the analysis result for Kili?"

Interested, I tried asking but Ariella shook her head.

"It happened before we met Kili."

"Then what about you, Ariella?"

"......M."

Looking away from me, Ariella answered in a barely audible voice.

"M-Mononobe-kun, let me be clear, it wasn't just me! Lisa and Mitsuki were M too! Also, that book itself was quite weird, its credibility—"
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v12 047.jpg|thumb]]

Ariella furiously explained herself with an intense blush, causing me to relax my expression.

"—W-What are you laughing at!?"

"Sorry, but you're just so cute, Ariella."

I apologized with a wry smile, causing Ariella to hold her breath, frozen on the spot.

"C... C-C-C-Cute—Could you not... say this sort of thing... so suddenly..."

Her voice became softer and softer while she lowered her head awkwardly.

"......Sorry."

I apologized again. Since I said it unintentionally, Ariella's reaction caused me to blush instead.

"Then who tested as S, Ariella?"

At this rate, the mood was going to become very awkward, so I hastily changed the subject.

"Ah, well—It might be quite surprising, but Iris was an S."

"That's definitely surprising... But on further thought, Iris gave Kili a '-chan' honorific and completely forced Kili to go along with her pace. Perhaps, that's—"

I crossed my arms and imagined Iris as a sadist...

Picturing Iris holding a whip, laughing madly, I hastily shook my head to dispel the image.

"—Totally unsuitable."

"Hmm?"

I smiled wryly at Ariella who had reacted to my muttering.

"Don't worry about it. Oh well, anyway, I'll remember your advice to be more assertive towards Kili."

"Y-Yeah, I hope you'll achieve it for sure... Also, umm, now that you're awake, go take a bath and get changed. With you looking like that, I don't know where to look anymore... Oh, I'll keep watch over Mitsuki, so don't worry."

Saying that, Ariella pointed at me. I looked down, only to see my yukata's collar wide open.

"—Got it, I'll do that."

While fixing up my clothes, I nodded at Ariella.

However, just as I was carrying a change of clothes into the bathroom's changing area, a ringtone was suddenly heard in the room.

"S-Sorry, that's mine—"

Ariella hastily took out her portable terminal from her pocket, but this sound was coming from more than one place. From the bed where Mitsuki was sleeping, Ren's sofa, and from my breast pocket—In any case, everyone's portable terminal was ringing.

"Mm...?"

Ren rubbed her eyes drowsily and sat up.

Before I pressed the button to pick up the call, the screen turned on automatically on the terminal. Then Midgard's chief administrator, Charlotte B. Lord, appeared.

"Members of Brynhildr Class, an emergency situation has arisen."

The principal who looked like a young child was fidgeting with her blonde hair nervously, speaking in a somber voice.

'Just now, a certain someone from NIFL—a name that probably none of us wish to hear for the time being—that Loki Jotunheim has contacted us.'

"Major Loki...?"

Charlotte nodded gravely when I spoke his name quietly. Images of everyone in the conversation were displayed on the monitors in the command center.

'Indeed... In any case, all of you need to look at this.'

After she said that, the screen changed. A towering black dome under a blue sky was shown on my terminal. Since there were no objects in view for reference, I could not estimate its size, but I already knew that this was a gigantic object.

This was because it was completely unreflective and lacked three dimensionality in appearance. It seemed like a hole floating amid the surrounding scenery, completely a deep abyss of darkness... This reminded me of the "darkness" attempting to devour Mitsuki and a chill ran through my body.

"Several hours ago, this type of dome had appeared at four locations across the world. With a diameter of three hundred kilometers or so and a height of roughly fifty kilometers, these domes are exceptionally large and impossible to observe their interiors. Hence, these spaces are currently called unknown territories."

"Unknown territories..."

—''Could this be related to the "darkness" inside Mitsuki''?

It was impossible to consider them coincidences with such timing.

'Although many towns have been swallowed, no one has come out of these domes. What emerged... was only this.'

Accompanying Charlotte's narration, the screen changed to show a strange entity hovering next to a dome.

It was gigantic heart covered by a spherical network of blood vessels. This surreal scene made Ariella exclaim in a confused voice.

"What is this..."

'That was the image when the entity first emerged. Now, it has transformed to this.'

Next, the screen changed to show a gigantic black "creature." A pitch-black dragon with wings outspread, hovering in the air—

"Isn't this Vritra? No, it's probably not—"

It was quite similar to the stand-in that the black dragon had created previously.

However, Vritra was currently with us in the form of a young girl. Furthermore, the dragon in the image was far too humongous.

During class, I had seen images of Vritra's first appearance twenty-five years ago, but it should not have been this big.

'Hmm—Please wait a moment. Tia Lightning apparently has something to inform all of us.'

As Charlotte spoke, an image of Tia appeared on the bottom right corner of the screen. With Lisa and Vritra behind her, it was probably Tia's bedroom.

'Umm, Tia has something to say.'

Tia spoke solemnly, but Vritra went over her shoulder and leaned forward to interrupt.

'Make no mistake, that is not I. 'Tis the model I referenced to create the dragon stand-in of mine, although I merely read the data provided by Kiskanu, this could very well be—'

'Stop! This is Tia's turn to speak! Don't get in Tia's way!'

Shoving away the interrupting Vritra, out of the screen, Tia spoke again.

'Through the connection to the Akashic Record, Tia knows what it is. It is from long long ago... The fifth calamity that visited Earth—the fifth dragon, "Eternal Longevity" Bahamut.'

"What..."

—Not the ninth but the fifth?

The urgent and imminent calamity was the ninth while the fifth should be in the past. It was a crisis that the world was supposed to have overcome.

The unexpected words made me gasp, but Charlotte did not seem surprised on the screen, only troubled.

'How odd, this name of Bahamut is the same as the codename assigned by NIFL. Do they actually have information on the fifth calamity...?'

Charlotte voiced her doubts but no one was able to give an answer.

'Why NIFL knows about Bahamut, Tia has no idea either. However... Bahamut appearing is in itself very strange! Because Bahamut was clearly defeated by Basilisk, the holder of Code Fünf...'

The confused Tia explained the abnormality of the situation.

"By Basilisk? Then Iris, having inherited that authority—"Catastrophe"—would be able to take out that crazy huge dragon?"

Was it due to my whispered comment? Iris appeared on the bottom left of the screen. It looked like she had been sleeping until earlier since she was dressed in a flimsy negligee.

'Eh!? M-Me?'

Iris pointed to her own face in panic. However, Charlotte crossed her arms with a grave expression.

'—It would be too soon to assert that. However, it is impossible to say for certain until we see the outcome of the attempt.'

"Attempt? Then—"

When I spoke out, Charlotte nodded.

'Yes, NIFL has requested our cooperation. While Bahamut continues to move, the unknown territory is expanding at the same time. This is no time to be staying uninvolved and watching from the sidelines. Furthermore...'

She paused for a moment, then spoke again as though she had dispelled her hesitation.

'Bahamut's expected route includes many countries—including the Principality of Erlia, the homeland of one of our Ds, Firill Crest. If Bahamut were to deviate slightly from predictions, even Lisa Highwalker's homeland of England would not be spared.'

This information brought alarm to the face of Lisa, who was behind Tia. Although not shown on the screen, Firill was probably starting to worry too.

'In order to protect the homelands for these maidens, the Ds, to return to, I have accepted NIFL's request as Midgard's top command. Considering the links between this and the ninth calamity reported earlier, as well as "Catastrophe," you are the only ones capable of taking on this mission. Although it pains my heart to send you to a dangerous battlefield again... I hope all of you will aid in this endeavor.'

"Of course—Then what exactly do we have to do?"

I replied instantly and asked Charlotte for our mission. In the same room as me, Ariella and Ren also nodded without hesitation.

'...Thank you, my friend and the young maidens. You will join NIFL's defense line to intercept Bahamut together. However... There is a serious problem here.'

Charlotte thanked us but for some reason, her expression turned very grim.

"Problem?"

'We have no means of transport. Originally, we could meet up with NIFL by ship transport on the sea, which would then allow you to head to the scene by plane or helicopter. However, there is not a single NIFL ship in Midgard's surroundings at the moment. It was my demand after the battle that NIFL withdraw its forces completely... I never thought it would come to bite us in return.'

Charlotte sighed with her hand against her forehead. However, I asked:

"All we need to do is fly to where NIFL is, right? That'll greatly shorten the time until rendezvous."

'The NIFL force sent to pick you up is extremely distant. It would be too far to fly using transmutation, exhausting you greatly before the battle. However... Perhaps we have no other options.'

Charlotte was very troubled, but Tia raised her hand vigorously from the small window on the screen.

'Wait! In that case, Tia has a better idea!'

"Tia?"

I responded in surprise and Tia brought her fist to her chest and said seriously.

'Well, Tia thinks that we just need to complete Marduk together!'

"Complete Marduk, what do you mean—"

Unable to understand Tia's words, I was baffled.

Marduk was a weapon system used by Atlantis, the ancestors of mankind. In order to defeat dragons such as Leviathan and Hraesvelgr, I had used transmuted dark matter to recreate parts of Marduk.

It was true that every weapon of Marduk was very powerful, but currently, the problem was meeting up with NIFL. I could not see how these two matters were connected.

However, Tia continued to speak to Charlotte.

'Principal, please. Order all Ds to assemble at the harbor right now.'

'Sure, I can do that, but...'

Charlotte seemed worried but still nodded.

'Okay, let's all go to the harbor!'

Having obtained permission, Tia hung up without explaining in detail. On the screen with one less small window, Charlotte sighed.

'It fills me with guilt to disturb the sweet dreams of young maidens when the sun has yet to rise—But there is no other way. Let us listen to her explanation at the harbor.'

Then the portable terminal's screen went dark and my room returned to peace and quiet.

"Nii-san, stop standing there, spacing out. Hurry and get changed. Ariella-san and Ren-san, please get prepared to set off."

Surprised by the voice that broke the silence, I turned to face the bed.

Had she woken up without my noticing? Sitting up on the bed, Mitsuki was holding her portable terminal, looking at me.

"Mitsuki..."

I called out her name hoarsely.

"You woke up. Are... you fine now?"

"Mm, do you feel unwell anywhere?"

Ariella and Ren also noticed and asked Mitsuki with worry.

"Yes—I am fine. I am fully informed too. I shall... make a trip to my room first."

Saying that, Mitsuki got off the bed. Like me, she was still wearing her yukata. She was probably planning to change into her uniform in her room.

"Wait, even if you're fine right now, Mitsuki, it's best you avoid being alone."

I frantically tried to stop Mitsuki who was making her way to the door.

"...Yes, good point. Because of the ninth calamity, right...? When I woke up previously, Firill-san already told me about taking shifts to watch over me. In that case... Ariella-san and Ren-san should come with me, so no need to worry, Nii-san."

Pausing in her steps, Mitsuki spoke in an exceedingly calm voice.

This was probably the calmness she tried her hardest to feign while enduring the pain that was tearing her heart apart.

"But—"

"Nii-san, are you actually trying to watch me change? If you say yes, you will have to write a repentance essay, you know?"

Smiling weakly, Mitsuki cautioned me.

"......Understood. Okay, Ariella and Ren, I'm leaving Mitsuki in your hands."

Despite my hesitation, I nodded and entrusted Mitsuki to them.

"Got it. I'll contact you straight away if anything happens. No need to worry."

"Mm, don't worry."

Next, Mitsuki left my room, accompanied by Ariella and Ren.

I knew I ought to say something else—I knew I ought to do something. However, what exactly was it? No matter how I racked my brain, I did not know.

===Part 4===

At the break of dawn, Midgard's entire student body was gathered at the harbor. Unsure of the situation, the girls were showing apprehensive expressions towards the tense atmosphere around them.

Currently, there were no ships moored at the harbor, so the view was expansive. The orange sun was emerging from the eastern horizon, its golden glow reflecting off the clouds in the sky.

Prepared to sortie, we members of the Brynhildr Class were together with Charlotte and Shinomiya-sensei, listening to Tia while standing on the pier some distance from the other students.

"So—Marduk is actually a giant ship!"

Tia spread her slender arms forcefully to express the ship's great size.

"A ship... Speaking of which, back when we first saw NIFL's battleship, Tia-san did mention before that it felt similar to Marduk somehow."

Hearing Lisa whispering with a hand to the corner of her mouth, I remembered too.

It was during the final moments of NIFL's invasion—when we had clearly defeated Major Loki—the NIFL battleship moored at sea had switched to attack mode.

'That ship... Somehow, it feels similar.'

Tia had said so at the time. When we asked for an explanation, she had continued.

'A weapon from Atlantis... Marduk...'

Furthermore, Tia had warned that the main cannon, prepared to fire, might be Babel, a weapon from a lost civilization.

In fact, the main cannon's firepower was exceptional—While Ariella deployed a barrier, Tia hacked the ship, thus enabling us to survive the crisis.

However, it was still unknown why NIFL possessed such a battleship. During my time at NIFL, I had passed along Atlantean weapons data to my friend in the technological development department, thus allowing practical deployment of Nergal and Gáe Bolg... However, back then, I did not have data on Babel.

The anti-dragon weapons created through the transmutation of dark matter would self-destruct after use, so it would be impossible to obtain data from them.

After the battle, I wanted to inquire about this if there had been a chance to talk to Major Loki... But since no such chance came up, it remained an unanswered question in the end.

"Tia—I know that the anti-dragon armament named Marduk is part of a gigantic weapon. During my second transaction with Yggdrasil, I sensed it."

Seeking to defeat the Leviathan that was trying to turn Iris into its mate, I desired new power. Responding to my wish, Yggdrasil transmitted the data of Marduk's main cannon to me. Back then, I found out that Marduk was a weapon armed with various modes of attack.

Afterwards, Marduk's data was supplemented by two additional downloads, but still incomplete.

"—In other words, Marduk's complete form is similar to NIFL's battleship?"

I recalled the various Atlantean weapons I had made so far and asked Tia.

Main cannon—"Babel."

Special artillery—"Meggido."

Psionic multi-barreled cannon—"Noah."

Hyperspace reversion rocket-assisted artillery—"Abyss."

I still could not imagine Marduk's complete form, equipped with all these weapons.

"More amazing that that, it's a ship that can fly into space."

"S-Space?"

The sudden word shocked me, but Tia's face was serious.

"Indeed. The counterweapon mobilized to eliminate external threats to the Atlanteans regardless of any environment, that is the 'Deus Dragon,' Marduk."

"Deus Dragon... the second calamity's trump card."

Kili whispered with interest.

The Atlanteans were the ancestors of mankind and possessed superb levels of science and technology. Arriving at Earth from space, their civilization was regarded by Gaia as a threat to the planet—as the second dragon, "Ultimate Wisdom" Atlantis. "Deus Dragon" was probably a term to express the true nature of this threat.

"Yes, which is why it should be able to fly over to Bahamut immediately. But since it's so huge, it requires a great amount of dark matter. Tia doesn't know if borrowing everyone's help is enough..."

Seeing all the students gathered at the harbor, Tia said with worry.

"—Release these bonds of mine and no such problem would exist."

Vritra interrupted next. Indeed, in her case, she should be able to generate dark matter on a level far beyond us. But currently, she was unable to perform transmutation due to the vine choker Tia had made.

"Right! Let's have Vritra-chan help out too!"

Iris' face brightened up but Ariella shook her head with a reluctant expression.

"Let's not... We don't know what Vritra'd do with full ability to generate dark matter. Even if she cooperates with us now, we might end up as enemies like before if the situation changed."

Ren and Firill agreed with her.

"Mm, too big of a risk."

"I agree. We don't know if our dark matter is really insufficient either..."

Vritra shrugged in response.

"...Presently, I must fight alongside my comrade Neun—Fine, 'tis futile to demand ye to trust me."

Despite speaking as though she had not placed any hopes in the first place, Vritra acted a little like she was sulking. I patted her on the head.

"Thanks for offering to help. When we're really out of options, we'll borrow your power."

"Hmph, then ye ought not miss your chance. 'Twould be too late if ye dally."

Vritra turned her face away, speaking with slight displeasure.

"Yeah, I got it. Then we'll start constructing Marduk."

I nodded and looked at everyone.

"I can only watch this time. Zwei—please help Papa... in my place."

Not a D, Jeanne gritted her teeth and patted Shion on the arm.

"i Got iT. Papa, i'LL hElp yOu."

Shion nodded firmly and walked over to hold my hand.

"—Thanks."

I gripped Shion's hand in return then looked at my silent little sister—Mitsuki.

"Mitsuki, umm..."

Unable to make eye contact with her, I could only speak while looking at her chest.

"Rest assured, I shall assist in constructing Marduk too. Also, I have not mentioned it yet, but I shall be coming along as well. Given how I must not leave your side currently, Nii-san, I have no other choice."

Just as I was struggling to find words, Mitsuki gave her reply first.

"Mitsuki..."

Indeed, after waking up, Mitsuki had neither said she was unwell nor did she cause any commotion.

However, she was definitely not herself.

She was forcing herself. She was putting on a brave face. Even without looking at her face, without listening to her voice, I could tell instantly.

However, I did not point this out to deprive her of the "fortitude" she had been desperately trying to maintain.

"Got it. Then I'm counting on you too, Mitsuki."

I nodded decisively and Mitsuki answered "yes" in relief. Next, she instantly tensed her expression and turned to the noisy students.

"Please listen to me, everyone."

All the noise instantly vanished as soon as Mituski spoke as the student council president and captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad.

Although there were girls watching her with worried gazes, there was definite trust in Mitsuki conveyed through their eyes.

"Currently, catastrophic changes have occurred all over the world. Our homelands in various countries are under threat. The giant creature known as Bahamut is the one expanding the affected areas. Brynhildr Class will be heading out to defeat this creature."

Mitsuki was facing the students and her back view was filled with intense vigor as always. However, this vigor was probably squeezed out through her desperate efforts.

"The remainder of the Dragon Subjugation Squad, please guard Midgard as best as you can. Furthermore, I have a request to make of all of you. In order to construct the ship necessary for hastening to the battlefield, we need a huge quantity of dark matter. Those willing to lend us your aid, could you kindly hold hands with people beside you to form a circle?"

Despite the sudden request, the students began to hold hands with one another without questioning.

All the hesitation on everyone's face disappeared. This was proof that each student believed that Mitsuki was pointing out the correct path.

Seeing this, Shinomiya-sensei asked Charlotte.

"Principal, how is the condition of Midgardsormr?"

"Mica is on standby in the command center. As soon as I give the order, the naval route will be secured. You will be able to set off immediately once the ship is built. If possible, I would like to accompany all of you... But I cannot break my agreement with the United Nations to remain on this island. Furthermore—since my authority is only effective against humans, I am no help to my friend."

Holding a portable terminal, Charlotte answered then looked at me.

"You must return safe and sound. This is my only request for you all."

"Yeah, it's a promise."

While we were talking, the students had already formed a circle.

"Then everyone, let us join in too."

Mitsuki urged us and I entered the circle, holding Shion by the hand.

"Tia will transmit the missing data to Yuu, so this position is essential."

Saying that, Tia took my other hand, opposite to Shion.

"Do your best, Mononobe."

Next to Tia, Iris encouraged me.

"Nii-san, please give the signal once you are ready. After that, we will start transmitting dark matter to you."

Mitsuki spoke to me from next to Shion.

I nodded at them then took a deep breath.

Jeanne, Vritra, Charlotte, and Shinomiya-sensei were watching us slightly further away.

"So, Tia—Send me Marduk's data."

"Yes, got it."

Tia's little hand began to tighten her grip while electricity sparked in the vicinity of the small red horns on her head.

In that instant, a numbing sensation moved to my brain from my hand that Tia was holding. A flash of light filled my mind, turning my view pure white. Due to the blinding feeling, I closed my eyes.

Like torrent, the surging information gradually melded together into several lines. The lines slowly came together as data of the anti-dragon armament, supplementing it to completion, illustrating a gigantic outline.

—This was Marduk.

I could not help but shudder all over.

Possessing the power to defeat hostile species for the Atlanteans on multiple occasions, its existence filled me with fear.

In order to project the form in my mind to reality, I opened my tightly shut eyes.

What appeared before me was the blue ocean under the morning sun. Watching the splashing waves on the water surface, I gave the order.

"Lend me your strength, everyone!"

"Please concentrate dark matter in Nii-san, everyone!"

Mitsuki instantly shouted to all the students.

Instantly, a flood of dark matter flowed into me, then manifested into a gigantic black sphere before my eyes.

Dark matter consisted of fragments of emotions. Everyone's feelings were flooding my mind, causing me to start losing myself.

Normally, performing transmutation in such a state would be impossible, but there was no need for me to impose control over these emotions—this dark matter.

All I needed to do was pour the blueprints in my mind into the flow, thereby giving form to the dark matter.

"Deus Dragon—Marduk!"

I conferred a name upon the burgeoning dark matter, bestowing a rightful path for the matter that held endless possibility.

"Anti-dragon armament, Full Revive!!"

The pitch-black mist of dark matter, expanding over the sea, gradually increased in density and started turning from a gas into a solid.

"...Still not enough. Everyone, please muster more!"

I performed transmutation while calling out.

If the dark matter was insufficient, then an incomplete Marduk with missing parts would be materialized. Since this was a weapon harboring massive power, incompleteness could result in a gigantic explosion.

"Mmmmmm!"

The one with the greatest generating capacity, Ren, desperately squeezed out her final strength.

Gritting their teeth, everyone else transmitted dark matter to me.

The mist of dark matter grew dense all at once.

It was here—

Feeling a concrete sensation, I accelerated the rate of transmutation, displaying the majestic appearance of the Atlantean weapon on the sea.

Solidified from mist, the entity shone with hard silver luster. Accompanied by the loud noise of waves, a gigantic battleship appeared.

The surging waves hit the breakwater, producing a splash of white spray. However, no one dodged.

Everyone was fixated on the object that had appeared before them.

Only told that they were going to build a ship, the students could not hide their surprise at all. Even having seen the construction of anti-dragon weapons up close before, Iris and the girls could only gasp, rooted to the spot.

"—What an amazing ship."

Charlotte's exclamation reached my ear.

Ship, battleship—Sure enough, such descriptions were probably the closest.

Roughly two hundred meters in length, the ship's body was covered with silver-white armor with grooves, tracing out a network of geometric patterns reminiscent of pulsating blood vessels, brightening and dimming in periodic cycles.

Protruding sharply in the front, the prow was merged with the main cannon of Babel. Split into two, its barrel featured a lens in the middle that was reflecting the morning sunlight with dazzling radiance.

Weapons were concentrated on the front of the ship's surface. Megiddo's giant barrel was installed at two locations, a total of eight of Noah's multi-barreled turrets—Aimed at the glowing morning sky, they looked especially impressive.

Behind the bridge were the missile pods of Abyss. On the two sides of the ship were variable-sweep wings, gravitational control devices used for flight.

In addition to the data stored in my mind, my senses were naturally extended, providing me with a full grasp of the entire ship's capabilities.

Just as the anti-dragon weapons created through transmutation previously were always linked to my consciousness, this ship was synchronized with me.

"So this is... Marduk."

While confounded by my suddenly expanded senses, I looked up at the Atlantean weapon that had materialized.

This was a power that did not belong to this era. Once used, it would surely become a disaster equal to the dragons.

But right now, to oppose an even greater calamity, I must control this power—

"—"

After warning myself, I felt a bone-piercing pain through my head, causing me to frown.

Sure enough, being connected to such a massive and complicated weapon was burdening my mind with even greater strain.

"Yuu?"

Noticing my symptoms, Tia looked up at me, tilting her head in worry.

"—I'm fine. Come, let's go."

I released Tia's hand and walked over to Marduk, moored against the harbor.

Although the headache persisted, I optimistically believed that I would get used to it with time. Even if the headache did not go away, what I needed to do remained the same. This was no time to show weakness.

Although the enemy before us was Bahamut, the black domes appearing all over the world were reminiscent of the ninth calamity's "darkness."

If the ninth calamity was the true culprit, losing this battle was not an option. In order to protect Mitsuki, this too was essential.

Whether instinct or otherwise, what drove my actions were these feelings.

I stopped in front of the ship and raised my hand.

"Marduk, activate."

The newborn Deus Dragon growled and awakened.

After the geometric patterns carved on the ship's body glowed brightly, one part of its external walls opened up from inside, producing a gangway leading into the ship.

I placed one foot onto the first step and turned around.

"Are we all ready?"

"Y-Yes, all okay!"

Iris replied with a nervous expression and the others nodded with resolve on their faces.

"Very well—Let's depart."

Turning forward again, I started up the gangway.

As though welcoming its passengers, Marduk's body rumbled thunderously while it started up.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_12_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[Unlimited_Fafnir|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume 12 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 12 Chapter 1

2018-01-27T10:00:43Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 1 - Marduk of Mechanized Aviation==

===Part 1===

From my—Mononobe Yuu's—perspective, Mononobe Mitsuki was someone with greater fortitude than anyone else.

Back when she lost both parents in the car accident, my young self thought thus. Had I been in her place, what would I do?

The death of parents felt totally surreal and I could not imagine how life would continue after that. However, there was no way I would be able to hang in there—That was what I felt.

However, Mitsuki somehow recovered her past smile after becoming my little sister. After developing a fear of riding cars due to the accident, Mitsuki overcame her trauma through her own efforts.

Of course, I would protect Mitsuki as her older brother, and support her—But in the majority of cases, Mitsuki would always rely on her own strength to surmount adversity.

It was the same when "Blue" Hekatonkheir approached our town.

Mitsuki went alone to stand before the dragon. I followed only because I worried about her. To fight Hekatonkheir—Had Mitsuki not spelled it out, such a notion would never had occurred to me.

Watching that delicate silhouette of hers from behind... Challenging a dragon hundreds, no, thousands of times bigger than herself, I could never forget that image.

Even though Mitsuki was crying, even though she was trembling, but that image of her back was the brave silhouette that I still know.

I made a transaction with Yggdrasil to fight Hekatonkheir, only because I wanted to aid Mitsuki. I simply wanted to protect what she hoped to protect, that was all.

Three years after that, I was reunited in Midgard with a Mitsuki who had grown to become even more resolute and brave.

Despite going through the tragic ordeal of killing her best friend who had turned into a dragon, she still led the Ds in battle as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad.

Despite her sorrow, despite her pain, she continued to stand strong stoicly.

But now—

"I am sorry... Nii-san, I am sorry—"

Lying on against my chest, Mitsuki kept apologizing. Sobbing and weeping, Mitsuki kept apologizing hoarsely—

I had never seen Mitsuki this "weak."

When Kraken Zwei, the orphaned child left behind by her best friend, showed up, Mitsuki had left the battlefield once.

But this time was different.

The pillar that had kept her going all this time had been totally demolished.

It was evident without needing to ask. Because, it was the same for me too.

—These feelings of mine, regarding Mitsuki as the one dearest to me.

They were what constituted my very being to this day.

But after Vritra informed me that these feelings stemmed from my instincts as a counterdragon, even I was plunged into confusion.

With wavering thoughts and emotions, I was unable to offer any consoling words to Mitsuki.

Acting like this... I must be an even "weaker" person than Mitsuki right now.

===Part 2===

At the dormitory where all of us lived—inside my bedroom at the far end of the corridor—There was a currently a tense atmosphere.

"Mononobe... What on earth happened?"

"Yuu, you look like you're in so much pain..."

Dressed in yukatas, Iris and Tia inquired with puzzled voices.

Midgard's principal, Charlotte, had organized a fireworks party. The staff had opened stalls for everyone to enjoy, but something had just happened. It was only natural for the girls to be confused by the pained expression on my face.

"Mononobe-kun, you clearly said you were going to meet up with us after talking to Mitsuki... But you never came."

"We were so worried about you two."

Also dressed in yukatas, Firill and Lisa spoke. Then Ariella and Ren also stared at me seriously.

"What happened to your important conversation?"

"Mm... Onii-chan, tell us."

Jeanne and Shion also went "Captain" and "Papa..." respectively, nodding to urge me to explain.

"—Looks like my mother already knows what happened."

Kili narrowed her eyes and looked at Vritra, who was beside me.

In addition to the students of Brynhildr Class, Shinomiya-sensei and Mica-san were also in my room.

They were looking in surprise at Mitsuki who was sleeping on the bed and Vritra and me, who were standing on the side. Since I had suddenly called everyone over on my portable terminal, this was only to be expected. I still had not told them the situation.

Principal Charlotte was apparently occupied so she sent Mica-san to come on her behalf.

Currently, a heavy silence shrouded the room. There was no sound outside the dorm either.

After the fireworks, night at Midgard had returned to its usual serenity.

Having enjoyed the festivities, the students began to return to the girls dorms. The stalls on the sides of the coastal road also began to pack up.

Before replying to Iris' question, I first checked on Mitsuki's condition on the bed.

Apologizing nonstop, exhausted from crying, Mitsuki had fallen asleep only just earlier. If possible, I wanted to take her somewhere else without waking her up, but for the time being, I must not leave her side.

It was impossible to know when that darkness might begin to devour Mitsuki again—

That darkness, invading Mitsuki's body and manifesting the figures of the deceased... It was something Vritra called "end matter."

Recalling that darkness that was even blacker than night, I looked up at everyone present.

"Please stay calm and listen quietly to what I have to say, so that we avoid waking up Mitsuki. First of all, this is about 'true dragons' and the ninth calamity."

Saying that, I shifted my gaze, settling on Tia. This was something I had heard from Tia and Vritra but had not informed the others. To allow everyone to comprehend Mitsuki's condition, it was necessary to start from there.

"Yuu..."

Tia called my name uneasily, probably understanding the gravity of the situation. The others also waited quietly for me to continue.

To reassure Tia, I nodded and began to speak.

Leviathan, Basilisk, Hraesvelgr, Yggdrasil, Vritra—The dragons we had fought in the past were all counterdragons, born to fight "true dragons"—great calamities on a global scale. Charlotte's Code Acht and the Code Lost held by myself, Ariella, and the others, were abilities for keeping humanity, the eighth calamity, in check—

And the next great calamity... was perhaps already imminent.

Listening to these matters, everyone began to grow restless. However, I explained to them the fact that a new authority would arise to oppose this calamity.

And the being possessing this authority was "Neun." In other words, the ninth counterdragon.

Perhaps Neun was me—Mononobe Yuu.

"True dragons and counterdragons... Even if you suddenly tell us about all this, we will only end up even more confused."

Lisa sighed with her forehead against her hand. Firill nodded too with undisguised puzzlement.

"Hmm... It feels like the subject has suddenly grown somber. Oh well, we already knew you were no ordinary D, Mononobe-kun, back when you selected us, but..."

Next, Iris cried out in a realization.

"Oh—Then when you touched us, Mononobe... turning us into ''your kind'', does that also mean we've turned into the ninth counterdragon species too?"

"Yes—Indeed 'tis so. Undoubtedly, ye could be considered Neun."

The one who answered Iris' question was not me but Vritra. Kili mocked her.

"That was my intention from the very start. I've always believed Yuu to be Neun and understood what it meant to be his mate. Mother, you were the one who refused to believe."

"...Hmm. I had my own reasons... Nevertheless, I confess that I have erred on this matter. Daughter, thy view was correct. Now, there is no longer any reason to doubt this person of being Neun."

Vritra replied to Kili in a slight sulk, then lightly tapped my arm. I was standing beside her.

Seeing this, Kili frowned.

"Since you are asserting so strongly, Mother, it means that there is 'reason' strong enough to prove this, right?"

Saying that, she looked at Mitsuki on the bed.

Judging from the situation, it was quite easy to associate this "reason" with the matter of Mitsuki.

"Mononobe-kun, you've been together with Mitsuki all this time?"

"Onii-chan... Where were you two during the fireworks?"

Looking at Mitsuki, Ariella and Ren asked me.

"I was talking to Mitsuki on the beach. At the time, a strange change suddenly occurred to Mitsuki."

I clenched my fist and answered.

Next, Shion, who was originally staying next to Jeanne, ran over to and looked up at me in worry.

"...Papa, aRe yOU oKaY?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

I unclenched my fist an patted Shion on the head.

Now was not the time to be wallowing in regret. Mitsuki was the one in true pain. What I should be doing now was to tell everyone the whole story and ask for their help so that Mitsuki could be saved.

Perhaps, these thoughts and actions came from a counterdragon's instincts... But whatever, forget it for now.

Stroking Shion's hair, I looked up and saw Shinomiya-sensei standing behind Iris and the girls.

Starting from there, I swept my gaze across Mica-san and everyone else—slowly composing my words.

"In hindsight, the ninth calamity—that "darkness"—has been lurking inside Mitsuki the whole time. And just a while ago, that darkness seeped out and almost devoured Mitsuki. Vritra called it 'end matter.'"

Everyone gasped.

In sequence, I told the speechless girls what had happened on the beach.

Suddenly in horrendous pain, Mitsuki's hand had turned ambiguous in outline and corrupted by pitch blackness. Just as the darkness was devouring Mitsuki, I touched her, causing my dragon mark to glow blue, blowing the darkness away...

"—The blue light caused Mitsuki's body to return to normal. However, the end matter scattered outside turned into pitch-black human forms, which I then ''killed'' using the power of Code Lost."

I omitted the detail that the shadows looked like Mitsuki's parents. Although I had no intention of keeping secrets... Even though Mitsuki was currently asleep, this was not something I could talk about without her presence.

And right now, what agonized Mitsuki and me the most was whether my wish to protect Mitsuki came sincerely from the heart. In other words, it was a personal issue between the two of us. Discussing this with anyone would have to be left until later.

"I definitely encountered the ninth calamity in my childhood. During that car accident which killed Mitsuki's parents—I encountered the darkness of end matter at the time. Most likely, I saved Mitsuki back then using Neun's authority, but from that point on, the darkness began to lurk inside Mitsuki."

I paused at this point. Next to me, Vritra took a step forward and said:

"According to the prophesy I received from Kiskanu—in other words, a prediction of the future—There ought to be more time before the ninth dragon's arrival. However, Mononobe Mitsuki's transformation into Neun hath ended the ninth calamity's dormancy. Judging from the effects Neun's authority was capable of producing, 'tis still possible to suppress it... Be that as it may, I cannot say for sure what will happen next. Hence, I wish to enlist assistance from all of ye, Neun's mates, and Yggdrasil's successor."

Looking at everyone in turn, Vritra finally settled her gaze firmly on Tia.

As the new core of Yggdrasil that had turned into Neun too, Tia nodded solemnly.

"Tia understands the basic situation now. But what should Tia do?"

"I hope thou couldst search the Akashic Record for as much information about the seventh dragon—'Disasterification' Apocalypse—as possible, then taking the current situation into account to produce a new prediction of the future."

After listening to Vritra's request, Tia tilted her head in puzzlement.

"...The seventh calamity? Isn't it the ninth right now?"

"Kiskanu said that the seventh calamity was a prelude to an even greater calamity. And this greater calamity is precisely the ninth dragon—Hence, 'twould be highly valuable to comprehend the seventh calamity. At the time... I evaded the seventh calamity by hiding in a higher dimension, thus surviving in my complete state, and used dark matter to restore the world after the fact. Consequently, I did not have a chance to obtain a clear view of the seventh calamity."

Saying this with a depressed expression, Vritra continued.

"However, Kiskanu was destroyed by the seventh calamity. Although my restoration of plant life gave rise to a new plant network, Yggdrasil... Its core consciousness was exceedingly obsessed with prioritizing its own survival, completely unwilling to listen to mine advice. Ostensibly, it was conquered by fear."

"Fear..."

Tia gulped and Vritra nodded solemnly.

"Indeed—Hence, I wish to know that which Kiskanu witnessed at the moment of its destruction, the true nature of the seventh calamity. If this were known, 'twould be possible to find a way to counter the ninth calamity, mayhap."

"Got it. Tia will try to contact the Akashic Record."

Tia answered with a voice of determination but next to her, Lisa showed an expression of worry.

"Tia-san, are you sure? Wouldn't there be possible danger unless you approach this cautiously?"

"Yes, so Tia wants to concentrate inside the bedroom. Also, with you accompanying Tia, if possible..."

Slightly hesitant, Tia looked up at Lisa.

"—Certainly, if I can be of assistance. I wanted to accompany you in the first place. Rest assured."

Lisa gently stroked Tia's head then looked at me.

"Mononobe Yuu, Tia-san an I shall excuse ourselves for now. Although I have yet to come to terms with the whole affair... I entrust Mitsuki-san to your care."

"Yes—I got it."

Enduring the severe pain in my heart, I agreed with Lisa.

"However, you are not allowed to be reckless."

Did Lisa feel concerned about my behavior? After giving a final reminder, she left the room with Tia.

With the shutting sound of the door, the room instantly fell silent again. Next, Iris spoke up hesitantly.

"U-Umm, is there anything we can do? How can we save Mitsuki-chan?"

"Iris, well..."

Unable to suggest any concrete action, I could only grit my teeth. How to save Mitsuki, what to do from this point onwards, I still had not come up with anything yet.

However, Vritra tugged at my clothing during my silence.

"My comrade Neun and his mates, what ye ought to do is to keep Mononobe Mitsuki company. According to what transpired earlier, including Mononobe Mitsuki herself—End matter can be suppressed so long as two possessors of Neun's authority are present. Hence, 'twould be wise if ye were to take shifts to remain by her side."

"Vritra-chan... Yes, I got it! Then let's take turns to watch over Mitsuki-chan!"

Saying that, Iris approached me.

"Let me have the first shift. Mononobe, you should take a bit of a break. You seem so tired."

Iris urged seriously but I could not bring myself to nod and agree.

"No, since I'm the only one who has actually used Neun's authority. I can't leave Mitsuki's side—"

However, the others began to speak as though to drown out my words.

"This is your room, Mononobe-kun. I think it's best if you rest on the sofa over there, since you'll be able to know immediately if anything happened."

Firill pointed to the sofa in the room. Ariella and Ren agreed.

"We'll take turns to watch Mitsuki, don't worry."

"Mm. We will first take a nap and arrange shifts to keep watch over the night."

Listening to them, Kili sighed lightly.

"No helping it... I will help out too since there's nothing for me to do until Tia finishes her task. It seems like a nice chance to chat with Yuu. Well then, Iris-chan, I'm leaving the first shift to you."

"Yes, leave it to me!"

Iris clenched her fist hard and nodded.

Thus, after Firill and the other girls left the room, Shinomiya-sensei and Mica-san also walked to the door.

"Mononobe Yuu, we shall go report the situation to the principal. Mononobe Mitsuki is supposed to be sent underground for isolation and detailed examination... However, after analyzing what was said just now, we conclude that it is not the time to separate you two. For the purpose of isolation, this dormitory is already capable of serving the same function. Please do not go out until we contact you and watch over her well."

Holding the doorknob, Shinomiya-sensei finished. Mica-san also spoke:

"Mononobe-san, we entrust her care to you. However, just as Iris-san and the others have suggested, you should rest for a while."

"Yes, I understand."

I nodded and saw the two of them off.

"Umm, Captain, Zwei is already..."

At that moment, Jeanne, who had been silent all this time, spoke timidly. Next to her, Shion was already rubbing her eyes, about to fall asleep.

"She's already sleepy, right? I'm sorry for making you two stay with us for so long. Take Shion back to your room, Jeanne."

The conversation just now was probably a bit too hard for Shion to understand. I smiled wryly.

"Roger that. Sorry... I am just an ordinary person without special powers... I cannot aid you in this matter, Captain."

"Don't worry about this kind of stuff. Jeanne, you're working hard as Shion's surrogate mother. This is an important job that no one can do but you. Everyone, including me, of course, are very grateful for that."

I thanked Jeanne apologetically. Staying in the room for the first shift, Iris also nodded vigorously.

"That's right! Jeanne-chan, you don't need to push yourself. Just think of Shion-chan."

"—Thank you. Then let's go, Zwei."

Smiling with a reassured look, Jeanne took Shion's hand.

"Yawn... Papa... gOoD niGHt."

"Yeah, goodnight."

Waving to me, Shion yawned lightly and I bade her goodnight.

After she left the room, the only ones remaining were the four of us—me, Iris, Vritra, and Mitsuki sleeping on the bed.

"An ordinary person without special powers?"

Looking at the doorway through where Jeanne had left, Vritra murmured in thought.

"You seem to be implying something."

Vritra smiled faintly when I cast a questioning look at her.

"No, what one might beg to differ would be the implication that humanity is not a special existence. A species regarded with hostility by Gaia twice, as the second and the eighth calamities, could not possibly be ordinary, could it?"

It looked like Jeanne's comment had prompted Vritra to make her point. She shrugged lightly and continued.

"—Furthermore, she definitely possesseth a pair of extraordinary ''eyes'', yes?"

"Yeah, that's true. Jeanne's eyes are definitely not ordinary."

Vritra's question made me nod stiffly.

Capable of capturing all objects within her field of view and discerning them, it would be no exaggeration to describe Jeanne as gifted. Sleipnir was a team assembled from people like her.

"The same applieth to the authorities of counterdragons—Exceptional abilities do not exist without reason. Perhaps her abilities were inherited from Atlantis or some other origin...? 'Tis this that I am curious."

Saying that, Vritra shrugged and turned her back to me.

"You're going back to your room too, Vritra?"

"Nay, I intend to have a look at Tia Lightning's condition. Though I have informed her in detail of the type of information she needeth, one would presume that the extraction of data from the Akashic Record must be difficult indeed."

Shaking her head, Vritra left my room.

Thud. After the door closed, the room suddenly became very quiet. Mitsuki was sleeping soundly, hence, it was as though Iris and I were alone together.

"Oh, umm, Iris."

Noticing I was obliged to say something to Iris, I composed my words.

"W-What is it?"

The cowardly aura emanating from me was making Iris nervous in turn. Tensing herself, she asked in response.

"......"

However, I failed to continue. My thoughts could not come together at all. Looking at Mitsuki on the bed, I sighed.

"Nothing, really. I guess I'm a bit tired."

Resting my forehead against my hand, I shook my head. Iris frowned in worry.

"Are you okay, Mononobe? I'll watch over Mitsuki-chan properly, so get some rest, Mononobe."

Saying that, she pushed me from behind, forcing me to the sofa.

"Hey—"

I reacted with a confused voice, but Iris ignored me. After sitting me on the sofa, she moved a chair to the side of the bed and sat down.

"Until Firill-chan comes for the next shift, I'll stay awake on watch for sure! So don't you worry."

Iris asserted forcefully and turned her face towards Mitsuki on the bed. Seeing Iris stare unblinkingly at Mitsuki, I smiled wryly.

"Got it, I'm counting on you, Iris. However, you might fall ill too if you push yourself too hard, so relax a bit."

"Yes, okay."

Seeing Iris start taking deep breaths, I lay down on the sofa. Only then did I notice I was still wearing a yukata. However, deciding I could change later, I switched to a more comfortable posture on the sofa.

After I reclined sideways to the right, the bed entered my view. Also dressed in a yukata, Iris was watching the sleeping Mitsuki with a serious look on her face.

Watching the side of her face, the words that I had been unable to compose earlier naturally surfaced in my mind.

Yes—This matter must be conveyed to Iris.

"Iris."

"What is it?"

After I called her name, Iris took her eyes off Mitsuki, but asked while still keeping the same posture.

"Mitsuki asked me. She wanted me to tell her the answer to the question as to who was the dearest to me. She only hoped for me to make a decision rather than a choice—That was the idea."

Without touching upon explanations about the ninth dragon, I talked about "my personal issue."

"...........To make a decision rather than a choice... I see..."

After a moment's silence, Iris repeated my words then smiled.

"Iris?"

"Oh, okay, sorry—I think I understand something. I'm sure Mitsuki-chan wanted you to be certain about not making a mistake."

Gazing at Mitsuki on the bed with gentle eyes, Iris replied.

"Mistake?"

"The current situation, our relationships, your inner self, Mononobe, she simply wanted to know how you feel without changing any of these—That's what I think. I'm the same too. I want to understand you better, Mononobe."

Iris answered with a blush, but she continued to speak while staying in her posture without making eye contact with me.

"However, I already know what Mitsuki-chan wanted to find out. Mononobe, you replied that Mitsuki-chan is the dearest to you, right?"

"......How do you know that?"

When I asked in surprise, Iris scratched her face.

"I know this much at least, because you are the one I love."

"—"

The straightforward confession caused my face to heat up.

"Mononobe, you said you loved me, right? That feeling is not a lie. I already knew when you selected me—However, if the question was who is the most important to you, Mitsuki-chan will definitely come to your mind. I feel that this is on a different level than simply liking someone."

"Iris—Looks like you know me better than myself."
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v12 039.jpg|thumb]]

Smiling wryly, I made fun of myself.

On a different level than simply liking someone. That was definitely true.

"That's right, it's just as you said, Iris. My reply to Mitsuki was that she was the dearest to me. But that apparently stems from my instincts as Neun, the ninth counterdragon."

Covering my face with my hands, I spoke stiffly.

"Eh...?"

"That darkness—The ninth calamity is sealed inside Mitsuki. That's why I've been instinctively protecting Mitsuki, according to Vritra. Mitsuki also heard this already."

My voice trembled slightly. I recalled how Mitsuki had apologized to me endlessly.

"N-No way—"

"To be honest, I haven't put my feelings in order yet. I can't tell which emotions come from myself and which ones are out of Neun's instincts. It's precisely because I'm currently in this state that I wasn't able to say anything to Mitsuki."

I bit my lip hard as chagrin gripped my heart.

"Mononobe..."

"Sorry, I'm not asking for you to comfort or trying to discuss this with you. I'll find the answer on my own, but it's just that I feel that I must tell you about this. That's why—"

Unable to think of words to continue, I stopped there.

The room plunged into silence. After who knew how long, I heard Iris' whisper.

"Yes—I believe in you. If it's you, Mononobe, things will surely work out."

===Part 3===

Somehow, I fell asleep.

I opened my eyes, realizing after my nap.

So sleepy—I really wanted to remain in the land of dreams.

However... Strangely, my body felt heavy.

As for where this weight came from, I found out as soon as I opened my eyes, greeted by the sight before me.

"Gu..."

A petite red-haired girl—Ren Miyazawa—was sleeping on top of me. She was curled up like a cat, soundly asleep...

Having changed, she was wearing her usual uniform instead of a yukata.

What on earth was happening? I looked waround then noticed Ariella sitting on the chair next to the bed.

Having taken over Iris' seat, Ariella had been watching the sleeping Mitsuki the whole time.

I shifted my body slightly and the sofa sank down. This sound prompted Ariella to look over.

"Oh, Mononobe-kun—You woke up. Hmm... Are you okay like that?"

Smiling wryly, Ariella rose up from her chair and came over to me. Since Ren was sleeping on me, I could not get up. Lying there on the sofa, I looked at Ariella.

"It'd be great if you could explain the current situation."

When I asked, Ariella scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"Umm... It's my turn to watch over Mitsuki and Ren came along."

"Why?"

Unable to comprehend, I asked.

"Well, Ren and I are roommates—Since I came over here, it means that Ren'd be left alone in the room, right?"

"Yeah, but what's the problem there?"

I frowned and looked up at Ariella. Then glancing at Ren, she knelt down next to me and whispered in my ear.

"I hope you'll keep this a secret... But Ren is scared of sleeping alone... She can't sleep like that."

Ariella spoke with an expression as though revealing an important secret. But for Ren, perhaps this really was strictly confidential.

"—I see, I get it now. I'll pretend I never heard the previous exchange. But I can't believe she chose to sleep on top of me out of all places."

Sighing, I looked at the soundly sleeping Ren. Inside my room, the only places to sleep comfortably were the bed and the sofa. Sleeping on me should not be very comfy.

"Ren is able to sleep anywhere as long as she's by the side of someone she finds reassuring. Your heartbeat allows her to relax and fall asleep straight away. As expected of Ren's 'Onii-chan'."

Now that she pointed it out, indeed, Ren's ear was pressed against the left side of my chest. After stroking her red hair softly, I looked at Ariella again.

"I'm glad that Ren trusts me so much, but I can no longer sleep in this posture. I'm going to yield the sofa to her, so could you pick her up gently without waking her up?"

"Got it. Leave it to me."

Ariella nodded and used her arms to pick up Ren securely. Taking the opportunity, I got off the sofa and stood up to stretch. Despite her petite size, having a person's entire weight on me still made me stiff and uncomfortable. It felt like sleep paralysis. Thinking that, I looked at Mitsuki sleeping on the bed.

"How is Mitsuki doing?"

I whispered to Ariella, who was poking Ren's cheeks while she was sleeping on the sofa.

"She woke up once when Firill was on watch, but she immediately went back to sleep without making a scene."

"She woke up once, huh—Uh, what's the time now?"

Since it was dark outside the window, I had no sense of the passage of time. I glanced at the clock, only to see the hands indicating 4am. This hour could be considered morning.

"Mononobe-kun, you slept for almost five hours. Well, I'm really glad you woke up before Kili's shift. If you were still sleeping, I'm sure she'll... Umm, do weird things."

Ariella spoke with mild blush. Perhaps she was recalling last time when Kili visited me during the night.

"No, you probably don't need to worry about that. If it's Kili, I'll definitely wake up the moment she tries to do anything."

I smiled wryly and shook my head. Ren was able to climb on top of me without waking me up because she was not someone I needed to keep my guard up against. Against anyone dangerous, I had full confidence in my ability to wake up immediately to handle the situation.

"Very well... But I get the feeling you might get swayed by the situation even if you're careful, Mononobe-kun—"

"..."

Unable to deny her words, I could not say anything.

"I said it before, Mononobe-kun, but you need to pull yourself together. Especially against Kili, you have to be more assertive."

Arms akimbo, Ariella cautioned me.

"But she's not someone who'll comply obediently, right?"

"That's where you're wrong. I think she'd go along with your demands, Mononobe-kun, if you're forceful. Rather, she'd be happy about it."

"H-Happy?"

The unexpected word left me confused. I looked at Ariella questioningly.

"She is similar to me in some ways, so I know. Kili probably likes a partner who's better and stronger than her. So on a basic level, she's a passive person, or rather, she wants to be led."

"A passive person... In other words, she's a masochist?"

I shared my view to concur with Ariella's opinion, but she instantly went red in the face.

"M-Masochist—What are you suddenly talking about!? If Kili's like that, then aren't I also... Th-That's so obscene..."

Seeing Ariella totally flustered, I hastily waved my hands.

"No, what I mean is personality tendencies—I didn't mean to say anything obscene. Ariella, haven't you ever chatted with others about whether someone looks like an S or an M?"

"...Looks like? Oh, you mean in that sense. I thought you were being serious..."

"Serious?"

Puzzled, I asked Ariella who was wiping sweat from her brow in relief, then she immediately went red and denied it.

"Nothing, nothing at all! It's true that I've discussed this with Lisa and the others in detail! Firill even brought a book with a personality quiz."

"Eh, then which one came out as the analysis result for Kili?"

Interested, I tried asking but Ariella shook her head.

"It happened before we met Kili."

"Then what about you, Ariella?"

"......M."

Looking away from me, Ariella answered in a barely audible voice.

"M-Mononobe-kun, let me be clear, it wasn't just me! Lisa and Mitsuki were M too! Also, that book itself was quite weird, its credibility—"
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v12 047.jpg|thumb]]

Ariella furiously explained herself with an intense blush, causing me to relax my expression.

"—W-What are you laughing at!?"

"Sorry, but you're just so cute, Ariella."

I apologized with a wry smile, causing Ariella to hold her breath, frozen on the spot.

"C... C-C-C-Cute—Could you not... say this sort of thing... so suddenly..."

Her voice became softer and softer while she lowered her head awkwardly.

"......Sorry."

I apologized again. Since I said it unintentionally, Ariella's reaction caused me to blush instead.

"Then who tested as S, Ariella?"

At this rate, the mood was going to become very awkward, so I hastily changed the subject.

"Ah, well—It might be quite surprising, but Iris was an S."

"That's definitely surprising... But on further thought, Iris gave Kili a '-chan' honorific and completely forced Kili to go along with her pace. Perhaps, that's—"

I crossed my arms and imagined Iris as a sadist...

Picturing Iris holding a whip, laughing madly, I hastily shook my head to dispel the image.

"—Totally unsuitable."

"Hmm?"

I smiled wryly at Ariella who had reacted to my muttering.

"Don't worry about it. Oh well, anyway, I'll remember your advice to be more assertive towards Kili."

"Y-Yeah, I hope you'll achieve it for sure... Also, umm, now that you're awake, go take a bath and get changed. With you looking like that, I don't know where to look anymore... Oh, I'll keep watch over Mitsuki, so don't worry."

Saying that, Ariella pointed at me. I looked down, only to see my yukata's collar wide open.

"—Got it, I'll do that."

While fixing up my clothes, I nodded at Ariella.

However, just as I was carrying a change of clothes into the bathroom's changing area, a ringtone was suddenly heard in the room.

"S-Sorry, that's mine—"

Ariella hastily took out her portable terminal from her pocket, but this sound was coming from more than one place. From the bed where Mitsuki was sleeping, Ren's sofa, and from my breast pocket—In any case, everyone's portable terminal was ringing.

"Mm...?"

Ren rubbed her eyes drowsily and sat up.

Before I pressed the button to pick up the call, the screen turned on automatically on the terminal. Then Midgard's chief administrator, Charlotte B. Lord, appeared.

"Members of Brynhildr Class, an emergency situation has arisen."

The principal who looked like a young child was fidgeting with her blonde hair nervously, speaking in a somber voice.

'Just now, a certain someone from NIFL—a name that probably none of us wish to hear for the time being—that Loki Jotunheim has contacted us.'

"Major Loki...?"

Charlotte nodded gravely when I spoke his name quietly. Images of everyone in the conversation were displayed on the monitors in the command center.

'Indeed... In any case, all of you need to look at this.'

After she said that, the screen changed. A towering black dome under a blue sky was shown on my terminal. Since there were no objects in view for reference, I could not estimate its size, but I already knew that this was a gigantic object.

This was because it was completely unreflective and lacked three dimensionality in appearance. It seemed like a hole floating amid the surrounding scenery, completely a deep abyss of darkness... This reminded me of the "darkness" attempting to devour Mitsuki and a chill ran through my body.

"Several hours ago, this type of dome had appeared at four locations across the world. With a diameter of three hundred kilometers or so and a height of roughly fifty kilometers, these domes are exceptionally large and impossible to observe their interiors. Hence, these spaces are currently called unknown territories."

"Unknown territories..."

—''Could this be related to the "darkness" inside Mitsuki''?

It was impossible to consider them coincidences with such timing.

'Although many towns have been swallowed, no one has come out of these domes. What emerged... was only this.'

Accompanying Charlotte's narration, the screen changed to show a strange entity hovering next to a dome.

It was gigantic heart covered by a spherical network of blood vessels. This surreal scene made Ariella exclaim in a confused voice.

"What is this..."

'That was the image when the entity first emerged. Now, it has transformed to this.'

Next, the screen changed to show a gigantic black "creature." A pitch-black dragon with wings outspread, hovering in the air—

"Isn't this Vritra? No, it's probably not—"

It was quite similar to the stand-in that the black dragon had created previously.

However, Vritra was currently with us in the form of a young girl. Furthermore, the dragon in the image was far too humongous.

During class, I had seen images of Vritra's first appearance twenty-five years ago, but it should not have been this big.

'Hmm—Please wait a moment. Tia Lightning apparently has something to inform all of us.'

As Charlotte spoke, an image of Tia appeared on the bottom right corner of the screen. With Lisa and Vritra behind her, it was probably Tia's bedroom.

'Umm, Tia has something to say.'

Tia spoke solemnly, but Vritra went over her shoulder and leaned forward to interrupt.

'Make no mistake, that is not I. 'Tis the model I referenced to create the dragon stand-in of mine, although I merely read the data provided by Kiskanu, this could very well be—'

'Stop! This is Tia's turn to speak! Don't get in Tia's way!'

Shoving away the interrupting Vritra, out of the screen, Tia spoke again.

'Through the connection to the Akashic Record, Tia knows what it is. It is from long long ago... The fifth calamity that visited Earth—the fifth dragon, "Eternal Longevity" Bahamut.'

"What..."

—Not the ninth but the fifth?

The urgent and imminent calamity was the ninth while the fifth should be in the past. It was a crisis that the world was supposed to have overcome.

The unexpected words made me gasp, but Charlotte did not seem surprised on the screen, only troubled.

'How odd, this name of Bahamut is the same as the codename assigned by NIFL. Do they actually have information on the fifth calamity...?'

Charlotte voiced her doubts but no one was able to give an answer.

'Why NIFL knows about Bahamut, Tia has no idea either. However... Bahamut appearing is in itself very strange! Because Bahamut was clearly defeated by Basilisk, the holder of Code Fünf...'

The confused Tia explained the abnormality of the situation.

"By Basilisk? Then Iris, having inherited that authority—"Catastrophe"—would be able to take out that crazy huge dragon?"

Was it due to my whispered comment? Iris appeared on the bottom left of the screen. It looked like she had been sleeping until earlier since she was dressed in a flimsy negligee.

'Eh!? M-Me?'

Iris pointed to her own face in panic. However, Charlotte crossed her arms with a grave expression.

'—It would be too soon to assert that. However, it is impossible to say for certain until we see the outcome of the attempt.'

"Attempt? Then—"

When I spoke out, Charlotte nodded.

'Yes, NIFL has requested our cooperation. While Bahamut continues to move, the unknown territory is expanding at the same time. This is no time to be staying uninvolved and watching from the sidelines. Furthermore...'

She paused for a moment, then spoke again as though she had dispelled her hesitation.

'Bahamut's expected route includes many countries—including the Principality of Erlia, the homeland of one of our Ds, Firill Crest. If Bahamut were to deviate slightly from predictions, even Lisa Highwalker's homeland of England would not be spared.'

This information brought alarm to the face of Lisa, who was behind Tia. Although not shown on the screen, Firill was probably starting to worry too.

'In order to protect the homelands for these maidens, the Ds, to return to, I have accepted NIFL's request as Midgard's top command. Considering the links between this and the ninth calamity reported earlier, as well as "Catastrophe," you are the only ones capable of taking on this mission. Although it pains my heart to send you to a dangerous battlefield again... I hope all of you will aid in this endeavor.'

"Of course—Then what exactly do we have to do?"

I replied instantly and asked Charlotte for our mission. In the same room as me, Ariella and Ren also nodded without hesitation.

'...Thank you, my friend and the young maidens. You will join NIFL's defense line to intercept Bahamut together. However... There is a serious problem here.'

Charlotte thanked us but for some reason, her expression turned very grim.

"Problem?"

'We have no means of transport. Originally, we could meet up with NIFL by ship transport on the sea, which would then allow you to head to the scene by plane or helicopter. However, there is not a single NIFL ship in Midgard's surroundings at the moment. It was my demand after the battle that NIFL withdraw its forces completely... I never thought it would come to bite us in return.'

Charlotte sighed with her hand against her forehead. However, I asked:

"All we need to do is fly to where NIFL is, right? That'll greatly shorten the time until rendezvous."

'The NIFL force sent to pick you up is extremely distant. It would be too far to fly using transmutation, exhausting you greatly before the battle. However... Perhaps we have no other options.'

Charlotte was very troubled, but Tia raised her hand vigorously from the small window on the screen.

'Wait! In that case, Tia has a better idea!'

"Tia?"

I responded in surprise and Tia brought her fist to her chest and said seriously.

'Well, Tia thinks that we just need to complete Marduk together!'

"Complete Marduk, what do you mean—"

Unable to understand Tia's words, I was baffled.

Marduk was a weapon system used by Atlantis, the ancestors of mankind. In order to defeat dragons such as Leviathan and Hraesvelgr, I had used transmuted dark matter to recreate parts of Marduk.

It was true that every weapon of Marduk was very powerful, but currently, the problem was meeting up with NIFL. I could not see how these two matters were connected.

However, Tia continued to speak to Charlotte.

'Principal, please. Order all Ds to assemble at the harbor right now.'

'Sure, I can do that, but...'

Charlotte seemed worried but still nodded.

'Okay, let's all go to the harbor!'

Having obtained permission, Tia hung up without explaining in detail. On the screen with one less small window, Charlotte sighed.

'It fills me with guilt to disturb the sweet dreams of young maidens when the sun has yet to rise—But there is no other way. Let us listen to her explanation at the harbor.'

Then the portable terminal's screen went dark and my room returned to peace and quiet.

"Nii-san, stop standing there, spacing out. Hurry and get changed. Ariella-san and Ren-san, please get prepared to set off."

Surprised by the voice that broke the silence, I turned to face the bed.

Had she woken up without my noticing? Sitting up on the bed, Mitsuki was holding her portable terminal, looking at me.

"Mitsuki..."

I called out her name hoarsely.

"You woke up. Are... you fine now?"

"Mm, do you feel unwell anywhere?"

Ariella and Ren also noticed and asked Mitsuki with worry.

"Yes—I am fine. I am fully informed too. I shall... make a trip to my room first."

Saying that, Mitsuki got off the bed. Like me, she was still wearing her yukata. She was probably planning to change into her uniform in her room.

"Wait, even if you're fine right now, Mitsuki, it's best you avoid being alone."

I frantically tried to stop Mitsuki who was making her way to the door.

"...Yes, good point. Because of the ninth calamity, right...? When I woke up previously, Firill-san already told me about taking shifts to watch over me. In that case... Ariella-san and Ren-san should come with me, so no need to worry, Nii-san."

Pausing in her steps, Mitsuki spoke in an exceedingly calm voice.

This was probably the calmness she tried her hardest to feign while enduring the pain that was tearing her heart apart.

"But—"

"Nii-san, are you actually trying to watch me change? If you say yes, you will have to write a repentance essay, you know?"

Smiling weakly, Mitsuki cautioned me.

"......Understood. Okay, Ariella and Ren, I'm leaving Mitsuki in your hands."

Despite my hesitation, I nodded and entrusted Mitsuki to them.

"Got it. I'll contact you straight away if anything happens. No need to worry."

"Mm, don't worry."

Next, Mitsuki left my room, accompanied by Ariella and Ren.

I knew I ought to say something else—I knew I ought to do something. However, what exactly was it? No matter how I racked my brain, I did not know.

===Part 4===

At the break of dawn, Midgard's entire student body was gathered at the harbor. Unsure of the situation, the girls were showing apprehensive expressions towards the tense atmosphere around them.

Currently, there were no ships moored at the harbor, so the view was expansive. The orange sun was emerging from the eastern horizon, its golden glow reflecting off the clouds in the sky.

Prepared to sortie, we members of the Brynhildr Class were together with Charlotte and Shinomiya-sensei, listening to Tia while standing on the pier some distance from the other students.

"So—Marduk is actually a giant ship!"

Tia spread her slender arms forcefully to express the ship's great size.

"A ship... Speaking of which, back when we first saw NIFL's battleship, Tia-san did mention before that it felt similar to Marduk somehow."

Hearing Lisa whispering with a hand to the corner of her mouth, I remembered too.

It was during the final moments of NIFL's invasion—when we had clearly defeated Major Loki—the NIFL battleship moored at sea had switched to attack mode.

'That ship... Somehow, it feels similar.'

Tia had said so at the time. When we asked for an explanation, she had continued.

'A weapon from Atlantis... Marduk...'

Furthermore, Tia had warned that the main cannon, prepared to fire, might be Babel, a weapon from a lost civilization.

In fact, the main cannon's firepower was exceptional—While Ariella deployed a barrier, Tia hacked the ship, thus enabling us to survive the crisis.

However, it was still unknown why NIFL possessed such a battleship. During my time at NIFL, I had passed along Atlantean weapons data to my friend in the technological development department, thus allowing practical deployment of Nergal and Gáe Bolg... However, back then, I did not have data on Babel.

The anti-dragon weapons created through the transmutation of dark matter would self-destruct after use, so it would be impossible to obtain data from them.

After the battle, I wanted to inquire about this if there had been a chance to talk to Major Loki... But since no such chance came up, it remained an unanswered question in the end.

"Tia—I know that the anti-dragon armament named Marduk is part of a gigantic weapon. During my second transaction with Yggdrasil, I sensed it."

Seeking to defeat the Leviathan that was trying to turn Iris into its mate, I desired new power. Responding to my wish, Yggdrasil transmitted the data of Marduk's main cannon to me. Back then, I found out that Marduk was a weapon armed with various modes of attack.

Afterwards, Marduk's data was supplemented by two additional downloads, but still incomplete.

"—In other words, Marduk's complete form is similar to NIFL's battleship?"

I recalled the various Atlantean weapons I had made so far and asked Tia.

Main cannon—"Babel."

Special artillery—"Meggido."

Psionic multi-barreled cannon—"Noah."

Hyperspace reversion rocket-assisted artillery—"Abyss."

I still could not imagine Marduk's complete form, equipped with all these weapons.

"More amazing that that, it's a ship that can fly into space."

"S-Space?"

The sudden word shocked me, but Tia's face was serious.

"Indeed. The counterweapon mobilized to eliminate external threats to the Atlanteans regardless of any environment, that is the 'Deus Dragon,' Marduk."

"Deus Dragon... the second calamity's trump card."

Kili whispered with interest.

The Atlanteans were the ancestors of mankind and possessed superb levels of science and technology. Arriving at Earth from space, their civilization was regarded by Gaia as a threat to the planet—as the second dragon, "Ultimate Wisdom" Atlantis. "Deus Dragon" was probably a term to express the true nature of this threat.

"Yes, which is why it should be able to fly over to Bahamut immediately. But since it's so huge, it requires a great amount of dark matter. Tia doesn't know if borrowing everyone's help is enough..."

Seeing all the students gathered at the harbor, Tia said with worry.

"—Release these bonds of mine and no such problem would exist."

Vritra interrupted next. Indeed, in her case, she should be able to generate dark matter on a level far beyond us. But currently, she was unable to perform transmutation due to the vine choker Tia had made.

"Right! Let's have Vritra-chan help out too!"

Iris' face brightened up but Ariella shook her head with a reluctant expression.

"Let's not... We don't know what Vritra'd do with full ability to generate dark matter. Even if she cooperates with us now, we might end up as enemies like before if the situation changed."

Ren and Firill agreed with her.

"Mm, too big of a risk."

"I agree. We don't know if our dark matter is really insufficient either..."

Vritra shrugged in response.

"...Presently, I must fight alongside my comrade Neun—Fine, 'tis futile to demand ye to trust me."

Despite speaking as though she had not placed any hopes in the first place, Vritra acted a little like she was sulking. I patted her on the head.

"Thanks for offering to help. When we're really out of options, we'll borrow your power."

"Hmph, then ye ought not miss your chance. 'Twould be too late if ye dally."

Vritra turned her face away, speaking with slight displeasure.

"Yeah, I got it. Then we'll start constructing Marduk."

I nodded and looked at everyone.

"I can only watch this time. Zwei—please help Papa... in my place."

Not a D, Jeanne gritted her teeth and patted Shion on the arm.

"i Got iT. Papa, i'LL hElp yOu."

Shion nodded firmly and walked over to hold my hand.

"—Thanks."

I gripped Shion's hand in return then looked my silent little sister—Mitsuki.

"Mitsuki, umm..."

Unable to make eye contact with her, I could only speak while looking at her chest.

"Rest assured, I shall assist in constructing Marduk too. Also, I have not mentioned it yet, but I shall be coming along as well. Given how I must not leave your side currently, Nii-san, I have no other choice."

Just as I was struggling to find words, Mitsuki gave her reply first.

"Mitsuki..."

Indeed, after waking up, Mitsuki had neither said she was unwell nor did she cause any commotion.

However, she was definitely not herself.

She was forcing herself. She was putting on a brave face. Even without looking at her face, without listening to her voice, I could tell instantly.

However, I did not point this out to deprive her of the "fortitude" she had been desperately trying to maintain.

"Got it. Then I'm counting on you too, Mitsuki."

I nodded decisively and Mitsuki answered "yes" in relief. Next, she instantly tensed her expression and turned to the noisy students.

"Please listen to me, everyone."

All the noise instantly vanished as soon as Mituski spoke as the student council president and captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad.

Although there were girls watching her with worried gazes, there was definite trust in Mitsuki conveyed through their eyes.

"Currently, catastrophic changes have occurred all over the world. Our homelands in various countries are under threat. The giant creature known as Bahamut is the one expanding the affected areas. Brynhildr Class will be heading out to defeat this creature."

Mitsuki was facing the students and her back view was filled with intense vigor as always. However, this vigor was probably squeezed out through her desperate efforts.

"The remainder of the Dragon Subjugation Squad, please guard Midgard as best as you can. Furthermore, I have a request to make of all of you. In order to construct the ship necessary for hastening to the battlefield, we need a huge quantity of dark matter. Those willing to lend us your aid, could you kindly hold hands with people beside you to form a circle?"

Despite the sudden request, the students began to hold hands with one another without questioning.

All the hesitation on everyone's face disappeared. This was proof that each student believed that Mitsuki was pointing out the correct path.

Seeing this, Shinomiya-sensei asked Charlotte.

"Principal, how is the condition of Midgardsormr?"

"Mica is on standby in the command center. As soon as I give the order, the naval route will be secured. You will be able to set off immediately once the ship is built. If possible, I would like to accompany all of you... But I cannot break my agreement with the United Nations to remain on this island. Furthermore—since my authority is only effective against humans, I am no help to my friend."

Holding a portable terminal, Charlotte answered then looked at me.

"You must return safe and sound. This is my only request for you all."

"Yeah, it's a promise."

While we were talking, the students had already formed a circle.

"Then everyone, let us join in too."

Mitsuki urged us and I entered the circle, holding Shion by the hand.

"Tia will transmit the missing data to Yuu, so this position is essential."

Saying that, Tia took my other hand, opposite to Shion.

"Do your best, Mononobe."

Next to Tia, Iris encouraged me.

"Nii-san, please give the signal once you are ready. After that, we will start transmitting dark matter to you."

Mitsuki spoke to me from next to Shion.

I nodded at them then took a deep breath.

Jeanne, Vritra, Charlotte, and Shinomiya-sensei were watching us slightly further away.

"So, Tia—Send me Marduk's data."

"Yes, got it."

Tia's little hand began to tighten her grip while electricity sparked in the vicinity of the small red horns on her head.

In that instant, a numbing sensation moved to my brain from my hand that Tia was holding. A flash of light filled my mind, turning my view pure white. Due to the blinding feeling, I closed my eyes.

Like torrent, the surging information gradually melded together into several lines. The lines slowly came together as data of the anti-dragon armament, supplementing it to completion, illustrating a gigantic outline.

—This was Marduk.

I could not help but shudder all over.

Possessing the power to defeat hostile species for the Atlanteans on multiple occasions, its existence filled me with fear.

In order to project the form in my mind to reality, I opened my tightly shut eyes.

What appeared before me was the blue ocean under the morning sun. Watching the splashing waves on the water surface, I gave the order.

"Lend me your strength, everyone!"

"Please concentrate dark matter in Nii-san, everyone!"

Mitsuki instantly shouted to all the students.

Instantly, a flood of dark matter flowed into me, then manifested into a gigantic black sphere before my eyes.

Dark matter consisted of fragments of emotions. Everyone's feelings were flooding my mind, causing me to start losing myself.

Normally, performing transmutation in such a state would be impossible, but there was no need for me to impose control over these emotions—this dark matter.

All I needed to do was pour the blueprints in my mind into the flow, thereby giving form to the dark matter.

"Deus Dragon—Marduk!"

I conferred a name upon the burgeoning dark matter, bestowing a rightful path for the matter that held endless possibility.

"Anti-dragon armament, Full Revive!!"

The pitch-black mist of dark matter, expanding over the sea, gradually increased in density and started turning from a gas into a solid.

"...Still not enough. Everyone, please muster more!"

I performed transmutation while calling out.

If the dark matter was insufficient, then an incomplete Marduk with missing parts would be materialized. Since this was a weapon harboring massive power, incompleteness could result in a gigantic explosion.

"Mmmmmm!"

The one with the greatest generating capacity, Ren, desperately squeezed out her final strength.

Gritting their teeth, everyone else transmitted dark matter to me.

The mist of dark matter grew dense all at once.

It was here—

Feeling a concrete sensation, I accelerated the rate of transmutation, displaying the majestic appearance of the Atlantean weapon on the sea.

Solidified from mist, the entity shone with hard silver luster. Accompanied by the loud noise of waves, a gigantic battleship appeared.

The surging waves hit the breakwater, producing a splash of white spray. However, no one dodged.

Everyone was fixated on the object that had appeared before them.

Only told that they were going to build a ship, the students could not hide their surprise at all. Even having seen the construction of anti-dragon weapons up close before, Iris and the girls could only gasp, rooted to the spot.

"—What an amazing ship."

Charlotte's exclamation reached my ear.

Ship, battleship—Sure enough, such descriptions were probably the closest.

Roughly two hundred meters in length, the ship's body was covered with silver-white armor with grooves, tracing out a network of geometric patterns reminiscent of pulsating blood vessels, brightening and dimming in periodic cycles.

Protruding sharply in the front, the prow was merged with the main cannon of Babel. Split into two, its barrel featured a lens in the middle that was reflecting the morning sunlight with dazzling radiance.

Weapons were concentrated on the front of the ship's surface. Megiddo's giant barrel was installed at two locations, a total of eight of Noah's multi-barreled turrets—Aimed at the glowing morning sky, they looked especially impressive.

Behind the bridge were the missile pods of Abyss. On the two sides of the ship were variable-sweep wings, gravitational control devices used for flight.

In addition to the data stored in my mind, my senses were naturally extended, providing me with a full grasp of the entire ship's capabilities.

Just as the anti-dragon weapons created through transmutation previously were always linked to my consciousness, this ship was synchronized with me.

"So this is... Marduk."

While confounded by my suddenly expanded senses, I looked up at the Atlantean weapon that had materialized.

This was a power that did not belong to this era. Once used, it would surely become a disaster equal to the dragons.

But right now, to oppose an even greater calamity, I must control this power—

"—"

After warning myself, I felt a bone-piercing pain through my head, causing me to frown.

Sure enough, being connected to such a massive and complicated weapon was burdening my mind with even greater strain.

"Yuu?"

Noticing my symptoms, Tia looked up at me, tilting her head in worry.

"—I'm fine. Come, let's go."

I released Tia's hand and walked over to Marduk, moored against the harbor.

Although the headache persisted, I optimistically believed that I would get used to it with time. Even if the headache did not go away, what I needed to do remained the same. This was no time to show weakness.

Although the enemy before us was Bahamut, the black domes appearing all over the world were reminiscent of the ninth calamity's "darkness."

If the ninth calamity was the true culprit, losing this battle was not an option. In order to protect Mitsuki, this too was essential.

Whether instinct or otherwise, what drove my actions were these feelings.

I stopped in front of the ship and raised my hand.

"Marduk, activate."

The newborn Deus Dragon growled and awakened.

After the geometric patterns carved on the ship's body glowed brightly, one part of its external walls opened up from inside, producing a gangway leading into the ship.

I placed one foot onto the first step and turned around.

"Are we all ready?"

"Y-Yes, all okay!"

Iris replied with a nervous expression and the others nodded with resolve on their faces.

"Very well—Let's depart."

Turning forward again, I started up the gangway.

As though welcoming its passengers, Marduk's body rumbled thunderously while it started up.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_12_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[Unlimited_Fafnir|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume 12 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 11 Chapter 3

2018-01-24T13:36:53Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 4 */

==Chapter 3 - Festival of Vivid Colors==

===Part 1===

'Everyone—I'm thinking of holding a festival!'

Without any warning, this voice suddenly resounded throughout the school during lunch break.

Eating lunch at the cafeteria, we of Brynhildr Class looked up because of the familiar voice.

"It's the principal's voice..."

In the middle of eating spaghetti, Lisa paused and whispered in surprise.

"She is full of surprises as always."

"Mm... I feel trouble coming."

Ariella and Ren agreed and sighed.

The other students in the surroundings were listening to the announcement with troubled expressions.

'—The school festival held last time was aimed mainly at parties external to Midgard, but this time, the goal is to allow you all to enjoy yourselves. There must be many people who were unsettled by NIFL's inspection. This festival is being held to reward you and help you relax. As a result, preparations and operations will be undertaken by staff including myself. Students, all you need to do is wait for the festival to arrive.'

"Oh? ...It sounds like good news, quite unexpectedly. Well done for the principal."

Firill remarked poignantly while wiping the ketchup on the corner of her mouth from eating omlet rice.

'However, there are apparently students who wish to set up shop like during the school festival. In that case, all you need to do is apply for permission to open shop from your homeroom teacher. We will permit anything as long as it is nothing bizarre.'

"Wow, we're allowed to open shop? Mononobe, what should we do? Should we do it?"

Iris asked me with a sparkling expression. Very clearly, she wanted to open one.

"Hmm, what should we do...? We just went through so much trouble, so I think we should just sit back and enjoy..."

However, I shared my contrary opinion with reservations.

The commotion centered on Jeanne had died down and peaceful days had finally arrived. To be honest, I just wanted to relax and enjoy myself.

'The application deadline will be three days from now, while festivities are scheduled to begin two weeks later. Well then, everyone, please look forward to the festival!'

Charl finished in a cheerful voice when the broadcast was suddenly ended, accompanied by static.

Somehow, it felt like Charl was the one who looked forward to it the most.

"—With the preparation time being not very long, it seems it would become very hectic. Just as Nii-san said, it would be better if we do not strain ourselves to open up a shop..."

Mitsuki sipped a mouthful of miso soup and concurred.

However, Shion asked a question.

"wHaT aRe feStiVitiEs oR schOOl fEstIvals...?"

Sitting on the side, Tia started to explain to Shion like a senior mentor.

"Although Tia doesn't know what ordinary festivities are like, school festivals are very fun. We ran a Japanese teahouse last time and practiced cooking... Then we also wore pretty kimonos and many customers came... It was really amazing last time, heart-thumping exciting! Tia also checked out other homeroom's shops with Yuu and the others, it was really fun!"

Tia spread her arms and gestured to express how fun the festival was.

Hearing all this, Shion's cheeks slowly turned red and her eyes glimmered.

"amAziNg—I waNnA tRy toO."

At that moment, I noticed a change in Mitsuki's expression.

Putting down her chopsticks, Mitsuki took out a small communicator from her uniform pocket.

"Mitsuki?"

I looked at her questioningly but Mitsuki began to make a call in a stiff tone of voice.

"—Shinomiya-sensei, this is an urgent call. Yes—You are right, I am contacting you regarding that. Shinomiya-sensei.................... Is that so? Then I have something to inform you... Actually, Shion-san—"

It looked like she was calling Shinomiya-sensei.

With her hand over her mouth, Mitsuki was conversing with Shinomiya-sensei with her voice lowered.

"Why am I getting a bad feeling about this...? I hope this doesn't result in piling more trouble on top of repentance essays."

Looking at Mitsuki, Kili remarked hesitantly.

"I am very bored every day. A bit of trouble would not matter."

Vritra spooned curry while expressing her indifference.

The others looked at Mitsuki, curious about what was going to happen.

Finally finished, Mituski put down the communicator and addressed us.

"Just now, I obtained permission from Shinomiya-sensei to set up a shop. We will apparently discuss this during the self-study period in the afternoon."

Mitsuki's sudden announcement to open shop left us stunned on the spot.

The first to recover, Lisa asked Mitsuki.

"Mitsuki-san... Shouldn't we first talk about whether we are participating in the festival? And just now, you did not seem inclined towards running a shop..."

"Since Shion-san would like to run a shop, we have no choice. Let us enjoy the festival together."

After making herself clear, Mitsuki smiled at Shion.

"—yEs, iT seeMs veRy fuN."

Shion nodded happily. Her guardian, Jeanne, frantically spoke up.

"h, umm, although I'd like to fulfill Zwei's wish too—we don't have to go out of our way to set up a shop just for her sake, right? This would cause too much trouble for you all, and spoiling her too much would be bad for her future education..."

Seeing Jeanne worry about us, I was slightly surprised.

Jeanne was probably in full support of the idea, but she was also considerate of Shion and everyone else. Instead of indulging Shion indiscriminately, she was treating her with a mother's responsibility.

—Jeanne was playing the role of "Mama" dutifully.

This was something I must learn properly. Although we had no blood relation, I was Shion's "Papa" of sorts.

Mitsuki also looked a little surprised but she instantly nodded and replied.

"No problem. Although participation is organized by homeroom, it is not compulsory. Everyone aside from me may join in voluntarily, no need to worry too much."

After speaking seriously, Mitsuki looked at us seated around the dining table.

"Furthermore, I have confirmed with Shinomiya-sensei just now. It is also allowed to open a shop in cooperation with staff. We coud participate in the form of assisting Shinomiya-sensei's shop, which would greatly reduce our burden. So, everyone—I hope you will consider it carefully."

Mitsuki placed her hand on the table and gazed seriously at all of us.

Always serious and giving her full effort in all her endeavors, Mitsuki was pouring in a different kind of passion this time.

Since Jeanne had always been the one taking care of Shion, I had not noticed until now, but Mitsuki also seemed very devoted to Shion's matters.

Shion was the orphan of Shinomiya Miyako, Mitsuki's best friend.

Hence, Mitsuki would feel extra concerned about Shion's matters. However, I could sense from Mitsuki's expression more than tender affection. There was also a strong sense of responsibility.

"Shion-san, please leave everything to me."

Anyone could see that the smiling Mitsuki was very reliable.

However, compared to Jeanne who was conscious of her maternal role, Mitsuki still felt insecure regarding her own position that had yet to be defined—

===Part 2===

Just as Mitsuki had said, fifth period's self-study turned into a discussion about the upcoming festival.

Standing at the lectern, our homeroom teacher Shinomiya-sensei looked at us in our seats and said:

"Ehh... The following is information disclosed only to those involved in opening shops, so I hope all of you will maintain confidentiality—This festival will be held using Japan's fireworks celebrations as a motif."

Shinomiya-sensei explained while showing scenes from Japanese festivals and the setting off of fireworks on the classroom monitor.

Watching these, everyone went "wow" in admiration.

These scenes could be seen every year in Japan but for me, it had been a long time ago. When was the last time I ever saw fireworks—

While searching through the memories Tia had helped recover for me, the first image to surface in my mind turned out to be the side view of young Mitsuki's face instead.

It was probably the summer four years ago, a memory from when the two of us had taken a train to the neighboring town to check out a fireworks festival.

However, the side view of Mitsuki's face left a much deeper impression in my memory than the fireworks, because during that instant, illuminated by the light, she was so extremely beautiful—

Recalling the memory from that time, I looked at Mitsuki on my right.

"!?"

When our gazes suddenly met, I frantically turned to look ahead. I don't suppose Mitsuki was recalling memories from four years ago too?

Showing an overhead map of Midgard, Shinomiya-sensei continued to explain.

"—According to the plan, shops will be set up along the coastal road while fireworks will be shot from the sea surface. Since the principal insists on Japanese style, the shops will recreate the look of Japanese night market vendors. Furthermore, I will be in charge of a yakisoba stall."

The monitor showed a detailed photo of a yakisoba stall.

"...Hmm, that looks about right."

I heard Vritra's whisper.

She was always keeping a poker face but whenever food was mentioned, she would pay more attention.

"Mononobe Mitsuki has proposed helping out at my stall together with Shion. However—according to the principal's wishes, this is a festival held to reward you. If you wish to enjoy the festival from the vendor side no matter what, all you need to do is assist at my shop."

Saying that, Shinomiya-senseii looked at us.

Lisa raised her hand next and asked.

"Excuse me—what sort of assistance in particular? I have never made yakisoba before..."

"Indeed... We staff will be in charge of preparations, so all you need to do is help out at the stall on the day of the festival. Those who cannot cook can be in charge of serving customers. Shifts can also be limited to the daytime when it is the most busy. During the fireworks celebration at night, you can go and enjoy yourselves freely."

Hearing Shinomiya-sensei's reply, Lisa nodded.

"Then I have no further questions. I shall help out as well. However, since it is a rare opportunity, I would like to learn how to prepare yakisoba too."

Looking like an idea occurred to her, Shinomiya-sensei made a suggestion.

"Hmm—let us have a barbecue this coming weekend and I shall teach you how to make Shinomiya-style yakisoba. You won't be able to practice properly unless you cook on an iron griddle for real."

"Wonderful! A barbecue! It'll be the first time since Tia's arrival!"

Iris cheered and looked at me.

"—Yeah, that was the time when Charl brought barbecue stuff along."

I nodded nostalgically.

It was a special day when Tia had gotten familiar with the class for real. It felt like a really long time ago.

"Shinomiya-sensei, you must be busy currently, right?"

Mitsuki asked with concern. As the student council president, she was well aware of Shinomiya-sensei's heavy workload.

"Yes, but I believe I can still squeeze out the time. In addition, consider this a reward for your assistance."

Shinomiya-sensei smiled wryly. Next, sitting in the left seat on the front row, Firill looked back and smiled.

"In that case... Those who don't help out won't be eligible to join the barbecue. I'll help too, what about everyone else?"

"Of course I'll help."

"Mm, me too."

"Tia has decided to help from the start!"

Ariella, Ren and Tia instantly responded to Firill's question.

"Oh, me too! What about you, Mononobe?"

A moment slower, Iris raised her hand frantically then asked me.

"I'll help too—I wouldn't want to miss the barbecue."

After I nodded, everyone's gaze fell upon the remaining Jeanne, Vritra and Kili.

"Huh...? When Shion offered to help, I already decided to do it together..."

Jeanne answered blankly and Vritra nodded deeply.

"I shall offer mine assistance. I am interested in yakisoba. 'Twould be possible to replicate it perfectly using dark matter if I knew the exact cooking procedure."

Vritra replied seriously. Perhaps her failure in replicating ice cream properly last time had been bothering her a lot.

Then only Kili remained—

"Kili-chan, join us too! It'll be lonely to watch the barbecue without taking part, right?"

When Iris finished, Kili nodded lightly.

"No helping it... If Yuu's doing it, so will I. But let me make myself clear, I won't feel lonely even if my companions abandon me."

Insisting that, Kili stared at me.

"ShiNoMiya-stYle yakisoba. i WanNa leArN it."

Amidst everything, Shion quietly motivated herself and clenched her tiny fist tightly.

===Part 3===

Located near the equator, Midgard was hot all year round.

As a result, most people basically spent the majority of their time indoors in air-conditioning. The uniforms designed for this lifestyle were extremely hot when worn outdoors—which was why very few people would wear the uniform outdoors except during their commute to and from school.

And... on holidays where uniforms were not required, things would be completely different.

"Great, it's sunny today."

Using my hand to shield my eyes from the sun's powerful rays, I looked at the blue sky.

There were virtually no clouds for miles around in the sunny sky. There was also very little wind. The sea was calm.

Normally in such heat, I would rush indoors, but having changed to swimwear, the current temperature was just right.

At the seaside, Iris and Tia were playing in the water, similarly dressed in swimwear. The ones swimming in the sea were probably Lisa and Mitsuki. On the other hand, Firill was reading under a parasol.

"—How do I put this? It feels like a day off has finally arrived."

Approaching me from behind, Ariella came to my side and said slowly.

"Well, after the fighting ended, there were so many things preventing us from relaxing."

I smiled wryly and agreed with Ariella.

Wearing a bikini, Ariella was generously displaying her svelte and tender body under the sun. The tropical-themed swimsuit was an excellent match for the beach where it was summer all year long.

Ariella's narrow waist and slender legs were strongly alluring and I could not help but feel my gaze drawn to them.

"Oh—Mononobe-kun, w-what are you staring at?"

Keenly noticing my gaze, Ariella blushed and covered up her thigh area with her hands. However, trying to cover up when wearing a swimsuit was not very effective while her embarrassed look actually added to the allure.

"Nothing, umm, I didn't mean to—"

I scratched my head while my gaze wandered. Ariella smiled wryly.

"Didn't you mention before that you found my legs attractive, Mononobe-kun...? Looks like you were being honest."

"You didn't believe me?"

That time, I was sent to repentance essay hell for speaking my mind. It would be so not worth it if she did not even believe me.

"I thought it was partially a joke... But after seeing your reaction, Mononobe-kun, I believe you. You do treat me properly as a girl."

"...That goes without saying."

Ariella's very happy smile made me blush.

Seeing my response, Ariella became embarrassed and lowered her reddened face.

"Mm—Onii-chan."

Someone suddenly grabbed my hand, surprising me. By the time I noticed, Ren was already standing next to me. Instead of the one-piece swimsuit I had seen before, she was wearing a more revealing set of pink swimwear separates.

"What's up, Ren?"

"What about... me? Do I count as a girl to you, Onii-chan?"

Ren looked at me seriously and asked. She must have overheard my conversation with Ariella.

Ariella looked a little panicked and grabbed Ren's shoulders from behind while she said to me:

"Mononobe-kun, you must answer properly, okay? Ren is our younger sister, but before that, she is also a girl."

She was encouraging Ren from an older sister's standpoint, demanding me to give a sincere answer.

"Well—of course I know that. Ren too, umm... I do think of you as a proper girl."

Saying that, I began to stroke Ren's head to hide my embarrassment.

However, Ren grabbed my hand and continued to question.

"Then what's my charm point?"

"Umm... V-Very cute... something like that."

I felt reluctant to say it face to face, but I still endured my embarrassment and voiced it out.

"Mm... That's a bit ambiguous. Be more specific."

Ren suddenly went red but she still shook her head, not yet satisfied.

In other words, I needed to point out what was cute about Ren, like how I had called Ariella's legs attractive.

"R-Right... Ren, your hair is a very pretty red. It's silky smooth and I find it very attractive."

"...That's it?"

"A-Also—There are your cheeks, for example."

When I said that, Ren tilted her head in surprise.

"Cheeks?"

"Yeah... Umm, you tend to pout when you're unhappy, right? That look is strangely adorable. Your cheeks look so soft that it makes me really want to poke them..."

Wondering why the heck I had to explain this, I answered honestly.

"...It's the first time anyone told me this."

Ren placed her hand on face doubtfully.

"Mononobe-kun, you were a bit perverted there."

Ariella looked at me in shock.

"Mm, Onii-chan is a... maniac."

Seeing Ren agree with her, I slumped my shoulders.

"...It's impossible to argue against that here."

Holding my hand, Ren proceeded to bring it to her cheek.

"However, because it's you, Onii-chan... I allow you, just a bit."

Ren pressed my fingertip against her face and looked up at me.

Her cheek was very soft and elastic, it felt even better than I had imagined.

"Wow..."

While I was immersed in poking her cheek, Ren suddenly turned red.

Rather than caused by friction, Ren's face had gone red from embarrassment.

"O-Onii-chan... When are you going to stop?"

"Oh—Sorry, I accidentally got too into it."

Coming to my senses, I took my hand away. Exhaling hot breath, Ren held her cheeks.

"You are a manic as expected, Onii-chan. But... in that case, I too—"

Blushing, Ren began to murmur then turned around and ran to the water's edge.

"R-Ren! You need to do proper warm-ups before entering the water!"

Ariella ran after her frantically. Left behind, I felt an inexplicable sense of guilt and sighed.

"I guess I'll go for a swim too..."

I was going to head to the water's edge for a change of pace. But at that moment, the rest of my companions who had been staying in the dorm arrived.

The four of them, Kili, Vritra, Jeanne and Shion had taken slightly longer to change.

Dressed in a bold swimsuit, Kili was holding the hand of the not-too-pleased Vritra. What displeased Vritra was probably the school swimsuit with "Vritra" written across the chest. Judging from the situation, it was surely a prank on Kili's part.

The other mother-daughter combo had the mother leading the daughter by the hand.

"Z-Zwei, slower please—I am not ready yet—"

"i cAn't wAit."

Wearing a yellow swimsuit, Jeanne was desperately trying to cover up her chest and lower abdomen. As a result, she was walking even slower than the young Shion.

Clad in a one-piece swimsuit, Shion waved as soon as she saw me and ran across the white beach.

"Papa!"

"Uwahhhhhhhhh!? C-Captain! P-Please do not look at me!"

In stark contrast to the excited Shion, Jeanne wailed, almost about to burst into tears.

"—You don't need to hide yourself. You both look really good."

I smiled wryly at Shion and Jeanne who had arrived before me.

Slightly later, Kili arrived and grabbed Jeanne from behind, pinning her arms behind her back.

"Yes, Jeanne-chan is so pretty—Let him have a good look."

"K-Kili!? What are you doing—S-Stop it!"

Two well-shaped bulges entered my sight. Jeanne's struggle against Kili caused her twin peaks, wrapped in yellow fabric, to quiver seductively—I could not help but gulp.

"U-Unhand me! Ah—C-Captain, please don't stare at me—"

"O-Okay."

Obeying the blushing Jeanne, I averted my gaze.

Liberated from Kili, Vritra looked up at me in displeasure next.

"Thou seemest to love large chests. 'Twould explain thy lack of interest the previous occasion."

Vritra touched her flat chest and remarked with comprehension.

"N-No, that's not it—"

I frantically denied but someone caught my hand from the side, drawing my gaze.

"mY... chEsT is vEry sMall. Papa... diSliKes mE?"

Shion looked down at her own chest with extreme sadness. Noticing that I had brought on an unexpected misunderstanding, I bent down to look at Shion at eye-level.

"I don't dislike you, Shion, okay? Ignore what Vritra said."

"...thEn, yOu alSo loVe... sMall chEsTs?"

Shion's continued pursuit of the matter left me speechless. However, seeing her about to cry, I hastily replied.

"Yeah, big or small doesn't matter."

"biG oNes... sMall oNes... dOn'T maTtEr. bUt... Papa wAs stAriNg at Mama's chEsT. tHaT meAns Papa... loVeS chEsTs. yOu loVe... miNe toO?"

"Uh..."

Questioned by those innocent eyes, I felt cold sweat flowing down my face.

Although her question had a bit of a reverse sexual harrassment flavor to it, Shion clearly had no intention of that. Telling myself that there was no malicious meaning, I nodded.

"Y-Yeah, I love yours too."

Feeling like I had lost something that a human being should have protected to the bitter end, I answered. Shion finally looked relieved.

"thAnk GoOdneSs... i loVe yOu toO, Papa."

Stroking Shion's head while she was hugging me, I exhaled in relief.

"Hmm, in other words, thou hast desires for this body of mine too. 'Tis truly a relief that there are further opportunities to create deeper interaction."

However, this time, it was Vritra's turn to misinterpret my words and she leaned against me on the other side opposite to Shion. This further elicited misunderstandings from Jeanne and Kili.

"Yuu... Although I intended to accept your entire being, I do wish your fetishes weren't so twisted. I will accept nothing less than arousal towards my breasts, okay?"

"C-Captain, forget about Vritra, but please could you treat Shion properly as family! If you have pent-up needs, a-allow me to relieve them for you!"

Questioned by the two of them, I wanted to back away but with Shion and Vritra hugging me, I was unable to move.

"Calm down! Now isn't the time to discuss this!"

While shouting that, I used my arms to pick up Shion and Vritra respectively who were restraining me like shackles.

"Wa—Papa."

"Neun, what art thy intentions?"

With the two of them confused and carried in my arms, I fled the scene.

"Where are you going, Yuu!?"

"Captain, please stand still!"

Hearing Kili and Jeanne's voices behind me, I rushed towards Iris and the others on the beach.

After leaving Shion and Vritra with them, I began to escape into the sea. Things should have settled by the time Shinomiya-sensei arrived with the barbecue equipment.

Racing across the sand under the scorching sun, I prayed for things not to get any worse.

However—I had forgotten one thing.

Having left an understanding unexplained, the situation would only deteriorate further.

I swam in the deep blue sea in the mood to forget everything.

Swimming silently alone in the warm and comfortable seawater, I felt very calm.

Without swimming goggles, I could not look into the sea but I knew very well that all kinds of tropical fish were swimming in the surroundings.

Slight movement of my sluggish body brought a sense of fulfillment. The sun hanging in the sky allowed me to fully enjoy a swim in the sea.

But when I returned to the beach in contentment, I was confronted by the reality I had left hanging.

Shinomiya-sensei had showed up and everyone was starting to prepare the barbecue. Slightly farther away, Charl and Mica-san were staying under a parasol. The girls were probably chatting about the barbecue.

However, when Iris and the girls, who were happily preparing things, they all instantly shielded their chests at the sight of me.

"M-Mononobe... You're late."

"Oh, sorry about that. I wanted to go for a quick swim but it ended up taking longer. Uh... Why are you covering your chest?"

When I asked with a frown, Lisa answered on Iris' behalf.

"W-We know that you are the type of person who gets aroused by all manner of breasts regardless of size! A-Although I don't dislike your stares... Now that I know about it, I cannot help but feel conscious about it!"

Using two arms to guard her massive bust, Lisa stared at me shyly. Next to her, Firill cocked her head.

"Mononobe-kun's type of person... A worshiper of breasts? Eh... But aren't they limited to large ones?"

"Yuu is fine with big or small! As expected of Tia's husband!"

Tia exclaimed excitedly and Mitsuki nodded deeply in response.

"Indeed—the strike zone's breadth is something we need to review... However, Nii-san... It is truly insensitive to publicize your fetishes while we are in swimwear. In a certain way, this counts as sexual harassment."

Covering her small but well-shaped bosom, Mitsuki reminded me.

It looked like Shion had spread what I had said.

"No, umm—"

Thinking about how to clear up the misunderstanding, I started to speak.

But at that moment, I noticed a golden fairy approaching at full sprint from under the parasol.

"My friend——!"

She—Charl—removed her lab coat while running then jumped up high. Spinning in the air, she took off her red dress as well.

"H-Hey!?"

I panicked at the prospects of Charl getting naked, but a closer look revealed that she was wearing a micro bikini.

She proceeded to fly over Iris and the girls before hugging me forcefully.

"Mmm—"

The softness of her skin and the sweet fragrance shook my brain with a violent impact.

Standing on the shore, I was unable to stop Charl's momentum and we fell into the sea together.

My back crashed into the water. Falling over, face up, I saw waves splashing in the surroundings. Then my vision was immediately occupied by Charl with watery eyes.

"My friend, I finally get to see you! I finally get to see you!"

Charl was very excited. She grabbed my cheeks with her hands and rubbed them. However, she soon showed discontent in her expression.

"I... have been waiting for you the whole time, you know!? But you never came! Is this all that our friendship amounts to!?"

"Huh...? No—I only returned to Mitsuki's dorm a week or so, right?"

When I asked in confusion, Charl shook her head in surprise.

"Only a week? It's already a week. Ideally, I want to spend the night with you every two days—every three days if I'm busy—once a week is the absolute minimum!"

This declaration caused a great commotion to stir somewhere outside my sight.

"My body can no longer be satisfied without your presence! Ever night after work—My body heats up and it hurts. I want the the two of us to clash intensely!"

"Wait—S-Stop using such misleading descriptions! What you mean is playing against each other in games, right?"

Explaining myself to the others, I sought Charl's confirmation.

"Playing!? No—Isn't it an irreplaceable moment of intercourse that is unique between the two of us!? The feeling of spending time together till dawn, falling into depravity together... It is truly the highest pleasure without any substitute!"

"That's way too beautified a description of playing games until you drop!"

Pushing myself up, I sighed and retorted against Charl who was out of control.

"Huff... Well, I'm sorry. I should've visited at least."

When I stroked Charl's head, she nodded with excitement.

"Yes. I'm glad you understand. You must stay over in my room at least once every two days."

"—No. No more than once a week."

I made the greatest possible compromise and demanded her agreement.

"Fine... I'll endure it for now."

With great reluctance, Charl accepted my terms. Then she got off me. Her attire was quite a problem. Her chest and lower abdomen almost lacked the minimum of necessary cover. I did not know where to direct my gaze.

"By the way... Is it okay for you to go out in the daytime? Don't you need to avoid direct sunlight, Charl?"

Shaken by Charl's attire, I asked.

"Don't worry, I avoid sunlight because my skin color reverts very quickly after tanning, which would arouse suspicions around me. But since everyone here knows me, there's no need to be concerned about the sun."

Looking at Iris and the girls who were staring at us, she shrugged.

"So I will enjoy myself fully today! My friend, let's enjoy a feast together with lovely maidens!"

Saying that, Charl led me by the hand back to where the others were.

Iris and the girls were still guarding their chests, but since it was impossible to work like that, they lowered their arms while glancing at me.

"Mononobe-kun, please remember not to stare, okay? It's too dangerous to be distracted while using a kitchen knife."

"Mm... Onii-chan probably knows the proper time and place."

Warned by Ariella and Ren, I gave up on clearing the misunderstanding and replied "Got it."

"—Mononobe Yuu."

Shinomiya-sensei then walked towards me apologetically.

Like everyone else, she was wearing a swimsuit—However, my gaze was drawn to her undulating curves. Although I already knew she had a great figure, this far surpassed my imagination.

The navy-blue swimsuit, rather plain in comparison, was strongly emphasizing her voluptuous bust and seductive waist, impressing strongly upon me the feminine charm exuding from Shinomiya-sensei's body.

"Sh-Shinomiya-sensei... Umm, I—"

I stammered awkwardly, causing Shinomiya-sensei to cough with a blush.

"Sorry—I should have brought a jacket had I known your fetish... To think that my attire would seduce a student, I have failed as a teacher."

"No, not at all, please forget about that. It'd be a great help if you don't believe what the girls are saying."

Seeing Shinomiya-sensei reprimanding herself, I pleaded with her.

"In that case, the sight of a lady's chest doesn't provoke any thoughts in you."

Shinomiya-sensei murmured in relief, but I could not claim that was correct either.

"Umm—it would be difficult to have no thoughts at all. However, this isn't a special fetish, it's more like a trait common to all men..."

To prevent the misunderstanding from expanding further, I made a correction.

"Hmm, in any case, it is the same thing as being drawn to an attractive lady. Then I have nothing to be concerned about."

"Huh? Why is that?"

I could not help but ask Shinomiya-sensei, who had commented in a relaxed manner.

"I am not as attractive as they are, right?"

Shinomiya-sensei showed surprise then motioned with her gaze towards Iris and the girls who were in the middle of preparations.

"N-Not as attractive... That's not true at all."

Feeling that Shinomiya-sensei was too modest, I told her the truth.

"What—"

However, it looked like Shinomiya-sensei actually believed what she had said. She stared at me silently.

After staring at each other for a while, Shinomiya-sensei's face went red.

Perhaps I should not have said that to a teacher.

However, I had no choice but to correct her. Shinomiya-sensei lacking attractiveness was a statement that no man in the world could let slide.

Amid the awkward silence, the shaken Shinomiya-sensei covered her chest and spoke up.

"M-Mononobe Yuu, enough with the jokes. W-Well then, let us start making yakisoba."

"Yes, understood."

Shinomiya-sensei spoke with her entire body stiff. I also nodded awkwardly.

Although Shinomiya-sensei had forcibly changed the subject, the blush on her face still remained the whole time—

===Part 4===

About to cook yakisoba, we started cutting up vegetables and meat.

Shinomiya-sensei was in charge of instructing us, assisted by Mitsuki, a talented chef herself.

But once we actually started preparing the food, the two of them placed all their attention on Shion.

"Sh-Shion-san, cutting it like that would be too dangerous! When using a kitchen knife, you need to make a cat's paw with the fingers on your other hand to avoid cutting yourself..."

Mitsuki frantically stopped Shion from cutting the carrots, curling up her hand to demonstrate what she meant by a cat's paw.

"cAt? wHaT iS a cAt?"

However, Shion's curiosity seemed to be drawn elsewhere. Inquisitively, she asked Mitsuki.

"Ehhh!? A-A cat huh... They're quite fun, their paws are very cute... An animal that goes meow—"

"Meow?"

"That's right, meow meow, meow—"

"Meow—"

Very interested in the sound, Shion began to meow repeatedly. Mitsuki also went along with her, going "meow" nonstop.

Seeing the two of them like that, Shinomiya-sensei stopped in her food preparation and revealed a gentle expression that I had never seen before.

"Angels..."

I could fully understand what Shinomiya-sensei was feeling while she whispered that. The innocent Shion and Mitsuki going "meow" were extremely adorable, definitely a dazzling sight to behold.

However, if we were to lose ourselves in admiring this, the yakisoba was not going to get done no matter how much time went by.

"Shinomiya-sensei, I'm sorry—but please come back to reality."

I patted Shinomiya-sensei on the shoulder and she suddenly straightened herself in front of us.

"Uh, my apologies. I-I must demonstrate properly. First, chop the cabbage into appropriately sized shreds—"

Shinomiya-sensei coughed and resumed the demonstration, but kept pausing whenever Shion raised her voice.

When using the iron griddle to fry the noodles, Jeanne suggested not to be overprotective when Shinomiya-sensei was worrying that it would be dangerous for Shion.

"She won't be able to endure hardship in the future if you stop her from doing it just because it's dangerous. I wish for Zwei to become strong. L-Like... th-the Captain..."

Jeanne spoke with a blush and Shinomiya-sensei replied, "My thinking was too naive... For Shion's sake, I must teach her Shinomiya-style yakisoba as strictly as a teacher would." Then she handed the spatula to Shion.

"i WaNna beCoMe a ShiNoMiyA-stYle mAstEr. i wiLl dO mY bEst... Meow!"

Shion raised the spatula with great spirit and added her favorite "meow" as a verbal tic. Super cute.

Naturally, the effect on Shinomiya-sensei was overwhelming. The dignity she had just restored was instantly blown away.

"...I am at my limit."

Using her hand to cover her face while unsure what expression to make, she sighed.

Thus in this manner, after getting derailed many times, we continued to make yakisoba.

The steps for preparing yakisoba were quite simple. Anyone could do it with a recipe. However, there was much for us to learn from Shinomiya-sensei such as the coordination between ingredients and seasoning as well as techniques for controlling the heat applied.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v11 171.jpg|thumb]]

"...The cutting of ingredients is of paramount importance, where flaws could result in vastly inferior taste. Mayhap the humans' delicate sense of taste ought to be commended."

Vritra was cooking with exceptional seriousness, turning into an excellent student for Shinomiya-sensei.

"Food pretty much tastes good once you heat it thoroughly with fire. Anyone can do it, so there's no need to waste time doing it yourself."

In contrast, Kili was not very enthusiastic. Jeanne issued a stern warning to Kili who was simply going through the motions.

"Hey Kili! Don't put in the meat first! You must start with the vegetables that take longer for the heat to permeate!"

Like me, Jeanne had had cooking practice during NIFL's survival training. As a result, her knife skills were fine.

However, seeing Jeanne give detailed instructions, I was reminded what happened when we were preparing a simple hot pot meal outdoors with the Sleipnir guys at the base after returning from a mission. On that occasion, Jeanne had been very insistent on the sequence to put in the ingredients to cook in the pot. She definitely had potential as a "hot pot master of proceedings."

Next, we continued to take turns in making yakisoba. After many rounds, everyone finally finished.

"Well done, everyone. This concludes my cooking lesson. The principal and Mica have prepared a barbecue, so please eat your fill."

A lively lunch began after Shinomiya-sensei praised our efforts.

"sO yuMmy...!"

Hearing Shion's cheering, my expression softened. It was only natural for Shinomiya-sensei to succumb to that innocent cuteness.

"...It really is delicious."

I gave my honest opinion after tasting a mouthful of yakisoba.

Hearing me, Lisa reached for the yakisoba.

"M-Mononobe Yuu—This sort of flavor is to your preference?"

"Hmm... I guess. I don't think it can get any better than this at a festival."

When I replied after giving it some thought, Lisa tilted her head in surprise.

"What an odd way of putting it. You sound like your standards would be different outside the context of a festival..."

"Well, how should I say this...? Going by my preferences, I guess my mother's yakisoba is the best after all."

When I admitted a little shyly, Lisa looked around her with a surprised expression.

"Excuse me... C-Come over here for a moment."

Seeming like she was conscious of the others, Lisa led me away and talked in a whisper.

"...Is there something different about the taste of the yakisoba your family makes?"

Since Lisa was in a swimsuit, the overwhelming presence of her massive bust leaning in was making my heart rate shoot up like a rocket. To avoid a misunderstanding about my preferences, I forcefully turned my gaze away.

"S-Slightly lighter on the seasoning. We also add onion and sausage..."

I recalled from memory the characteristics of the yakisoba made at my house. The yakisoba Shinomiya-sensei made did not include these ingredients. Upon recalling the memory, I really missed that particular taste.

"That is a lot of additional ingredients in the yakisoba. Umm... If you wish... Umm... A-Allow me to—"

"Oh, if you want the exact recipe, you could ask Mitsuki. She frequently helped my mother out so she should be able to replicate that yakisoba."

Compared to me, who had only eaten it, Mitsuki should have a clearer idea, having made it before.

That was what I thought when speaking. However, Lisa suddenly looked displeased.

"I see... Mitsuki-san is able to make it."

"What's wrong, Lisa?"

"...Nothing, I simply dislike myself for being greedy. This is clearly a domain belonging to Mitsuki-san..."

Frowning, Lisa sighed. It looked like she was not angry at me, but I did not understand what she meant.

"Domain...?"

"Yes—It is a domain belonging to Mitsuki-san as your younger sister and childhood friend. Although the room assignment dispute ended up resolved peacefully... A contest over what absolutely cannot be conceded would be unacceptable. Perhaps cohabitation might be harder than one would expect?"

Lisa smiled wryly.

"...I'll be careful. Back when deciding rooms, I relied on Firill to settle things peacefully—I keep depending on others. It was clearly a choice I had to make but I was indecisive."

Apologetic, I smiled wryly in return.

"Then choose. Your current ways are probably not going to work."

"Woah, you're strict..."

Lisa's merciless words made me slump my shoulders. However, she tapped me lightly on the head.

"Please do not misunderstand. I am not condemning you, because you have already made a choice. It is precisely the fact that you have made a choice that makes you unable to do anything to overturn that choice."

"...What do you mean?"

Unable to understand, I asked, prompting Lisa to sigh.

"You wish to take responsibility for all of us, don't you?"

"That's right—I want to protect everyone by my own hand... Rather than let someone else do it... I am the one who chose everyone on my own. That's why I will l definitely shoulder this responsibility."

I had said this to Ren before. I expressed my unshakable resolve to Lisa.

Hearing my words, Lisa looked anxious.

"You feel guilty about choosing us—It makes you feel like a weakling, doesn't it? However, I believe you have got it reversed."

"Reversed?"

"Indeed, because choosing a single person to protect is undoubtedly easier. In spite of that, you decided to protect all of us. This choice was certainly brought about because you are strong."

Lisa's smiling visage was too dazzling. I could not help but lower my eyes.

"I'm very happy that you're praising me—But you're giving me too much credit."

"Fufu, perhaps. In that case, please think of me as the only one who holds you in such high regard."

Lisa shrugged jokingly but her eyes were serious.

"Here on, even if you encounter another time when you must make a choice, know that everything is necessary for the sake of upholding your current resolve. At least, that is what I believe. So relax—No matter what happens, I will never forsake you."

Puffing out her magnificent chest to make a declaration, did Lisa suddenly feel embarrassed? Her face went red as though on fire.

"...What can I say? You're more than what the words 'a good woman' can describe."

I felt a huge load lifted off my heart all at once—Feeling an urge for tears to gush out of my eyes, I interjected with a laugh.

"Is that meant to be a compliment?"

Eating yakisoba, Lisa stared at me, slightly displeased.

"Of course, Lisa, you're someone beyond 'a good woman.'"

"Very well... But what would be beyond a good woman? C-Could it be, umm—"

Lisa looked at me with eyes of anticipation. I thought for a moment.

"Yes... Lisa, you're—"

"I-I am...?"

"—The best 'good woman.'"

Wondering how to convey myself accurately, I used that term. However, Lisa suddenly slumped her shoulders.

"Huh... You don't like that description?"

"No—well, if only you had a better choice of words... Never mind. The best... number one, in other words."

Lisa sighed and avoided eye contact shyly.

"Oh, it appears that Tia-san has been caught by Kili-san! I-I must rescue her."

Seeing Tia and Kili in some kind of argument, Lisa deliberately made an excuse to leave.

Apparently, Kili was serving yakisoba but Tia complained that there was too much carrot.

Arbitration did not seem necessary, but I suppose this would be one of those "domains" that Lisa must not concede.

I finished the yakisoba on my plate at once and walked over towards Charl and Mica-san at the barbecue.

Although yakisoba was tasty, this amount was not enough to be filling. Having swum for so long earlier, I definitely had the appetite for more food.

"Oh! My friend! You came! You came at the perfect moment!"

Seeing me approach, Charl handed me a wooden skewer with meat and vegetables on it.

"—Thank you. This looks very good."

Diced pieces of beef were overflowing with juices dripping onto green peppers, corn and tomatoes. Just the sight of it was mouth watering.

"My friend, let's eat over there? We need to talk."

"Mmm—Sure."

While taking a bite of green pepper and meat, I nodded.

"Let's go."

Charl took a barbecue skewer as well and started walking towards the breakwater. Nearby, Mica-san watched us silently, nodding lightly in acknowledgement when we made eye contact.

Seeing that, I realized Charl had something important to say.

"What do you need to tell me?"

"Yes... Plenty. First is a progress report."

Charl sat down on the steps of the breakwater and patted the spot next to her.

Next to the steps were flourishing coconut trees. The subtle geography of our location had formed a blind spot.

When I sat down by Charl, she started speaking seriously.

"For the sake of handling conflicts all over the world—or as preemptive precautions—I was asked by various nations to use my authority... But a few days ago, this request was officially withdrawn. Judging from the results... That fellow, Loki Jotunheim, has fulfilled his job as the hero protecting the world."

Charl shrugged while she spoke but her expression did not show despair. Rather, it was one full of relief.

"—That's really like Major Loki's way of doing things. He always achieves his goal in the end regardless of the process... Every single time."

I concurred with a wry smile. During the previous battle, he even tried to kill me and my companions, but I could not bring myself to hate him.

Although the fact that there were no casualties on Midgard's side played a major part, more importantly, Major Loki's resolve—his justice—was something I could not reject.

"Hoo, what a troublesome guy. Midgard clearly won yet the hardship we suffered remained essentially the same. Hip hip hurray, like the Ds at the academy, I can no longer leave this island arbitrarily."

"Why—?"

When I asked in shock, Charl sighed deeply.

"The United Nations and Asgard's higher-ups have finally noticed me as a result of this incident... Or rather, noticed that my authority isn't that convenient a tool. In other words, those who had been sucking up to me have started to become wary of me."

"Then... Will there be a problem?"

If Charl's position worsened, there was no predicting what problems could arise in the future. However, Charl smiled confidently in the face of my worrying.

"Relax, it's still very stable for the time being. The fact that NIFL's operation failed to kill me despite using the latest weapons and Code Lost—This had a great effect. As long as I lie low, the United Nations and Asgard probably won't provoke Midgard. They are people who know how to respect untouchable gods."

Charl finished in a laid back manner and took a bite from the barbecue skewer in her hand.

"Well, that's wonderful... I guess?"

I did not know if I should simply feel happy. Frowning, I bit some corn.

"Then... since I cannot leave the island, what I can do is limited. I can no longer stop war from breaking out somewhere in the world."

"Really, I see—But you don't need to make that kind of face, Charl."

Seeing her gloomy expression, I placed my hand on Charl's head and continued.

"Someone will surely stop war even if you don't, Charl. Take Major Loki for example. He must have carefully considered the future after assassinating you successfully. Just leave human matters to a human hero. Since you are now treated as an 'untouchable god' then just act like a god and watch without doing anything."

Charl smiled at what I said.

"Like a god, huh. Indeed—That's the proper distance that should be maintained between the world and me."

Murmuring quietly, Charl ate the green pepper remaining on her skewer with slight distaste. Then she put down the finished skewere on the side and held my hand.

"However, if you were to stay in the same place as me, by my side, being touched by me could be very problematic, you know?"

"—Yeah, I know. I am your best friend, Charl."

I nodded matter-of-factly, but Charl looked very surprised for some reason.

"What did, you, just say...?"

"Huh? What about it?"

"Don't play dumb! I was listening properly! You just called me best friend, didn't you!?"

Charl asked excitedly. Her swimsuit was very bold and skimpy. Moving too close would make me lose my calm.

"In that case, anyway, I have somehow leveled up in your heart to become your best friend! Hu, hahaha—Awesome! Having experienced hardship together, a definite bond has finally sprouted between us!"

"Maybe—I guess."

Overwhelmed by Charl's emotions, I nodded.

"Back when Code Lost was devouring me, Charl, you were feeling the same pain too... We encouraged each other at the time, right? If there's a chance, I want us to encourage each other again."

"I see... So it was a special moment for you too. Oh—I clearly wanted to make you happy today, but haven't our positions have reversed now?"

Pressing her hands to her cheeks, Charl spoke softly in chagrin.

"Make me happy?"

What did she mean? I asked in surprise. Charl put on a pose and answered.

"Yes, the real main point of today... is to thank you. It was all thanks to you that we were able to get through that type of disaster."

"Not at all, I wasn't the only one trying hard."

I replied frantically and Charl nodded firmly.

"I know. That's why I organized the upcoming festival. I also used the best ingredients for the barbecue today. However, I think this still isn't enough for you."

Charl asserted strongly and started to fiddle with the button on her swimsuit.

"S-So... I was thinking of giving you a special present. But after hearing what the girls said just now, I've made my decision."

"What the girls said...?"

A bad feeling surfaced in my heart. Charl spoke with a blush.

"Yes, you... love girls' breasts, right?"

"C-Cough, c-c-cough!"

Before I could finish the last piece of corn, I coughed violently.

"No need to be shy. I understand that feeling very well. A young maiden's bosom is a supreme work of art, all filled with miracles. I wish I could frequently bury my face into those seductive valleys too."

"N-No, I don't—"

"Yes, I understand. You said you love small breasts too, the kind where you can't bury anything, right? After learning of that, I knew exactly what kind of present to give you."

Ignoring my objections, Charl continued. She placed her hand on her swimsuit's shoulder strap.

"Th-This still feels embarrassing after all... But it's for the sake of my best friend..."

The instant before she removed her loosened swimsuit, Charl covered her chest with her arms, staring at me while blushing to her ears.

"My friend—Feel free to play with my breasts as you wish. No matter what you do, I am fine with it."

Declaring that, Charl's pale skin turned red from embarrassment. Her fingertips trembled out of nervousness.

Charl normally did not act very feminine. Precisely because of that, her current racy look had a sort of irresistible charm to it.

"Umm, Charl, calm down first! Then listen to me."

However, I could not accept this gift of course. I mobilized the entirety of my sanity to stop her.

"I-I can't calm down! If I don't go with the momentum, I'll die of embarrassment! Ehhh, in that case—"

However, Charl did not stop. Mustering her spirit, she moved her arms away from her torso. Her shoulder strap slid down and thus the swimsuit she had been holding in place fluttered down lightly.

"Principal, watch out!"

At that instant, the sound of an acute explosion resounded all around.

At the same time, the ensuing wind and dust from the blast blocked my view completely.

"W-What happened!?"

Instantly ducking down, I felt tiny debris striking my back.

Then the wind from the explosion ceased. After the dust settled—I saw a mountain of debris before my eyes.

Pale and slender arms and legs were sticking out of the debris pile. They were twitching feebly.

"Phew... That was close."

Taking her gaze off poor Charl who had been buried alive, Iris wiped sweat from her forehead in relief while holding her staff-shaped fictional armament in her hand.

"No, Iris, I think you're the one who summoned danger—"

The explosion just now had been caused by Iris' transmutation. Realizing that, I replied.

"B-Because I came to find you, Mononobe, but saw the principal's swimsuit about to fall off in front of you... I knew I had to take action... It'd be very embarrassing to be seen naked... I had to help the principal as fast as possible!"

Dispelling her fictional armament, Iris waved her hands in apology while she spoke—She ran towards the principal who was buried under sand. It looked like Iris had mistakenly thought the swimsuit was sliding off due to an accident and was trying to save Charl from the predicament.

"...Even if that's true, you overdid it."

"Th-There was no time. But—I definitely overdid it. I'll rescue her and apologize. Go back to the others, Mononobe."

Iris spoke while digging hastily through the mountain of sand with her hands.

"If you're rescuing Charl, let me help you too."

As the "Gray" Vampire with the trait of eternal life and youth, Charl would not perish from this. However, suffocation would still be painful so it was best to rescue her as soon as possible.

However, Iris said frantically:

"G-Go dig that side! The principal's swimsuit definitely fell off, so don't you go digging at the chest!"

"Sure... Got it."

I nodded in response to Iris' forceful orders and focused on digging near Charl's head. Charl had wanted me to see, but I did not have the courage to bring this up.

Since the mountain of sand was smooth and light, I soon dug out Charl's face.

"Are you okay, Charl?"

"Ugh..."

I tried calling to her but she seemed to have fainted and made no response. However, since she was confirmed to be breathing, there was no need to worry about her anymore. Previously, I had experienced being buried under sand as part of a punishment game.

"Mononobe, leave the rest of the digging to me."

"Sure, then I'll be going now."

Although I felt bad for Charl who was just trying to thank me, I guess I'd better leave this to Iris first.

"Yes—Oh wait, Mononobe."

Iris nodded then called to me as though she had remembered something.

"What is it?"

"Umm... Mononobe wanted to see... The principal's chest, right? Sorry for interrupting you."

Iris apologized to me while I was looking back at her.

Like Charl, Iris also believed that I had an extraordinary thing for women's breasts.

"L-Listen, Iris—a lot of stuff happened, which resulted in this whole affair about me liking breasts, but it's not really true."

I explained seriously, but Iris smiled warmly at me.

"Mononobe... you're so kind. You're saying this to stop me from feeling guilty, right? But no need to push yourself—I take your matters to heart too."

Iris asserted strongly and approached me swiftly.

"Since you didn't get to see the principal's chest, you can bury yourself into mine."

Saying that, Iris' eyes shone with determination. She placed her hands on my head.

"Iris, what are you planning to do—"

Getting this close to Iris in her swimsuit made my heart pound uncontrollably.

Iris silently smiled at me in my confusion then pulled my head towards her chest.

"—Mmph!?"

Starting with my nose, my face was buried into a warm, soft and pale valley.

Iris' skin was very warm—The sweet fragrance from her body was causing my mental circuits to freeze instantly.

"Mononobe... How is it?"

Iris whispered to me in a warm voice. However, I could not answer her.

My mind was completely swallowed up by softness.

My heart melted—drowning in a sea of pure white.

By the time I came back to my senses, Iris was standing in front of me, fidgeting.

My sense of time had gone hazy like in a dream. As a result, I could not help but doubt whether this was reality.

"Oh, umm—Just as you can see, there's nothing to be shy about... Mononobe, you like... my breasts a bit, don't you?"

However, when Iris asked me this with a blush, I realized that the sensation had not been a dream.

"Y-Yeah."

I nodded stiffly and Iris patted her chest in relief.

"Thank goodness... U-Umm—If you're satisfied with that, I hope you'll quit staring at other people's chests today."

Covering up the pale cleavage under her swimsuit, Iris smiled.

"I-I got it."

Aware that my voice had gone up in pitch due to excitement, I answered. Next, I turned around and started walking like a robot. My mind was still halfway in a dream, but when I left the stairs at the breakwater and passed through the dense patch of trees that blocked the view to everyone else—This dreamy feeling vanished completely.

"......"

Dressed in black swimsuit, Mitsuki was standing there silently, expressionless.

"Mitsuki—"

Holding my breath, I stood rooted to the spot.

On further thought, since Iris had caused such a large explosion, it would not be strange for anyone to come looking.

Judging from Mitsuki's expression... Most likely, she had witnessed the scene just now.

"Nii-san."

Mitsuki called to me quietly.

"Y-Yes."

I reflexively stood straight and answered Mitsuki.

"Umm—I-I have no idea what I should do."

"Huh? You s-saw it... right? ...You're not... mad?"

I was expecting Mitsuki to scold me but she was acting strange, confusing me.

"I saw it. Naturally, I am very mad."

However, Mitsuki instantly replied in a stiff voice.

"I-I see."

"Yes, nevertheless—I have no idea with what attitude I should be angry. From the student council president's standpoint, I should scold you for shameless behavior outdoors and have you write repentance essays... But on a personal level, I am very jealous of Iris-san."

Mitsuki showed an expression of guilt.

"Jealous?"

"Yes—Because your mind is fully occupied by Iris-san, isn't it? If possible, I..."

Supporting her small but well-shaped bosom with her arms, Mitsuki blushed.

I was surprised to see Mitsuki like that, but she instantly switched back to a solemn expression.

"However, I... can I truly compete against Iris-san on a level playing field? Nii-san, you have gained many people whom you must protect... And there are many people supporting you. I have no idea where I should stand anymore."

Saying that, Mitsuki pressed her hand against her dragon mark on the back of her neck. It was almost like she was confirming the proof that she had selected by me—

"So, umm... Although I said I would like you to think carefully about your relationship with everyone, before that—I hope you could decide my position as quickly as possible. Please?"

"Your position...?"

Seeing Mitsuki's suffering expression, I felt my chest tighten violently.

"What exactly I am to you, Nii-san... And who is the one dearest to you."

"Well—"

Just as I was about to answer, Mitsuki shook her head at me.

"Do not worry, Nii-san. Even if you choose someone, you will never speak of abandoning the others. I am well aware that you will never give up taking responsibility for us, Nii-san. Consequently—I only wish for you to make a decision then tell me."

Although her tone was very gentle, there was a sense of urgency in her voice.

"If you do that, I will be able to work hard in that position's capacity. Surely, a situation like now when I am hesitating over what I should do... would exist no longer. So please, Nii-san."

Mitsuki spoke in earnest and bowed her head deeply towards me.

"Yeah... I got it. I'll hurry... No, I will decide before this coming festival—So please raise your head."

I must have committed a grave mistake to have Mitsuki troubled to such an extent.

Feeling intensely guilty and apologetic, I nodded deeply.

"Thank you, Nii-san."

Looking up, Mitsuki thanked with a slightly relieved expression.

Thus, we returned slightly to normal at last. With a gentle and beautiful smile, Mitsuki urged me, "Let us return to the others."

While we were walking back to the group, I kept pondering the answer to Mitsuki's question.

A decision rather than a choice—This was "something that must be done now" which I had never expected.

Surely, the answer was already in my heart.

However, expressing this answer properly was an extremely difficult task.

===Part 5===

"What am I being so impatient for...?"

Eating barbecue under a parasol, Mononobe Mitsuki sighed deeply.

—I clearly had not intended to say that sort of thing...

Recalling what she had just said to him—Mononobe Yuu—deep regret surged in her heart.

Of course, it felt like a load had been lifted after speaking these words she had held back for so long. However, it would have been better to wait longer. There was clearly no reason to rush.

"I am such a bad girl..."

In hindsight, she was the only one who felt better.

Although she had told him to decide rather than to choose—She had not said this out of worry for him.

This was a defensive line she had set up in advance, fearing she was not the chosen one.

—Because, if I force Nii-san to choose one person... He will definitely pick Iris-san. Iris-san certainly does not think so, but—that is what I believe.

Despite this was too cowardly, too unfair, she found it impossible to dispel this thought no matter what. Furthermore, she was tired of agonizing over these matters.

''Hence, I had to verify whether or not I am number one and also to get closer to him... That was why I made such a demand.''

"Haa..."

''Too much thinking? I was having a splitting headache. Perhaps staying under the sun was making me dizzy from the heat.''

''I put down my tray that was carrying yakisoba onto the mat and brought my hand to the back of my neck.''

''The back of my neck was the location of my dragon mark—The spot where Nii-san had kissed.''

''Whenever I felt a bit unwell, I would touch my dragon mark like this—I felt reassured by recalling my vow with.''

''It was the same today, after pressing on my dragon mark for a while, my mind cleared up as though a gray haze had dispersed.''

''At that moment, I noticed my parasol's shadow was overlapping with different, petite shadow.''

''I looked up to see Vritra standing there in her school swimsuit.''

"...Vritra?"

Sensing unease in those eyes looking at her, Mitsuki called out hesitantly.

"Art thou feeling unwell?"

Vritra then asked solemnly.

"Oh no, I am fine now."

"Is that so? However, thou shouldst not strain thyself."

"Yes... Thank you."

While feeling surprised by this show of care, Mitsuki thanked Vritra.

"......"

Vritra stared silently at Mitsuki, looking as though she still had other business.

Feeling as sense of deja vu regarding this gaze, Mitsuki frowned slightly.

—Speaking of which, I seem to recall speaking with Vritra about something previously...

When Mitsuki tried to remember, the pain from the back of her neck interrupted her thoughts.

Watching Mitsuki, Vritra frowned then turned around silently.

"Thou dost not look well after all. I shall fetch a drink for thee."

"Eh, sure—Thank you for your concern."

Curious about Vritra's strange kindness, Mitsuki saw her off.

—Oh, I, just now...

She seemed to remember something just earlier, but now she could not recall what it was.

It was possible that her health still had not recovered after all. Although Vritra had already noticed it, she must not let ''him'' find out.

Looking at him preparing food together with the others, Mitsuki pressed her hand tightly against her chest that was pounding inside.

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| Back to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_11_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Unlimited_Fafnir|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume 11 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 9 Chapter 4

2018-01-21T06:49:51Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 2 */

==Chapter 4 - Reversed Athena==

===Part 1===

While others were feeling a strong quake, Ariella Lu was alone in the room, looking at the screen of her portable terminal.

The rest of the girls were gathered in the living room. From behind the door, she could hear their panicking voices.

However, Ariella did not move. Looking at the terminal's screen, she sighed slightly.

With no reception here, the terminal could not perform its duties as a communications device. She could only use it to read data that had been stored beforehand.

In front of Ariella's eyes was a call history of repeated incoming calls starting from a week ago. Since the caller's identity was masked, the number was unknown and all that was recorded were the times of the calls.

Like the earlier quake, these calls were warning signs of the imminent end to everything.

Presently, the end moment was arriving.

She knew this. She already knew this.

"I was so happy."

Ariella murmured softly in apparent resignation.

To her, everyday life was something that must come to an end.

What she had lost in the beginning was an everyday life surrounded by warm family despite a lack of material wealth.

Losing their lives in a civil war, her family's souls had been gluttonously devoured by Hraesvelgr.

Without anywhere to go, Ariella had been taken in by the church she used to go to. However, instead of attending mass, she would always stare off into the sky from the bell tower.

Knowing that her parents had not been "summoned to heaven," she found prayer to be meaningless.

—What should I do for everyone?

Staring at the sky where Hraesvelgr had flown away, Ariella had asked herself countless times.

What occupied her heart was anger towards the unreasonable and hatred for Hraesvelgr.

However, it was impossible to seek revenge against a dragon unless war ended.

Even so, Ariella's ill-defined enmity did not disappear. Soon, she joined an organization of dragon-haters.

What should she do? ...She did not know, but she definitely wanted companions.

People who shared the same feelings as her.

That wish for companions was soon fulfilled.

However, the organization did not have the power to fight dragons. All it did was come into conflict with dragon-worshiping cults and oppose mafias that secretly exploited Ds. They also spread word about the dangers of the Ds who were campaigning for the restoration of their human rights—In other words, what the organization fought were humans.

But inside an organization whose solidarity was rock solid, founded upon similar pasts and ideology between members, Ariella did not feel lonely there.

There were many boys and girls her age or younger. Ariella felt she had found her new family there. Furthermore, it was during training when Ariella became aware of her previously undiscovered talents.

—I'm suited to fighting. Too suited.

Realizing this aspect of hers, she trained and controlled it. She now had a role to play within the organization.

It felt unimaginably fulfilling to have something that needed to be done and was within one's own power. She was also glad that playing an active role would lead the younger children to treat her as a hero.

But these days suddenly came to an end.

The power to generate dark matter, regarded with enmity by the organization, had awakened in Ariella herself.

A cursed destiny. She hated her own body and power.

Children, formerly close to her, would throw rocks at her. She understood that her everyday life at the organization was ruined.

When the organization began to discuss her execution, she accepted everything in resignation.

But in the end, the cash-strapped organization sold Ariella off through underground channels. Money had won out over emotions and righteous cause.

She had been sold to a research lab in Japan. Told that it was a man who engaged in illegal research with Ds, Ariella prepared herself to be dissected to pieces.

But contrary to what Ariella expected, this researcher—Miyazawa Kenya—treated Ariella courteously. Beyond examining her, he only asked her to take care of his daughter Ren.

"Ren was like an unfriendly cat back then..."

Thinking back to those times, Ariella immersed herself in nostalgia.

She did not respond no matter how Ariella tried to strike up conversation, putting Ariella at an impasse. But then she spontaneously started calling Ariella "Onee-chan" and admiring her.

The days from then on had been very happy, never want for lack of money for the first time in her life.

However, this life did not last long. Due to Ren becoming a D too, the distorted family life ended.

No—It was Ariella herself who had ended it herself.

To prevent Ren from becoming the subject of experiments, she sought the police for protection and blew the whistle on Miyazawa Kenya.

Then the next part of her everyday life had lasted until now.

Days spent with fellow Ds at Midgard.

"I was so happy..."

Saying the same words again as the beginning, Ariella stood up.

Noticing the earlier shaking, Ren and him were going to return.

There should have been enough time for talking—Ren would have conveyed her feelings to him sufficiently.

This was the only things she was honestly worried about.

To spend her remaining time with her "younger sister," Ariella slowly walked to the living room.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v09 205.jpg|thumb]]

===Part 2===

"...Neither Shinomiya-sensei nor Mica-san have come."

Sitting in the living room sofa, Lisa murmured with worry at the ceiling.

"With no reception on the terminals, there's no way to confirm the situation outside..."

I stood with my back against the wall, looking at my terminal that could not communicate. Deep underground of Midgard, calls could not be made here. Without cable facilities linked to the surface, we were completely isolated on the information front.

"N-NIFL is invading?"

Iris walked back and forth between everyone in worry.

A few hours had passed since the intense shaking. After dinner, all of us had gathered in the living room.

"—Perhaps. If that is true, then they won't have the leisure to visit us."

Drinking black tea at the table, Firill agreed with Iris.

"We knew that an inspection was coming sooner or later. There's no need to panic."

Idly braiding Vritra's hair to play with, Kili spoke as though the situation did not involve her.

"Conflict within the same species, how meaningless..."

Vritra shrugged philosophically despite the fact that her hair was being played with.

"Truly meaningless..."

Tia, who had been in low spirits the whole time, nodded from her seat next to Lisa.

"Should we go confirm the situation?"

Clutching my clothing tightly, Ren suggested to our group.

"—No, I believe it is not time for reckless action. We should watch a little longer."

Sitting on a cushion, Mitsuki offered her opinion, but compared to what she said, I felt more concerned by her slightly lethargic look.

"Mitsuki, are you okay?"

"Oh, yes. I just feel a bit... hot. I must have spent too much time in the bath."

Blushing slightly, Mitsuki replied to me.

This had started ever since she returned from the hot spring yesterday. Although it seemed like she was feeling faint from the bath, I was still a bit worried whether or not this was an effect brought by the transformation.

"If you feel any worse, be honest and tell us, okay? Mitsuki, you're always pushing yourself too hard."

"—Nowhere as bad as you, Nii-san. However... I understand."

Pouting slightly, Mitsuki nodded. Then Shion separated from Jeanne uncharacteristically and stared at Mitsuki's face.

"aRe YoU reALly oKaY?"

"Oh... I am fine. Thank you for worrying."

Mitsuki was slightly surprised but happily touched Shion's cheek. It was possible that she saw a shadow of Shinomiya Miyako in Shion's voice and facial expressions.

"...thAnK goodness."

Shion smiled slightly, apparently knowing what Mitsuki had felt. Then Shion returned to Jeanne's side and sat on her lap.

Jeanne watched Shion tenderly and returned to the conversation that had gone on a bit of a tangent.

"—I also believe it is too early for action. We should stay vigilant for now. There are two paths into this cavern... It would be best to take turns keeping watch throughout the night."

Hearing Jeanne give a practical opinion like a soldier, I nodded too.

"That's right. But the ones on watch should be limited to those who are able to engage humans in combat. Jeanne and I—also Kili, can I ask you to help?"

"Eh— What a pain. And it's like a steam cooker outside..."

Retorting, Kili frowned overtly.

"Don't be like that. Please."

However, I bowed my head to her and did not give up, causing her to sigh deeply and slump her shoulders.

"—Got it, okay. But you'll have to reward me later."

Kili looked at me seductively and accepted the job of keeping watch. However, Lisa blushed and looked at Kili.

"R-Reward—What kind of reward do you intend to exact from him!?"

"That would be a secret. If you're jealous, why don't you try asking him for a reward too? We are all his mates... I will turn a blind eye if it's just something on that level."

In response to Kili's joke, Lisa yelled with her face red.

"Please get off your high horse! I am simply stopping you from doing inappropriate things!"

"Sure sure. Do your best."

Having made a move without Lisa's knowledge the night before, Kili answered in a laid back manner.

"Hmm... I shall have you regret underestimating me."

Kili and Lisa glared at each other.

At this moment, Ariella spoke up for the first time.

"If we're alternating shifts, you need one more person. I'll do it."

Rising from her chair, Ariella stood between Lisa and Kili as though to stop them from staring at each other. Apparently recalling what had happened last night, Kili looked displeased.

"Taking on troublesome tasks on your own initiative, how meddlesome you are. Oh well—You're even more capable than Jeanne-chan. I don't mind."

Despite sarcastic words, Kili accepted Ariella as a candidate. Jeanne pretended not to care.

"No wait, Ariella's dragon mark is colored. If she gets captured by NIFL in that state..."

However, I was quite hesitant to endanger Ariella in her current state.

"Don't worry, Mononobe-kun. It's not like we're going above ground. We're just watching near the entrances. There's not much difference in risk."

Ariella evaded my worries and replied in a relaxed voice.

"...I got it. But don't overdo it, okay?"

Since she had a good point, I reluctantly nodded. Despite the subtle unease in my heart, it was also true that I had no one else I could ask. Judging from Ariella's combat abilities that I had witnessed a number of times, she would be capable of delaying NIFL's soldiers.

"Onii-chan..."

Ren tugged my sleeve, looking like she had something to say. She probably wanted me to hurry and have my discussion with Ariella.

I nodded at Ren, gently stroking her head to reassure her.

"Mm..."

Making an expression that read "very well," Ren closed her eyes partially.

According to the sequence decided through rock-paper-scissors, Ariella was next with Tia last.

From what I heard from Mitsuki, the two of them had intentionally chosen the last spots.

Even if they had doubts or worries, I had already decided what I must do.

—The power to protect them all... and the ''reason'' to do so, that was what I wanted.

Confirming my own wish that I had confirmed thanks to Ren, I firmed my determination to confront the last two girls.

===Part 3===

That night, I guarded one of the cavern's entrances to protect everyone who was sleeping.

"...This place is a bit too hot."

Watching the metal door that was installed on a wall of rock, I wiped sweat off my brow. To be honest, this really was not an environment one could stay very long while clothed.

Although I endured it for a while, after deciding my energy would become depleted at this rate, I opened the door and moved over to the stairs leading to the lower levels of Midgard.

From this location, I would know immediately no matter who came down the stairs. With the door closed, sealing off the heat and humidity, it was more comfortable than expected.

Ariella was guarding the other entrance. I should have some time to talk to her when Kili and Jeanne took over the next shift, but—Just as I as thinking over these matters, sitting on the stairs, I heard faint knocking at the door.

"...Yuu, are you there?"

Then I heard Tia's slightly apprehensive voice. I stood up in surprise and opened the heavy door.

"—Thank goodness. Tia thought you had gone off somewhere."

Standing at the door was Tia, stroking her chest, apparently reassured. But when I saw Vritra standing behind her, I was a bit taken aback.

"What's going on, Tia? And with Vritra too..."

I looked at Vritra, who went "hmph" and turned her face to the side. Though I had no idea why, she looked quite displeased. Had Tia brought her here by coercion?

"Tia has something important to tell Yuu. Is this a good time?"

"Sure—I don't think it matters if we talk while guarding this place."

I nodded, thinking she wanted to discuss the risks related to transformation.

"Thanks!"

Tia smiled slightly and came over to this side of the door with Vritra.

I sat on the stairs and waved to her. Keeping one person's distance, Tia sat down lightly. Vritra watched us with her back leaning against the closed door.

"To be frank—I've been wanted to talk to you the whole time, Tia."

I looked at Tia and spoke.

"...Why?"

"I heard from Iris that you've been down lately. And in fact, you really are acting differently from usual. I'm very worried."

Intending to use this opportunity to find out clearly what Tia's troubles were, I replied to her in a gentle tone of voice.

What on earth was troubling her...? I had thought a lot about it and come up with a guess.

"Could it be that... you're worried about your horns, Tia?"

Looking at the two red horns on her head, I asked cautiously.

This was what I had guessed she was worrying about. If touching me would result in a transformation that could make her lose the horns she had not been born with—She might lose the power to control Yggdrasil.

Iris and Shion's transformations were enough to deduce this. Hence, Tia would probably feel more of a dilemma than the others—

"...No. The horns are fine."

But contrary to my expectations, Tia shook her head.

"Really?"

Completely surprised, I doubted.

"Yes... The body's transformation is due to dark matter... As I am now, I can interfere in the process and keep the horns."

Tia was speaking in a more mature tone of voice than usual, but I was extremely surprised by what she said.

"What... Tia, you can control dragonification?"

"I still couldn't earlier. During the Zwei—Shion—incident, it was beyond me... But now that I have synchronized completely with Yggdrasil, it's possible to hack Vritra's dragonification mechanism."

Saying that, Tia glanced in Vritra's direction.

"...As much as it displeaseth me, 'tis the truth what she said. The Akashic Record's computational abilities ought to be sufficient to interfere in biogenic transmutation. Be that as it may, the system, which drives the transformation upon contact between synchronized dragon marks, is written in a D's genes and impossible to stop completely. A poorly done job would result in an amorphous form and a breakdown of self-identity."

Sulking, Vritra confirmed Tia's claim and warned.

"A breakdown of self-identity—Tia, don't force yourself if it's that dangerous!"

I said to Tia in a panic but she shook her head lightly.

"Interfering in another D's dragonification is very difficult indeed, but there is no problem when it's myself. Tia knows herself best, so don't worry."

Smiling tenderly, Tia explained to me.

"But..."

"Compared to that, Tia fears something even more... It came to Tia's knowledge after synchronizing with Yggdrasil. About dragons, what is to come, everything is..."

Tia looked at me with pleading eyes, her voice trembling.

"You've found the information in Yggdrasil...? So in other words, Vritra's original goal has been achieved?"

I confirmed with Vritra who was standing arms akimbo.

Vritra had made a human stand-in to appear before us so that she could enter a dialogue with Tia who had taken control of Yggdrasil's core. However, Tia had not been able to keep up with Vritra's conversation because she had insufficient information due to minimizing her link with Yggdrasil.

After that, for the sake of obtaining data from the Akashic Record, Tia had increased her synchronization rate with Yggdrasil. However, the arrival of Kraken Zwei had changed Vritra's mind, causing her to choose to fight us.

"I have had talks with Tia Lightning Yggdrasil on several occasions. Our conclusion is that we must first confirm whether thou art truly Neun."

Nodding at my question, Vritra looked back at me as though she was targeting something.

"Neun... Both you and Kili have mentioned it many times. What the heck is it and what does it mean?"

Vritra had called me irregular as a male D whereas Kili suggested I was Neun.

"Indeed... Shall I explain?"

Vritra nodded at Tia to confirm.

"Wait. Tia will explain. But before that, Yuu..."

"What is it?"

Tia looked at me seriously so I urged her to speak. Blushing, she continued.

"Tia... wants to hold hands with Yuu. Otherwise, it feels uneasy."

"Uh..."

The intense emotions conveyed in her whispers were making my heart race.

I knew what Tia meant without explicit explanation. She had decided to make physical contact with me.

In that case, I must convey to her my thoughts from my conversation with Ren.

"Yes—No problem. I'd hate not being able to do that for you, Tia. If you have troubles, I want to aid you. I want to protect you. So... Let's hold hands."

Saying that, I extended my hand towards Tia.

"Yuu... Thank you."

Tia looked reassured and slowly reached out to me. Sparks of lightning flashed in her horns' surroundings.

Interfering in dragonification was most likely quite a delicate task.

To avoid disrupting her concentration, I waited for her to touch me on her own.

"—Here goes."

Murmuring to herself, Tia held my hand tightly.

My dragon mark glowed blue. Light also erupted from the dragon mark on Tia's thigh.

But before that light could envelop Tia's entire body, The electrical sparks flashed especially intensely.

Failing to reach Tia's horns, the blue light dissipated as faint particles in the surroundings.

"It is... finished."

After the light vanished completely, Tia panted heavily.

As far as I could see, there was no change in her appearance, not even her horns.

"You worked hard, Tia."

What kind of challenge she had surmounted—I could not imagine at all. In any case, I congratulated her first on her effort.

"Yes... Then Yuu is now Tia's husband!"

Tia happily jumped at my chest.

"H-Hey—!"

Instead of holding hands, Tia was hugging me with all her strength, startling me.

"I can finally touch you, Yuu. Now... I don't have to be afraid anymore."

But after I noticed the mild trembling in Tia's body, I understood what kind of fear she had been enduring.

"—I'm by your side. So don't worry."

To reassure Tia, I patted her back.

"Yes... Then I'll begin, Yuu. About Neun... About dragons..."

"Please."

What kind of truth was she going to reveal? No matter what happened, I must not allow Tia to worry. I nodded firmly.

Tia backed away slightly, looked into my eyes then spoke, controlling her voice.

"Well, Neun... refers to the ninth counterdragon."

"Counterdragon?"

Hearing that term for the first time, I frowned.

"Yes... The dragons we have fought so far—Basilisk, Hraesvelgr, Yggdrasil and Vritra—are all counterdragons... Rather than true dragons."

"What... H-Hold on. What do you mean by a true dragon? So Basilisk and Hraesvelgr were fake dragons?"

With the complete overturn of publicly recognized fact, I was plunged into confusion.

"Well... They are not fake. Dragons are dragons... However, they were dragons born from this world—born from Gaia. Oh, but Eins, the world itself, probably doesn't count as a dragon..."

Tia explained in a bit of a dilemma but she was getting harder and harder to understanding. Her explanations were peppered with unknown terms and my questions kept increasing.

Seeing me like that, Vritra shrugged in exasperation.

"...Explaining everything to thee would be too much trouble. 'Tis a pointless waste of time at this rate. I shall offer a concise explanation."
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v09 221.jpg|thumb]]

Leaving the door she was leaning against, Vritra approached us.

"A true dragon is a calamity that threateneth the continued existence of the world as a whole. 'Tis not limited to lifeforms, but includes phenomena too."

Looking straight into my confused eyes, Vritra spoke.

"A calamity..."

I repeated the word once. Vritra nodded solemnly.

"Indeed—Gaia has experienced eight major crises to this date. Great calamities that could thoroughly wipe out all existing ecosystems and environments. We counterdragons were born to avoid such destruction."

Vritra paused here and showed a mocking expression.

"You dragons are the world's allies? Despite spreading those great disasters... dragon disasters throughout the world..."

Seeing Vritra speak though her existence were legitimate, I retorted in momentary impulse. Iris' parents had clearly died because of a dragon disaster. I could bring myself to simply nod and accept things with a "So I see!"

But contrary to what I expected, Vritra shook her head.

"Contemporary counterdragons have lost enemies to fight. Once born, an authority will not disappear, inherited by others when the holder perisheth. Hence, the antibodies are harming the world on this occasion. 'Tis possible to call dragon disasters an allergic reaction of the world. Be that as it may, know that ye humans are not victims."

"What?"

What was going on? I frowned.

"The second and eighth calamities were closely linked to mankind. Well, 'tis knowledge I obtained from the core of 'Verdant' Kiskanu—the previous Yggdrasil. Compared to I, Sieben, thou ought to know more clearly as Zwo's successor."

At this moment, Vritra looked at Tia.

Zwo, Kiskanu—These were some of the names Yggdrasil had mentioned when contacting me.

Yggdrasil was a biological computer consisting of all plant life in the world. Eradicating its existence completely was virtually impossible. As a result, Tia was currently acting as a substitute for its core consciousness.

In other words, Kiskanu was a being that had ruled over the plant network even earlier than Yggdrasil.

Thinking over these mattes, I looked at Tia again and she nodded.

"Yes... 'Verdant' Kiskanu was a counterdragon born for the sake of opposing the second calamity. Hence, full records remain in the Akashic Record. The Second Dragon—'Ultimate Wisdom' Atlantis... was the first alien species to arrive on Gaia. They possessed an extremely advanced civilization and were the ancestors of mankind."

"What—The ancestors of mankind... were dragons? Wait, but... if the world wasn't destroyed back then, the counterdragon should've driven mankind away, right?"

I asked while feeling shocked. Apparently anticipating such a question from me, Tia continued calmly.

"What was regarded as a calamity, a dragon, was not mankind but humanity's civilization and technology. Hence, Kiskanu was bestowed the power to control electricity—the authority to manipulate information. Only Atlantis' technology was uprooted and eliminated."

"Destroying technology..."

"What do you think happened to humans after losing technology?"

"To survive, they'd have no choice but to live primitively, starting with hunting—Oh, so humans came up with civilization again after that?"

Since they were called the ancestors of mankind, that was only inevitable.

"Indeed. But after countless years—humanity has acquired civilization sufficient to destroy the world again. Hence, to prevent humans from causing the eighth calamity themselves, a new counterdragon was born..."

I already knew who Tia was referring to.

Possessing the ability to dominate mankind and avoid nuclear war, Charlotte's father—the first "Gray" Vampire.

Reading from my face that I already knew, Vritra grinned in mockery.

"Ye humans are fortunate. Neither your civilization nor your race were wiped out. In that case, 'tis evidence that mankind and human civilization had been recognized as a part of the world. However, this judgment was made quite urgently..."

Vritra spoke suggestively. Realizing the internal connections, I changed the subject. Having heard the explanations so far, I already understood the meaning behind the existence of Neun.

"Then after taking care of mankind, Neun is the only one left to resist the ninth calamity?"

"Indeed. However, I believe 'tis highly unlikely that thou art Neun."

Nodding, Vritra looked at me coldly.

"Tia believes Yuu is Neun! Yggdrasil thought so too and wanted to obtain Yuu in order to survive the ninth calamity."

However, Tia clenched her fist in front of her chest and insisted. In contrast, Vritra shrugged mildly.

"Hmph... One cannot rely on the opinion of Yggdrasil that had focused its full effort on self-preservation. More importantly, this contradicts Kiskanu's viewpoint."

"And that is...?"

Apparently poked in a sore spot, Tia stopped but I was still lost.

Vritra had said just now that she had obtained her knowledge from Kiskanu. However, she and the next core consciousness, Yggdrasil, had become enemies with different viewpoints. What had happened in the course of all this?

"What's going on? Explain properly. I don't think I'm Neun either... What evidence do you have, Vritra?"

Without hiding my doubts, I asked and Vritra nodded deeply.

"Yes. The reason is simple. Apart from the eighth calamity, which was a retread of Atlantis, every calamity would increase in threat level... By the seventh time, it was already beyond the counterdragons' ability to defend."

"Beyond the counterdragons' ability to defend...? In other words, the world ended once already?"

I pointed out the contradiction in Vritra's words. However, Vritra looked at me solemnly and confirmed what I had pointed out.

"Indeed, ''the world has been destroyed once already''."

"Huh...?"

What was she talking about? I stared at Vritra speechlessly.

"I shall tell thee how the world survived the seventh calamity. The answer—It did not. Unable to resist that calamity, Kiskanu, who had joined forces with me, was destroyed together with all plant life. After the calamity had left, I used dark matter to restore the world as much as possible."

If plant life went extinct, it was inevitable for Kiskanu's consciousness to disappear as the core. That was surely the point when Yggdrasil took over. But—

"Restoring the world... Is that even possible?"

Unable to accept such a shocking idea, I asked Vritra.

"'Twas achieved by consuming mine existence, dark matter itself. Nay... Strictly speaking, 'twas my predecessor. As I am now, I am more akin to lingering remains. I neither have the ability to create life again nor enough dark matter to fully restore the world. Ye Ds may not know it, but dark matter is ''limited''."

Answering with self-deprecation, Vritra gazed at me.

"Yet that despairing seventh calamity was only a prelude. Eventually, its 'true form' shall arrive at Gaia as predicted by Kiskanu's analysis. The world shall be destroyed in the ninth calamity."

"..."

Indeed, this conclusion was only natural. If the ninth calamity was stronger than the seventh, destruction was unavoidable. By the time of the seventh, the world had already given up on stopping the calamities.

If the world could only be restored once, there were no countermeasures left after using this move.

"But displeased that the world I risked my life to save would be destroyed again, I intended to strengthen life on Gaia to improve odds of survival. This was the plan to use Ds to multiply the number of counterdragons. However, this attempt was foiled by you lot—nay, Yggdrasil."

Confronted with Vritra's angry stares, Tia spoke with a slightly troubled expression.

"After Kiskanu perished, Yggdrasil—the newly born core consciousness of the Akashic Record—hated dying again, thus prioritizing its survival above all else. As a result, it tried to gather authorities as much as possible, so that it may survive..."

"Survive... So making a deal with me and seizing my consciousness was all for that?"

Recalling how Yggdrasil had stolen control of my mind, I asked.

Back then, Yggdrasil had tried everything to control me. Without Charlotte's help, my consciousness would have been seized completely.

"Yes. If you really are Neun, Yuu, then you'd have antibodies to resist the ninth calamity. Yggdrasil believed that acquiring them would be the best way to increase chances of survival."

Listening to this point, Vritra frowned with displeasure.

"Hmph—since there are no means of resistance, 'tis impossible to give rise to new counterdragons either. We should not place our hopes in Neun's existence... Moreover..."

Halfway through, Vritra stared intently at me.

"What?"

Curious, I asked her. Subtle fear appeared on Vritra's face, almost as though she was considering an unthinkable possibility.

"If thou art Neun—'Tis ''very odd thou hast not had an encounter''."

"An encounter? An encounter with what—?"

I sought her explanation. Vritra sighed and continued.

"The ninth calamity, the Ninth Dragon."

"What...?"

I held my breath and focused, looking into Vritra's eyes with an "are you serious?" gaze. However, Vritra's eyes glinted with solemnity and she answered.

"The Counter Code appeareth upon the entity's first encounter with the calamity. Unrelated to race or disposition, 'tis by chance that the entity transformeth into a counterdragon. Hence, if thou art Neun, thou must have encountered the calamity face to face a long time ago."

Vritra supplemented her earlier explanation. My confusion grew ever stronger.

"Calamity... But I don't have any memory of meeting that?"

The first dragon I encountered was "Blue" Hekatonkheir—but it was actually Vritra's fictional armament. Vritra herself was a counterdragon too.

"'Tis as suspected. Without self-awareness as a counterdragon, 'tis impossible for thee to be Neun. Even without being told by anyone else, the initial entity conferred with the authority ought to knew what it needeth to do."

Speaking of which, I remember hearing that Charlotte's father, the previous gray dragon, had received power to "save the world." In other words, he knew how to use his authority from the start.

However, I thought over it again and again but could not find this sort of self-awareness.

"Nevertheless, 'tis no matter, I shall try asking thee this. ''When didst thou first realize thou art not human''?"

Due to my facial expression, Vritra felt very confident in her beliefs and asked calmly.

However, my heart began to beat rapidly the instant I heard her question.

"—"

"Yuu...?"

Tia looked at me in worry but my vision was overwritten with a scene from the past.

It was a past memory I had been dreaming of recently. To me personally, it was the greatest calamity.

The traffic accident that Mitsuki, her parents and I, the four of us had gotten involved in.

That was the time when Mitsuki and I had awakened the ability to generate dark matter to save our lives. However, Uncle and Auntie...

The painful sense of despair back then was carved in the depths of my heart.

What had I seen over there? No, I did not see anything. Everything was sealed away in ''darkness''. Terrifying no matter where. Even my own existence felt ambiguous—

Knock knock!

As a terrible chill climbed along my spine and I realized something, I was pulled back to reality by the sound of fierce knocking on the door.

"—Onii-chan!"

I turned to the door. It was Ren's voice. Startled by a voice that was hard to imagine coming from her usually reticent self, I hurried over to the doorway.

"What happened!?"

I hastily opened the door and Ren hugged me suddenly.

"Onii-chan... Onee-chan, Onee-chan is...!"

Looking up at me, Ren screamed desperately with tears streaming down her face. There was only one person whom she called "Onee-chan."

"Ariella... What happened to her?"

I placed my hand on Ren's shoulder and asked, suppressing my voice. If I were to show anxiety, Ren would probably get even more emotional.

"Mm... She is not here."

Nodding, Ren replied.

"Not here?"

"Onee-chan is nowhere!"

Ren's shout, echoing in the cavern, was dominated by anxiety and the fear of loss.

===Part 4===

"..."

I ran as fast as I could inside the cavern where the water vapor made for poor visibility.

My destination was the passage on the other end that Ariella was in charge of guarding.

Ren had gone over there to speak with her alone and checked the other side already, but there were no signs of her.

Tia, Vritra and the panicking Ren had gone back to the cottage together. I asked them to pass a message to Jeanne to take over my post, so our defenses should not weaken as a result.

What I had heard from Tia and Vritra, the matter of the ninth calamity, was still bouncing around in my head but I had to think about it later.

—Where on earth did Ariella go?

To avoid running past her inadvertently, I looked around and checked back and forth.

Although visibility was poor due to the water vapor, with only one path, missing her was unlikely.

Since Ren was safe, NIFL's intrusion was not possible so Ariella must have left her spot on her own volition.

Perhaps I should have talked to Ariella earlier.

Regrets and a foreboding sense that it was too late now were occupying my heart.

However, I stopped in surprise just as the door to the passage came into view.

Amidst the foggy water vapor, a figure appeared. I cautiously approached. It was a girl with her hair tied in a ponytail with a green ribbon—Ariella.

Noticing me as well, she looked in my direction.

I instantly felt a sense of relief, but immediately realized it was too soon to lower my guard.

Ren could not have lied. To be that shaken, she must have called Ariella's name many times. Had Ariella been in the cavern, she could not possibly miss Ren's voice.

"What's wrong, Mononobe-kun? Aren't you in charge of guarding the other door?"

I stopped at a distance of three meters. Ariella tilted her head and asked.

Ariella looked like she did not know that Ren had visited. In other words, she had been somewhere beyond earshot of Ren's voice when Ren had come over.

"What about you, Ariella, where did you go?"

I stared into Ariella's eyes and asked in return. However, she frowned with a lost expression.

"Where did I go? I've been here the whole time."

"—You're lying. Ren came over just and she didn't see you."

It was heartrending to expose a friend's lie, but I told her firmly.

Hearing that, Ariella widened her eyes slightly and made a wry smile.

"Really...? So Ren hasn't slept yet."

Seeing that she did not try to find an excuse, I felt bitterness fill up my heart.

"You went up?"

Considering Ren's and my movement times, she only had enough time to return from above—Midgard's lowest level. Thinking that, I confirmed with Ariella.

"Yes, I had something to do."

"Something to do huh—"

I could only think of one reason why she would go up to Midgard's lowest level and return immediately. It was what we had discussed before.

"To go somewhere with reception, were you contacting someone?"

"......"

Ariella smiled wryly but did not answer.

Although I had her pegged as an upfront person, right now, that smiling face was fake. I clenched my fist. My left hand's dragon mark was hot and painful.

"I actually don't know what you're thinking or doing, Ariella. But... if you have any troubles, I want to help you. If you're in pain, I want to support you. So, right now, could you hold my hand first?"

Saying that, I extended my left hand.

"So... you want me to become your mate, Mononobe-kun?"

"That's right. Let's talk about the rest later. I will do everything I can for your happiness, Ariella. Trust me."

I looked straight at Ariella while I spoke, prompting a flush of red on her face.

"It's almost like... a proposal."

Ariella scratched her cheek shyly and avoided eye contact. However, her wry smile did not disappear. Instead, sadness was mixed into it.

"I trust you, but as soon as I think about what I have to do next, I can't hold your hand. No... I never had the right to stay with everyone in the first place."

Staring at my outstretched hand, Ariella shook her head.

"Right...?"

"I have no right. You don't know anything about me, Mononobe-kun. If you did, you'd surely hate me."

"—Nothing of that sort. I will prove it. So tell me."

While putting down my hand, I stared at her and asserted.

"Is... that so? It's already the end, so I guess I should say it first."

However, she seemed to be refusing something. Getting a bad feeling from her use of "the end," but to avoid getting in her way, I did not ask about it.

"I think I mentioned staying in a dragon-hating organization before, right?"

"—That's right."

I confirmed.

After "Yellow" Hraesvelgr devoured the souls of her deceased family, Ariella had joined an organization hostile to Ds and dragons to seek refuge. However, when she became a D herself, the organization had sold her to Ren's father—Miyazawa Kenya—for conducting research on Ds.

"Probably because its activities were very similar to NIFL's, the organization had many ties to NIFL as well. As a result, the organization kept in contact with NIFL and it came as no surprise when NIFL absorbed it to serve as a regional branch."

Ariella calmly talked about her organization, but when she mentioned NIFL, I felt an even more repulsive sense of foreboding.

"Apparently my organization worked under NIFL and a former cadre heard about what had happened to me and contacted me while I was being transported to Midgard. I was really surprised at the time. So frightened that I dared not breathe."

Ariella smiled wryly while making light of her experiences. But realizing everything she said was the truth, I focused with bated breath.

"Do you understand now, Mononobe-kun? Starting then, I've stayed in contact with NIFL the whole time. I gave out Midgard's inside information many times—In other words, I'm what you'd call a spy."

Ariella spoke in self-deprecation but I could not accept it so easily.

"That's very... weird. Why would you cooperate with a cadre from the organization that sold you?"

I brought up a question bu Ariella's expression turned icy cold.

"—There are reasons, many of them. Then there are also reasons too... why I must kill the principal—'Gray.'"

"What..."

Shocked, I involuntarily took a step forward, but Ariella moved her right arm to stop me.

"Aegis."

What manifested to cover her arm was a fictional armament in the shape of a gauntlet. Ariella pointed it at me and asked calmly:

"Mononobe-kun, the fact that my fictional armament takes the form of defensive gear... Do you know why?"

Although I wanted to question her on why she must kill Charlotte, in order to calm myself, I answered her question first.

"Isn't it to protect everyone—to protect Ren...?"

I thought that because Ariella always volunteered first to take on defensive missions. However, she shook her head as though saying "you regard me too highly."

"The reason is simpler than that. I don't hold weapons, no matter what their form. If I held a weapon—I'd start viewing human lives as trash."

Ariella told me mournfully then slowly unfastened the ribbon on her hair. The untied hair fell down to her shoulders.

"Ariella, what on earth are you going to..."

Unsure what meaning was behind her actions, I asked.

However, she did not answer. After gazing at the ribbon in her hand for a while, she slowly uncurled her fingers. The green ribbon floated down lightly.

Before the ribbon reached the ground, Ariella spoke.

"—Go."

Wind was released from her fictional armament, blowing the falling ribbon towards me.

After I reflexively reached out and caught the ribbon, Ariella smiled faintly.

"That ribbon was Ren's first gift to me. Although it's such an important treasure... I think it's inappropriate if I keep it while heading off to commit murder next."

"...Are you really going to kill Charl—to kill the principal?"

Holding the ribbon, I asked. She nodded without hesitation.

"Yes. Although she's immortal, I have a feeling I can kill her. Once I hold a weapon... I'll know how to kill her."

Ariella generated a black mass of dark matter in front of her, transmuting it into a silver knife.

The instant she caught it in the air, the aura exuded from her entire body changed.

An intense chill rushed up from my feet, causing cold sweat to break out of my forehead.

Warned by instinct, I took a leap back to pull away. Unlike the times when I confronted Hreidmar, this felt almost as though death itself had taken physical form before me.

Holding the knife in her hand, Ariella sneered at my response.

"The first time I took part in the organization's training, I noticed my talent... So dangerous that I almost killed the instructor... Afraid of that side of mine... I only learned combat skills that did not require weapons."

Her voice and expression were sharp beyond compare. Although I had maintained sufficient distance, I still felt as though I had a knife to my throat.

However, why? I did not feel any sense of dissonance to see her like that. It was probably because she was too similar. Not to Hreidmar... but to me—My "Fafnir."

"Then drop the knife, take this ribbon and return with me to Ren's side."

I raised the ribbon and said to Ariella. Precisely because it was so similar, I could understand what kind of change had happened to Ariella now. Instinct warned me it was a step that must never be taken. However, she quietly shook her head.

"I actually do want to see Ren one last time... But by now, I can't go back. I'm meeting up with NIFL's forces next, to take Gray's head."

"—Don't go!"

Anti-personnel weapon—AT Nergal.

I generated dark matter and instantly transmuted it into an anti-personnel projectile-based electroshock gun. Using this Nergal, I would be able to neutralize Ariella without killing her. It was past the point of stopping her with words, but I had to convey these thoughts to her.

"I now know what you've hidden till now, Ariella. But even so, I can't hate you and I've no intention of going back on what I said in the beginning. For my sake and Ren's, as well as your own... I will stop you no matter what you're planning to do!"

I pointed the gun's muzzle at her and declared.

"Mononobe-kun, you are so nice. But... Do you really get it? During the Leviathan battle, that NIFL team that infiltrated Midgard—Can you still forgive me even if I was the one who brought them in?"

"That's right, I forgive you. But you'll have to apologize to Iris afterwards."

I instantly answered without any wavering.

My heart was not wavering the slightest. Suppose what Ariella said was true, I believe there must be reasons too. Even if she had reasons for killing Charlotte, Ariella actually did not want to commit murder.

I was convinced not because of presumption or arrogance, but because I had been watching her all along.

"Haha—Looks like I underestimated you again."

Widening her eyes at my answer, Ariella smiled and touched her lower abdomen with her hand, the location of her dragon mark.

"At the Principality of Erlia, starting from the time when I watched you fight Hraesvelgr... I couldn't help but become obsessed with you. When we returned to Japan and I saw how you did everything you could for Ren's sake, I wanted to support you. By the time I realized, I couldn't tear my gaze away from you anymore."

After gently touching her lower abdomen, Ariella readied her knife in a carefree manner.

"My dragon mark probably changed color because of these feelings. Somewhere in my heart, I hoped you'd choose me."

"In that case... You don't need to overthink things. I will hold you tightly in these arms and never let you go."

Holding Nergal, I declared but Ariella grinned.

"Sure—Mononobe-kun. I will obey you—if you can touch me and make me yours. However... Definitely, you won't be able to stop me."

With these words, Ariella kicked the ground. Instead of retreating, she was closing in.

The risk of touching me should increase by approaching me, but she still chose to fight with a knife.

"!"

I pulled Nergal's trigger in response to her charging in.

The acute gunshot echoed inside the cavern while electrical sparks flashed on the ground.

—She had dodged.

Although I could see her jumping to the side just before the bullet could strike, by the time I continued to look for her, she had already vanished.

I felt a chilling aura of death.

Relying on my senses, I shot Nergal to the side.

There was a flash of electricity in the white water vapor and a sharp metallic noise. She had most likely used the knife to defend. However, Nergal's electrical shock should conduct through a metallic blade.

Just as I shifted my gaze towards the location of the impact, there were no signs of Ariella collapsing. In other words...

—She had blocked by throwing the knife huh?

Such unbelievable skills were making me focus with bated breath. At this moment, acute killing intent approached me from behind.

"Guh!?"

What appeared before me when I turned my head back was an incoming silver blade. As though tracing a line of killing intent, the blade was blocked by me using Nergal.

But Ariella emerged from the water vapor, facing me directly. In her hand was a new knife created from dark matter.

I fired Nergal to intercept her but Ariella swung the knife. The instant before the bullet struck, she released her hand.

A flash of electricity jumped in the air. Ariella continued to close in while swinging her arm. More than ten masses of dark matter were summoned in her surroundings, turning into knives at the same time.

"Generate a storm."

While raising her right arm, equipped with her fictional armament, Ariella spoke sharply.

The blades attacked, accompanied by a storm.

Confronted with this massive threat, I summoned the will to fight and kill.

Following the wind, I jumped back, only using Nergal to strike down knives that were about to hit me.

Normally, it would be impossible to predict the knives' trajectories, but I captured them through my skin's senses. Mixed inside me, "Fafnir" was driving my body.

While I was striking down the storm of blades, Ariella closed in even more.

During an instant that felt as though time had lengthened, our eyes met and she smiled.

Within arm's reach. She had no knife in her hand. A perfect chance.

However, instinct warned me of danger.

This was no opening—

Obeying instinct, I took half a step back and pointed Nergal's muzzle at her.

But in that instant, I saw it.

The first knife I had deflected in the air had returned to Ariella's hand, spinning as though there was an attractive force.

A flash of silver—

Before I could pull the trigger, the barrel had already been sliced. Had I not stepped back, the attack would have struck me in a vital.

However, the crisis was not over. Ariella pressed on and charged.

I threw the two halves of Nergal at Ariella to buy time then picked up a knife that had fallen on the ground.

But at that moment, Ariella had already launched her next attack.

Despite my unstable footing, I twisted my body and swung the knife to counterattack approaching death.

A sharp impact rang out while Ariella and I became locked in a struggle, resisting each other's knife.

We were holding the knives in our right hands. I reached out with my empty left hand to touch Ariella, but—

"I knew it. You're very strong, Mononobe-kun."

Ariella suddenly stopped pushing and used my opposing force to jump backwards.

My left hand missed while Ariella reconstructed Aegis in the air. To guard against offensive applications of transmutation, I generated dark matter in my empty left hand.

Fictional armament—Siegfried.

What manifested was a fictional armament in the shape of a gun. I aimed the muzzle at Ariella but she was a step faster in transmutation.

"A serious fight with you at last. This is seriously awesome."

Instead of targeting me, Ariella aimed flames overhead. A giant explosion shook the entire cavern. Seeing the roof of the cavern collapse, I hastily generated antigravitational matter.

"Antigravity."

The white light expanded, temporarily pushing away the falling giant rocks. But this move was very limited in area. Due to consuming all dark matter in the fictional armament in one go, Siegfried disappeared from my hand.

Outside the white light, the collapse continued. Amidst clouds of smoke and dust, Ariella's figure vanished.

"Well then, Mononobe-kun, I'll be leaving now... Don't chase after me, okay? The next time we meet, I'm certain I'll no longer be myself. Even if you don't kill me, I'll probably kill you—"

I heard her voice through the thunderous noise of falling rocks.

"Wait, Ariella!"

I called out. I wanted to rush over to her but the repulsive field was weakening and a large number of rocks came falling, blocking my path. By this point, catching up to her was impossible.

If I used an explosion or a repulsive field to push the rubble away by force, the cavern's roof might collapse further.

—Screw this.

However, a tide of anger was seething in my heart.

"Screw this!!"

Intense emotions erupted through my mouth.

Even if I could not touch her with these hands right now, I must not let her go just like that. I could not accept what she said.

I summoned Siegfried again and aimed it at the debris blocking my way.

This was only instinct. If the physical obstructions could not be cleared and my voice could not reach her... ''All I had to do was use a power unfettered by physical laws''!

"Ether Bullet!!"

What I unleashed was the power inherited from "Yellow" Hraesvelgr. Golden particles for materializing one's spirit—the soul.

Applied to living beings in high enough density, it could even seal their movements... But my generating capacity was nowhere near enough on my own.

Hence, the purpose of this was not to stop Ariella in her tracks.

Unfettered by physical laws, these particles could pass through sand and soil—Possibly reaching her. My voice might actually reach her.

There was no concrete evidence, just an ambiguous possibility. However, I yelled as hard as I could, entrusting my message to that sliver of hope.

"Even if you change, you will always be Ariella! I will never give up on you!!"

My voice echoed inside the cavern, causing ripples in the golden particles filling the surroundings.

"——!"

Then it came back. Ariella's thoughts. The feelings she could not voice.

It was no illusion. Her emotions had definitely reached my heart.

Dancing like snowflakes, the golden particles gradually thinned out and disappeared.

—Yes, I know.

Watching the debris and the wall of rock, I tightly clenched my left hand with its glowing dragon mark, responding to her thoughts in my mind.

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| Back to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_9_Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Unlimited_Fafnir|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume 9 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 8 Afterword

2018-01-19T14:45:30Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Afterword */

==Afterword==

This is Tsukasa. It'll be April by the time this Volume 8 of Unlimited Fafnir, ''Amethyst Rebirth'', is released, but right now, when I'm writing this afterword with my feet feeling cold, I really hope the weather will get warmer sooner.

However, there will be pollen in the air during spring, right...? For someone like me who's susceptible to both colds and hay fever, spring is such a happy yet suffering season.

Then in April, the anime's broadcast would have ended. How did you feel about the world of Fafnir depicted by the anime? I am honestly overjoyed just simply from seeing Iris, Mitsuki and the others in motion. I also found it very enjoyable to learn about the anime production process.

Due to the limited edition of this Volume 8, I had a chance to write a drama CD script, giving me a very valuable experience. Because this volume was packed with tense plot, I tried to write something fun and relaxing as much as possible, to craft a story that people could listen to again and again. Anime is about having voice actors perform a script written by the screenplay writer, but for a drama CD, the story I wrote would become the script directly, so I felt quite embarrassed during the recording process. My heart was pounding uncontrollably the whole time.

Even the same words would bring about different feelings depending on different acting. I was truly surprised to learn that so much information was packed into every syllable. And in anime, the addition of images is a major factor, thereby vastly increasing character information of Iris and the others, massively adding to their sense of presence.

Then during the development of these media franchises, the greatest assets I gained was the chance to interact and work with so many different people.

If you stick to writing novels, you basically interact with just your editor alone, thus only getting a blurry understanding of the broader industry. But this time, I was lucky enough to be invited to many different scenes, allowing me to witness so many things with my own eyes. I will continue to work hard so that I can continue to interact with the world like this!

—Oh, it feels like I'm writing an impressions essay. It's time for me to talk about the story in the main series but there might not be enough space left.

This Volume 8 is a major turning point where I wrote many scenes and situations that I've been wanting to do since a long time ago.

Next, many mysteries will be unraveled and the story will develop towards an even greater climax, so please look forward to Volume 9.

Well then, time for acknowledgements.

Korie Riko-sensei, thank you so much again for your lovely illustrations this time! Jeanne's bath scene really made me blush with excitement. You also helped the anime broadcast with your promotional illustrations, I am so happy. First credit belongs to Korie Riko-sensei for making Iris and the others into attractive characters.

Editor in charge, Jouji-sama. Thank you for doing so much promotion on my behalf for the anime. Thanks to you, I was able to maintain my pace and finish this Volume 8. Looking forward to your continued care!

Then my thanks goes to all staff who took part in producing the novel, the manga and the anime.

Though the anime has ended, this novel and its manga adaptation will still continue! The manga illustrates the feelings of Yuu and the others in great detail, making you feel like you're in the thick of things. Even after watching the anime, the manga can still help you to enjoy the story even more, so please have a read!

Finally a word to all readers—Thank you for reading and supporting this work.

Well then, see you next time.

Tsukasa, February 2015

==Illustrator's Afterword==
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v08 255.jpg|thumb]]

Jeanne-chan, your gender is very obvious.

Korie Riko

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| Back to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_8_Epilogue|Epilogue]]
| Return to [[Unlimited_Fafnir|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume 9 Illustrations|Volume 9]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 8 Chapter 3

2018-01-19T14:03:33Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 4 */

==Chapter 3 - "Purple" Kraken Zwei==

===Part 1===

"—I never imagined I'd ever fly in the sky while riding a vehicle."

Through the window of a large van, I looked at the distant ground beneath, commenting poignantly.

Outside the window, Lisa and the others could be seen flying while wielding their fictional armaments. A large-scale barrier of air maintained by six people, Lisa, Firill, Ren, Ariella, Tia and Kili, was keeping the vehicle levitated.

They had used wind before to control Mistleteinn in the past, which was much bigger than a car, so this was probably a piece of cake. However, it felt even more surreal precisely because we were traveling in a car, such an ordinary form of everyday transportation.

We were supposed to refrain from conspicuous actions of this sort, but to evade Major Loki's pursuit, we had to leave that mountain villa as quickly as possible.

"Yeah... It feels very unbelievable."

Sitting next to me, Iris smiled wryly in response. She was wearing the jacket I lent her to cover up the scales on her skin. I had yet to report her body's change to anyone, because Iris refused to let them know.

Although the secret could not be kept indefinitely, I decided to wait for Iris to settle her emotions first. After all, Iris' feelings were the most important—

"But with this, NIFL cannot pursue either. Once we find a location that is difficult to reach by land, we'll be able to prevent another attack like the one just now."

Sitting opposite to me, John joined the conversation.

The back seats in the large van were arranged in opposing rows. Sitting here were Iris, John and I who had no flying skills, the sleeping Mitsuki, as well as the restrained Vritra. Shinomiya-sensei was in the driver's seat, giving orders to the girls outside through her communicator.

"Yes... But before the Kraken Zwei problem is resolved, Major Loki probably won't cut us any slack. No matter where, we can't lower our guard."

I remarked bitterly. The only reason why we had no casualties this time was because of good luck and Ren's quick reaction. Before Major Loki launches his next wave of attacks, we must resolve the matter.

"That mountain villa was supposed to be a safe place too..."

Iris spoke in a feeble tone of voice.

According to the original plan, the members not participating in the operation would stay back and standby at the villa. But after such an attack, we could no longer leave them and Mitsuki behind.

Thus, all of us were moving to a place near the designated location for the operation, then set up a base of operations there.

"Always noisy all day long, thou art rather quiet today. What happened—to thee?"

Seeign Iris in low spirits, Vritra asked her.

"Eh? Oh, umm... Nothing!"

Iris made a guilty look then hugged herself tightly.

"Yes, very well."

Despite looking at her suggestively, Vritra stopped talking and did not ask anymore.

Speaking of which, when we were checking the color change in the dragon marks, Vritra had said something mysterious about Iris' condition.

Perhaps Vritra might actually know something about the change happening to Iris' body.

Although I doubted if she would tell me honestly... I decided to find an opportunity to ask anyway.

Watching Vritra's nonchalant face from the side, I pondered the matter. At this moment, Shinomiya-sensei looked back at us.

"—A suitable location has been found. We will land here."

Pressing the communicator to speak, Shinomiya-sensei announced to us.

Due to the air barrier surrounding us, we could not feel the pressure and temperature outside, but seeing the scenery of lush mountains gradually getting closer, I knew that we were descending.

This was a mountainous area covered in forests and peaks without any houses in sight. Contact with Kraken Zwei was set to take place in this area.

I saw Firill flying outside. She approached and knocked on the window then pointed at a lake below. We were apparently going to land near there.

It looked like a volcanic crater lake, surrounded by towering rocky mountains and quite difficult to approach from the ground.

The van slowly landed on the lake shore with slight shaking from the impact.

"We're there."

The van's door opened and a cool breeze caressed my face. Before my eyes was a lake with clear blue water.

Disembarking, I felt the sensation of soft grassland under the soles of my shoes.

"Come, Iris."

I extended my hand towards Iris who was just about to get off after me.

"...Thanks."

Iris held my hand somewhat shyly and jumped nimbly from the van.

At this moment, the girls dispelled their fictional armaments and gathered around.

"Given this place, we can detect the invasion of enemies just by watching the sky above."

Sweeping her eyes across the mountain range encircling the lake, Lisa nodded with satisfaction.

"What a beautiful lake. If there's time, I really want to fish."

Ariella approached the shore and stared at the water surface.

"Tia wants to swim!"

"Hmm... The air temperature might be a bit low for swimming."

Firill smiled wryly when Tia raised her hand and made her suggestion. Ren also rubbed her exposed arms and nodded in agreement.

"Mm, it's a bit cold."

However, Kili shrugged in exasperation after listening to them.

"If you're Ds, why don't you just think slightly out of the box and use your powers? If you feel cold, then create a heat source."

Kili created a small fireball on her hand and smiled.

"...So warm."

Ren placed her hands over the flames and closed her eyes partially in comfort.

"Using our powers for something mundane like warmth... It's true that I never thought that way before."

Firill remarked, somewhat impressed.

"Because we basically use our powers only for fighting dragons. However, that's fine the way it is, because it's not a good idea to rely on powers in everyday life."

Hearing Lisa say that, Kili frowned in puzzlement.

"Why? Isn't it a waste to have powers and not use them?"

"You look like you grew up in rather special circumstances... But don't forget that Ds lose their powers upon reaching adulthood, okay? You will be in trouble then if you rely on your powers excessively."

Lisa had pointed something matter-of-fact, but Kili reacted with a surprised look.

"Ds losing their powers upon adulthood—That's true, but I never paid attention to this problem. Mother, will that happen to me too?"

Kili asked Vritra, who was disembarking together with John.

"...Of course. Thou simply hast excellent abilities but art fundamentally no different from Ds."

Restrained by a vine, Vritra squirmed involuntarily while she answered.

"Really? So my powers will disappear. I don't really like that."

Kili stared at her hand and murmured. Most likely for Kili, the ability to generate dark matter had already become an integral part of her being.

"Become a true dragon if thou dost not wish to lose thy powers. Besides, ''the purpose of Ds' powers is to evolve their bodies into dragons''. Hence, 'tis only natural for their powers to disappear once their bodies mature and can no longer synchronize with dragons."

While Kili was immersed in her thoughts, Vritra spoke in an authoritative tone to her.

"What—"

Listening on the side, Lisa and the others gasped, because Vritra had nonchalantly revealed key information regarding the mystery of the existences known as Ds.

However, Kili apparently knew this already. Without showing surprise, she simply made a wry smile.

"Actually, Mother, I don't mind becoming a dragon. It's just that I want to select my partner. When will you approve of him, Mother?"

Kili approached me all of a sudden and locked arms with me.

"H-Hey, Kili..."

I wanted to get away from her but Kili refused, sticking closely to me. Her bosom was pressing tightly against my arm. The soft sensation was halting my thoughts.

"Kili! How many times do I have to repeat myself? Stop sticking to the Captain!"

"T-That's right! Kili-chan! You're troubling Mononobe!"

John and Iris protested together, but Kili ignored them, staring at Vritra.

"...Hmph, never. Although he appeareth to be no ordinary irregular, given his caliber, he cannot surpass the second generation."

Vritra turned her face away.

"Oh...? Then it's fine once Yuu defeats Kraken Zwei? So there you go, Yuu... For our future's sake, you have to do your best."

Kili pressed herself harder against me, whispering gently to me extremely up close.

"No, we're not going to defeat Kraken Zwei, we're persuading her first—"

"Listen here, distance yourself from him right away!"

I was trying to argue when Lisa forcibly pulled me away from Kili.

"Kili sticks to Yuu too much!"

Tia rushed in between Kili and me.

"...Mm, Onii-chan, come over here."

Ren tugged my sleeve in a huff, taking me somewhere far away from Kili.

"Eh? Ren, are you jealous?"

"—Ooh..."

As soon as Ariella commented, Ren immediately went bright red and released my arm.

Firill approached at this time and say to me with a mischievous expression:

"Mononobe-kun, if you're considering the future... You do have the choice of becoming a prince, you know?"

"C-Come on..."

I scratched my head, unsure how to respond.

"—Idle chatter ends here, everyone. I will explain our plan from here on."

At this moment, a stern voice caused the relaxed atmosphere to tense up.

Shinomiya-sensei disembarked from the driver's seat and looked at us with a cellphone in her hand. Everyone's expression turned serious and we faced Shinomiya-senssei.

"According to the latest news just received, Kraken Zwei is moving towards us just as we predicted. Given her movement speed, reaching this location will require three hours approximately, but of course, we will not allow her to come into contact with those whose dragon marks have changed color."

Shinomiya-sensei finished in a strong tone of voice and swept her gaze across us.

"Right now, she is crossing the mountain range. As soon as she enters the plain, we will approach and attempt persuasion. The reason why we avoid high ground is to prevent her from firing antimatter over a broad area in the event that a battle breaks out."

"If she were to shower antimatter down from high ground, we really would not have anywhere to escape..."

Lisa concurred with Shinomiya-sensei.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v08 135.jpg|thumb]]

"The operation will start forty minutes from now. Just as I explained earlier, the persuasion team will consist of myself, Mononobe Yuu and John Hortensia, the three of us. Iris Freyja, Lisa Highwalker, Firill Crest and Tia Lightning, you four will standby at your designated sniping locations. I will send the locations to your portable terminals later."

After explaining, Shinomiya-sensei turned her gaze to Ariella and the others who had not been called upon.

"The rest of you will wait here for us to return. However, please keep a close eye on Mononobe Mitsuki's condition and do not relax your surveillance on Vritra. To guard against NIFL's attacks, Ariella Lu and Ren Miyazawa, I hope you two will take turns to deploy an air barrier."

"Understood."

"Mm."

Ariella and Ren nodded firmly.

"Then the briefing is over. Until ten minutes before the operation, you have time to rest."

Leaving these instructions, Shinomiya-sensei returned to the van.

Left behind, we looked at one another, unsure what to do.

"—I got dirty during the earlier battle, so I'm taking a bath. Tia, come along if you want to swim, okay?"

Kili pointed at her arms and legs that had been blackened by smoke then invited Tia to go with her.

Due to the explosion at the mountain villa, we were all covered by a fair amount of soot.

"Great! Oh, but in that case, it's better if everyone went! Lisa, all of you come too!"

Pulling Lisa's hand, Tia called to everyone.

"...I wanted a bath in the first place, so I have no objections."

Concerned about the soot on her hair and skin, Lisa nodded.

"I'll go too. It won't be cold as long as we create a heat source, which can also serve as a hair dryer too."

Firill agreed excitedly.

"Let's go, given the chance."

"Mm."

Ariella and Ren also nodded in agreement, then looked at the remaining Iris.

"I-I'll pass, because I have some scratches from when the explosion caused the room to collapse... Getting water on my skin will sting."

Wearing my jacket, Iris shook her head and declined with a stiff expression.

The red scales appearing on her skin would be exposed if she undressed. Hence, bathing was definitely out of the question for her at the moment.

"I'll look after Mitsuki-chan! So don't mind me and enjoy yourselves, everyone."

As though fleeing, Iris entered the van where Mitsuki was sleeping.

"Iris-san... She has been acting strangely since the earlier battle. Do you know something about it?"

Lisa asked me.

"Well—"

I reflexively wanted to cover it up, but stopped myself halfway, because lying definitely did not work on Lisa.

"...I know, but I can't say it right now."

So I changed what I was planning to say.

"Is that so? Then please tell me when a suitable time comes."

Lisa made a helpless expression and did not question further.

"Then let us go over there to bathe... I won't forgive you if you dare peek, okay?"

Lisa poked me in the forehead with her index finger then went with the others to the other side of the bushes.

"I don't mind if you peek, okay? Rather, I should say that it doesn't bother me if you want to bathe together."

Kili smiled seductively and waved to call me over, but Lisa scolded "of course that is unacceptable!" and dragged Kili away.

"Then Captain, I will go wash my face a bit."

Watching that sort of scene, John smiled wryly at me with his soot-stained face, then walked in the opposite direction from Lisa and the girls.

This left only Vritra and me by the van. While Kili and Tia were bathing, it looked like I had to supervise her, however—This turned out to be perfect.

"Vritra, I need to have a word with you."

"...Regarding what?"

Vritra looked up and glared at me, asking with displeasure.

"This isn't a good place to talk, so let's go somewhere else."

I glanced sideways at the van then walked to some nearby shrubbery. This was because I did not know if Iris should hear this.

Vritra followed obediently. I pushed the bushes apart and stopped at a slightly open space. I looked back to see that the van was no longer in view.

"So—What business dost thou have? By any chance, art thou taking me to a deserted location, intending to make my body your plaything..."

"Of course not! I have a question for you."

I yelled at her then went straight to the point.

"About Iris, what do you know?"

"By 'what,' thou art referring to...?"

Vritra frowned, cocking her head in puzzlement.

"You said something suggestive when you found out that only Iris' dragon mark had slowed down its color change, right? Something about 'perfectly possible' or 'it doesn't matter which outcome'—Please tell me if you know something."

"The way thou art acting... As one would expect, she hath changed, yes?"

She must have noticed while we were talking in the van. Vritra narrowed her eyes and replied.

"...Yes."

Despite hesitating, I still nodded and admitted it. Since I wanted to go deeper in the conversation, I could not hide things from Vritra.

"I see—But as said previously, I have no obligation to tell thee."

"I know, but even so, I still hope you can tell me—Please."

I bowed my head deeply to beg and immediately heard a tiny sigh.

"To think I expected thee to threaten or torture me... Bowing thy head to plead, how unexpected. Why wilt thou go this far?"

"Because Iris is in pain."

I answered with my face towards the ground but did not hear a reply. The wind blew and the grass rustled.

After a long silence, Vritra spoke.

"Very well—I shall tell thee, for her sake if not for thine. 'Tis merely defiance against thee when I declined to say previously. In truth, thou art powerless even if I were to tell thee. Moreover, 'tis no loss to me."

"Really!?"

I looked up but Vritra's countenance staring at me was cold and merciless.

"Indeed, yet in mine opinion, 'twould only cause thee to despair."

After saying that, Vritra leaned her back against a nearby tree trunk.

"Despair...?"

"I said thou art powerless, yes? Because she shall merely become the next Basilisk, as a result of inheriting the authority."

"What—"

It was the worst-case scenario that had existed in a corner of my mind, impossible to dispel. And Vritra's words confirmed my imagination. I could not help but gasp.

"Creatures turning into dragons after inheriting an authority, 'tis a phenomenon that hath happened multiple times. 'White' Leviathan's predecessor was 'Silver' Tiamat. On the other hand, 'Yellow' Hraesvelgr had inherited its authority from 'Gold' Phoenix before turning into a dragon. Just like her—"

"Wait! If inheriting power means turning into a dragon, why haven't changes appeared in Mitsuki or me?"

I interrupted Vritra and pointed out the contradiction. Calling me powerless—How could I possibly accept that?

"Thy sister most likely did not inherit the full authority. The Kraken's child using antimatter is proof of that. As for thee, the authorities thou usest are far too weak compared to the original dragons."

Indeed, I could not bring out power on the level of Leviathan or Hraesvelgr. At my level, all I could do was recreate a tiny part of the effects by using dark matter transmutation. Unlike Iris, I could not directly use the powers I had inherited from dragons.

"'Tis unclear whether due to incomplete inheritance or the inability to control beyond one's own capacity... Or some other reason. I know not the correct answer. However, among ye Ds, she—Iris Freyja—is the only one capable of using an authority equal to or surpassing the original dragon in scale. Only her."

Vritra spoke in a calm tone of voice.

Now that she mentioned it... The battle against Yggdrasil, the battle against Kraken Zwei, the battle against Vritra—With every battle, Iris' Catastrophe seemed to increase in power. Ariella had also pointed out that Iris had even surpassed Basilisk in power.

"...Suppose that's true, is there really nothing I can do?"

"Indeed, 'tis legitimate evolution that is occurring in her. Neither injury nor disease, 'tis only the vessel changing its shape to match the contents. Even if thou forcest the change to a halt, the end result will be the vessel's destruction."

"...!"

I gasped and clenched my fist.

"The slowing in the dragon mark's change in color is because her nature as a dragon has increased in comparison to her nature as a D. She shall become the one who chooseth rather than one who is chosen. Even if thou defeatest the Kraken's child, next will be her turn to—"

"Don't say anymore!!"

Unable to bear it, I yelled. I did not want to hear more... because even without listening, I understood.

"—Hoo, in other words, this is the reason why I said it mattereth not which outcome. Very well... Hast thou anything more to say?"

"Right..."

Although there seemed to be something else I should ask, my mind was in chaos at the moment. How should I explain this to Iris? What should I do next... My thoughts were impossible to organize.

"Then as a reward for providing information, thou shouldst agree to a request of mine."

"...What is it? I'll say this first. I won't release your bonds."

Although the majority of my thoughts were occupied with Iris' matter, I still asked out of obligation.

However, Vritra shook her head and explained her demand.

"Take me to the water and wash my face. My face itcheth."

Hearing her say that, I noticed that Vritra's face was a bit dirty. However, since her upper body was all tied up, she could not wipe with her hands.

"No problem, if it's just something like that."

Feeling a little surprised, I nodded and accepted her request.

"Very well, sally forth."

Perhaps it itched quite badly, Vritra hurried me with her movements.

I sighed and took her to the water's edge.

At the same time, I searched my mind desperately, trying to find the right words for the next time I saw Iris—

===Part 2===

"Control thy force, too strenuous."

"You're so demanding..."

I washed Vritra's face while sighing.

We were at the lake shore where there was a large patch of gravel. Since we had gone to a place opposite in direction to where Lisa and the girls were bathing, there was no worry of running into them.

I dipped my handkerchief into the transparent lake water, wetting it, then gently wiped Vritra's face.

"So cold."

"Bear with it when it's just this much."

Her cheeks were soft yet elastic. While wiping off the soot from her face, I really felt as though I was looking after a little girl.

"—Okay, this should be good enough. Done?"

After confirming that her face was clean, I asked Vritra.

"If possible, I wish to wash my hair and body too... Forget it. I shall endure for now."

"You're quite complacent despite clearly being a captive..."

I looked in exasperation at Vritra whose attitude was inexplicably haughty. Although I wanted to mock her a bit, I did not have the energy because my thoughts were all occupied with Iris.

"—Then let's head back."

I urged Vritra and walked towards the van's direction along the lake side. To come here just now, we had passed through the forest surrounding the lake, which was quite difficult due to the dense foliage. However, there was no such problem when walking along the rocky lake shore and no danger of tripping either.

"Thou walkest too fast. Accommodate my pace."

Perhaps because of the easy walk, my pace quickened naturally. Vritra grumbled at me.

"Oh, sorry."

After apologizing, I paced myself to accommodate Vritra's little strides but for some reason, she looked surprised.

"...Wherefore art thou apologizing? Art thou not going to tell me to bear with it this time?"

"Well, I'm currently at fault, right?"

"Forsooth—Hmm... I understand too little of thee."

Vritra cocked her head, walking side by side with me.

In this manner, we advanced along the lake shore, only to encounter a giant rock blocking our way. Or maybe it was volcanic cinder. Either way, we had to make a detour around it by going through the forest.

However, when I circled around the rock, pushed aside the bushes and arrived at the lake's edge again—I was confronted with an unexpected sight.

"Huh—?"

Looking back over her shoulder in surprise, frozen to the spot, was John with his upper body naked.

Perhaps he was in the middle of wiping his body. John was sitting at the water's edge with a wet towel in his hand. His removed jacket was hanging on a nearby rock.

However, that was not the problem.

Pale skin as tender as milk, a narrow waist, as well as a bulging chest that did not belong to a man—

"Hyah!?"

John screamed and covered his chest with both arms.

"J-John?"

Was he—she—really John Hortensia? Uncertain, I called
his name hesitantly.

"W-W-W-W-Why is the Captain here when the van was clearly on that side—"

Gone as white as a ghost, she cried out. Since Vritra and I had arrived from the opposite direction, it looked like she had been caught by surprise. Wait, by the way, since she called me 'Captain'—So she was John after all?

"I, uh, I was just helping Vritra wash her face..."

I motioned with my eyes to Vritra who was walking out from the bushes, then turned to face John.

"Putting that aside..."

"Y-Yes sir."

John gulped and waited for me to speak.

"John... So you're actually... a girl?"

I asked her in confirmation, unable to hide my confoundment.

"I am a man."

However, John asserted firmly, hiding her chest.

"Huh? But—"

"I am a man."

I frowned but John repeated himself with stronger emphasis.

"...Isn't that a bit unconvincing given the circumstances?"

"I am a man!"

With tears appearing in her eyes, John yelled with some resignation.

I scratched my head, unsure what to make of the situation.

"......Whatever, anyway, put your clothes on first. I'll look away for now."

Unsure where to look, I turned around.

Her bare skin was so beautiful that I could not help but stare in a trance. Even though she had covered the important parts, I still found it difficult to calm myself.

"O-Okay..."

John replied stiffly then I heard the sound of clothing rustling.

"Thou tellst me, what on earth is the situation?"

Vritra frowned, apparently baffled and inquired of me.

"...I haven't grasped the situation either."

"Hmm..?"

Hearing my answer, Vritra showed even greater puzzlement on her face.

"—Captain, I am ready now."

I looked back to see the familiar John dressed in military uniform.

Her feminine curves were cleverly disguised. Neither could the bulging of her chest be seen.

"That's amazing... Now you look totally like a man."

"Of course, because I am a man."

Seeing John say that with a nonchalant expression, I looked at her in utter exasperation.

"No, I'm not going to be fooled no matter what, you know? But if you don't want to talk about it, I won't pry..."

I sighed. After hearing that, John trembled and collapsed on her knees as though it was too much to bear.

"Oooh... So it won't work after all?"

Seeing her moist eyes staring at me, I felt my heart pounding like mad. Now that I was aware that she was female, her prim and proper face seemed to look even more beautiful than before.

"Sorry, but—If you really don't want the others to know, I'll definitely keep your secret."

Rather than surprise, I felt sorry for her so I apologized.

"No, Captain, you were the only one I wanted to keep the secret from... It's fine even if you tell the others. Or rather, some of them already now."

Supporting herself with her hands on the ground, John shook her head in dejection.

"You mean Kili?"

Since they had been working together for a while, it would not be strange for her to know.

"Yes... There is also Ariella Lu who fought me at Erlia..."

"Oh right, that reminds me. Ariella and you were exchanging mysterious words earlier."

I recalled what had happened at the stream, so I muttered.

Ever since the encounter at the Principality of Erlia, Ariella already knew John's real gender huh...?

I remembered back then, Ariella had told me to ask for his real name the next time we met.

"Can you tell me your real name?"

"—Jeanne. Jeanne Hortensia."

John—no, Jeanne—replied softly.

"What? That's pretty much the same. Should I call you John or Jeanne from now one—Which do you prefer?"

Hearing me ask that, Jeanne looked up at me with a surprised look.

"From now on...? Captain, you're not angry?"

Jeanne asked me in a tone of trepidation.

"Huh? Why should I be angry?"

Despite my surprise, I could not think of any reason to be angry.

"Because I have deceived you the whole time... All that trust built up till now... Bonds between men, everything is now moot, right?"

Jeanne answered in a feeble voice, her eyes watching me uneasily.

"Everyone has secrets—Me too. And in your case, your gender was your secret, that's all. Our experiences as teammates doesn't get written off just like that."

"Captain..."

Her pallid face starting to regain color.

"And you must have some kind of reason, right?"

"Yes, but it's nothing special. Because posing as a man is more convenient in the military... People are less likely to belittle you and I can avoid unnecessary trouble. It's just that..."

"—After I was assigned to Sleipnir, I wanted to win your approval, Captain... I didn't want to show my weakness, so I tried even harder than before to play the part of a strong man. That is why I was thinking, if you were to find out I am female, surely your impression of me will be ruined..."

Clenching her fist, she confessed the reason to me in a hoarse voice.

"Of course I won't do that. Whether you are male or female, you're still the best sniper."

I smiled wryly and told her that my opinion of her remained unchanged.

"Ooh..."

Jeanne's shoulders shook as she bit her lip, her golden eyes growing moist from tears.

"C-Captaaaaaaain!! I will follow you for the rest of my life!!"

Crying tears of emotion, Jeanne hugged me.

"H-Hey—"

If it were before, I would not falter, but after knowing she was female, it did bother me a bit.

Even hidden under clothing, the touch of her body remained soft. I could also smell a faint fragrance from her neck.

"Ooh... Captain... Captain!"

However, if I pushed her away by force now, I would be betraying what I had said about not changing my opinion of her, so I endured my embarrassment and patted her lightly on the back.

At this time, with Jeanne in between, I met Vritra's gaze.

Completely ignored on the side, Vritra was watching with an impatient look on her face.

"—Humans are truly creatures that agonize over inane matters. To think one would alter one's appearance over concerns of other people's opinion... What folly."

Vritra shook her head as though it was impossible to comprehend. Jeanne simply cried in my bosom, not listening to her at all.

"Really? But you changed yourself to this form in order to talk to Tia, right?"

"Hmm... 'Tis only to accommodate Yggdrasil's core."

Vritra looked at her body and her lips became bent in a frown. However, it was undeniably true that she had altered her own appearance for the sake of negotiations, so she did not argue any further.

To build up good relationships with others, sometimes it was necessary to change yourself.

—Was it really right for us to go ahead like this to persuade Kraken Zwei?

Suddenly, that thought occurred to me.

But of course, I did not know we should do either. Since we could not change our appearances like Vritra, our only choice was to face Kraken Zwei as humans.

"..."

Iris' face flashed in my mind. I shook my head.

Kraken Zwei was born between a dragon and a human—a D. Then there was Iris, who was gradually transforming into a dragon as a result of acquiring immense power.

Right now, the one closest to Kraken Zwei—might possibly be Iris.

I could not help but feel furious at myself for thinking such thoughts.

===Part 3===

Once Jeanne's emotions had calmed, we returned to the van's location. Kili and the girls were already back from their bath.

"Hey Yuu, where did you go? We were waiting the whole time for you to peek, you know?"

With her hand on her hip, Kili complained to me.

"Hold on, Kili-san! I was certainly not waiting for him!"

However, Lisa corrected her.

"My, oh really? While we were bathing, you seemed quite unsettled the whole time."

"I-I was purely being vigilant against voyeurs."

"Oh, but—"

Just as Kili was about to joke with Lisa again, she seemed to realize something and stopped mid-sentence.

"Oh dear, John, your eyes are red. Don't tell me something happened?"

Kili cocked her head, seemingly intrigued, and asked Jeanne.

"......"

Jeanne avoided eye contact with a complicated expression. Seeing her like that, Kili said quietly:

"No way... Did you get found out?"

"...Indeed."

In response to Kili's query, Jeanne nodded lightly to admit.

"However... The Captain's magnanimity was greater than I imagined. He still acknowledged me even after knowing my secret, he accepted everything about me!"

Jeanne clenched her fist and spoke with fervor.

"...What happened?"

Unclear what the situation was, Firill came over and asked.

"Oh, basically the fact that she's actually a girl. Although it's a shame that I've lost material to make fun of her—But now I can call her Jeanne-chan regardless of who's around."

Kili shrugged and answered, instantly causing a commotion among the girls.

"Jeanne-chan? So that's her real name?"

Tia asked with surprise all over her face.

"Yes, it's a nice name that suits her well, right?"

Kili replied, smiling happily.

"To be honest, I knew from the start."

"Mm... Ariella, no fair."

Ariella smiled wryly while Ren looked out from behind her back, protesting quietly.

"John-san—no, I suppose I should call you Jeanne-san now? I initially thought you were quite delicate... But never did I suspect you were a girl—"

Lisa scrutinized Jeanne from head to foot and back a number of times, then remarked in an impressed tone of voice.

"...By the way, I'm personally more curious about Mononobe-kun accepting everything about her."

Saying that, Firill looked at me coldly.

"Mononobe-kun, what did you do to her? Don't tell me... The instant you found out her gender, you couldn't repress your desire—"

"How is that even possible!?"

I yelled at Firill and Jeanne nodded vigorously too.

"Indeed. The Captain won't do that sort of thing. Instead he was gentle—he simply hugged me."

In that instant, my skin could feel the girls' gazes on me turning icy cold.

"Mononobe-kun... You're so unfaithful."

Firill pouted and glared at me.

"I can't really support such behavior..."

"Mm."

Ariella looked exasperated while Ren agreed with her.

"(glare)..."
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v08 157.jpg|thumb]]

I felt an extra sharp and stinging gaze, only to see Iris narrowing her eyes at me from the van's window.

"No, I wasn't thinking anything dirty!"

I protested, mainly to explain to Iris.

"Oh? But in such a situation... Mitsuki-chan would surely say 'Nii-san is such a jerk,' wouldn't she?"

"Urgh..."

"—Mononobe is such a jerk."

Iris pouted and withdrew into the van.

"H-Hey—"

I hastily tried to enter the van, but just at that moment, Shinomiya-sensei looked out from the driver's seat.

"Please assemble, everyone! The situation has changed."

We looked at one another then gathered around Shinomiya-sensei who had gotten out of the driver's seat. Despite feeling bothered by my affairs and withdrawing herself into the van, Iris still came outside.

"Shinomiya-sensei, did something happen?"

Lisa asked on everyone's behalf and Shinomiya-sensei nodded bitterly.

"Yes. Kraken Zwei is moving faster than predicted."

"Meaning she suddenly accelerated...? But why—"

Firill tilted her head in puzzlement.

"The reason is this."

Shinomiya-sensei declared stiffly then showed us the screen on her portable terminal.

Shown there was Kraken Zwei, entirely wrapped in silver hair. Although her appearance was the same as before, there seemed to be—something not quite right.

"She grew bigger..."

Only after hearing Ariella's murmur did I realize what was wrong. Because a transmission tower in the background looked especially tiny.

"Ariella Lu is correct. Kraken Zwei is moving faster because she has grown in size. Currently, the body length is roughly fifteen meters."

Kili examined the screen carefully and brought her hand to the side of her mouth.

"Rather than her body itself growing in size, it's more like the mithril hair, which serves as her limbs, has extended in length. If dark matter was used for biogenic transmutation, then such a change occurring in this short amount of time is also—!"

However, she held her right hand mid-sentence. The dragon mark was glowing intensely with purple light.

"It hurts..."

Tia and the others, whose dragon marks were still changing in color, all pressed their hands on the locations of their respective dragon marks.

"W-What's wrong, everyone? Ah, Ren, are you okay?"

Iris panicked and showed concern for Ren, who had crouched down.

Judging from what I could see, the dragon mark symptoms did not affect Iris.

'The slowing in the dragon mark's change in color is because her nature as a dragon has increased in comparison to her nature as a D.'

Without warning, Vritra's earlier words placed reality before my eyes.

I spontaneously looked towards the van, only to see a faint purple glow leaking from the inside.

"—!"

I ran to the van and peered inside. As expected, the light source was the neck of Mitsuki who was lying down on the seats.

"Oooh..."

Stuck in deep slumber all this time, Mitsuki moaned in pain.

"Mitsuki!"

I approached and held Mitsuki's hand, calling her name.

"......Miyako."

From Mitsuki's mouth, moaning as though yearning for air, I heard a faint sound.

What she said was the name of the best friend whom she had personally executed.

Was Mitsuki having a nightmare of that time? Or did she superimpose Miyako with the Kraken Zwei that was seeking her? I could not tell.

But the dragon mark's increased glow also conveyed clearly to me Kraken Zwei's determination to take Mitsuki and the other girls.

"I will protect you."

I swore to my precious and beloved little sister then exited the vehicle. Everyone's gaze was focused on me.

"The glow of Mitsuki's dragon mark has also increased. That's probably because Kraken Zwei is approaching."

"—'Tis not all."

Originally silent, Vritra swept her strong gaze across everyone in turn.

"Ye should realize by now, what the Kraken's child seeks is not family but mates. Persuasion is meaningless behavior."

"It's not meaningless! As long as I go, that child will surely—"

Jeanne immediately objected but she stopped talking once she saw that the girls with changing dragon marks did not voice their support.

Just as the tense silence was reaching breaking point, Shinomiya-sensei took a step forward.

"No matter what, we are out of time. The risk in approaching her to persuade her has increased. Hence, we will change tactics."

"—!"

Jeanne bit her lip with chagrin surfacing on her face.

"However, please do not misunderstand. I have not abandoned the possibility of persuasion. It's just that we will observe her while minimizing risk as much as possible."

"Huh..."

Jeanne reacted with surprise at what Shinomiya-sensei said.

"I will inform everyone of the plan's details while on the move. All participants in the operation, move out with me immediately!"

Shinomiya-sensei issued orders sternly.

"—Yes ma'am!"

Lisa and Firill head their heads high and puffed out their chests, answering loudly.

About to head to the scene, Shinomiya-sensei's figure exuded "strength" that I could feel from her days as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad which I had never witnessed—

===Part 4===

"...Onii-chan, everyone, do your best."

"Don't worry about Mitsuki, we'll protect her for sure."

Ren and Ariella saw us off as we departed. Likewise waiting at the lake side, Kili waved to us while her other hand held the vine that was binding Vritra.

"Even if NIFL attacks from the air, we will strike them all down. So Yuu, you have to protect me well."

"...Hmph."

As usual, Vritra turned her face away in displeasure.

"Then we're off."

Including me, the participants in the operation waved then took to the sky. Tia with her fictional armament of red wings was in charge of transporting Jeanne and me, who did not have flying skills.

For transportation, Lisa was in charge of Iris while Firill had Shinomiya-sensei—Enveloping themselves in wind transmuted from their respective dark matter, they ascended in the air.

Within the blink of an eye, Ren and the others were no longer visible while the van on the side had become a small dot.

'—Well then, I will now explain the key points of the operation.'

The communicator transmitted Shinomiya-sensei's voice. I took my gaze off the lake that was growing distant.

'First of all, we will approach Kraken Zwei until visible range, to let her know of Jeanne Hortensia's presence. Judging from the battles against unmanned weaponry, the target's sensing range is quite broad and will surely detect her.'

—So Shinomiya-sensei had heard the earlier conversation.

We had not gone out of our way to explain to her, but she had switched to using "Jeanne" and "her" to refer to John, this showed that she had overheard our dialogue.

'Then we will first retreat temporarily and pulled back. After that, put down the three of us, Mononobe Yuu, Jeanne Hortensia and me, by the river on the west. The remaining members will standby at their combat positions as originally assigned.'

"Understood!"

Flying while holding my hand, Tia answered with full vigor.

Since Tia, Lisa and Firill were using combat goggles, their goggles should display the destination's necessary information.

'Hold on, Shinomiya-sensei. Going to the river on the west would greatly deviate from Kraken Zwei's direction of advance.'

Perhaps having confirmed the map, Lisa raised a question for Shinomiya-sensei.

'—I know, but if what Kraken Zwei seeks is family, she should change direction and come towards us. If she advances in search of mates instead of changing direction—Then we will exterminate her at the combat location.'

Shinomiya-sensei asserted gravely.

Jeanne and I were both being transported by Tia. I could hear Jeanne make a small gasp.

'In other words... We will persuade if it looks like there's hope for success. Perhaps that might be safer than suddenly appearing in front of Kraken Zwei.'

Firill agreed with Shinomiya-sensei's plan. Iris, transported by her, kept looking down at the view below the entire time. To cover up the scales appearing on her skin, she was still wearing my jacket.

'Yes, if she changes course, chances of successful persuasion will be much higher. However, I have considered the worst-case scenario, of course, and asked the members standing by at their assigned locations, distributed in our surroundings, to get ready to snipe. If the need arises, please attack from long range.'

Shinomiya-sensei explained the process to us but Iris raised a question.

'—If we follow that plan, will we be able to protect Mononobe and the rest of you in an emergency...? My Catastrophe doesn't work...'

'It's not that it doesn't work, but it gets blocked. Since Kraken Zwei is half D, then there should be a limit as to how much dark matter she can generate at a time. Mithril shields created through transmutation are not limitless.'

—Indeed. Kraken Zwei handled Catastrophe by generating a mithril shield to buy time before taking evasive action. That was probably evidence that her mithril generation was insufficient.

'Consequently, the other three apart from Iris Freyja will attack first. Once the target takes defensive action, Iris Freyja will then fire at weaknesses in her defense. Since Mononobe Mitsuki's antimatter is not available, there are no other effective measures. If the target doesn't change course, we will use this same attack sequence too.'

Shinomiya-sensei explained a battle plan that should have chances of succeeding, but Iris spoke pessimistically again:

'Then... If that plan fails too...'

'Then run away. No matter what our situation, none of you may approach Kraken Zwei. Keep your distance away from her to absolutely avoid turning into a dragon.'

Shinomiya-sensei asserted strictly.

'......'

Iris fell silent with mixed emotions. Surely, she was not only worrying about the worst-case scenario outlined, because the words 'turning into a dragon' had additional significance to Iris right now.

—Iris.

I wanted to tell her things but in front of others, I could not bring up Iris' change.

'I understand.'

'Roger.'

Lisa and Firill responded on the silent Iris' behalf.

"...If you are in danger... Tia doesn't want to run away alone."

However, Tia shook her head while transporting me.

"Don't worry, Tia. It's actually safer for us, the ones who are not marked. If anything happens, you must prioritize your own safety. I will find a solution using that time."

"Find a solution...?"

Tia showed surprise at what I said.

"Even if all plans fails, I will still put an end to things. Since Kraken Zwei is also a D—So long as the opponent is human, I won't lose for sure."

Not for Tia alone, I was also declaring clearly for Iris to hear on the channel as well.

'Mononobe...'

Transported by Firill, Iris cast her gaze towards me.

As for Jeanne, who did not wish for battle, she looked down with a sad expression.

"However, our first important task is to succeed in persuasion. Let's pray right now that it won't turn into a battle."

To cheer Jeanne up, I deliberately added in a cheerful tone of voice.

'—Mononobe Yuu is right. Right now, the first important task of the plan is to persuade and win over the target. If we display an intention to fight from the very start, she will be wary too. Once we pass the next hill, the target should enter our view. Please prepare yourselves.'

Pointing to a slightly higher hill ahead, Shinomiya-sensei urged everyone to prepare themselves mentally.

To avoid getting ambushed by Kraken Zwei, we were flying at low altitude, following the hill's slope to gradually rise in elevation.

Soon after—The target came into view.

The scenery broadened all at once after we passed the hill. One object in the scenery was an exceptionally large silver mass, dominating the ground with overwhelming presence.

"—!?"

The extent of its massive size made one gasp. Perhaps because she was still expanding during our journey here, her length had clearly exceeded fifteen meters.

Covered by a silver curtain woven by multiple layers of mithril threads, her real body was not visible. The slowly quivering exterior was reminiscent of a jellyfish drifting in the ocean. The tiny silver threads fluttering at the edge of her body glimmered from the rays of the sun that was starting to set.

At this moment, I felt all the hairs on my body stand on end.

—We were seen.

Feeling this signal through my skin, I instantly yelled.

"That's enough! Everybody pull back quickly!"

'Stop advancing! Turn around and retreat!'

Almost at the same time, Shinomiya-sensei issued orders.

"G-Got it!"

Kraken Zwei's appearance had stunned Tia. She came back to her senses and answered.

Jeanne stared intently at Kraken Zwei, gradually receding away, then took a deep breath.

"I am here! You don't have to be afraid on your own anymore! Come with me!"

Jeanne yelled with all her strength.

After crossing the hill and Kraken Zwei went out of sight, she closed her eyes as though in prayer.

"Please... You must remember me."

Immediately, an explosion occurred at the hill serving as cover.

"What—"

No, more accurately, the hill was leveled. A thick length of silver ribbon had uprooted the entire hill, scattering trees and soil.

'Accelerate! The target is gaining on us!'

Shinomiya-sensei called out urgently.

On the other side of the cloud of rising dust and sand, countless glimmering silver strands could be glimpsed.

Was she chasing after Jeanne? Or seeking mates? At the current stage, it was still unclear.

Confirming this question was next.

'I am about to fly at full speed. Are you okay, Tia-san?'

Lisa asked Tia who was transporting Jeanne and me.

"Yes, no problem!"

'Well then, time to accelerate!'

Our flying speed increased all at once, the scenery was left behind in the blink of an eye.

Then according to the plan as discussed earlier, we first landed at the bank of the river out west.

The river itself was quite narrow but the shore was quite wide with excellent visibility.

"—According to the plan, we will wait here for Kraken Zwei. If she does not come this way... We will deem the target as a dragon, as mentioned just now, and exterminate it."

Shinomiya-sensei issued strict orders to the four girls in the attack team.

"Affirmative."

"—Yes."

"Understood."

Lisa, Firill and Tia answered with tense expressions.

Iris nodded silently in response then turned her gaze at me.

"Mononobe..."

"Don't worry, no matter what happens, I—"

I smiled, trying to comfort Iris who seemed quite worried—but she shook her head.

"No, Mononobe, it's the opposite this time."

"Huh?"

With eyes filled with strong determination, Iris stared at me in my surprise.

"No matter what happens, I will protect you. I won't let you die no matter what, Mononobe."

"Iris...?"

I sensed some kind of dangerous signal from Iris' expression and reached towards her.

"So, Mononobe, don't be reckless, okay?"

Then Iris smiled sweetly—and as though evading my hand—and went towards Lisa and the others with a turn of of her body.

Together, Shinomiya-sensei, Jeanne and I watched them fly towards the sky.

"The only thing left is to wait."

Shinomiya-sensei watched the screen of her portable terminal while speaking nervously. She was probably looking at transmitted information to ascertain Kraken Zwei's location.

We were at the wide open riverside, so visibility was excellent, but Kraken Zwei had yet to appear.

However, faint rumbling of the ground could be heard from afar. Perhaps sensing a calamity, flocks of birds were flying out of the forest, calling sharply while circling nonstop in the air above.

"Please... Come over."

Jeanne stared at the direction of the rumbling and clenched her fist tightly.

"—Hey Jeanne."

"Eh?"

I called her original name but she looked at me in surprise.

"Oh, you prefer John instead?"

"N-No, either is fine..."

Jeanne blushed slightly and waved her hands frantically in denial.

"Okay—Jeanne, why are you so biased in favor of Kraken Zwei?"

I asked about what had intrigued me the whole time.

"I mentioned earlier... because I know she is human—"

"—I get a sense that you've grown fond of her more or less, but considering you sacrificed yourself to block Sleipnir's attack for her and seeing you look so anxious right now... I really don't think that's the only reason."

Risking one's life to protect someone, that was easier said than done. Were it not for someone more precious than oneself, one would definitely falter at a critical moment.

The reason why I was not afraid to pay any price in my battles so far was because I did it for those I held dear.

"...Indeed, I might be a bit too biased, but no matter what, I can't leave her alone."

Jeanne paused here and stared straight into my eyes.

"My wish is for me to become her good fortune."

"Good fortune?"

Not knowing what she was talking about, I frowned and asked.

"—I started out as a war orphan and only survived to this day thanks to many fortunate encounters. I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart to every instance of that good fortune. That is why when I myself becomes someone's good fortune.. I don't want to betray this fortune."

Hearing Jeanne's words, filled with determination, I nodded in agreement.

"I see—I get it now."

Having obtained the answer to my question, I could now pray with the same feelings as Jeanne, praying that Kraken Zwei would come towards us to seek her own good fortune.

"Jeanne Hortensia."

Shinomiya-sensei took her gaze off the portable terminal and looked in Jeanne's direction.

"...?"

Jeanne looked at her questioningly. Immediately, Shinomiya-sensei bowed her head deeply.

"—Thank you."

She was most likely speaking as Shinomiya Miyako's elder sister. Shinomiya-sensei wanted to thank Jeanne for wanting to provide her sister's child with good fortune.

If Mitsuki were here, she would probably have done the same thing.

Then at this moment, I heard faint static from the communicator on my ear—followed by Lisa's voice.

'This is Lisa Highwalker. Visual confirmation of Kraken Zwei from the air above my standby position. She has changed course towards you!'

"—!"

Jeanne and Shinomiya-sensei looked at each other with optimism.

However, Shinomiya-sensei soon tensed her expression and issued orders to Lisa and the others.

"After waiting for Kraken Zwei to move, the attack team will spread out in four directions from us, to standby at suitable sniping positions. If the target does not yield to our persuasion, commence the attack immediately."

'Understood.'

After Lisa answered, Tia, Firill and Iris also responded, then the exchange was over.

The persistent rumbling of the ground grew louder and louder.

"She's here—"

Hearing Shinomiya-sensei say that, Jeanne and I nodded in response.

In addition to the ground's rumbling, I could also hear the sound of trees snapping.

Boom—Accompanying this thunderous crash, trees and soil flew up into the air. The silver ribbon moved at high speed, reflecting sunlight to shine.

Dust was blown by a strong wind. After merely a moment's blinking, the scenery had changed completely.

The vast forest following the river had been swept clear, turning into an empty plain. Towering there was a gigantic silver-white body.

Covered by a multi-layered silver curtain, the body kept shaking as countless silver strands fluttered in the air.

"...!"

The pressure exerted by her presence was causing my body to stiffen. I almost created my fictional armament on reflex, but suppressed the urge through rationality.

Our current undertaking was persuasion. It was imperative to avoid movements that would cause her to take hostile action.

"Stop! I am here!"

Jeanne took a step forward and called loudly to her. Perhaps understanding her speech, Kraken Zwei stopped advancing, halting her movements completely.

—Judging from the situation, will it work?

'Firill Crest reporting. Everyone is in position now.'

From the communicator, I heard that all members prepared to snipe in the event of failure had reached their positions.

"Acknowledged. Remain on standby until the situation changes."

Shinomiya-sensei answered quietly and focused her attention on Jeanne and Kraken Zwei who were facing each other across the river.

The whole time, I could feel a gaze that gave me goosebumps. Kraken Zwei was undoubtedly looking in this direction.

"—You must be lonely all by yourself. But you can rest assured now. Don't hide in that big shell. Come out and let me see you."

Jeanne spread her arms and persuaded gently.

Vibrations resembling a ripple appeared on Kraken Zwei's silver curtain, then opened smoothly in front of her body.

Due to a decrease in obstructions, I could feel Kraken Zwei's gaze stabbing my skin more strongly. A chill ran along my spine.

—What was this?

Jeanne's call seemed to be having an effect. Things were going according to plan, but I still felt an indescribable sense of unease.

From the interior of the obstruction woven from silver strands came a presence that pricked my skin.

—Did Jeanne and Shinomiya-sensei feel nothing?

I was the only one whose body was frozen.

Then this must be something targeting only me.

After unraveling multiple layers of obstruction, the true body of the young girl emerged. Half of her face was hidden by long hair, the single exposed eye glowed purple.

"—!"

The instant I made eye contact with the girl, my premonition turned into certainty.

She was not looking at Jeanne!

"Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

The girl roared, staring straight at me.

I instantly felt pain on the back of my left hand where my dragon mark was located.

As though responding to this pain, purple light erupted from Kraken Zwei's forehead. Blowing by the swirling wind, the hair over the girl's forehead floated up, revealing the pattern beneath.

—That was a dragon mark!

"H-Hey, what is with you!?"

Jeanne frantically called the girl but Kraken Zwei ignored her, only staring at me.

The more the light given off from the girl's glowing dragon mark intensified, the more my dragon mark hurt.

In addition, something resembling emotions flowed in.

The intent to steal. A pulsation of emotions wanting to force submission and plunder.

This girl—''wanted to mark me as hers''!?

Invaded by an intense foreign body sensation and disgust, I figured out the girl's goal.

Kraken Zwei was chasing me, not Jeanne. Most likely, she had approached here to engrave proof of her mark on me, whose dragon mark had not changed color at all.

Simultaneous with certainty, my anger erupted in a torrent.

In addition to Kili, Mitsuki and the others, you intend to take me too?

The pain of loss, the suffering of the plundered, I had experienced it countless times already. I had hurt others as a result of losing precious things.

Hence, I shall not allow anyone to take anything from me ever again!

"—How could I let myself be taken by you!!"

I swung my arm with furious emotions. In that very instant, the pain in my dragon mark vanished.

It felt as though something had been severed. Kraken Zwei's body trembled slightly—The nature of her feelings towards me changed.

"Gururururururururu—!"

Obvious hostility surged in the girl's gaze as she growled.

Clang—

A sharp and ear-splitting metallic noise resounded all around.

It was the sound of friction between silver threads fluttering in the air and getting entangled together.

"I beg you! Please calm down!"

Jeanne desperately tried to soothe her but the girl remained unmoved.

"Jeanne, it's no good! She's already—"

I understood instinctively that the moment I refused to be her mate, Kraken Zwei had recognized me as an enemy that must be eliminated.

As vexing as it was, what Vritra had said now seemed to be the truth. Right now, Kraken Zwei sought mates rather than family.

"Nothing of that sort! If I call to her more, surely she will—"

However, Jeanne shook her head in disagreement.

"Please! Listen to us!"

Shinomiya-sensei stepped forward and joined in to call her. Confronted with the girl whose face resembled her younger sister's, Shinomiya-sensei had apparently lost her usual calm.

"—!"

I concluded that they were going to get caught up in the attack, so I broke into a sprint.

I did not know if it was fortunate or unfortunate, but Kraken Zwei did not register Jeanne and Shinomiya-sensei in her vision at all. The hostility she exuded was entirely directed at me.

I ran along the river, distancing myself from Jeanne and Shinomiya-sensei.

—Fictional armament, Siegfried.

When I formed my fictional armament of an ornamental gun, Kraken Zwei also got ready to attack.

Countless spears woven from silver threads were aiming straight at me. The reason why she did not use antimatter was probably because the distance was too close, so there was a risk of getting caught in it herself.

In that case, getting too far away would be to my disadvantage too. Since running away had problems too, my only choice was to approach and kill her.

—Sorry, Jeanne and Shinomiya-sensei.

Deeming Kraken Zwei an enemy, I apologized to the two of them who had not lost hope yet.

Countless silver spears fired together.

"Air Bullet!"

I shot a bullet of compressed air underfoot and used the reaction force to swiftly get away from my position. Seeing my original location pierced by silver spears, I began to take precautions against the next attack.

Shining silver trails appeared in the surroundings.

Kraken Zwei was spreading her hair, trying to surround me.

No place to run—

"Antigravity!"

I used up the remaining dark matter that sustained the fictional armament's shape, converting it entirely into antigravitational matter. Accompanied by a white glow, the repulsive field pushed away the silver cage that was approaching from all sides.

"!"

Seizing a gap that opened up between the silver threads, I escaped the encirclement.

"Shinomiya-sensei! Please give Lisa and the others the order to attack!"

I regrouped while yelling.

Kraken Zwei no longer treated Jeanne as family. Since she was attacking like this, she was an opponent that must be treated as a dragon.

Shinomiya-sensei could not possibly not know this, but she did not issue orders over the communicator. Instead, she took unexpected action.

"What..."

Shinomiya-sensei ran towards me.

Gritting her teeth, she looked like she was holding back her tears.

Kraken Zwei aimed at me again with her silver spears. I created my fictional armament again but just before I was about to take evasive action—

Shinomiya-sensei inserted herself between us and spread her arms.

"If you can understand human speech—if you can hear my voice—even if just a little bit, please listen to me!"

With her back to me, Shinomiya-sensei faced Kraken Zwei and yelled loudly.

She was trying so desperately, it was like a plea or a prayer.

"I hope you will live as a human! As Miyako's—as my little sister's daughter!"

As Shinomiya Miyako's older sister rather than Midgard's commander, she was trying her hardest to persuade the girl.

But the answer turned out to be a rain of silver.

Woven from silver threads, sharp spears rained down on us.

"Tsk—Antigravity!"

My original plan was to use wind pressure to escape at high speed as before, but at the last moment, I switched to defending with a repulsive field.

Engulfed by white light, the silver spears slowed down and stopped in the air.

Clang—

However, a strange sound rang out. Stopped in the air, the silver spears unraveled and melded together to form a spiral spearhead resembling a drill.

The spearhead resisted the repulsive field, spinning to push forward by force.

"Shinomiya-sensei! It's no good, so please hurry and give orders to attack!"

Seeing that this would not hold for long, I called to Shinomiya-sensei.

"Please... Mononobe Yuu, one last time."

However, Shinomiya-sensei said strongly without looking back.

Approaching the spearhead fearlessly, she only looked at Kraken Zwei—

"But—"

With her back to the desperately anxious me, Shinomiya-sensei continued to plead to her.

"Kraken Zwei... Please remember! Remember Jeanne Hortensia whom you desired as family! She hopes for your happiness from the bottom of her heart!"

Facing the silver-haired girl who controlled mithril, Shinomiya-sensei delivered words filled with intense thoughts and feelings.

"And I too—wish for your happiness more than anyone!!"

"Gahhhhhhhh!!"

However, Kraken Zwei answered with an angry roar.

The mithril hair pulsed, concentrating its power at a point—The silver drill penetrated the white repulsive field in one go.

"You are not an unwanted disaster. You are Shinomiya Miyako's daughter—A human!!"

But even so, Shinomiya-sensei refused to back down.

"Everyone hurry and attack!"

I believed the limit was reached so I called to everyone over the communicator.

'B-But Shinomiya-sensei has not given the order—'

Lisa's troubled voice responded.

"...!"

Deciding there was no time to answer, I rushed out from behind Shinomiya-sensei.

Kraken Zwei's target was me. So long as Shinomiya-sensei remained in front, she would be caught in the crossfire.

At this moment, the spiral spearhead finally broke through the repulsive field by force.

Slightly faster than I expected. No—I had judged too late.

Seeing the spearhead extend with frightening speed, I realized it was too late to evade.

However, impending death was blocked by a silhouette that had moved in from the side.

I was pushed back with a thud.

"Cough—"

What I heard was a muffled cry of pain.

I looked up to see Shinomiya-sensei's face, coughing blood.

"Sorry for asking you to go along... with my willfulness..."

Shinomiya-sensei coughed while apologizing to me.

I shifted my gaze lower, only to see the thick silver spear skewering her body—

"What..."

Realizing Shinomiya-sensei had protected me, I gasped. And under those circumstances, she still turned around to face Kraken Zwei.

"Even if these words cannot reach you right now... It is fine. However... at least please remember... that someone once wished for your happiness here..."

Spitting a large mouthful of blood, Shinomiya-sensei collapsed.

"—Please, Lisa! Shoooooooot!!"

My mind went blank and I cried out with all my strength.

'—V-Very well!'

A yellow flash ripped through the sky. At the same time, the approaching mithril hair was pulled back to the body.

The flash of light clashed with the shield woven from silver threads, giving off blinding light.

'Tia, we are joining in.'

'Got it!'

Slightly later, Firill and Tia joined in the attack. Projectiles of fire approached from the right while lightning attacked Kraken Zwei from the left. Since her mithril hair was being used to block Lisa's attack, she could not use her hair. However, black particles of dark matter appeared in Kraken Zwei's surroundings to create silver walls.

Fire and lightning was deflected, shaking the air with thunderous noise.

Despite the giant explosion—That sort of attack did not reach the main body.

Still, that was within expectations. Iris should now be looking for a chance to attack. But before everything else, the most important thing was—

"Shinomiya-sensei!"

I picked up the collapsed Shinomiya-sensei in my arms and called her name. While switching to defense, Kraken Zwei had already pulled out the silver spear that had skewered her body.

However, the wound was too large. With such a massive hole opened in the center of the body, surely many important organs must have been gouged out. The warm blood flowing from her body dyed my hands red all over.

Having seen countless casualties on battlefields in the past, I understood... She was beyond saving.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v08 187.jpg|thumb]]

"C-Cough... C-Cough... Sor, ry—"

Shinomiya-sensei looked at me with hazy eyes, her voice apologizing to me in fragments.

"Why—"

Why did you do that—I stopped myself from finishing this question. Because there was no need to ask. She was simply doing everything she could as Shinomiya Miyako's elder sister. And her apology just now was her apologizing for not fulfilling her role as the commander—

"Looks like I... am not, strong enough—to, kill my little sister twice."

Shinomiya-sensei's voice continued hoarsely, her gaze directed towards Kraken Zwei.

Attacked from three directions, the girl hid herself between her mithril hair and shields.

"No—I think that as a human, Shinomiya-sensei, you are stronger than anyone."

I held back from sobbing and turned my head to the side, because I believed that in refusing to give up hope, persisting in persuasion, Shinomiya-sensei's actions were definitely not weak.

"—Ho, Mononobe Yuu... You are—so nice."

With a slight smile on her lips, she closed her eyes then forgot to breathe, sinking into deep slumber.

"...!"

I bit my lip hard then placed Shinomiya-sensei's gradually cooling body on the river shore.

I saw Jeanne fall down, sitting on the ground after standing in the distance in shock.

'Mononobe! Did something happen to Shinomiya-sensei!?'

I heard Iris over the communicator.

"—She was hit by Kraken Zwei."

I managed to force out these words in reply.

'H-Hit? Is she injured somewhere—'

"A fatal wound, she's already... stopped breathing."

'!?'

Not just Iris, but everyone else was speechless. I could sense it over the communicator.

'No, way...'

Firill murmured hoarsely.

'Right now... We must focus our attacks! Do not let up our offense!'

However, Lisa yelled resolutely, supporting everyone's hearts nearing collapse.

'...G-Got it.'

Despite showing wavering in her heart, Tia still responded. The attacks from three directions did not halt, persisting nonstop.

'Ah... Ahhh...'

I heard Iris sobbing faintly but her crying gradually grew louder, finally turning into mournful wailing.

'Oooh... Oooooooooh!'

Her sorrowful crying felt like knife in my heart.

"Sorry, I failed to protect Sensei."

The only way I could respond was apologize.

"Oooooh... Ahhh... Ahhhhhhhhh!!"

Anger was building up amidst sorrow.

Laments spontaneously turned into a howl of intense emotion.

'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!'

The screaming ended, following by the sound of inhalation.

Then accompanied by blinding crimson light—

Iris released her burning feelings.

'O catastrophe—Actualiiiize!!

Red light shone from afar.

It was a flash of light that stole time, bringing destruction to all creation.

Due to Lisa, Firill and Tia's attacks, Kraken Zwei's defense had become thin at one location. Aiming at that spot, Iris' Catastrophe pierced the atmosphere to attack.

However, Kraken Zwei noticed a moment earlier and generated a shield in that direction.

Whether Iris could break through would depend on the amount of dark matter Kraken Zwei could generate each time.

A gigantic flood of red light smashed against the mithril shield.

Iris' Catastrophe looked even more powerful than before. The pillar of light, which seemed like it was about to devour the gigantic Kraken Zwei, rivaled even Basilisk's trump card, the "Third Eye."

This was the power of Iris, who was now becoming close to a dragon—

'Oooh... Ahhhhhhhh!!'

With screaming mixed with crying, Iris continued to fire the flash of red light.

The thick shield of mithril between them was gradually weathered away before our eyes.

With one direct hit, Kraken Zwei would probably turn into dust and vanish.

But... was this ending really appropriate?

Until the very end, Shinomiya-sensei had prayed for Kraken Zwei's happiness. Recalling the plea she had risked her life to deliver, I could not help but feel lost.

My heart could not make a decision. A tide of emotions was whispering in my ear—Should I carry on Shinomiya-sensei's last wish?

"Gahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Kraken Zwei roared amidst the light.

Boom—

With a thunderous crash, the gigantic silver body flew rapidly into the air.

'What!?'

I heard Lisa's surprised voice over the communicator.

—Did she judge that the shield was not going to hold and thus took evasive action?

However, this was no ordinary leap. The enormous silver body was wrapped in a ball shape with a large amount of leaves and twigs that had been swept up.

She had probably transmuted dark matter into air, thereby controlling wind. It was the same way as how Ds flew. Perhaps she had learned it by watching us.

Kraken Zwei ascended while rotating sideways, firing purple light in four directions.

"!? That's antimatter! Hurry and run, everyone!!"

I came back to my senses from my daze and yelled.

The antimatter flying at Iris was erased by Catastrophe, but the remaining three shots exploded in three separate directions.

Accompanied by flashes of blinding light, thunderous noise shook the atmosphere.

"Lisa, Firill, Tia!"

I called out over the communicator but only got static as a response.

They were capable of flying into the air and should have had enough time to react. It was possible that they were simply unable to answer due to interference from the explosion, or—

The worst-case scenario, which I did not want to touch upon, flashed in my mind.

'Damn youuuuuuuuuuu—!'

Iris' voice hammered my ear drum.

Chasing after the humongous body that had escaped to the air, the red light from the ground ripped through the air towards the top of the sky.

Right now, the only things protecting Kraken Zwei was a barrier of air and a silver curtain woven from mithril hair.

The air barrier was blown away in an instant as blinding red light engulfed the gigantic silver body.

While her vector turned downwards, Kraken Zwei's body gradually shrunk.

But at the same time, the red light suddenly began to grow faint as well.

'...No way—I was clearly so close...'

I heard Iris' pained voice. Catastrophe's output had apparently reached a limit.

'C-Clearly... I must do this—'

Iris cried loudly but the red light continued to diminish mercilessly.

Witnessing this scene, my hesitation vanished.

—Shinomiya-sensei, I'm sorry. I... have to protect Iris and the others.

I was unable to carry on her last wish because murder was the only thing I could do.

"Don't worry, Iris."

I said to the lamenting Iris.

Swallowed by feelings of anger, sorrow and regret, I sank into the depths of my consciousness.

In order to hunt the Kraken Zwei hiding behind a silver curtain—to hunt a human—I once again became one with "Fafnir."

"Leave the rest to me."

Announcing strongly, I ran towards where Kraken Zwei was expected to land.

When the red light stopped completely, a small mass wrapped in silver threads was exposed. Sure enough, Iris' firepower was slightly insufficient, but Kraken Zwei had shrunk to around three meters, similar to during our first confrontation.

Thus, the silver mass fell in the forest some distance from the river side. With a massive crash, the ground shook slightly with dust and soil flying up.

After crossing the shallow river, I rushed into the forest where Kraken Zwei had crashed.

"—Captain! Please wait!"

I heard Jeanne's voice faintly from afar. She definitely not given up.

Precisely because of that, I must not stop. I could not allow Jeanne to repeat Shinomiya-sensei's tragedy.

Dim conditions in the forest combined with the dust cloud compromised visibility. However, Fafnir's sense of smell in search of prey would not be dulled by this level of interference.

I definitely caught it, the presence of the girl slowly getting up where she had crashed. Then there was the sharp killing intent approaching me.

—Whoosh!

Accompanied by the sound of slicing wind, silver strands attacked.

Anti-materiel armor—Damascus 09P!

I deployed multiple palm-sized shields along the silver strands' trajectories.

Although they could not completely block the threads that were made of mithril, they could deflect trajectories slightly and reduce their speed.

What this produced was a tiny window of opportunity. I lowered my stance and rushed through that opening.

Passing through the cloud of dust, my field of view instantly opened up.

In front of me was—A young girl with swaying silver hair.

Standing in a depression in the ground, her purple eye shot straight at me. Death's chilling presence crept up my spine as I saw the girl's eye release the glow of antimatter.

"—!"

I extended my hand to block as though in response.

"Gahhhhhhh!!"

Kraken Zwei roared and released antimatter, not afraid of getting caught up in it.

I generated dark matter at the same time, transmuting antigravitational matter without using a fictional armament!

The strong repulsive field, capable of warping space itself, was deployed with a white glow—The antimatter projectile was deflected upwards. Completing its job, the antigravitational matter shattered and dissipated, leaving white light.

I closed in even further.

Approaching—A distance within the reach of Fafnir's fangs.

The girl widened her eyes slightly, looking up at me from close range.

Her young, adorable and slender face was quite similar to Shinomiya-sensei—But I did not hesitate.

She was seeking mates, not Jeanne. She had let slip of happiness on her own accord despite how hard it was to come by.

And most important of all... She had killed Shinomiya-sensei!

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!"

The reverse flow of anger and sorrow sinking in my heart was ejected as a yell from my mouth.

Kraken Zwei's body was wrapped in mithril hair to shield her vitals. Naturally, her head was protected by hair too. Landing a single lethal strike would be extremely difficult.

However—methods to kill her naturally surfaced in my mind.

Fafnir told me the ways.

I generated dark matter in both hands at the same time, transmuting them into high-density antigravitational matter, using the two repulsive fields to create a spatial discontinuity!

In the past, "White" Leviathan had used multiple repulsive fields to produce spatial discontinuities to amputate parts of its body.

I should be able to accomplish something similar, even if just on a small scale.

In the gap between the repulsive fields shining with pure white light—a pitch-black crack arose.

A gap of warped space.

—Gravity Grave.

I fired the black blade born out of white light!

The girl's body was devoured by the white radiance and black discontinuity.

No matter how sturdy the outer shell providing protection, the spatial discontinuity could twist everything caught inside.

A living body could not possibly withstand that level of distortion.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

Screaming a death cry, Kraken Zwei was blown away backwards.

The trees ahead were also caught in the spatial distortion phenomenon, twisting and breaking like paper.

Kraken Zwei was thrown into the depths of the forest, out of sight.

"—Huff... Huff..."

I only remembered to breathe again after the girl vanished from my view.

I probably... killed her. The hit definitely felt concrete.

Bitter emotions were spreading in my heart. The feeling after the conclusion—It was awful. Although I had avenged Shinomiya-sensei, there was no sense of accomplishment at all.

It approached the worst-case scenario closely.

Not only losing Shinomiya-sensei but also failing to save Shinomiya Miyako's daughter.

"Damn it..."

I clenched my fist and cursed in regret.

However, at this moment, there was a silver flash from the depths of the forest.

"—Huh?"

A strong impact struck my body. While my view was spinning, silver threads came into view.

Then a wave of intense pain came from my body's left half.

Just as I was in so much pain that I was about to scream, more impacts attacked.

This time it was my back and the back of my head. The pain and impact turned my view black. Without knowing what was happening, I screamed for real this time.

"Ugh... Ahhhhhhhhh!?"

Why did it hurt so much? Most likely, my ribs were broken. My back and the back of my head might be bleeding. I felt a warm and viscous flow running down my skin.

Then I had an unusual feeling.

How odd, if Fafnir was awakened, I was supposed to be able to sever the sensation of pain through willpower.

But no matter how I tried, the pain did not go away.

Rustle—Rustle—

I heard faint footsteps.

Using my blurred vision, I looked ahead.

I had most likely crashed into a tree, putting my body in a sitting posture right now. The height of my gaze was quite low.

Passing through the dim forest—The girl, whom I should have killed already, emerged.

With her hair woven into silver ribbons in spiral form, the Kraken's child directed her purple gaze at me.

Surfacing on her face was a bestial expression—savage anger and killing intent.

Seeing that kind of expression, I understood.

Not choosing the good fortune that was Jeanne, abandoning the closest kin that was Shinomiya-sensei, the girl had forsaken her human identity.

That appearance and way of living made her far more suitable to the title of dragon than the current Vritra.

No wonder... I had failed to kill her.

Leaning against the tree, I muttered bitterly in my heart.

—Major Loki, how rare for your judgment to be mistaken. It doesn't seem like... I am entitled to make the choice anymore.

Looking up at the tiny monster that was approaching, I realized I had lost.

I was only capable of killing humans.

The fangs of Fafnir could not reach a being that was not human.

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| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume 8 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume16 Afterword

2018-01-19T12:12:42Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Afterword */

==Afterword==

In other words, use my body as you please—

And so, thank you for your patience, everyone. I hereby present the 16th installment of ''Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance'', "The Demon King Returns in Triumph"!

First of all, let me express my utmost apologies for the delay in publication time. Due to various production issues being resolved now, I'd like to release new volumes more regularly this year, so please forgive me.

So, in this volume, Ren Ashdoll and Restia's past relationship has become slightly clearer. In addition, I've inserted plenty of subtle foreshadowing.

The series is reaching an end, so what comes next is tying up loose ends in plot and foreshadowing. It looks I'll be able to end the story without issue by following the initial plan to make the series as long as possible. This is all thanks to your support, dear readers.

Next comes the usual acknowledgements. Thank you to Nimura-sensei for the beautiful illustrations. Spirit mille-feuille and the girls are extremely cute, but Kamito's Overlord-like appearance in the color illustration is the best. By the way, on the shoulder of the Overlord-like Kamito is Simorgh under a coat of metallic paint.

Next there is Hyouju Issei-sensei who is in charge of the manga version. Thank you for adapting the original work into a high-quality manga. As a manga, the quality is extremely high, with a very rich presentation. As a reader myself, I look forward to every month's release greatly. Est's galian sword design and others are awesome. I hope the manga version's final tankouban volume will be on sale in March!

Editor, I've caused so much trouble for you again...!

Finally, I am extremely thankful to all of you, dear readers who had supported me since the beginning. I always print out the comments in the surveys and read them over and over again. Also, to everyone who wrote letters to me, I'm sorry for replying late in recently times. The support and encouragement from everyone fills me with delight. By the way, in the popularity poll of Volume 15, Restia was first, Leonora was 2nd. Leonora-san so powerful...!

Due to limits on page count, I'll do a status update next. Since my hobby is simulation-type board games, so on a whim, I created a doujin board game, called "Draft Sengoku Daimyo", a battle formations game with a Sengoku Era theme. Here on, I'd like to continue participating in the creation of doujin games.

Also, I recently fell in love with improvised rap. When watching late-night TV, the people who come on stage are like language magicians, it feels very deep to me, so I bought many DVDs of rap battling contests to study, yo!

As for foreign TV dramas, every season of "Game of Thrones" fills me with anticipation. I really enjoy the original novels, but the television series is great too. The budget is astounding. This is definitely a must-see masterpiece.

As for smartphone games, I'm playing "Chain Chronicle" and "Shadowverse." The deck I use is Underworld Royal. Although the win rate isn't very high, I'm very happy when using Underworld to decide matches...

That's all, a status update without any focus. I am alive and well, just so you know!

—So, in the next volume, that "Demon King" from a thousand years ago and a certain someone with an intimate past with Est might be making their appearance in Volume 17, "The Sacred Maiden Arrives." See you again then! (There might be a short story collection before that.)

Shimizu Yuu, January 2017

==Illustrator's Afterword==
[[File:STnBD_V16_287-288.jpg|thumb]]
Again, I barely made the deadline this time.

Sorry for making trouble for everyone...

Nimura
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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume16 Afterword

2018-01-19T12:09:15Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Afterword */

==Afterword==

In other words, use my body as you please—

And so, thank you for your patience, everyone. I hereby present the 16th installment of ''Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance'', "The Demon King Returns in Triumph"!

First of all, let me express my utmost apologies for the delay in publication time. Due to various production issues being resolved now, I'd like to release new volumes more regularly this year, so please forgive me.

So, in this volume, Ren Ashdoll and Restia's past relationship has become slightly clearer. In addition, I've inserted plenty of subtle foreshadowing.

The series is reaching an end, so what comes next is tying up loose ends in plot and foreshadowing. It looks I'll be able to end the story without issue by following the initial plan to make the series as long as possible. This is all thanks to your support, dear readers.

Next comes the usual acknowledgements. Thank you to Nimura-sensei for the beautiful illustrations. Spirit mille-feuille and the girls are extremely cute, but Kamito's Over〇rd-like appearance in the color illustration is the best. By the way, on the shoulder of the Overlord-like Kamito is Simorgh under a coat of metallic paint.

Next there is Hyouju Issei-sensei who is in charge of the manga version. Thank you for adapting the original work into a high-quality manga. As a manga, the quality is extremely high, with a very rich presentation. As a reader myself, I look forward to every month's release greatly. Est's galian sword design and others are awesome. I hope the manga version's final tankouban volume will be on sale in March!

Editor, I've caused so much trouble for you again...!

Finally, I am extremely thankful to all of you, dear readers who had supported me since the beginning. I always print out the comments in the surveys and read them over and over again. Also, to everyone who wrote letters to me, I'm sorry for replying late in recently times. The support and encouragement from everyone fills me with delight. By the way, in the popularity poll of Volume 15, Restia was first, Leonora was 2nd. Leonora-san so powerful...!

Due to limits on page count, I'll do a status update next. Since my hobby is simulation-type board games, so on a whim, I created a doujin board game, called "Draft Sengoku Daimyo", a battle formations game with a Sengoku Era theme. Here on, I'd like to continue participating in the creation of doujin games.

Also, I recently fell in love with improvised rap. When watching late-night TV, the people who come on stage are like language magicians, it feels very deep to me, so I bought many DVDs of rap battling contests to study, yo!

As for foreign TV dramas, every season of "Game of Thrones" fills me with anticipation. I really enjoy the original novels, but the television series is great too. The budget is astounding. This is definitely a must-see masterpiece.

As for smartphone games, I'm playing "Chain Chronicle" and "Shadowverse." The deck I use is Underworld Royal. Although the win rate isn't very high, I'm very happy when using Underworld to decide matches...

That's all, a status update without any focus. I am alive and well, just so you know!

—So, in the next volume, that "Demon King" from a thousand years ago and a certain someone with an intimate past with Est might be making their appearance in Volume 17, "The Sacred Maiden Arrives." See you again then! (There might be a short story collection before that.)

Shimizu Yuu, January 2017

==Illustrator's Afterword==
[[File:STnBD_V16_287-288.jpg|thumb]]
Again, I barely made the deadline this time.

Sorry for making trouble for everyone...

Nimura
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Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 7 Prologue

2018-01-13T23:50:09Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Prologue */

==Prologue==

Two calamities awakened.

Throb... Throb...

Heavy, forceful, regular beating.

The air shook accordingly in the dark and cramped laboratory.

In the fourth floor underground of Asgard's Far East Branch's First Laboratory—With the power supply cut, the interior was shrouded in darkness. Air conditioning and other cooling systems were all silent.

However, the lab where a dragon's corpse was kept was showing faint purple light.

The light source consisted of a Kraken's remains kept in a coffin. A silver tentacle with torn off ends, its midsection bulging unnaturally, glowing with purple light from within.

Staring into the coffin was John Hortensia, a crossdressing platinum blonde with golden eyes.

Dressed in military uniform, she was pointing her gun at the lab's director, Miyazawa Kenya, while gazing at the coffin's interior.

Throb... Throb... Throb...

Accompanying the deep pulsation sounds, the light inside the tentacle also brightened and dimmed.

Then she finally realized. This was the sound of a ''heartbeat''.

The new life residing inside the remains. The Kraken's offspring.

Just as Miyazawa Kenya said earlier, this was the light of new life.

Throb... Throb... Throb...

The heartbeat gradually quickened and the purple light intensified progressively.

Ominous fetal movement.

It had arrived, no one could stop it anymore.

In front of John who had even forgotten to breathe, a tiny crack appeared on the bulging tentacle's surface.

A purple eye inside was revealed.

A powerful monster originally in eternal slumber—had now awakened.

Furthermore... Another calamity had awakened simultaneously.

The location was the forest of Fuji after the intense battle ended.

The top portion of the outrageously gigantic tree, reaching 5000 meters in height, had vanished. Near its base, there were two enormous cracks.

With its core functionality stolen by Tia Lightning, it was now a husk that had lost its computation power, merely waiting to rot.

However, this was a change precipitated by Yggdrasil.

From Yggdrasil's roots, which had eaten into the ground, something resembling black bubbles flowed out from its gaps.

They resembled black soap suds.

The black bubbles gradually accumulated and slowly rose into the sky.

However, no one noticed this calamitous change occurring the depths of the Sea of Trees.

In this manner, two calamities had been released.

Liberated from the restraints of the ground, taking to the free skies—

<center>*</center>

"Don't worry, Tia will return the memories—back to Yuu."

Tia hugged me as though comforting me, whispering in my ear. Feeling the same pain I suffered from losing my memories, Tia cried with large teardrops falling—

One was supposed to react to such news with joy.

Reacting with relief at the return of lost memories would be the natural reaction.

But I could not even muster a single word of "thanks."

During the ride back to the Asgard lab on the Tokyo shore, I looked over Tia's shoulder around the interior of the van.

After an overnight battle against Yggdrasil, the girls were looking at the crying Tia in worry.

Under the gazes of the girls from Brynhildr Class, Shinomiya-sensei the homeroom teacher and Kili who had tagged along on her own, I stroked Tia's head.

"Thanks Tia. But... Give me some time."

To prevent others from overhearing, I whispered quietly in Tia's ear.

Due to the sudden ''fear'' in my heart, I did not take up this rare opportunity.

"...Sure?"

"Yeah, I'd like to have some mental preparation."

"Really? Then Tia... will sleep a bit."

She must have pushed herself to the limit for my sake. Leaning againt me, she soon fell asleep.

Seeing everyone staring at me, I forced a smile.

"Don't worry. She slept again once she felt reassured."

I held Tia carefully in my arms and explained.

"—She's probably feeling a bit confused. Well, it can't be helped. After all, she's taken Yggdrasil's place."

Kili explained with an expression as though looking at her own child.

"Strain must be unavoidable after doing something of that sort. We should let her have a good rest."

Looking after Tia all the time, Lisa spoke while gazing gently at her.

After everyone watched Tia's sleeping face for a while, Ariella yawned.

"Hwah... To be honest, we're tired out too. Let's rest until we get to the lab."

"Mm."

Sitting beside me, Ren concurred with Ariella.

"Yeah... I'll take a nap too. No mood to read either..."

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Firill commented. Seeing everyone in this state, the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad, Mitsuki, spoke up:

"Well then, let us all nap for a while. Shinomiya-sensei, is that alright?"

"No problem, get some good rest now. Good job, you all worked hard."

Shinomiya-sensei praised everyone and we rested in the van.

"Goodnight, Mononobe."

Iris smiled and said to me. Her silver hair was glittering under the rays of the morning sun.

"...Goodnight."

Throb. Seeing her smile, my heart pounded intensely in response.

Between me and her—There were definitely special feelings.

But once I retrieve my lost memories... What would happen to these feelings?

This was also the reason why I could not accept Tia's suggestion immediately.

Scared that my current feelings and personality would simply vanish, I hesitated and faltered.

Iris fell asleep immediately. After looking at her sleeping face, I turned towards Mitsuki.

Mitsuki had not fallen asleep. Noticing my gaze, she opened her eyes slightly.

"Nii-san, you should catch some sleep sooner. Time on the way back to the lab for resting is limited."

"Yeah, I know."

I smiled at Mitsuki and closed my eyes.

My heart hurt intensely. It was the guilt from parading myself matter-of-factly as her brother. Furthermore, there was disappointment that I had forgotten all shared memories and the promise with her.

Having lost my memories, I might have been hurting Mitsuki unintentionally.

Absolutely—Unacceptable.

This strong impulse filled my heart. It was as though "the real me" was screaming in my heart.

My feelings for Iris and guilt towards Mitsuki were colliding chaotically in my heart.

Devoured by the turbulent vortex, I gradually sank into deep slumber.

Along the way, due to congestion on the roads, it was already noon by the time we reached the Asgard lab.

The malfunctioning in electronic devices caused by Yggdrasil was the reason for the gridlock. Due to Yggdrasil's core transferring into Tia, cars were able to move again. However, the power outage had caused many accidents, hence there were many congested roads.

However, there was something unexpected when our detouring brought us to the back of the research lab.

"What happened here...?"

Carrying the soundly sleeping Tia on my back as I got off the van, I looked at the barricade tape surrounding the lab premises and exclaimed in surprise.

"I can see smoke... Don't tell me there's a fire?"

Iris looked at the smoke billowing above the lab and tilted her head uneasily.

"Did an accident happen during the power outage...?"

Lisa frowned and watched across the barricade tape.

Stationed on guard around the facility were not police but armed soldiers.

"They are NIFL troops. In any case, let us first ask what happened."

After seeing the emblem worn by the soldiers, Mitsuki and Shinomiya-sensei went together to approach the soldiers standing near the barricade tape.

"...It feels like something very troublesome happened. Now it'll be difficult to meet up with Jeanne-chan—no, John."

Looking out through the van window, Kili whispered softly.

As a deemed disaster, Kili was currently hunted on NIFL's wanted list. It would be bad if she were discovered here.

"You should leave before a crowd gathers. Right now—I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

I quietly answered Kili.

"Oh my, I can?"

"This time, well... It's all thanks to your help."

Although Kili performing modifications on Tia for the purpose of defeating Yggdrasil was definitely inhumane, it was true that we could not have returned safe and sound had she not been there.

"Is that so? Thanks. Goodbye, Yuu. See you next time. I leave Tia in your care."

Thanking in light tone of voice, Kili swiftly disembarked.

Nearby, Ariella noticed Kili's movements but did not take any action to stop her.

"Although we might be enemies next time we meet... No helping it."

Ariella smiled wryly and watched Kili leave.

"Oh—Mitsuki and Sensei are back."

Hearing Firill, I looked in the lab's direction.

Next, I saw Mitsuki and Shinomiya-sensei coming, accompanied by Miyazawa Kenya, the lab's director.

"...Mm."

Ren leaned towards me and grabbed my sleeve all at once. Miyazawa Kenya was Ren's father. It looked like Ren still had trouble facing him after the direct confrontation. Sure enough, she must have complicated feelings.

Taking a closer look, I noticed Miyazawa Kenya had a cast on his arm. He was injured but it was unknown whether it had anything to do with the lab's situation.

"Hi, I am relieved to see that all of you are fine. Looks like the operation succeeded and Yggdrasil has been vanquished."

Smiling warmly, he looked like he was happy for our safe return, but for someone like me, who had caught a deeper glimpse into this lab's research, would know it was merely social pleasantries.

"Yeah, well... I guess it's a success."

We looked at one another and I answered ambiguously.

Yggdrasil was not destroyed. Instead, its core was now under Tia's control—We had no intention of reporting this situation to him. Otherwise, Tia would most likely end up as his newest research subject.

At least before returning to Midgard, we must keep this a secret and not let anyone others know.

We had already obtained Shinomiya-sensei's consent during our trip back on the van. Prioritizing the safety and human right of Ds was Midgard's policy.

"It's such a shame that all observation equipment could not be used, preventing me from watching your battle. Please be as detailed as possible in the report submission. Thanks."

Miyazawa Kenya spoke to me like a researcher. Ren stepped forward.

"—Putting that aside, that."

Pointing at the lab that was now barred from entry, Ren asked.

"Oh, right... I should explain the lab's current situation first. It must have surprised you guys on your return, right?"

"Yeah, so what exactly happened?"

I looked at the strictly barricaded lab and inquired.

"When the electrical system went down, the facilities went haywire. There were many underground explosions and I got caught up in it."

He looked at his arm in the cast and replied.

"Explosion accidents huh..."

"Yes, because of that, entry to the lab is now forbidden. Your belongings have already been moved out by staff, so just find another place to stay."

Hearing what he said, Lisa showed a troubled expression on her face.

"Even if you ask us to find a place to stay, given the current traffic chaos, accommodations must be full everywhere. Shinomiya-sensei, could we not return to Midgard directly?"

"We can't return immediately because of various aftermath handling. Furthermore, aircraft are absolutely forbidden until it is confirmed that the abnormal electromagnetic interference has vanished completely. We will probably need to stay two or three more days in Japan before we can leave."

Shinomiya-sensei crossed her arms and answered. Then Mitsuki raised her hand.

"Excuse me... In that case, how about coming to Nii-san and my home?"

"Eh? Mononobe and Mitsuki-chan's home?"

Iris exclaimed in surprise. Firill clapped her hands together before her chest.

"I... would like to go. I'm curious about Mononobe-kun's home."

"I-I am interested too—However, is it really okay to impose so suddenly?"

Lisa asked Mitsuki in a fluster.

"The original plan was to pay a visit if time permitted, so that is not an issue. Shinomiya-sensei, is that fine?"

Mitsuki answered Lisa then inquired of Shinomiya-sensei.

"Yes... I must stay in Tokyo to handle the aftermath. All of you can have free time for now until preparations are ready to return to Midgard. Take a vacation."

"Much appreciated!"

Mitsuki happily bowed her head to express thanks. However, I froze at the thought of suddenly returning home.

This meant that I had to reunite with my parents whom I did not get a chance to see because I fainted during the school festival.

To be honest, I was not prepared at all.

"Nii-san, this is wonderful!"

However, Mitsuki sought my opinion happily. I forced myself to nod.

"Yeah, that's great."

The chance Tia gave me to recover my memories and suddenly returning home—

Fate seemed to be whispering to me, telling me that it was now time for me to turn back into myself.

Nevertheless—

"Mononobe?"

Iris noticed my gaze and cocked her head.

—I can't turn back yet.

Turning back into my old self without informing her, I absolutely could not do that.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v07 025.jpg|thumb]]

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Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 7 Prologue

2018-01-13T23:44:09Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Prologue */

==Prologue==

Two calamities awakened.

Throb... Throb...

Heavy, forceful, regular beating.

The air shook accordingly in the dark and cramped laboratory.

In the fourth floor underground of Asgard's Far East Branch's First Laboratory—With the power supply cut, the interior was shrouded in darkness. Air conditioning and other cooling systems were all silent.

However, the lab where a dragon's corpse was kept was showing faint purple light.

The light source consisted of a Kraken's remains kept in a coffin. A silver tentacle with torn off ends, its midsection bulging unnaturally, glowing with purple light from within.

Staring into the coffin was John Hortensia, a crossdressing platinum blonde with golden eyes.

Dressed in military uniform, she was pointing her gun at the lab's director, Miyazawa Kenya, while gazing at the coffin's interior.

Throb... Throb... Throb...

Accompanying the deep pulsation sounds, the light inside the tentacle also brightened and dimmed.

Then she finally realized. This was the sound of a ''heartbeat''.

The new life residing inside the remains. The Kraken's offspring.

Just as Miyazawa Kenya said earlier, this was the light of new life.

Throb... Throb... Throb...

The heartbeat gradually quickened and the purple light intensified progressively.

Ominous fetal movement.

It had arrived, no one could stop it anymore.

In front of John who had even forgotten to breathe, a tiny crack appeared on the bulging tentacle's surface.

A purple eye inside was revealed.

A powerful monster originally in eternal slumber—had now awakened.

Furthermore... Another calamity had awakened simultaneously.

The location was the forest of Fuji after the intense battle ended.

The top portion of the outrageously gigantic tree, reaching 5000 meters in height, had vanished. Near its base, there were two enormous cracks.

With its core functionality stolen by Tia Lightning, it was now a husk that had lost its computation power, merely waiting to rot.

However, this was a change precipitated by Yggdrasil.

From Yggdrasil's roots, which had eaten into the ground, something resembling black bubbles flowed out from its gaps.

They resembled black soap suds.

The black bubbles gradually accumulated and slowly rose into the sky.

However, no one noticed this calamitous change occurring the depths of the Sea of Trees.

In this manner, two calamities had been released.

Liberated from the restraints of the ground, taking to the free skies—

<center>*</center>

"Don't worry, Tia will return the memories—back to Yuu."

Tia hugged me as though comforting me, whispering in my ear. Feeling the same pain I suffered from losing my memories, Tia cried with large teardrops falling—

One was supposed to react to such news with joy.

Reacting with relief at the return of lost memories would be the natural reaction.

But I could not even muster a single word of "thanks."

During the ride back to the Asgard lab on the Tokyo shore, I looked over Tia's shoulder around the interior of the van.

After an overnight battle against Yggdrasil, the girls were looking at the crying Tia in worry.

Under the gazes of the girls from Brynhildr Class, Shinomiya-sensei the homeroom teacher and Kili who had tagged along on her own, I stroked Tia's head.

"Thanks Tia. But... Give me some time."

To prevent others from overhearing, I whispered quietly in Tia's ear.

Due to the sudden ''fear'' in my heart, I did not take up this rare opportunity.

"...Sure?"

"Yeah, I'd like to have some mental preparation."

"Really? Then Tia... will sleep a bit."

She must have pushed herself to the limit for my sake. Leaning againt me, she soon fell asleep.

Seeing everyone staring at me, I forced a smile.

"Don't worry. She slept again once she felt reassured."

I held Tia carefully in my arms and explained.

"—She's probably feeling a bit confused. Well, it can't be helped. After all, she's taken Yggdrasil's place."

Kili explained with an expression as though looking at her own child.

"Strain must be unavoidable after doing something of that sort. We should let her have a good rest."

Looking after Tia all the time, Lisa spoke while gazing gently at her.

After everyone watched Tia's sleeping face for a while, Ariella yawned.

"Hwah... To be honest, we're tired out too. Let's rest until we get to the lab."

"Mm."

Sitting beside me, Ren concurred with Ariella.

"Yeah... I'll take a nap too. No mood to read either..."

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Firill commented. Seeing everyone in this state, the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad, Mitsuki, spoke up:

"Well then, let us all nap for a while. Shinomiya-sensei, is that alright?"

"No problem, get some good rest now. Good job, you all worked hard."

Shinomiya-sensei praised everyone and we rested in the van.

"Goodnight, Mononobe."

Iris smiled and said to me. Her silver hair was glittering under the rays of the morning sun.

"...Goodnight."

Throb. Seeing her smile, my heart pounded intensely in response.

Between me and her—There were definitely special feelings.

But once I retrieve my lost memories... What would happen to these feelings?

This was also the reason why I could not accept Tia's suggestion immediately.

Scared that my current feelings and personality would simply vanish, I hesitated and faltered.

Iris fell asleep immediately. After looking at her sleeping face, I turned towards Mitsuki.

Mitsuki had not fallen asleep. Noticing my gaze, she opened her eyes slightly.

"Nii-san, you should catch some sleep sooner. Time on the way back to the lab for resting is limited."

"Yeah, I know."

I smiled at Mitsuki and closed my eyes.

My heart hurt intensely. It was the guilt from parading myself matter-of-factly as her brother. Furthermore, there was disappointment that I had forgotten all shared memories and the promise with her.

Having lost my memories, I might have been hurting Mitsuki unintentionally.

Absolutely—Unacceptable.

This strong impulse filled my heart. It was as though "the real me" was screaming in my heart.

My feelings for Iris and guilt towards Mitsuki were colliding chaotically in my heart.

Devoured by the turbulent vortex, I gradually sank into deep slumber.

Along the way, due to congestion on the roads, it was already noon by the time we reached the Asgard lab.

The malfunctioning in electronic devices caused by Yggdrasil was the reason for the gridlock. Due to Yggdrasil's core transferring into Tia, cars were able to move again. However, the power outage had caused many accidents, hence there were many congested roads.

However, there was something unexpected when our detouring brought us to the back of the research lab.

"What happened here...?"

Carrying the soundly sleeping Tia on my back as I got off the van, I looked at the barricade tape surrounding the lab premises and exclaimed in surprise.

"I can see smoke... Don't tell me there's a fire?"

Iris looked at the smoke billowing above the lab and tilted her head uneasily.

"Did an accident happen during the power outage...?"

Lisa frowned and watched across the barricade tape.

Stationed on guard around the facility were not police but armed soldiers.

"They are NIFL troops. In any case, let us first ask what happened."

After seeing the emblem worn by the soldiers, Mitsuki and Shinomiya-sensei went together to approach the soldiers standing near the barricade tape.

"...It feels like something very troublesome happened. Now it'll be difficult to meet up with Jeanne-chan—no, John."

Looking out through the van window, Kili whispered softly.

As a deemed disaster, Kili was currently hunted on NIFL's wanted list. It would be bad if she were discovered here.

"You should leave before a crowd gathers. Right now—I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

I quietly answered Kili.

"Oh my, I can?"

"This time, well... It's all thanks to your help."

Although Kili performing modifications on Tia for the purpose of defeating Yggdrasil was definitely inhumane, it was true that we could not have returned safe and sound had she not been there.

"Is that so? Thanks. Goodbye, Yuu. Next you next time. I leave Tia in your care."

Thanking in light tone of voice, Kili swiftly disembarked.

Nearby, Ariella noticed Kili's movements but did not take any action to stop her.

"Although we might be enemies next time we meet... No helping it."

Ariella smiled wryly and watched Kili leave.

"Oh—Mitsuki and Sensei are back."

Hearing Firill, I looked in the lab's direction.

Next, I saw Mitsuki and Shinomiya-sensei coming, accompanied by Miyazawa Kenya, the lab's director.

"...Mm."

Ren leaned towards me and grabbed my sleeve all at once. Miyazawa Kenya was Ren's father. It looked like Ren still had trouble facing him after the direct confrontation. Sure enough, she must have complicated feelings.

Taking a closer look, I noticed Miyazawa Kenya had a cast on his arm. He was injured but it was unknown whether it had anything to do with the lab's situation.

"Hi, I am relieved to see that all of you are fine. Looks like the operation succeeded and Yggdrasil has been vanquished."

Smiling warmly, he looked like he was happy for our safe return, but for someone like me, who had caught a deeper glimpse into this lab's research, would know it was merely social pleasantries.

"Yeah, well... I guess it's a success."

We looked at one another and I answered ambiguously.

Yggdrasil was not destroyed. Instead, its core was now under Tia's control—We had no intention of reporting this situation to him. Otherwise, Tia would most likely end up as his newest research subject.

At least before returning to Midgard, we must keep this a secret and not let anyone others know.

We had already obtained Shinomiya-sensei's consent during our trip back on the van. Prioritizing the safety and human right of Ds was Midgard's policy.

"It's such a shame that all observation equipment could not be used, preventing me from watching your battle. Please be as detailed as possible in the report submission. Thanks."

Miyazawa Kenya spoke to me like a researcher. Ren stepped forward.

"—Putting that aside, that."

Pointing at the lab that was now barred from entry, Ren asked.

"Oh, right... I should explain the lab's current situation first. It must have surprised you guys on your return, right?"

"Yeah, so what exactly happened?"

I looked at the strictly barricaded lab and inquired.

"When the electrical system went down, the facilities went haywire. There were many underground explosions and I got caught up in it."

He looked at his arm in the cast and replied.

"Explosion accidents huh..."

"Yes, because of that, entry to the lab is now forbidden. Your belongings have already been moved out by staff, so just find another place to stay."

Hearing what he said, Lisa showed a troubled expression on her face.

"Even if you ask us to find a place to stay, given the current traffic chaos, accommodations must be full everywhere. Shinomiya-sensei, could we not return to Midgard directly?"

"We can't return immediately because of various aftermath handling. Furthermore, aircraft are absolutely forbidden until it is confirmed that the abnormal electromagnetic interference has vanished completely. We will probably need to stay two or three more days in Japan before we can leave."

Shinomiya-sensei crossed her arms and answered. Then Mitsuki raised her hand.

"Excuse me... In that case, how about coming to Nii-san and my home?"

"Eh? Mononobe and Mitsuki-chan's home?"

Iris exclaimed in surprise. Firill clapped her hands together before her chest.

"I... would like to go. I'm curious about Mononobe-kun's home."

"I-I am interested too—However, is it really okay to impose so suddenly?"

Lisa asked Mitsuki in a fluster.

"The original plan was to pay a visit if time permitted, so that is not an issue. Shinomiya-sensei, is that fine?"

Mitsuki answered Lisa then inquired of Shinomiya-sensei.

"Yes... I must stay in Tokyo to handle the aftermath. All of you can have free time for now until preparations are ready to return to Midgard. Take a vacation."

"Much appreciated!"

Mitsuki happily bowed her head to express thanks. However, I froze at the thought of suddenly returning home.

This meant that I had to reunite with my parents whom I did not get a chance to see because I fainted during the school festival.

To be honest, I was not prepared at all.

"Nii-san, this is wonderful!"

However, Mitsuki sought my opinion happily. I forced myself to nod.

"Yeah, that's great."

The chance Tia gave me to recover my memories and suddenly returning home—

Fate seemed to be whispering to me, telling me that it was now time for me to turn back into myself.

Nevertheless—

"Mononobe?"

Iris noticed my gaze and cocked her head.

—I can't turn back yet.

Turning back into my old self without informing her, I absolutely could not do that.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v07 025.jpg|thumb]]

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Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 6 Epilogue

2018-01-13T18:34:14Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Epilogue */

==Epilogue==

Turning time back slightly... The location was the Asgard research laboratory where Miyazawa Kenya served as director.

Swallowed into Yggdrasil's interference range, with all electrical systems down, the interior of the facilities was shrouded in darkness.

But in the fourth floor underground, an area where even starlight from outside the windows could not reach, there was an abundance of faint light for some reason.

The light source was inside the lab, on the other side of the opened partition.

Located in the center of the room, whose cooling system was down, there was an opened coffin.

Miyazawa Kenya was standing in front of the coffin, silently staring inside it.

However, footsteps were suddenly heard in the silent lab.

Then with a click, there was the sound of someone raising a gun.

"Freeze."

A stern voice shook the stagnant air.

"...Ah, speaking of which, the alarm system is down too. No wonder there are uninvited guests. Who are you?"

Miyazawa Kenya asked in a lethargic voice without even looking back.

"Not asking unnecessary things is the key to staying alive. Answer my question if you don't want to die."

Jeanne Hortensia threatened in a sharp tone of voice. Originally a member of Sleipnir, this girl had quietly infiltrated the laboratory by seizing the opening when Yggdrasil had downed all electrical systems.

In order to seize the secrets in this lab where they had been forced to retreat from at one point, Jeanne chose to work separately from Kili.

"Yes yes. Please ask whatever you wish to ask. I will answer any question, because dying means I won't be able to continue my research."

Despite facing a life-threatening crisis, Miyazawa Kenya showed no fear at all.

Her golden eyes alternated their gaze between Miyazawa Kenya's back and the glowing coffin. Then she said:

"Do you know anything regarding Hreidmar?"

"...Hreidmar? I am hearing this name for the first time."

"Then what about 'Fafnir'?"

Jeane then asked this question. Miyazawa Kenya pondered briefly.

"Fafnir... Speaking of which, I've heard rumors before that NIFL was carrying something called the 'Fafnir Project.' I recall that the project was based on a hypothesis on the scrapped authority, Code Lost..."

"Scrapped authority?"

"Just as dragons possess special powers, humans might have some kind of lost special power—An unverified hypothesis born from that kind of hope. Since I was not too interested in this hypothesis, I don't know any further details."

Hearing his answer, Jeanne brought her hand against her mouth and murmured to herself: "I knew it. It's necessary to search NIFL facilities to find out more details, not Asgard ones..."

"Have you asked everything you want?"

Hearing Miyazawa Kenya, Jeanne looked up.

"No, not yet. Cough up what research you are conducting here. Compared to other facilities, this lab has too many suspicious things about it."

"...This is a lab belonging to Asgard, the international organization on dragon policies. Obviously, dragon research is being carried out."

Miyazawa Kenya shrugged and answered.

"Then what's inside that glowing box?"

Jeanne looked at the faintly glowing coffin and asked.

"A cadaver."

"...Cadaver? What kind of cadaver exactly?"

"Since it's dragon research, of course this is a dragon cadaver, right?"

"What—"

Jeanne gasped and slowly approached the coffin.

"...I will confirm. Don't move."

Jeanne warned Miyazawa Kenya while moving to a position to look into the coffin.

What was kept inside the coffin was a thick silver tentacle with a bulging midsection. Roughly the size of an adult, its two ends were cross sections from being ripped apart. Faint purple light was escaping from inside the tentacle.

"This is..."

"Remains of the purple dragon—'Purple' Kraken. Two years ago, two Krakens were taken out, resulting in a large number of tentacle remains drifting in the ocean. In addition to being a useful resource, the mithril tentacles are also precious samples, hence Asgard collected those remains as much as possible."

Miyazawa Kenya explained nonchalantly and pointed his finger downwards.

"The lowest level in the facility is a giant swimming pool where a large number of Kraken tentacles are preserved. However, among all these remains, this one is special."

His eyes blazed with the flashing light of curiosity while he pointed to the coffin and spoke.

"Special?"

Jeanne asked nervously.

"This is definitely a cadaver, the remains of Shinomiya Miyako, the D who had turned into a Kraken. It's just that despite the fact that this tentacle is a cadaver, it also has life."

"What are you talking about? If it has life, it's not a cadaver, right?"

Jeanne frowned. Smiling wryly, he answered:

"You don't get it? Maybe I didn't explain enough. What I am saying is that there is life residing inside this cadaver. The light inside the tentacle... That is precisely the light of new life."

"New life...? Don't tell me—"

Jeanne was speechless. She gazed at the unnaturally bulging tentacle.

Miyazawa Kenya nodded at the stunned Jeanne then spoke solemnly:

"Indeed, residing inside these remains is the child of the Kraken's mate."

<center>*</center>

Riding in a large van, we drove east towards the horizon where the rising sun was shining.

The driver was the middle-aged woman who was part of Asgard's staff. Shinomiya-sensei was sitting in the front passenger seat.

We, the students of Brynhildr Class, were sitting side by side in the spacious back seats.

"Tia-chan still hasn't woken up."

Looking at Tia who was sleeping while leaning against me, Iris said with worry.

Having taken control of Yggdrasil's core, Tia had lost consciousness after returning to our side.

After taking Tia to meet up with Shinomiya-sensei, we were now riding the van back to the lab.

"Don't worry, Tia had definitely retained her sense of self when she returned to us. She also successfully endured the strain during the hacking process, so she should be waking up soon."

Sitting next to Iris, Kili quietly explained.

"By the way, why are you getting a ride too?"

Lisa looked at the seating which had become slightly crowded due to Kili and asked.

Since Kili had boarded the van as though it were the most natural thing in the world, no one spoke up about it earlier.

"I have matters at the lab too. Jeanne-chan... No, John should be waiting there for me."

"John?"

I asked Kili in surprise.

"Yes, so give me a ride there. I already helped you guys out, so it's not like you have a problem with letting me relax for a bit, right?"

Kili shrugged and asked everyone.

"...Indeed, it is true that Kili-san helped us immensely. We will take you to the research lab."

Mitsuki accepted Kili's request despite a reluctant expression.

"However, is it really okay for us to return just like that? The remains of Yggdrasil's main body and roots are still there..."

Firill looked out the back window—at the western sky—and said.

Ariella nodded and agreed with Firill.

"I'm worried too. Now that you brought it up, I'm still not clear on the situation. Although Tia has seized control rights to Yggdrasil's core, but what happens next...?"

Hearing this question, Kili shrugged.

"Tia has become the administrator of the gigantic system that is Yggdrasil. Although I still don't know how much of that power she is able to control... At least, there's no more need to worry about Yuu getting controlled."

Hearing her say that, Ren looked reassured.

"...Thank goodness."

Ren said quietly, staring at my face.

"Onii-chan, is it okay now?"

"Yeah, the feeling has returned to my left arm. It should be able to move freely once the cast is taken off."

I nodded at Ren and rotated my left arm to show her.

"Mmmm..."

Perhaps because my movements were felt by Tia, she moaned slightly.

"Tia?"

I called her name. Tia opened her eyes slightly.

"Yuu...?"

Tia stared blankly at my face.

"Yeah, it's me."

I nodded in response. Showing an expression like she was still in a dream, she said:

"Yuu... Tia saw many things when inside Yggdrasil, but... almost can't recall anything."

"That's fine. Tia, you just need to remember that you're Tia. No need to force yourself to remember."

I stroked Tia's soft hair and tried my best to speak in a gentle tone.

It was impossible to imagine how massive the volume of information flowed into Tia's mind when carrying out a hacking attack against Yggdrasil's gigantic mind. Trying to get a full grasp of all that information would probably stop the brain from functioning normally.

"But... There seems to be something Tia must say... A message that must be passed along."

"Even if that's the case, there's no need to rush. Rest properly and wait until you regain your energy."

"Yeah..."

Tia nodded uneasily but at this moment, her face looked like she suddenly thought of something.

"—Oh, I just remembered one thing."

Tia said and tears flowed out of her eyes.

"Eh? W-What's wrong?"

I asked her frantically. Tia immediately wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly.

"What Yggdrasil did to Yuu... Tia saw it. So many, so many... precious memories taken out. Yuu must be suffering so much..."

Hearing Tia whisper quietly in my ear, I could not help but gasp.

Iris and the other girls were watching Tia who had suddenly started crying.

Then only loud enough for me to hear, Tia continued:

"Don't worry, Tia will return the memories—back to Yuu."

Badump, my heart pounded intensely.

What I felt at this moment was... not "Mononobe Yuu's" joy of possibly recovering the past, but my current self's—

Fear, not knowing how my feeling towards Iris might change.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v06 302-303.jpg|thumb]]
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| Back to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_6_Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
| Return to [[Unlimited_Fafnir|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_6_Afterword|Afterword]]
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Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 6 Chapter 4

2018-01-13T18:26:39Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 5 */

==Chapter 4 - Ether Wind of Gold==

===Part 1===

Tia Lightning thought back to what Kili Surtr Muspelheim had told her at the Castle of Mirrors.

"As things stand, Tia, Yggdrasil cannot be defeated no matter what. But if you give up your human identity, there might be a path to hope."

"Eh...?"

Tia stared blankly at Kili.

The hall all covered with mirrors gave an illusion of infinite space. At the same time, it also produced countless reflections of Tia and Kili.

An uncountable number of virtual images—Facing the black-haired girl was the girl with two red horns on her head in great unease.

"I originally planned to raise you as ''the trump card for taking down Yggdrasil''. Your horns are also an organ existing for the sake of opposing Yggdrasil."

"These..."

Putting her hands on her head, Tia touched her two red horns.

"Indeed, this is an organ connected directly to the brain, which is why I can't put it on myself. Manipulating your own brain will mess up your concentration in the process, causing the control of biogenic transmutation to fail."

"Then... If Tia works hard, Yggdrasil can be defeated?"

Tia asked timidly but Kili shook her head.

"No, I haven't finished with your treatment, so those horns cannot function as intended yet. But if you wish, I could perform the final treatment for you."

Staring into Tia's eyes, Kili made this proposal.

"Then like this... Tia will be able to help Yuu and the others?"

"If all goes well. After all, I can't guarantee success since this is the first time, but if your horns function as planned, Yuu and the others have a shot at victory. However—"

Kili paused and narrowed her eyes.

"—The moment Yggdrasil is defeated, you will surely become a ''dragon'' transcending the boundaries of Ds and humans."

"...!"

Tia gasped and took a step back.

"Don't worry, I won't force you, so no need to be afraid. I'm no longer a puppet controlled by Mother. I will freely decide my 'way of living' according to my own will, so please make a choice according to your own wishes."

Kili's expression turned gentle and she smiled at Tia.

"Kili..."

It was a gentle smile that Tia had never seen on Kili's face.

"Yuu said before that how one lives their life is more important than what they are. What matters is not the identity of your existence, but what you want to do."

===Part 2===

In the middle of this predicament with Yggdrasil's branches flooding towards us, I was stunned on the spot with all eyes on me.

My secret had been revealed.

The fact that Yggdrasil was stealing my body had been exposed.

Finally, she still ended up finding out. Clearly when Mitsuki was the one person I did not want to know this secret.

"Mononobe-kun, tell me the details."

"I want to hear your explanation."

Firill and Ariella approached to question me.

"Yuu, tell Tia the truth..."

Tia stared at me with determination, refusing to back down by a single step.

"I'm interested in the details too."

Kili urged me to explain with her gaze.

By this point, I could not cover things up anymore.

Gritting my teeth, I searched for an answer to give them, but—

"Mononobe Yuu, clearly the only choice is to tell them. The weapons you used so far to defeat dragons were created based on data provided by Yggdrasil. The price you paid is that your body is now about to be stolen."

Lisa's fictional armament fired a flash of light, attacking the branches above while she spoke to me.

However, what she said felt strange to me.

"Huh...?"

Hearing her say that, Iris stared wide-eyed from the side.

The price paid under the deal with Yggdrasil was the loss of my memories, while taking over my body was the trap it had laid. These two were a bit different in meaning.

When my thoughts reached this point, I noticed something. When Tia overheard my conversation with Lisa, the subject of memory loss was not mentioned.

Then at least the worst situation—that I was not the "Mononobe Yuu" whom Mitsuki knew—Perhaps this one fact could still remain hidden to the very end.

...Thank you, Lisa.

While feeling grateful for Lisa's quick thinking, I started to explain to Mitsuki and the others.

"Just as Lisa said, I secretly made a deal with Yggdrasil to defeat dragons. But there was apparently something similar to a computer virus in the data that was sent, so gradually—and right now—I'm being invaded by Yggdrasil."

Omitting the memory part, I revealed the truth.

"To defeat dragons...? Could it be that three years ago, Nii-san, you—"

Mitsuki murmured blankly.

Three years ago, to protect my hometown, I used a power, which was normally impossible, to repel Hekatonkheir. This was done exactly by relying on anti-dragon armaments created from the weapons data obtained from Yggdrasil.

Smart as she was, Mitsuki seemed to recall that immediately.

"Yeah, the fight against Hekatonkheir three years ago was the first time."

I nodded in response to Mitsuki, despite knowing that Mitsuki would feel heavily guilty as soon as I confirmed it.

However, this was much better than telling her "the price was memories."

As long as Yggdrasil was neutralized, its invasion of me would presumably stop, but there was no guarantee my memories would recover.

When it was impossible to recover the real "Mononobe Yuu"—I did not want to bring despair to Mitsuki.

"Mononobe-kun... Why did you hide this? If the weapons for defeating dragons is the reason, then you must have made a deal again back when I was in a crisis, right?"

Firill glared at me angrily.

"...Sorry, because I didn't want you to feel responsible or in debt. Also, I only found out recently I was being controlled. I never expected things to turn out this way."

I bowed my head and apologized to Firill.

Seeing me like that, Ariella scolded:

"I understand how you feel, Mononobe-kun, but it pisses me off that we're the only ones kept in the dark. From the way it looks, Iris and Ren also knew in addition to Lisa, right?"

Iris looked down in shame when Ariella glanced at her, but Ren met her gaze and pointed her finger in the air.

"Mm."

I took a closer look. Because fewer people were attacking, the branches were gradually closing in.

"—Meaning it's not the time for arguing? Can't be helped, I'll complain properly later."

Ariella returned to attack after glaring at me.

"Me too... I have things to say but I'll hold back for now."

Firill turned her back to me and started attacking the branches again.

"—As thanks for letting me hear something interesting, I'll help out a bit."

With a wave of her hand, Kili incinerated branches with a red beam of scorching heat.

But in this situation, Mitsuki and Tia did not take their gazes off my face.

I saw Mitsuki biting her lower lip, shoulders trembling, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"M-Mitsuki—Don't cry. It's really my fault, I'm sorry—"

Even I was surprised at how shaken I was inside. I kept apologizing to her. To me who had lost all memories beyond three years ago, she should not be someone "special"... But my heart was shaken to a ridiculous degree.

"...Nii-san, you need not apologize. I am crying because I am too useless... This fills me with chagrin... So do not worry about me."

Mitsuki spoke hoarsely and brusquely wiped her tears away with her hand.

"Putting that aside, please allow me to confirm one fact. Is what you said just now everything?"

"Eh..."

My heart pounded like crazy.

"I knew long ago that you were hiding things from me, Nii-san, but I also understood you were hiding desperately... So I deliberately refrained from asking, but this incident has filled me with extreme regret. So this time, I will muster my courage to ask you, Nii-san, are you still hiding things from me?"

Mitsuki asked me with conviction.

I thought I had concealed things well, but now I knew I was totally seen through.

More than anyone else, Mitsuki knew this person of "Mononobe Yuu." She knew everything about me that my current self had forgotten. In front of someone like that, of course hiding would not work.

"...Yes."

I nodded to confirm Mitsuki's question, but I continued:

"But I can't tell you, Mitsuki."

I prepared myself and asserted clearly.

"Why?"

"I still can't say it yet."

I shook my head and stared into Mitsuki's eyes that were red from crying.

"Then when can you say it?"

"—Once I've retrieved everything."

I gave this answer because I could not think of another way of saying it.

"Even if I ask you what you mean by that, you will not answer, right?"

Mitsuki smiled wryly with feelings of resignation.

"...Sorry."

"Very well—Because I know how stubborn you are, Nii-san, I will not force the matter at this time. However, one final matter, please tell me—Tia-san said that Yggdrasil must be defeated now. Is that true?"

Mitsuki's expression tensed. She asked me in a tone of suppressed emotion:

"...It's true that Yggdrasil's interference in me has strengthened, but I won't get controlled by it immediately, so there's still time. We should retreat temporarily."

To be honest, I had a feeling that the final time limit was not far away, but I answered this way to reassure Mitsuki. Because right now, we were totally out of options.

I was admittedly happy that Tia said she would protect me, but right now, we should retreat and request reinforcements from Midgard. With a larger force, it might be possible to handle the branches' rate of growth.

"I understand. Indeed, as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad, there is no alternative as a decision. Well then—"

Mitsuki paused halfway then turned to face Shinomiya-sensei.

"Shinomiya-sensei, forgive my willfulness, but I, Mononobe Mitsuki, hereby relinquish my duties as captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad."

"What are you suddenly..."

Shinomiya-sensei was shocked.

The others, still attacking branches, also stared in Mitsuki in surprise.

"Mitsuki-chan...?"

Troubled, Iris called her name, tilting her head in puzzlement.

"Mitsuki..."

Tia also showed doubt on her face but I could also see her trying to figure things out.

But ignoring everyone's reactions, Mitsuki turned to face me.

"Starting now, I will only fight as your younger sister to protect you, Nii-san. I will absolutely not retreat."

"H-Hey—I said there's still time, right?"

"Nii-san, do you think lying can deceive me?"

As though having come to a realization, Mitsuki showed a refreshing smile while glaring at Yggdrasil's branches extending from the western sky.

"Hold on, what do you think can still be done in this situation? If there's a solution, I wouldn't call for a retreat."

The way I saw it, Mitsuki was going to attack recklessly without a plan. I made haste to stop her.

"Indeed, given the current situation, marching forward while keeping sufficient distance from the interference range will be impossible. However, much can be done as long as one disregards one's safety. Such notions would disqualify a commander... But right now, I am merely a ''younger sister'', nothing more."

Mitsuki smiled as though telling a joke and continued:

"By eliminating branches in the minimum range ahead and flying at high speed, it might be possible to advance."

"What...? But if you get caught in Yggdrasil's interference range, even if just a little, you'll crash immediately, right? It's too dangerous!"

I instantly yelled in objection.

"—I know, which is why I intend to go alone. I will find a way to reach a spot where I can aim at Yggdrasil directly, to destroy the base of the branches. That way, I should be able to buy quite a lot of time before it grows again. Nii-san, you and the others will use that window to attack."

Mitsuki's expression showed that she was completely prepared already.

"Don't do something stupid like that—"

I reached out, trying to stop Mitsuki, but she was surrounded by a layer of wind, deflecting my hand.

Everyone tried to call out and stop her with frantic expressions.

But before anyone could make a sound, ''she'' acted even faster.

"Wait!"

Mitsuki hovered into the air, but Tia crashed into her, wrapped in her own layer of wind.

"Kyah!?"

Entangled together, the two girls fell to the ground.

"Tia-san, let go of me!"

Mitsuki tried to pull off Tia who was hugging her waist but Tia resisted desperately and yelled:

"Don't do that, Mitsuki! Leave it to Tia! If it's Tia, it will definitely succeed!"

"Huh...?"

Hearing what Tia said, Mitsuki stopped.

"Sorry, Tia should have said this earlier, but Tia finds the current life so happy... Don't want any change... So Tia could not gather enough courage. But Tia has decided now."

Tia separated from Mitsuki who had stopped resisting, then looked at Kili.

Originally helping out with eliminating branches, Kili stopped and faced Tia at this time.

"Is that right? Tia, you will be choosing your ''way of living''."

Kili spoke gently to Tia.

I did not know what was going on, but my heart was in turmoil.

Tia nodded and said with a voice of determination:

"Please, Kili, give Tia the power to fight Yggdrasil."

"Got it, then I'll perform the final treatment for you."

Kili slowly approached Tia.

"Hey, what treatment? What are you planning to do!?"

Unable to grasp the situation, I yelled acutely at Kili.

"—I will make Tia's horns complete."

Kili placed her palm on the pair of horns on Tia's head and gave me a brief answer.

"Make her horns complete... What on earth is—"

"Tia is the child I raised to become the trump card against Yggdrasil. These horns were created as an organ for opposing Yggdrasil. Although the horns currently don't function, so long as Tia wishes, I can make these horns complete. This was what I proposed to her at the amusement park."

Staring at Tia's horns, Kili quietly explained.

So that was what they talked about in the Castle of Mirrors that time—

"...Tia has been brooding the whole time after returning from the amusement park, like she was in a dilemma... afraid of something. Is that final treatment something ''frightening'' to Tia?"

I stared at Kili and questioned her in a fierce tone of voice.

"Yes, I don't know what will happen if it fails. Even if it succeeds, Tia will become an existence transcending the boundaries of what it means to be a D. Based on Midgard's definitions, she might end up categorized as a dragon."

Hearing Kili's words, Iris' shoulders shuddered.

As a D who had transcended boundaries, Iris must have felt greatly shaken inside after listening to Kili.

"I won't let Tia do something so dangerous!"

"That's not for you to decide."

Just as I tried to take a step forward, a small explosion detonated in front of me.

"!?"

I guarded my face with my hand and jumped back reflexively. The searing pain on my skin forced me to frown.

"Don't get in the way, Yuu. Even you have no right to stop Tia from choosing her own path."

Exuding off intense killing intent, Kili restrained me from taking action.

The surrounding temperature rose. Sweat was seeping out of my forehead and neck. She must have deployed Muspelheim.

What should I do...? Stopping them would require the determination to murder Kili.

Just as I hesitated, Tia smiled at me.

"Don't worry. Because no matter what Tia becomes, Tia will be still the one who loves Yuu most—Yuu's wife."

Then the dark matter generated in Kili's hand melded with Tia's horns as though getting sucked in.

"—!!"

The two horns shone with dazzling light while Tia emitted a deafening scream.

===Part 3===

Blinding light and an extended scream.

"Tia!"

Ignoring Kili's deployed Muspelheim, I dashed towards Tia.

The final treatment probably ended in an instant—Kili did not stop me. After she put down her raised hand, Tia immediately collapsed on her knees.

As though sliding, I caught Tia's petite body, feeble and drained of strength.

"Stay with me! Tia!"
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v06 257.jpg|thumb]]

I called to her but Tia seemed to have lost consciousness. No reaction. Her two red horns also showed no change in appearance.

"Tia-chan, are you okay!?"

"Tia-san!"

Iris and Mitsuki rushed forward from behind, peering at Tia's face.

Unable to leave their positions from eliminating branches, Lisa and the others looked in our direction with paled faces.

I looked up and glared at Kili.

"What happened to Tia? Did it—fail?"

"Can't tell until Tia wakes up. The completed horns have connected to Tia's brain, so as long as she is able to withstand the strain, she'll surely—"

Just as Kili spoke in a praying tone of voice, Tia stirred.

"Mm..."

A faint sound came Tia's pink lips. A spark of lightning flashed and popped near her red horns.

"Tia can hear..."

Tia spoke hoarsely while opening her eyes slightly.

"Thank goodness, you woke up."

I breathed a sigh of relief, only to see Tia staring at me.

"Tia can hear a cold voice calling Neun... Neun... Is this the voice of Yggdrasil that's troubling Yuu?"

"What...? You can hear it too, Tia?"

I asked in surprise.

Just as Tia said, Yggdrasil's voice was still sounding in my mind right now.

"Yes... So this is Yggdrasil... Yuu's enemy."

Tia spoke as though in the middle of a dream and stood up.

"Tia?"

I noticed Tia acting a bit strange and called to her but she focused her gaze westward towards Yggdrasil instead of answering. The electrical sparks scattering over Tia's head in the horns' surroundings gradually increased.

"...Stop making Yuu suffer, be quiet!!"

The instant Tia yelled, electricity exploded nearby.

"What!?"

Boom, Shinomiya-sensei's laptop exploded. The surroundings suddenly felt quiet.

"Yggdrasil's voice... disappeared?"

I muttered blankly. Yggdrasil's voice was originally loud enough to feel noisy, but now, no matter how I much I focused my mind in order to listen, I could not sense the voice anymore. The sense of dissonance in my left arm also disappeared.

"Looks like it succeeded."

While everyone was feeling troubled, Kili was the only one to show a contented look.

"What did Tia do?"

I demanded an explanation from Kili.

"—What Tia has constructed is an electromagnetic barrier that could probably block out Yggdrasil's interference completely. And if my predictions are correct, Yggdrasil is currently unable to steal Tia's dark matter. Just by maintaining this barrier, your side will be able to enter Yggdrasil's interference range."

"What... Tia is now capable of that kind of thing?"

I gasped and asked.

"Yes. Speaking of which, the reason why Yggdrasil can steal dark matter is because electrical signals simulating thoughts will have more interference strength than weak mental waves. That's why I've given Tia a renewed organ capable of outputting thoughts as electrical signals."

"Namely... those horns?"

I looked at Tia's horns, surrounded by glowing electricity.

"Also, Tia has a habit of subconsciously transmuting dark matter into electrical currents. When the dark matter is transmuted emotionally, it becomes equivalent to thoughts encoded into electrical signals. This further strengthens Tia's interference strength, repelling Yggdrasil's interference. This is the truth behind the electromagnetic barrier."

Thinking back, Tia really did have a habit of generating electrical currents when emotional. That was probably why Kili had chosen Tia.

After listening to that, Tia held her head and asked Kili:

"So... If it's Tia right now, Tia can protect Yuu and the others?"

"That's right. As long as you think intensely and generate dark matter persistently, the electromagnetic barrier will be sustained. As long as they stay inside the barrier, the dark matter of Yuu and the others will be free from interference."

"Got it... Tia will work hard."

Tia nodded and moved her hand away from her head. I saw pearl-like sweat on her head.

It was probably causing her quite a lot of strain. Bestowed with an organ that was not inborn, it was only natural for her body to have a rejection reaction.

But Tia steadied her shaking body with her legs and spread the pair of red wings that was her fictional armament.

"Yuu—Everyone follow Tia. Tia will take everyone to Yggdrasil."

Tia spoke with unshakable determination.

Will you be okay? I could only swallow these words.

Because I quickly understood that it was a meaningless question. Asking it would be a waste of time.

I could see that she was not okay at all. She was clearly forcing herself.

In reaction to becoming like this—No, she had chosen to do this.

Simply for the sake of protecting me.

Lisa silently approached Tia and hugged her.

"—I know, then I will count on you, Tia-san. However, please focus on maintaining the barrier. I will fly and carry you."

"Thank you... Lisa."

Tia dispelled her fictional armament and held onto Lisa's waist.

"...I will carry Onii-chan."

Feeling someone pull my right hand, I turned my gaze to see Ren looking up at me.

Ren's cooperation with me was the key to the next part of the plan, so it was probably better that I traveled with her.

"Okay, I'm counting on you."

I held Ren's hand. Having confirmed the situation, Mitsuki walked over to Iris and took her hand.

"Then I will be responsible for Iris-san's transport. So this is it—Shinomiya-sensei, we are setting off."

Holding the wrecked laptop in her hand, Shinomiya-sensei was looking a bit lost. Then at this time, she smiled wryly and acknowledged.

"Okay... Looks like I can't provide support anymore, so I'm leaving the rest to you. Captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad—Mononobe Mitsuki."

Shinomiya-sensei intentionally added the title when addressing Mitsuki.

Having just declared she would relinquish her duties, Mitsuki made a slightly embarrassed look before saluting with upright posture.

"Affirmative. I will fulfill my duties as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad."

===Part 4===

Gathered around Lisa, who was carrying Tia in her arms, we flew through the night sky.

Yggdrasil's branches were growing at a frightening rate in front of us.

Although it was impossible to measure the exact interference range, the area under the branches was most likely its territory.

We cautiously lowered our altitude and rushed into Yggdrasil's interference range.

—No change.

Having confirmed there was no interference in our fictional armaments or any signs of impedance to transmutation, we increased our altitude and flying speed. The sky glowed white faintly. Dawn seemed to be approaching.

Flying in the lead while carrying Iris in her arms was Mitsuki. Holding the rear was Ren, transporting me, with Kili flying by our side.

"How unexpected. I can't believe you came along, Kili."

Flying in the sky with Ren holding my hand, I spoke to Kili beside me.

"Let me enjoy the show to the very end since I'm already here. Of course, I won't just watch. I'll offer a helping hand and won't drag you down, so relax."

"I don't doubt your abilities, but I'll be watching you to see if you have any ulterior motives."

I declared to Kili that I refused to trust her.

"Fufu, I don't mind. That means you'll have your eyes focused on me."

Kili smiled confidently.

"...!"

Her smile was inexplicably dazzling and stunning, rendering me speechless for a moment. Sure enough, this girl was not easy to deal with.

"However, you should probably focus your attention on Yggdrasil rather than me. Once it realizes its interference over dark matter isn't working, it will surely take other measures."

Just as Kili reminded me to pay attention, Mitsuki yelled from the front:

"Heads up, Yggdrasil's branches are showing changes! Be careful, everyone!"

I hastily looked up to notice that we were already under a canopy made from Yggdrasil's branches.

These capillary-like branches blotted the sky, writhing in a sinister and spooky manner. Numerous branches, as sharp as spears, were attacking our position.

"All units deploy shields! We will break through by force!"

Mitsuki commanded in a sharp voice.

"Looks like it's my turn."

Kili grinned proudly and raised one hand to the sky.

"—Such flammable-looking branches won't even manage to enter my Muspelheim."

The approaching branches suddenly caught fire, burning into tiny particles of ash.

She had most likely deployed an invisible barrier of high temperature in the air.

Mitsuki and the girls also deployed barriers of wind, but all the branches were burnt to ash before reaching them.

Under the gradually brightening sky, the outlines of Mount Fuji's tall appearance and the towering Yggdrasil were gradually coming into view.

"Target confirmed! Once we pass over Mount Fuji, our distance to the target will be 10 kilometers or so—Sniping distance. Iris-san, show time for you!"

"Yeah!"

Iris nodded in response to Mitsuki.

"Once we pass Mount Fuji, Lisa-san, Iris-san and I shall attack the main body in full force while trying to get even closer. Firill-san and Ariella-san, continue to deploy shields. Nii-san and Ren-san will prepare to scatter Ether Wind after the main body is destroyed!"

"Yes!"

I answered and made eye contact with Ren, exchanging nods in acknowledgement.

"Huh? What about me?"

Without being called on, Kili asked, prompting Mitsuki to reply in a cold voice:

"If you wish to help, please participate in attacking."

"Oh dear, it feels like you're not expecting much of me?"

Kili grumbled with dissatisfaction.

Immediately, Iris, who was carried by Mitsuki, looked back and smiled cheerfully at Kili.

"It's not like that, Kili-chan, let's do our best together!"

"...Y-You're really good at getting others caught in your pace. Fine, whatever. Having created this chance for Tia, even without being told, I seriously intend to go on a rampage."

Kili spoke with violence in her eyes.

The snowtop of Mount Fuji was before us, but the branches suddenly stopped attacking.

Just as it seemed like Yggdrasil had given up on obstructing us with branches, Lisa yelled acutely.

"Look quickly! Yggdrasil's shape—"

Located on the far side, Yggdrasil's towering trunk was gradually expanding unnaturally in the middle.

Then bizarre and thick branches were forced out from the bulging portion.

The sun seemed to rise at last and the sky brightened all at once. Behind us, the sun's rays from the east were making us slightly dizzy.

"Everyone! Go down rapidly right now!"

Just at this moment, I heard Tia shout anxiously.

"Yggdrasil's target is Tia!"

Hearing Tia's urgent voice, everyone lowered their flying altitude without fully understanding what was going on.

In the next instant, a flash of blinding light rushed past us above.

"W-What was that!?"

Firill cried out in surprise.

"No idea, it seems like something flew out from Yggdrasil..."

Ariella had not figured out the situation either.

"Dodge quickly! It's aiming again!"

Tia yelled again.

"Descend further!"

Mitsuki instantly ordered us.

After we obeyed, another flash of light passed over us.

"That light... Its speed... The power of electrical interference—It might be an object shot at high-speed using electromagnetic induction."

Flying ahead, Mitsuki said in a stiff tone of voice.

"Isn't that a railgun!? Isn't it impossible to dodge if something like that is aiming at us!?"

Lisa yelled anxiously but Kili interjected confident after hearing her:

"—Don't worry. Tia noticed the attacks in advance, twice already, right? Tia, did you feel anything?"

Tia nodded lightly at Kili's question.

"Yes, there's a dangerous feeling."

"I knew it. Tia's horns are also quite sensitive towards external electromagnetic waves. Although it wasn't an ability by deliberate design, as long as we have Tia, we should be able to dodge."

After Kili said that, Tia made an alarmed expression and yelled:

"It's coming again!"

"All units dodge right!"

Mitsuki instantly commanded.

I could see a glowing ball shot out from the branches protruding from Yggdrasil's trunk.

Just as I was thinking that, a blinding light flashed past our left.

As Lisa said, it would be impossible to dodge visually.

But such a powerful attack could very well get me caught up in it too. Yggdrasil seemed quite shaken when harming me in Midgard. Although the reason was unknown, it looked like it wanted to obtain me intact.

Nevertheless, Yggdrasil seemed to be prioritizing the elimination of Tia over ensuring my safety. Perhaps that was how much of a threat it viewed Tia.

"It's not over!"

We listened to Tia's directions and steadily closed in on Yggdrasil while evading the railgun shots.

Finally, we passed over Mount Fuji's peak.

The railgun shots we dodged dug up the side of Mount Fuji. Amidst the cloud of dust and debris, Mitsuki issued orders.

"Begin the attack on Yggdrasil's main body! If the main body is like a CPU, damaging it ought to lower Yggdrasil's computation power. This might be able to dampen its unrestricted growth and regeneration."

"Understood!"

In charge of attacking, Iris and Lisa responded.

Kili also went "got it" and went up to the front with a fearless smile.

Mitsuki raised Brionac. Holding onto Mitsuki's waist with her right arm, Iris raised her left hand.

"Come, come, fragments of time—"

Iris murmured like praying then generated a red glow in her hand immediately. The words she uttered served as an incantation to focus her mind. She had apparently made changes in order to use Catastrophe.

"—Caduceus Catastrophe!"

With a shout, the red glow turned into the shape of a staff. At first glance, it seemed to be a fictional armament of a different color, but most likely, no dark matter had been used.

It was definitely what Iris had used at Midgard last time, a staff formed from concentrating the light of Catastrophe.

"Iris-san, please attack after me!"

While Iris was preparing, Mitsuki aimed at Yggdrasil and fired the first shot.

"Terminating Arrow—Last Quark!"

Mitsuki fired an antimatter arrow that had eliminated several dragons to date.

But as though to block the arrow's advance, the branches spread above came down, entangling one another, forming a wall.

Mitsuki's arrow caused a giant explosion upon contact with that wall, destroying the branches. However, due to the distance, the antimatter explosion did not reach Yggdrasil's main body.

The branches forming the canopy came down to attack us from overhead. However, they were deflected by Firill and Ariella's barriers. But during this time, branches formed a new wall in front of Yggdrasil.

"Our attacks won't be able to reach the main body if it bolsters its defenses like this!"

Lisa raised Gungnir and shouted.

"Don't worry, Lisa-chan, I'll eliminate them all!"

Pointing the tip of her red staff towards Yggdrasil, Iris shouted acutely:

"Catastrophe, actualize!"

The red light of Catastrophe pierced the dawn sky.

An attack of red light, rivaling Basilisk's, devoured the wall of branches that Yggdrasil had weaved, instantly weathering it away into dust.

Without weakening, the light struck the railgun's discharge port directly.

The longer the duration of exposure, the more time was stolen. Slicing through Yggdrasil's gigantic tree trunk, Iris' beam pierced straight through.

The original location of the discharge port was turned into a giant hole.

"Pierce, flare!"

Seizing the chance, Lisa fired her specialty, the positron cannon, from the tip of her spear. Her attack made a direct hit on the top part of Yggdrasil—the base of the branches.

Severed from the main body, the branches instantly stopped moving and started to fall gradually towards the ground.

Passing through gaps in the falling branches, we increased our altitude and got within Yggdrasil's vicinity. In front of our eyes was a towering gigantic tree that was way too enormous.

"My turn."

Completely fearless, Kili raised her right hand towards the sky.

"—Laevateinn."

Extending a scarlet flash of light towards the sky, Kili swung that flash down like a sword.

The sword of flashing light left a trail on the morning clouds in the sky.

Chopping Yggdrasil's main body vertically, the light sliced into the center of the tree trunk, causing a large explosion. That shockwave caused Yggdrasil's trunk to split apart left and right.

"This time, I will strike the target."

Aiming at the crack in Yggdrasil caused by Kili's attack, Mitsuki released another antimatter arrow.

The pure white light of annihilation erupted from the inside of the trunk. The internally detonated explosion caused Yggdrasil's body to expand greatly. Losing balance, the body gradually collapsed under its own weight.

"It is almost time. Descend to the ground, scatter Ether Wind and attack Yggdrasil's mind using the anti-dragon armament."

Seeing Yggdrasil collapsing, Mitsuki gave orders.

Ren would no longer be able to fly once she passed all her dark matter to me. Furthermore, the anti-dragon armaments had to be secured on the ground for support, which necessitated landing.

"Onii-chan...!"

"Yes, let's start."

Ren held my hand tightly and I gripped back in return.

Unless I followed up on the attack, all we had accomplished was merely destroying Yggdrasil's body. Sooner or later, it would transfer its core to somewhere else.

Hence, before that could happen, we must drag on ''the contents'' to destroy it after obliterating the main body.

Finding a location with good visibility, we landed at a lakeside near Yggdrasil.

Everyone scattered to protect Ren and me. Helped by Tia who was in charge of preventing Yggdrasil's interference, I generated dark matter.

"Fictional armament—Siegfried."

I created the fictional armament shaped like an ornamental gun.

Then Ren placed her hand on Siegfried.

"I will only think about you, Onii-chan, and you will only think about me. That way, I'll definitely be able to give all of it to you."

"—Got it."

While I nodded in response, Ren's dark matter poured in.

It was a massive amount that I had never succeeded in controlling before.

However, my fictional armament expanded in volume in a stable manner without its shape going into disarray.

By thinking of each other strongly, we caused our dark matter to merge without problems.

It felt like Ren's mind was naturally permeating into mine.

My fictional armament grew to several dozens of meters in size within the blink of an eye.

Ordinary matter of that size would be almost impossible to balance or support. But the dark matter forming fictional armaments had the property of responding to thoughts and had no weight.

Consequently, I could support it with no effort, simply by thinking silently in my mind, the enlarged Siegfried remained in midair. Thanks to the electromagnetic barrier Tia deployed for us, the dark matter would not get stolen.

Responding to my will, Siegfried pointed its muzzle towards Yggdrasil.

While aiming, I compressed the dark matter pouring in from Ren inside the fictional armament.

"Onii-chan, just a bit more."

"...Got it."

I focused my mind, not letting the fictional armament collapse.

The fictional armament showed a hint of red color. Perhaps this was the color of Ren's thoughts.

"—This is everything."

Then Ren's dark matter was all poured into my fictional armament.

I turned all that dark matter into a single bullet.

Transmuted into golden particles that caused souls to materialize—

"Ether Bullet!!"

The fictional armament vanished the moment the bullet was shot.

The golden bullet, with everything of Ren's and mine poured in, shot high into the sky. Giving off intense brightness, it then exploded.

Instantly, the sky's color turned from pale blue to a dazzling golden.

Glittering brightly, the radiant particles drifted down from the sky.

It was finer than snow—Like golden diamond dust.

Descending from the sky, the Ether Wind gradually covered Yggdrasil's collapsing main body.

"How is it...?"

I observed the situation with bated breath.

If Director Miyazawa's predictions were true, then Yggdrasil's mind ought to manifest.

Amidst the drifting brightness, an outline gradually surfaced.

A scene just as hoped, but—

"This is... impossible."

Ariella muttered blankly.

The others gasped in surprise.

I did not make a sound, simply shocked by the sight before my eyes—

Yggdrasil's soul was gradually materializing as though flooding out of its collapsed body.

It was an outline of a giant tree, whose branches extended to the other side of the horizon, completely blotting the sky.

Its size was not merely 5000 meters, but much more gigantic.

Seeing its outline cut off unnaturally, I could tell that what the Ether Wind caused to manifest was merely a small portion of the whole.

This gigantic soul, how do we destroy it?

Only then did I realize we were too naive.

Yggdrasil's true nature was a network built from all the plants in the world. On further thought, it would not be strange even if its soul was on the scale of the Earth.

Just as all members of Brynhildr Class were stunned. Kili quietly looked up at Yggdrasil and turned towards me.

"Yuu? Aren't you going to fight? You're destroying that thing, right?"

"—!"

Her words prompted me to regain my senses.

Indeed... By this point, there was no choice but to do it. This was surely Yggdrasil's core without a doubt.

No matter how despaired, for the sake of everyone who had brought me here, I must not give up!

"—Ren, I'm going to borrow dark matter from you again, to construct an anti-dragon armament this time."

"Mm!"

Ren's eyes blazed with fighting spirit. She gripped my right hand firmly.

"Anti-dragon armament Marduk—Psionic multi-barreled cannon, Noah!"

I transmuted the dark matter flowing from Ren into a pre-civilization weapon.

Performing transmutation using blueprints in the mind was much easier than making a fictional armament.

A double-barreled turret appeared on a rotating artillery platform. With a design of glowing lines carved on its surface, the multi-barreled cannon was linked to my consciousness, aimed at Yggdrasil.

As a weapon that amplified and shot out the gunner's thoughts, Noah was effective against spirit bodies which did not interact with ordinary matter. This was already proven during the battle against Hraesvelgr.

—I will defeat you. I won't become your possession!

"Fire!"

Turning strong willpower into energy, Noah's multi-barreled turret fired two shells.

The shells struck the materialized spirit body, causing golden particles to fly into the air.

However, Yggdrasil's spirit body was far too humongous. These tiny shells did not produce much trace of destruction.

"—Fire! Fire! Fire!"

Even so, I still fired relentlessly.

But the more I repeated, the more I realized that my attacks were equivalent to a toy gun against Yggdrasil's spirit body whose size was extraordinary.

Even if I were to shoot dozens, thousands of times, I did not think I would succeed in destroying it.

My consciousness gradually grew hazy because the more I shot, the more mental energy was consumed. Even if I increased the number of turrets like during the battle against Hraesvelgr, it was pointless because my mind's energy was limited as the source.

"Fire—Huff, huff, huff..."

After who knew how many shots had been fired, I breathed heavily. My vision was blurred from the sweat entering my eyes. I could see Yggdrasil's spirit body standing upright, completely unshaken.

"Damn... it..."

There was no time left.

The Ether Wind scattered earlier was fading bit by bit.

"Onii-chan..."

Ren looked up at me with worry.

"I'm fine... I can still shoot."

I feigned vitality and forced myself to answer, then glared at Yggdrasil's spirit body that had appeared due to the golden particles.

I must endure... As the only one capable of attacking spirit bodies, I could not rely on the others.

I had relied so much on them beforehand, so I must accomplish this—

But my knees gave way.

My body was about to fall over forwards.

I slowly approached the ground... But stopped just before my face smashed the ground.

"Huh...?"

I came to my senses only to find Mitsuki, Iris and Tia's face before me.

"Nii-san, are you okay!?"

"Mononobe!"

"Yuu!"

The three voices sustained my consciousness that was about to be cut off.

"—Thank you all."

I thanked them and got up, but this time, I fell backwards.

However, warm hands caught me this time too.

"Goodness gracious, get a grip on yourself and stand properly."

"Do your best, Mononobe-kun."

"Mononobe-kun, hang in there."

Lisa, Firill and Ariella supported my body from behind.

"Sorry. Thanks."

I thanked them. Standing in the distance all alone, Kili asked me:

"Yuu, are you at your limit?"

"No... Not yet. I feel power surging from within."

This was not pretense. I really did feel I could continue to fight fiercely.

My heart felt very warm and it seemed like the mental energy I had depleted had recovered a little.

However, this was surely just my own wishful thinking.

Thoughts or mental energy could not be transferred to others like dark matter.

—When this thought crossed my mind, a question occurred to me.

Really... Is that true?

Who decided that mental energy could not be transmitted? When was it proven?

Through training with Ren, I found out that dark matter from other people consisted of fragments of the mind—fragments of thoughts and feelings.

The transfer of dark matter was equivalent to sending your thoughts to someone. To sustain the psionic multi-barreled cannon, Ren's dark matter continued to flow.

Was dark matter really the only thing Ren was giving me?

Those hands, tightly held together, supporting my heart, perhaps that kind of power would—

"Everyone, can I ask you for a favor?"

I asked the girls.

"What is it? I am willing to do anything in my power for you, Nii-san!"

Mitsuki instantly answered and the others urged me to tell them.

"I hope you will transmit your ''thoughts'' to me using the same principles as dark matter transfer."

I did not know if this would actually pass mental energy over. Even if it could, it would probably serve as merely psychological consolation.

But in order to fight to the very end, I sought everyone's power.

"Thoughts...?"

Iris widened her eyes, cocking her head in puzzlement.

"Yes, lend me your thoughts... the power of your heart and soul."

"—I understand. Just thoughts and feelings, isn't that right?"

Lisa nodded, applying force through her hand that was supporting my back.

"Mononobe-kun... I will think of you as strongly as I can."

Gripping my shoulder firmly, Firill spoke.

"I will cheer for you, Mononobe-kun."

Ariella said while touching my back.

My heart began to warm up. Everyone's thoughts were making me happy. My mind gradually felt satisfied.

Was this mental energy flowing in? Or simply the effect of receiving encouragement? I did not know actually.

But my originally sapped strength surged again, this was the truth.

I slowly took the power received from everyone and poured it into Noah. The lines carved all over the multi-barreled cannon began to glow with dazzling light.

"Tia is always always thinking of Yuu!"

"Nii-san, please accept my thoughts!"

Tia and Mitsuki pressed their hands on my chest, praying strongly.

Then Iris placed her hands on top of theirs.

"Mononobe—"

Iris simply called my name and smiled faintly.

But I could feel it. I could feel Iris' thoughts. I could feel intense feelings that made my chest hot.

Not only Iris but Tia and Mitsuki's emotions and words were giving me power.

The multi-barreled cannon, which converted mental energy into shells, rumbled, giving off light that shone all around.

"Onii-chan...... Don't lose!"

Gripping my right hand tightly, Ren cried out as hard as she could.

Ren's thought flowed into me together with her dark matter.

I could feel the unprecedented power of thoughts, dense and fierce, gradually growing stronger inside the anti-dragon armament.

Everything was poured into this one attack.

Let me fire the thoughts and feelings of insignificant humans towards Yggdrasil.

Let it know that we are living with such fiery emotions in our hearts.

"We're doing it, everyone."

"Yes!"

The girls responded to my call.

Then in unison, we fired our thoughts.

"FIRE!"

An intense glow expanded from the two muzzles, shooting at the sky. While firing, the psionic multi-barreled cannon exploded from within and collapsed.

The two balls of light melded together, forming a gigantic shell, striking Yggdrasil's spirit body.

Immediately exploding with blinding light, golden particles then scattered all over the sky.

The atmosphere shook slightly. The outline of Yggdrasil composed of Ether Wind shook for an instant.

Once the particles scattered and disappeared in the air, I could see a massive hole opened up in the center of Yggdrasil's spirit body.

However, the spirit body showed no signs of overall collapse.

"Damn it! This didn't work either..."

I said with frustration.

"Onii-chan... One more time."

Ren pulled my hand. She did not show any signs of giving up in her expression.

"—Yeah, until it's destroyed, we'll shoot no matter how many times it takes."

I nodded and prepared to construct the anti-dragon armament again, but Kili stopped me.

"No, this is good enough."

Kili approached me and smiled with satisfaction.

"Enough...? Yggdrasil's core consciousness isn't destroyed though."

"But damage has been inflicted, so next is your job—Tia."

Kili patted Tia, who had been lending me power, on the shoulder and said to her.

"Tia's job?"

Tia widened her eyes and stared at Kili.

"You should be able to hear it, right? Yggdrasil's screaming."

"...Yeah, but it's a mess. Can't hear what it's saying."

"That is evidence that the core's functionality is damaged. Given now, Tia, you'll surely prevail over Yggdrasil."

Kili grinned and continued.

"Your pair of horns is not simply for defending against Yggdrasil's interference. It is a weapon existing for the sake of devouring Yggdrasil, a power to enable you to become a dragon."

"The horns are a weapon... Become a dragon—"

Tia touched the horns on her head, apparently thinking of something.

"Against Yggdrasil that's trying to take Yuu's place, just do the same thing to it. Tia, you have that power."

"—Yeah!"

Tia nodded. Looking like she understood what she must do, she constructed her wing-shaped fictional armament on her back.

"Hey Tia!"

Before I could stop her, Tia had already flown into the sky, heading for Yggdrasil.

"Kili, what are you planning to have Tia do!?"

I glared at Kili and asked her what was going on.

"I simply presented a choice. Everything is Tia's own decision. Don't belittle her resolve."

Glared back by her with such intense emotions, I could not help but gasp.

"Mind your own business and quietly watch Tia's battle."

Kili spoke in a sharp tone of voice to stop Lisa and the others from chasing after Tia.

"You will soon know what Tia is about to do."

Staring at Tia in flight, Kili spoke quietly.

Tia arrived at Yggdrasil's spirit body then jumped into the hole I had punctured.

Several seconds later, blindingly bright lightning erupted with Yggdrasil as the center.

===Part 5===

Flying through the air where golden particles drifted, Tia Lightning recalled the first time she met him—the time when she encountered Mononobe Yuu.

Back then, Tia did not quite understand much about herself.

Her parents called her human but demanded her to create gemstones through transmutation.

Later on, Tia and her parents were captured by an armed gang. This time, she was exploited as a D with the power to generate dark matter.

Hence, Tia had asked him—Mononobe Yuu who had rescued her from that armed gang—What am I?

Then with broken speech, he replied in Tia's mother tongue:

'You are a—cute, girl.'

It was a very gentle answer.

Tia wanted to become like that, hoped for herself to become like that, it was the answer Tia desired too.

Tia had always kept those words in her heart.

Meeting Kili, raised to become a dragon, selected by Basilisk—Tia had abandoned that dream once... But after reuniting with him and rescued by Lisa and the others, Tia made a decision as a result.

Tia would live together with Lisa and the others as humans.

To become the cutest girl of all in Mononobe Yuu's eyes—to become his ''wife''.

Then like how he had protected her, she would protect him too.

"Tia will save Yuu!"

Tia generated wind from her fictional armament, a pair of red dragon wings, and charged into the interior of Yggdrasil's spirit body.

Her surroundings were covered by golden particles, so bright that her eyes could almost see nothing. Tia heard Yggdrasil's ''cries'' in her mind.

'Thought, flaw—collapse, reject—reject, reject, reject, repair, prioritize—'

Not just a voice. Through her horns, Tia could sense intangible feelings.

"—It's afraid."

Tia murmured.

Yggdrasil was afraid. Afraid of its consciousness disappearing, afraid of losing its existence, afraid of death—Extremely extremely frightened.

'Neun—needed, must have—uncertain, ninth authority, one and only—most suitable, survival strategy—'

And it wanted—

To survive, it needed Mononobe Yuu.

Tia could sense this concretely.

Tia did not know what it was afraid of. Yggdrasil's thoughts were fragmented, incomprehensible.

However—

"You're not having him!"

Tia declared to Yggdrasil in no uncertain terms.

"Because Yuu will become Tia's husband!!"

Tia poured all her thoughts into dark matter, transmuting it into electricity then released it.

Tia's consciousness spread as an electromagnetic field, expanding inside of Yggdrasil.

Attacked and damaged by Noah, Yggdrasil's core system had encountered a bug, allowing Tia's consciousness to invade.

Hacking into Yggdrasil, this was precisely the true function of the pair of horns given to Tia.

"...!"

Intense pain struck her head, causing Tia to frown. Yggdrasil was resisting, it was struggling, trying to evict Tia's consciousness that was invading in the form of electrical signals.

"Tia won't lose... This time, Tia will protect Yuu!!"

Using willpower as fangs, turning emotions into claws, Tia bit and ripped apart Yggdrasil's consciousness.

Tia's thoughts were endlessly amplified by the electrical energy obtained through the transmutation of dark matter, gradually conquering the core system.

The golden particles shrouding the surroundings shook. It was a sign that Yggdrasil's spirit body was starting to change.

'—Reject, reject, reject, unacceptable, overload, unacceptable—destroy, reject, reject—!'

Yggdrasil resisted desperately but the CPU had been destroyed physically, the mind was damaged, and right now, its computational power had dropped to its limit.

Conversely, after devouring Yggdrasil's consciousness, Tia's thoughts had acquired overwhelming processing power.

But due to excessive expansion of her ego, her original self turned fuzzy. Having obtained processing power that was originally impossible for humans to have, Tia's mind could not keep up with her thoughts.

"Tia is... what?"

Amidst her expanding ego, her consciousness was wavering.

But his words, carved deeply in her heart, kept Tia's consciousness together.

—You are a—cute, girl.

Tia gritted her teeth and used her dark matter to the limit to use her thoughts to rewrite everything.

"That's right... Tia... Tia will become Yuu's wife!!"

Then her will raced along the network formed from plants, exploring Yggdrasil's true nature.

Then she understood. The power to control electricity was merely one part of Yggdrasil's true nature.

The name of the authority was: Akashic Record.

There, Tia caught a glimpse of ''everything''.

===Part 6===

Composed of golden particles, Yggdrasil's mind twisted and changed in shape.

The gigantic body, never collapsing no matter how many times Noah attacked, changed in form as though melting.

"Tia... What did she do?"

I looked in surprise but I was soon struck by even greater shock.

Shaking, gradually fading away, the Ether Wind proceeded to trace out a certain outline.

Instead of a giant tree, it was the silhouette of a young girl.

"Tia-chan...?"

Iris cried out in surprise.

Indeed—The golden particles were undoubtedly showing the figure of Tia Lightning.

"Looks like it's a success. Tia has already taken control of Yggdrasil's core."

Kili smiled happily and explained to us.

"What... Control of the core?"

Since it was too shocking, I could only repeat like a parrot.

"Yes, capable of outputting thoughts as electrical signals, right now, Tia can electrically interfere with senses, in other words, hack into Yggdrasil then tamper with the core, forcing the system to recognize her as the new core."

Kili replied so nonchalantly, but after seeing the Ether Wind fade away, she smiled.

"From the start, I raised Tia intending to have her devour Yggdrasil. But back then, I had no idea that Yggdrasil was such a terrifying monster. If we had challenged it normally, I think we would've failed already. It's all thanks to you inflicting damage to the core, Yuu, that we succeeded on this occasion."

The golden particles scattered amidst the sky's morning glow.

The particles showing Tia's image also disappeared gradually.

Visible under the particles was Yggdrasil's collapsed remains and a girl with a pair of radiant wings on her back.

Looking up at the young girl flying back to our side, Kili said proudly:

"Look, Yuu, this is the new dragon I raised—Tia Lightning Yggdrasil."

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| Back to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_6_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Unlimited_Fafnir|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_6_Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 6 Chapter 4

2018-01-13T18:25:52Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 5 */

==Chapter 4 - Ether Wind of Gold==

===Part 1===

Tia Lightning thought back to what Kili Surtr Muspelheim had told her at the Castle of Mirrors.

"As things stand, Tia, Yggdrasil cannot be defeated no matter what. But if you give up your human identity, there might be a path to hope."

"Eh...?"

Tia stared blankly at Kili.

The hall all covered with mirrors gave an illusion of infinite space. At the same time, it also produced countless reflections of Tia and Kili.

An uncountable number of virtual images—Facing the black-haired girl was the girl with two red horns on her head in great unease.

"I originally planned to raise you as ''the trump card for taking down Yggdrasil''. Your horns are also an organ existing for the sake of opposing Yggdrasil."

"These..."

Putting her hands on her head, Tia touched her two red horns.

"Indeed, this is an organ connected directly to the brain, which is why I can't put it on myself. Manipulating your own brain will mess up your concentration in the process, causing the control of biogenic transmutation to fail."

"Then... If Tia works hard, Yggdrasil can be defeated?"

Tia asked timidly but Kili shook her head.

"No, I haven't finished with your treatment, so those horns cannot function as intended yet. But if you wish, I could perform the final treatment for you."

Staring into Tia's eyes, Kili made this proposal.

"Then like this... Tia will be able to help Yuu and the others?"

"If all goes well. After all, I can't guarantee success since this is the first time, but if your horns function as planned, Yuu and the others have a shot at victory. However—"

Kili paused and narrowed her eyes.

"—The moment Yggdrasil is defeated, you will surely become a ''dragon'' transcending the boundaries of Ds and humans."

"...!"

Tia gasped and took a step back.

"Don't worry, I won't force you, so no need to be afraid. I'm no longer a puppet controlled by Mother. I will freely decide my 'way of living' according to my own will, so please make a choice according to your own wishes."

Kili's expression turned gentle and she smiled at Tia.

"Kili..."

It was a gentle smile that Tia had never seen on Kili's face.

"Yuu said before that how one lives their life is more important than what they are. What matters is not the identity of your existence, but what you want to do."

===Part 2===

In the middle of this predicament with Yggdrasil's branches flooding towards us, I was stunned on the spot with all eyes on me.

My secret had been revealed.

The fact that Yggdrasil was stealing my body had been exposed.

Finally, she still ended up finding out. Clearly when Mitsuki was the one person I did not want to know this secret.

"Mononobe-kun, tell me the details."

"I want to hear your explanation."

Firill and Ariella approached to question me.

"Yuu, tell Tia the truth..."

Tia stared at me with determination, refusing to back down by a single step.

"I'm interested in the details too."

Kili urged me to explain with her gaze.

By this point, I could not cover things up anymore.

Gritting my teeth, I searched for an answer to give them, but—

"Mononobe Yuu, clearly the only choice is to tell them. The weapons you used so far to defeat dragons were created based on data provided by Yggdrasil. The price you paid is that your body is now about to be stolen."

Lisa's fictional armament fired a flash of light, attacking the branches above while she spoke to me.

However, what she said felt strange to me.

"Huh...?"

Hearing her say that, Iris stared wide-eyed from the side.

The price paid under the deal with Yggdrasil was the loss of my memories, while taking over my body was the trap it had laid. These two were a bit different in meaning.

When my thoughts reached this point, I noticed something. When Tia overheard my conversation with Lisa, the subject of memory loss was not mentioned.

Then at least the worst situation—that I was not the "Mononobe Yuu" whom Mitsuki knew—Perhaps this one fact could still remain hidden to the very end.

...Thank you, Lisa.

While feeling grateful for Lisa's quick thinking, I started to explain to Mitsuki and the others.

"Just as Lisa said, I secretly made a deal with Yggdrasil to defeat dragons. But there was apparently something similar to a computer virus in the data that was sent, so gradually—and right now—I'm being invaded by Yggdrasil."

Omitting the memory part, I revealed the truth.

"To defeat dragons...? Could it be that three years ago, Nii-san, you—"

Mitsuki murmured blankly.

Three years ago, to protect my hometown, I used a power, which was normally impossible, to repel Hekatonkheir. This was done exactly by relying on anti-dragon armaments created from the weapons data obtained from Yggdrasil.

Smart as she was, Mitsuki seemed to recall that immediately.

"Yeah, the fight against Hekatonkheir three years ago was the first time."

I nodded in response to Mitsuki, despite knowing that Mitsuki would feel heavily guilty as soon as I confirmed it.

However, this was much better than telling her "the price was memories."

As long as Yggdrasil was neutralized, its invasion of me would presumably stop, but there was no guarantee my memories would recover.

When it was impossible to recover the real "Mononobe Yuu"—I did not want to bring despair to Mitsuki.

"Mononobe-kun... Why did you hide this? If the weapons for defeating dragons is the reason, then you must have made a deal again back when I was in a crisis, right?"

Firill glared at me angrily.

"...Sorry, because I didn't want you to feel responsible or in debt. Also, I only found out recently I was being controlled. I never expected things to turn out this way."

I bowed my head and apologized to Firill.

Seeing me like that, Ariella scolded:

"I understand how you feel, Mononobe-kun, but it pisses me off that we're the only ones kept in the dark. From the way it looks, Iris and Ren also knew in addition to Lisa, right?"

Iris looked down in shame when Ariella glanced at her, but Ren met her gaze and pointed her finger in the air.

"Mm."

I took a closer look. Because fewer people were attacking, the branches were gradually closing in.

"—Meaning it's not the time for arguing? Can't be helped, I'll complain properly later."

Ariella returned to attack after glaring at me.

"Me too... I have things to say but I'll hold back for now."

Firill turned her back to me and started attacking the branches again.

"—As thanks for letting me hear something interesting, I'll help out a bit."

With a wave of her hand, Kili incinerated branches with a red beam of scorching heat.

But in this situation, Mitsuki and Tia did not take their gazes off my face.

I saw Mitsuki biting her lower lip, shoulders trembling, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"M-Mitsuki—Don't cry. It's really my fault, I'm sorry—"

Even I was surprised at how shaken I was inside. I kept apologizing to her. To me who had lost all memories beyond three years ago, she should not be someone "special"... But my heart was shaken to a ridiculous degree.

"...Nii-san, you need not apologize. I am crying because I am too useless... This fills me with chagrin... So do not worry about me."

Mitsuki spoke hoarsely and brusquely wiped her tears away with her hand.

"Putting that aside, please allow me to confirm one fact. Is what you said just now everything?"

"Eh..."

My heart pounded like crazy.

"I knew long ago that you were hiding things from me, Nii-san, but I also understood you were hiding desperately... So I deliberately refrained from asking, but this incident has filled me with extreme regret. So this time, I will muster my courage to ask you, Nii-san, are you still hiding things from me?"

Mitsuki asked me with conviction.

I thought I had concealed things well, but now I knew I was totally seen through.

More than anyone else, Mitsuki knew this person of "Mononobe Yuu." She knew everything about me that my current self had forgotten. In front of someone like that, of course hiding would not work.

"...Yes."

I nodded to confirm Mitsuki's question, but I continued:

"But I can't tell you, Mitsuki."

I prepared myself and asserted clearly.

"Why?"

"I still can't say it yet."

I shook my head and stared into Mitsuki's eyes that were red from crying.

"Then when can you say it?"

"—Once I've retrieved everything."

I gave this answer because I could not think of another way of saying it.

"Even if I ask you what you mean by that, you will not answer, right?"

Mitsuki smiled wryly with feelings of resignation.

"...Sorry."

"Very well—Because I know how stubborn you are, Nii-san, I will not force the matter at this time. However, one final matter, please tell me—Tia-san said that Yggdrasil must be defeated now. Is that true?"

Mitsuki's expression tensed. She asked me in a tone of suppressed emotion:

"...It's true that Yggdrasil's interference in me has strengthened, but I won't get controlled by it immediately, so there's still time. We should retreat temporarily."

To be honest, I had a feeling that the final time limit was not far away, but I answered this way to reassure Mitsuki. Because right now, we were totally out of options.

I was admittedly happy that Tia said she would protect me, but right now, we should retreat and request reinforcements from Midgard. With a larger force, it might be possible to handle the branches' rate of growth.

"I understand. Indeed, as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad, there is no alternative as a decision. Well then—"

Mitsuki paused halfway then turned to face Shinomiya-sensei.

"Shinomiya-sensei, forgive my willfulness, but I, Mononobe Mitsuki, hereby relinquish my duties as captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad."

"What are you suddenly..."

Shinomiya-sensei was shocked.

The others, still attacking branches, also stared in Mitsuki in surprise.

"Mitsuki-chan...?"

Troubled, Iris called her name, tilting her head in puzzlement.

"Mitsuki..."

Tia also showed doubt on her face but I could also see her trying to figure things out.

But ignoring everyone's reactions, Mitsuki turned to face me.

"Starting now, I will only fight as your younger sister to protect you, Nii-san. I will absolutely not retreat."

"H-Hey—I said there's still time, right?"

"Nii-san, do you think lying can deceive me?"

As though having come to a realization, Mitsuki showed a refreshing smile while glaring at Yggdrasil's branches extending from the western sky.

"Hold on, what do you think can still be done in this situation? If there's a solution, I wouldn't call for a retreat."

The way I saw it, Mitsuki was going to attack recklessly without a plan. I made haste to stop her.

"Indeed, given the current situation, marching forward while keeping sufficient distance from the interference range will be impossible. However, much can be done as long as one disregards one's safety. Such notions would disqualify a commander... But right now, I am merely a ''younger sister'', nothing more."

Mitsuki smiled as though telling a joke and continued:

"By eliminating branches in the minimum range ahead and flying at high speed, it might be possible to advance."

"What...? But if you get caught in Yggdrasil's interference range, even if just a little, you'll crash immediately, right? It's too dangerous!"

I instantly yelled in objection.

"—I know, which is why I intend to go alone. I will find a way to reach a spot where I can aim at Yggdrasil directly, to destroy the base of the branches. That way, I should be able to buy quite a lot of time before it grows again. Nii-san, you and the others will use that window to attack."

Mitsuki's expression showed that she was completely prepared already.

"Don't do something stupid like that—"

I reached out, trying to stop Mitsuki, but she was surrounded by a layer of wind, deflecting my hand.

Everyone tried to call out and stop her with frantic expressions.

But before anyone could make a sound, ''she'' acted even faster.

"Wait!"

Mitsuki hovered into the air, but Tia crashed into her, wrapped in her own layer of wind.

"Kyah!?"

Entangled together, the two girls fell to the ground.

"Tia-san, let go of me!"

Mitsuki tried to pull off Tia who was hugging her waist but Tia resisted desperately and yelled:

"Don't do that, Mitsuki! Leave it to Tia! If it's Tia, it will definitely succeed!"

"Huh...?"

Hearing what Tia said, Mitsuki stopped.

"Sorry, Tia should have said this earlier, but Tia finds the current life so happy... Don't want any change... So Tia could not gather enough courage. But Tia has decided now."

Tia separated from Mitsuki who had stopped resisting, then looked at Kili.

Originally helping out with eliminating branches, Kili stopped and faced Tia at this time.

"Is that right? Tia, you will be choosing your ''way of living''."

Kili spoke gently to Tia.

I did not know what was going on, but my heart was in turmoil.

Tia nodded and said with a voice of determination:

"Please, Kili, give Tia the power to fight Yggdrasil."

"Got it, then I'll perform the final treatment for you."

Kili slowly approached Tia.

"Hey, what treatment? What are you planning to do!?"

Unable to grasp the situation, I yelled acutely at Kili.

"—I will make Tia's horns complete."

Kili placed her palm on the pair of horns on Tia's head and gave me a brief answer.

"Make her horns complete... What on earth is—"

"Tia is the child I raised to become the trump card against Yggdrasil. These horns were created as an organ for opposing Yggdrasil. Although the horns currently don't function, so long as Tia wishes, I can make these horns complete. This was what I proposed to her at the amusement park."

Staring at Tia's horns, Kili quietly explained.

So that was what they talked about in the Castle of Mirrors that time—

"...Tia has been brooding the whole time after returning from the amusement park, like she was in a dilemma... afraid of something. Is that final treatment something ''frightening'' to Tia?"

I stared at Kili and questioned her in a fierce tone of voice.

"Yes, I don't know what will happen if it fails. Even if it succeeds, Tia will become an existence transcending the boundaries of what it means to be a D. Based on Midgard's definitions, she might end up categorized as a dragon."

Hearing Kili's words, Iris' shoulders shuddered.

As a D who had transcended boundaries, Iris must have felt greatly shaken inside after listening to Kili.

"I won't let Tia do something so dangerous!"

"That's not for you to decide."

Just as I tried to take a step forward, a small explosion detonated in front of me.

"!?"

I guarded my face with my hand and jumped back reflexively. The searing pain on my skin forced me to frown.

"Don't get in the way, Yuu. Even you have no right to stop Tia from choosing her own path."

Exuding off intense killing intent, Kili restrained me from taking action.

The surrounding temperature rose. Sweat was seeping out of my forehead and neck. She must have deployed Muspelheim.

What should I do...? Stopping them would require the determination to murder Kili.

Just as I hesitated, Tia smiled at me.

"Don't worry. Because no matter what Tia becomes, Tia will be still the one who loves Yuu most—Yuu's wife."

Then the dark matter generated in Kili's hand melded with Tia's horns as though getting sucked in.

"—!!"

The two horns shone with dazzling light while Tia emitted a deafening scream.

===Part 3===

Blinding light and an extended scream.

"Tia!"

Ignoring Kili's deployed Muspelheim, I dashed towards Tia.

The final treatment probably ended in an instant—Kili did not stop me. After she put down her raised hand, Tia immediately collapsed on her knees.

As though sliding, I caught Tia's petite body, feeble and drained of strength.

"Stay with me! Tia!"
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v06 257.jpg|thumb]]

I called to her but Tia seemed to have lost consciousness. No reaction. Her two red horns also showed no change in appearance.

"Tia-chan, are you okay!?"

"Tia-san!"

Iris and Mitsuki rushed forward from behind, peering at Tia's face.

Unable to leave their positions from eliminating branches, Lisa and the others looked in our direction with paled faces.

I looked up and glared at Kili.

"What happened to Tia? Did it—fail?"

"Can't tell until Tia wakes up. The completed horns have connected to Tia's brain, so as long as she is able to withstand the strain, she'll surely—"

Just as Kili spoke in a praying tone of voice, Tia stirred.

"Mm..."

A faint sound came Tia's pink lips. A spark of lightning flashed and popped near her red horns.

"Tia can hear..."

Tia spoke hoarsely while opening her eyes slightly.

"Thank goodness, you woke up."

I breathed a sigh of relief, only to see Tia staring at me.

"Tia can hear a cold voice calling Neun... Neun... Is this the voice of Yggdrasil that's troubling Yuu?"

"What...? You can hear it too, Tia?"

I asked in surprise.

Just as Tia said, Yggdrasil's voice was still sounding in my mind right now.

"Yes... So this is Yggdrasil... Yuu's enemy."

Tia spoke as though in the middle of a dream and stood up.

"Tia?"

I noticed Tia acting a bit strange and called to her but she focused her gaze westward towards Yggdrasil instead of answering. The electrical sparks scattering over Tia's head in the horns' surroundings gradually increased.

"...Stop making Yuu suffer, be quiet!!"

The instant Tia yelled, electricity exploded nearby.

"What!?"

Boom, Shinomiya-sensei's laptop exploded. The surroundings suddenly felt quiet.

"Yggdrasil's voice... disappeared?"

I muttered blankly. Yggdrasil's voice was originally loud enough to feel noisy, but now, no matter how I much I focused my mind in order to listen, I could not sense the voice anymore. The sense of dissonance in my left arm also disappeared.

"Looks like it succeeded."

While everyone was feeling troubled, Kili was the only one to show a contented look.

"What did Tia do?"

I demanded an explanation from Kili.

"—What Tia has constructed is an electromagnetic barrier that could probably block out Yggdrasil's interference completely. And if my predictions are correct, Yggdrasil is currently unable to steal Tia's dark matter. Just by maintaining this barrier, your side will be able to enter Yggdrasil's interference range."

"What... Tia is now capable of that kind of thing?"

I gasped and asked.

"Yes. Speaking of which, the reason why Yggdrasil can steal dark matter is because electrical signals simulating thoughts will have more interference strength than weak mental waves. That's why I've given Tia a renewed organ capable of outputting thoughts as electrical signals."

"Namely... those horns?"

I looked at Tia's horns, surrounded by glowing electricity.

"Also, Tia has a habit of subconsciously transmuting dark matter into electrical currents. When the dark matter is transmuted emotionally, it becomes equivalent to thoughts encoded into electrical signals. This further strengthens Tia's interference strength, repelling Yggdrasil's interference. This is the truth behind the electromagnetic barrier."

Thinking back, Tia really did have a habit of generating electrical currents when emotional. That was probably why Kili had chosen Tia.

After listening to that, Tia held her head and asked Kili:

"So... If it's Tia right now, Tia can protect Yuu and the others?"

"That's right. As long as you think intensely and generate dark matter persistently, the electromagnetic barrier will be sustained. As long as they stay inside the barrier, the dark matter of Yuu and the others will be free from interference."

"Got it... Tia will work hard."

Tia nodded and moved her hand away from her head. I saw pearl-like sweat on her head.

It was probably causing her quite a lot of strain. Bestowed with an organ that was not inborn, it was only natural for her body to have a rejection reaction.

But Tia steadied her shaking body with her legs and spread the pair of red wings that was her fictional armament.

"Yuu—Everyone follow Tia. Tia will take everyone to Yggdrasil."

Tia spoke with unshakable determination.

Will you be okay? I could only swallow these words.

Because I quickly understood that it was a meaningless question. Asking it would be a waste of time.

I could see that she was not okay at all. She was clearly forcing herself.

In reaction to becoming like this—No, she had chosen to do this.

Simply for the sake of protecting me.

Lisa silently approached Tia and hugged her.

"—I know, then I will count on you, Tia-san. However, please focus on maintaining the barrier. I will fly and carry you."

"Thank you... Lisa."

Tia dispelled her fictional armament and held onto Lisa's waist.

"...I will carry Onii-chan."

Feeling someone pull my right hand, I turned my gaze to see Ren looking up at me.

Ren's cooperation with me was the key to the next part of the plan, so it was probably better that I traveled with her.

"Okay, I'm counting on you."

I held Ren's hand. Having confirmed the situation, Mitsuki walked over to Iris and took her hand.

"Then I will be responsible for Iris-san's transport. So this is it—Shinomiya-sensei, we are setting off."

Holding the wrecked laptop in her hand, Shinomiya-sensei was looking a bit lost. Then at this time, she smiled wryly and acknowledged.

"Okay... Looks like I can't provide support anymore, so I'm leaving the rest to you. Captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad—Mononobe Mitsuki."

Shinomiya-sensei intentionally added the title when addressing Mitsuki.

Having just declared she would relinquish her duties, Mitsuki made a slightly embarrassed look before saluting with upright posture.

"Affirmative. I will fulfill my duties as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad."

===Part 4===

Gathered around Lisa, who was carrying Tia in her arms, we flew through the night sky.

Yggdrasil's branches were growing at a frightening rate in front of us.

Although it was impossible to measure the exact interference range, the area under the branches was most likely its territory.

We cautiously lowered our altitude and rushed into Yggdrasil's interference range.

—No change.

Having confirmed there was no interference in our fictional armaments or any signs of impedance to transmutation, we increased our altitude and flying speed. The sky glowed white faintly. Dawn seemed to be approaching.

Flying in the lead while carrying Iris in her arms was Mitsuki. Holding the rear was Ren, transporting me, with Kili flying by our side.

"How unexpected. I can't believe you came along, Kili."

Flying in the sky with Ren holding my hand, I spoke to Kili beside me.

"Let me enjoy the show to the very end since I'm already here. Of course, I won't just watch. I'll offer a helping hand and won't drag you down, so relax."

"I don't doubt your abilities, but I'll be watching you to see if you have any ulterior motives."

I declared to Kili that I refused to trust her.

"Fufu, I don't mind. That means you'll have your eyes focused on me."

Kili smiled confidently.

"...!"

Her smile was inexplicably dazzling and stunning, rendering me speechless for a moment. Sure enough, this girl was not easy to deal with.

"However, you should probably focus your attention on Yggdrasil rather than me. Once it realizes its interference over dark matter isn't working, it will surely take other measures."

Just as Kili reminded me to pay attention, Mitsuki yelled from the front:

"Heads up, Yggdrasil's branches are showing changes! Be careful, everyone!"

I hastily looked up to notice that we were already under a canopy made from Yggdrasil's branches.

These capillary-like branches blotted the sky, writhing in a sinister and spooky manner. Numerous branches, as sharp as spears, were attacking our position.

"All units deploy shields! We will break through by force!"

Mitsuki commanded in a sharp voice.

"Looks like it's my turn."

Kili grinned proudly and raised one hand to the sky.

"—Such flammable-looking branches won't even manage to enter my Muspelheim."

The approaching branches suddenly caught fire, burning into tiny particles of ash.

She had most likely deployed an invisible barrier of high temperature in the air.

Mitsuki and the girls also deployed barriers of wind, but all the branches were burnt to ash before reaching them.

Under the gradually brightening sky, the outlines of Mount Fuji's tall appearance and the towering Yggdrasil were gradually coming into view.

"Target confirmed! Once we pass over Mount Fuji, our distance to the target will be 10 kilometers or so—Sniping distance. Iris-san, show time for you!"

"Yeah!"

Iris nodded in response to Mitsuki.

"Once we pass Mount Fuji, Lisa-san, Iris-san and I shall attack the main body in full force while trying to get even closer. Firill-san and Ariella-san, continue to deploy shields. Nii-san and Ren-san will prepare to scatter Ether Wind after the main body is destroyed!"

"Yes!"

I answered and made eye contact with Ren, exchanging nods in acknowledgement.

"Huh? What about me?"

Without being called on, Kili asked, prompting Mitsuki to reply in a cold voice:

"If you wish to help, please participate in attacking."

"Oh dear, it feels like you're not expecting much of me?"

Kili grumbled with dissatisfaction.

Immediately, Iris, who was carried by Mitsuki, looked back and smiled cheerfully at Kili.

"It's not like that, Kili-chan, let's do our best together!"

"...Y-You're really good at getting others caught in your pace. Fine, whatever. Having created this chance for Tia, even without being told, I seriously intend to go on a rampage."

Kili spoke with violence in her eyes.

The snowtop of Mount Fuji was before us, but the branches suddenly stopped attacking.

Just as it seemed like Yggdrasil had given up on obstructing us with branches, Lisa yelled acutely.

"Look quickly! Yggdrasil's shape—"

Located on the far side, Yggdrasil's towering trunk was gradually expanding unnaturally in the middle.

Then bizarre and thick branches were forced out from the bulging portion.

The sun seemed to rise at last and the sky brightened all at once. Behind us, the sun's rays from the east were making us slightly dizzy.

"Everyone! Go down rapidly right now!"

Just at this moment, I heard Tia shout anxiously.

"Yggdrasil's target is Tia!"

Hearing Tia's urgent voice, everyone lowered their flying altitude without fully understanding what was going on.

In the next instant, a flash of blinding light rushed past us above.

"W-What was that!?"

Firill cried out in surprise.

"No idea, it seems like something flew out from Yggdrasil..."

Ariella had not figured out the situation either.

"Dodge quickly! It's aiming again!"

Tia yelled again.

"Descend further!"

Mitsuki instantly ordered us.

After we obeyed, another flash of light passed over us.

"That light... Its speed... The power of electrical interference—It might be an object shot at high-speed using electromagnetic induction."

Flying ahead, Mitsuki said in a stiff tone of voice.

"Isn't that a railgun!? Isn't it impossible to dodge if something like that is aiming at us!?"

Lisa yelled anxiously but Kili interjected confident after hearing her:

"—Don't worry. Tia noticed the attacks in advance, twice already, right? Tia, did you feel anything?"

Tia nodded lightly at Kili's question.

"Yes, there's a dangerous feeling."

"I knew it. Tia's horns are also quite sensitive towards external electromagnetic waves. Although it wasn't an ability by deliberate design, as long as we have Tia, we should be able to dodge."

After Kili said that, Tia made an alarmed expression and yelled:

"It's coming again!"

"All units dodge right!"

Mitsuki instantly commanded.

I could see a glowing ball shot out from the branches protruding from Yggdrasil's trunk.

Just as I was thinking that, a blinding light flashed past our left.

As Lisa said, it would be impossible to dodge visually.

But such a powerful attack could very well get me caught up in it too. Yggdrasil seemed quite shaken when harming me in Midgard. Although the reason was unknown, it looked like it wanted to obtain me intact.

Nevertheless, Yggdrasil seemed to be prioritizing the elimination of Tia over ensuring my safety. Perhaps that was how much of a threat it viewed Tia.

"It's not over!"

We listened to Tia's directions and steadily closed in on Yggdrasil while evading the railgun shots.

Finally, we passed over Mount Fuji's peak.

The railgun shots we dodged dug up the side of Mount Fuji. Amidst the cloud of dust and debris, Mitsuki issued orders.

"Begin the attack on Yggdrasil's main body! If the main body is like a CPU, damaging it ought to lower Yggdrasil's computation power. This might be able to dampen its unrestricted growth and regeneration."

"Understood!"

In charge of attacking, Iris and Lisa responded.

Kili also went "got it" and went up to the front with a fearless smile.

Mitsuki raised Brionac. Holding onto Mitsuki's waist with her right arm, Iris raised her left hand.

"Come, come, fragments of time—"

Iris murmured like praying then generated a red glow in her hand immediately. The words she uttered served as an incantation to focus her mind. She had apparently made changes in order to use Catastrophe.

"—Caduceus Catastrophe!"

With a shout, the red glow turned into the shape of a staff. At first glance, it seemed to be a fictional armament of a different color, but most likely, no dark matter had been used.

It was definitely what Iris had used at Midgard last time, a staff formed from concentrating the light of Catastrophe.

"Iris-san, please attack after me!"

While Iris was preparing, Mitsuki aimed at Yggdrasil and fired the first shot.

"Terminating Arrow—Last Quark!"

Mitsuki fired an antimatter arrow that had eliminated several dragons to date.

But as though to block the arrow's advance, the branches spread above came down, entangling one another, forming a wall.

Mitsuki's arrow caused a giant explosion upon contact with that wall, destroying the branches. However, due to the distance, the antimatter explosion did not reach Yggdrasil's main body.

The branches forming the canopy came down to attack us from overhead. However, they were deflected by Firill and Ariella's barriers. But during this time, branches formed a new wall in front of Yggdrasil.

"Our attacks won't be able to reach the main body if it bolsters its defenses like this!"

Lisa raised Gungnir and shouted.

"Don't worry, Lisa-chan, I'll eliminate them all!"

Pointing the tip of her red staff towards Yggdrasil, Iris shouted acutely:

"Catastrophe, actualize!"

The red light of Catastrophe pierced the dawn sky.

An attack of red light, rivaling Basilisk's, devoured the wall of branches that Yggdrasil had weaved, instantly weathering it away into dust.

Without weakening, the light struck the railgun's discharge port directly.

The longer the duration of exposure, the more time was stolen. Slicing through Yggdrasil's gigantic tree trunk, Iris' beam pierced straight through.

The original location of the discharge port was turned into a giant hole.

"Pierce, flare!"

Seizing the chance, Lisa fired her specialty, the positron cannon, from the tip of her spear. Her attack made a direct hit on the top part of Yggdrasil—the base of the branches.

Severed from the main body, the branches instantly stopped moving and started to fall gradually towards the ground.

Passing through gaps in the falling branches, we increased our altitude and got within Yggdrasil's vicinity. In front of our eyes was a towering gigantic tree that was way too enormous.

"My turn."

Completely fearless, Kili raised her right hand towards the sky.

"—Laevateinn."

Extending a scarlet flash of light towards the sky, Kili swung that flash down like a sword.

The sword of flashing light left a trail on the morning clouds in the sky.

Chopping Yggdrasil's main body vertically, the light sliced into the center of the tree trunk, causing a large explosion. That shockwave caused Yggdrasil's trunk to split apart left and right.

"This time, I will strike the target."

Aiming at the crack in Yggdrasil caused by Kili's attack, Mitsuki released another antimatter arrow.

The pure white light of annihilation erupted from the inside of the trunk. The internally detonated explosion caused Yggdrasil's body to expand greatly. Losing balance, the body gradually collapsed under its own weight.

"It is almost time. Descend to the ground, scatter Ether Wind and attack Yggdrasil's mind using the anti-dragon armament."

Seeing Yggdrasil collapsing, Mitsuki gave orders.

Ren would no longer be able to fly once she passed all her dark matter to me. Furthermore, the anti-dragon armaments had to be secured on the ground for support, which necessitated landing.

"Onii-chan...!"

"Yes, let's start."

Ren held my hand tightly and I gripped back in return.

Unless I followed up on the attack, all we had accomplished was merely destroying Yggdrasil's body. Sooner or later, it would transfer its core to somewhere else.

Hence, before that could happen, we must drag on ''the contents'' to destroy it after obliterating the main body.

Finding a location with good visibility, we landed at a lakeside near Yggdrasil.

Everyone scattered to protect Ren and me. Helped by Tia who was in charge of preventing Yggdrasil's interference, I generated dark matter.

"Fictional armament—Siegfried."

I created the fictional armament shaped like an ornamental gun.

Then Ren placed her hand on Siegfried.

"I will only think about you, Onii-chan, and you will only think about me. That way, I'll definitely be able to give all of it to you."

"—Got it."

While I nodded in response, Ren's dark matter poured in.

It was a massive amount that I had never succeeded in controlling before.

However, my fictional armament expanded in volume in a stable manner without its shape going into disarray.

By thinking of each other strongly, we caused our dark matter to merge without problems.

It felt like Ren's mind was naturally permeating into mine.

My fictional armament grew to several dozens of meters in size within the blink of an eye.

Ordinary matter of that size would be almost impossible to balance or support. But the dark matter forming fictional armaments had the property of responding to thoughts and had no weight.

Consequently, I could support it with no effort, simply by thinking silently in my mind, the enlarged Siegfried remained in midair. Thanks to the electromagnetic barrier Tia deployed for us, the dark matter would not get stolen.

Responding to my will, Siegfried pointed its muzzle towards Yggdrasil.

While aiming, I compressed the dark matter pouring in from Ren inside the fictional armament.

"Onii-chan, just a bit more."

"...Got it."

I focused my mind, not letting the fictional armament collapse.

The fictional armament showed a hint of red color. Perhaps this was the color of Ren's thoughts.

"—This is everything."

Then Ren's dark matter was all poured into my fictional armament.

I turned all that dark matter into a single bullet.

Transmuted into golden particles that caused souls to materialize—

"Ether Bullet!!"

The fictional armament vanished the moment the bullet was shot.

The golden bullet, with everything of Ren's and mine poured in, shot high into the sky. Giving off intense brightness, it then exploded.

Instantly, the sky's color turned from pale blue to a dazzling golden.

Glittering brightly, the radiant particles drifted down from the sky.

It was finer than snow—Like golden diamond dust.

Descending from the sky, the Ether Wind gradually covered Yggdrasil's collapsing main body.

"How is it...?"

I observed the situation with bated breath.

If Director Miyazawa's predictions were true, then Yggdrasil's mind ought to manifest.

Amidst the drifting brightness, an outline gradually surfaced.

A scene just as hoped, but—

"This is... impossible."

Ariella muttered blankly.

The others gasped in surprise.

I did not make a sound, simply shocked by the sight before my eyes—

Yggdrasil's soul was gradually materializing as though flooding out of its collapsed body.

It was an outline of a giant tree, whose branches extended to the other side of the horizon, completely blotting the sky.

Its size was not merely 5000 meters, but much more gigantic.

Seeing its outline cut off unnaturally, I could tell that what the Ether Wind caused to manifest was merely a small portion of the whole.

This gigantic soul, how do we destroy it?

Only then did I realize we were too naive.

Yggdrasil's true nature was a network built from all the plants in the world. On further thought, it would not be strange even if its soul was on the scale of the Earth.

Just as all members of Brynhildr Class were stunned. Kili quietly looked up at Yggdrasil and turned towards me.

"Yuu? Aren't you going to fight? You're destroying that thing, right?"

"—!"

Her words prompted me to regain my senses.

Indeed... By this point, there was no choice but to do it. This was surely Yggdrasil's core without a doubt.

No matter how despaired, for the sake of everyone who had brought me here, I must not give up!

"—Ren, I'm going to borrow dark matter from you again, to construct an anti-dragon armament this time."

"Mm!"

Ren's eyes blazed with fighting spirit. She gripped my right hand firmly.

"Anti-dragon armament Marduk—Psionic multi-barreled cannon, Noah!"

I transmuted the dark matter flowing from Ren into a pre-civilization weapon.

Performing transmutation using blueprints in the mind was much easier than making a fictional armament.

A double-barreled turret appeared on a rotating artillery platform. With a design of glowing lines carved on its surface, the multi-barreled cannon was linked to my consciousness, aimed at Yggdrasil.

As a weapon that amplified and shot out the gunner's thoughts, Noah was effective against spirit bodies which did not interact with ordinary matter. This was already proven during the battle against Hraesvelgr.

—I will defeat you. I won't become your possession!

"Fire!"

Turning strong willpower into energy, Noah's multi-barreled turret fired two shells.

The shells struck the materialized spirit body, causing golden particles to fly into the air.

However, Yggdrasil's spirit body was far too humongous. These tiny shells did not produce much trace of destruction.

"—Fire! Fire! Fire!"

Even so, I still fired relentlessly.

But the more I repeated, the more I realized that my attacks were equivalent to a toy gun against Yggdrasil's spirit body whose size was extraordinary.

Even if I were to shoot dozens, thousands of times, I did not think I would succeed in destroying it.

My consciousness gradually grew hazy because the more I shot, the more mental energy was consumed. Even if I increased the number of turrets like during the battle against Hraesvelgr, it was pointless because my mind's energy was limited as the source.

"Fire—Huff, huff, huff..."

After who knew how many shots had been fired, I breathed heavily. My vision was blurred from the sweat entering my eyes. I could see Yggdrasil's spirit body standing upright, completely unshaken.

"Damn... it..."

There was no time left.

The Ether Wind scattered earlier was fading bit by bit.

"Onii-chan..."

Ren looked up at me with worry.

"I'm fine... I can still shoot."

I feigned vitality and forced myself to answer, then glared at Yggdrasil's spirit body that had appeared due to the golden particles.

I must endure... As the only one capable of attacking spirit bodies, I could not rely on the others.

I had relied so much on them beforehand, so I must accomplish this—

But my knees gave way.

My body was about to fall over forwards.

I slowly approached the ground... But stopped just before my face smashed the ground.

"Huh...?"

I came to my senses only to find Mitsuki, Iris and Tia's face before me.

"Nii-san, are you okay!?"

"Mononobe!"

"Yuu!"

The three voices sustained my consciousness that was about to be cut off.

"—Thank you all."

I thanked them and got up, but this time, I fell backwards.

However, warm hands caught me this time too.

"Goodness gracious, get a grip on yourself and stand properly."

"Do your best, Mononobe-kun."

"Mononobe-kun, hang in there."

Lisa, Firill and Ariella supported my body from behind.

"Sorry. Thanks."

I thanked them. Standing in the distance all alone, Kili asked me:

"Yuu, are you at your limit?"

"No... Not yet. I feel power surging from within."

This was not pretense. I really did feel I could continue to fight fiercely.

My heart felt very warm and it seemed like the mental energy I had depleted had recovered a little.

However, this was surely just my own wishful thinking.

Thoughts or mental energy could not be transferred to others like dark matter.

—When this thought crossed my mind, a question occurred to me.

Really... Is that true?

Who decided that mental energy could not be transmitted? When was it proven?

Through training with Ren, I found out that dark matter from other people consisted of fragments of the mind—fragments of thoughts and feelings.

The transfer of dark matter was equivalent to sending your thoughts to someone. To sustain the psionic multi-barreled cannon, Ren's dark matter continued to flow.

Was dark matter really the only thing Ren was giving me?

Those hands, tightly held together, supporting my heart, perhaps that kind of power would—

"Everyone, can I ask you for a favor?"

I asked the girls.

"What is it? I am willing to do anything in my power for you, Nii-san!"

Mitsuki instantly answered and the others urged me to tell them.

"I hope you will transmit your ''thoughts'' to me using the same principles as dark matter transfer."

I did not know if this would actually pass mental energy over. Even if it could, it would probably serve as merely psychological consolation.

But in order to fight to the very end, I sought everyone's power.

"Thoughts...?"

Iris widened her eyes, cocking her head in puzzlement.

"Yes, lend me your thoughts... the power of your heart and soul."

"—I understand. Just thoughts and feelings, isn't that right?"

Lisa nodded, applying force through her hand that was supporting my back.

"Mononobe-kun... I will think of you as strongly as I can."

Gripping my shoulder firmly, Firill spoke.

"I will cheer for you, Mononobe-kun."

Ariella said while touching my back.

My heart began to warm up. Everyone's thoughts were making me happy. My mind gradually felt satisfied.

Was this mental energy flowing in? Or simply the effect of receiving encouragement? I did not know actually.

But my originally sapped strength surged again, this was the truth.

I slowly took the power received from everyone and poured it into Noah. The lines carved all over the multi-barreled cannon began to glow with dazzling light.

"Tia is always always thinking of Yuu!"

"Nii-san, please accept my thoughts!"

Tia and Mitsuki pressed their hands on my chest, praying strongly.

Then Iris placed her hands on top of theirs.

"Mononobe—"

Iris simply called my name and smiled faintly.

But I could feel it. I could feel Iris' thoughts. I could feel intense feelings that made my chest hot.

Not only Iris but Tia and Mitsuki's emotions and words were giving me power.

The multi-barreled cannon, which converted mental energy into shells, rumbled, giving off light that shone all around.

"Onii-chan...... Don't lose!"

Gripping my right hand tightly, Ren cried out as hard as she could.

Ren's thought flowed into me together with her dark matter.

I could feel the unprecedented power of thoughts, dense and fierce, gradually growing stronger inside the anti-dragon armament.

Everything was poured into this one attack.

Let me fire the thoughts and feelings of insignificant humans towards Yggdrasil.

Let it know that we are living with such fiery emotions in our hearts.

"We're doing it, everyone."

"Yes!"

The girls responded to my call.

Then in unison, we fired our thoughts.

"FIRE!"

An intense glow expanded from the two muzzles, shooting at the sky. While firing, the psionic multi-barreled cannon exploded from within and collapsed.

The two balls of light melded together, forming a gigantic shell, striking Yggdrasil's spirit body.

Immediately exploding with blinding light, golden particles then scattered all over the sky.

The atmosphere shook slightly. The outline of Yggdrasil composed of Ether Wind shook for an instant.

Once the particles scattered and disappeared in the air, I could see a massive hole opened up in the center of Yggdrasil's spirit body.

However, the spirit body showed no signs of overall collapse.

"Damn it! This didn't work either..."

I said with frustration.

"Onii-chan... One more time."

Ren pulled my hand. She did not show any signs of giving up in her expression.

"—Yeah, until it's destroyed, we'll shoot no matter how many times it takes."

I nodded and prepared to construct the anti-dragon armament again, but Kili stopped me.

"No, this is good enough."

Kili approached me and smiled with satisfaction.

"Enough...? Yggdrasil's core consciousness isn't destroyed though."

"But damage has been inflicted, so next is your job—Tia."

Kili patted Tia, who had been lending me power, on the shoulder and said to her.

"Tia's job?"

Tia widened her eyes and stared at Kili.

"You should be able to hear it, right? Yggdrasil's screaming."

"...Yeah, but it's a mess. Can't hear what it's saying."

"That is evidence that the core's functionality is damaged. Given now, Tia, you'll surely prevail over Yggdrasil."

Kili grinned and continued.

"Your pair of horns is not simply for defending against Yggdrasil's interference. It is a weapon existing for the sake of devouring Yggdrasil, a power to enable you to become a dragon."

"The horns are a weapon... Become a dragon—"

Tia touched the horns on her head, apparently thinking of something.

"Against Yggdrasil that's trying to take Yuu's place, just do the same thing to it. Tia, you have that power."

"—Yeah!"

Tia nodded. Looking like she understood what she must do, she constructed her wing-shaped fictional armament on her back.

"Hey Tia!"

Before I could stop her, Tia had already flown into the sky, heading for Yggdrasil.

"Kili, what are you planning to have Tia do!?"

I glared at Kili and asked her what was going on.

"I simply presented a choice. Everything is Tia's own decision. Don't belittle her resolve."

Glared back by her with such intense emotions, I could not help but gasp.

"Mind your own business and quietly watch Tia's battle."

Kili spoke in a sharp tone of voice to stop Lisa and the others from chasing after Tia.

"You will soon know what Tia is about to do."

Staring at Tia in flight, Kili spoke quietly.

Tia arrived at Yggdrasil's spirit body then jumped into the hole I had punctured.

Several seconds later, blindingly bright lightning erupted with Yggdrasil as the center.

===Part 5===

Flying through the air where golden particles drifted, Tia Lightning recalled the first time she met him—the time when she encountered Mononobe Yuu.

Back then, Tia did not quite understand much about herself.

Her parents called her human but demanded her to create gemstones through transmutation.

Later on, Tia and her parents were captured by an armed gang. This time, she was exploited as a D with the power to generate dark matter.

Hence, Tia had asked him—Mononobe Yuu who had rescued her from that armed gang—What am I?

Then with broken speech, he replied in Tia's mother tongue:

'You are a—cute, girl.'

It was a very gentle answer.

Tia wanted to become like that, hoped for herself to become like that, it was the answer Tia desired too.

Tia had always kept those words in her heart.

Meeting Kili, raised to become a dragon, selected by Basilisk—Tia had abandoned that dream once... But after reuniting with him and rescued by Lisa and the others, Tia made a decision as a result.

Tia would live together with Lisa and the others as humans.

To become the cutest girl of all in Mononobe Yuu's eyes—to become his ''wife''.

Then like how he had protected her, she would protect him too.

"Tia will save Yuu!"

Tia generated wind from her fictional armament, a pair of red dragon wings, and charged into the interior of Yggdrasil's spirit body.

Her surroundings were covered by golden particles, so bright that her eyes could almost see nothing. Tia heard Yggdrasil's ''cries'' in her mind.

'Thought, flaw—collapse, reject—reject, reject, reject, repair, prioritize—'

Not just a voice. Through her horns, Tia could sense intangible feelings.

"—It's afraid."

Tia murmured.

Yggdrasil was afraid. Afraid of its consciousness disappearing, afraid of losing its existence, afraid of death—Extremely extremely frightened.d

'Neun—needed, must have—uncertain, ninth authority, one and only—most suitable, survival strategy—'

And it wanted—

To survive, it needed Mononobe Yuu.

Tia could sense this concretely.

Tia did not know what it was afraid of. Yggdrasil's thoughts were fragmented, incomprehensible.

However—

"You're not having him!"

Tia declared to Yggdrasil in no uncertain terms.

"Because Yuu will become Tia's husband!!"

Tia poured all her thoughts into dark matter, transmuting it into electricity then released it.

Tia's consciousness spread as an electromagnetic field, expanding inside of Yggdrasil.

Attacked and damaged by Noah, Yggdrasil's core system had encountered a bug, allowing Tia's consciousness to invade.

Hacking into Yggdrasil, this was precisely the true function of the pair of horns given to Tia.

"...!"

Intense pain struck her head, causing Tia to frown. Yggdrasil was resisting, it was struggling, trying to evict Tia's consciousness that was invading in the form of electrical signals.

"Tia won't lose... This time, Tia will protect Yuu!!"

Using willpower as fangs, turning emotions into claws, Tia bit and ripped apart Yggdrasil's consciousness.

Tia's thoughts were endlessly amplified by the electrical energy obtained through the transmutation of dark matter, gradually conquering the core system.

The golden particles shrouding the surroundings shook. It was a sign that Yggdrasil's spirit body was starting to change.

'—Reject, reject, reject, unacceptable, overload, unacceptable—destroy, reject, reject—!'

Yggdrasil resisted desperately but the CPU had been destroyed physically, the mind was damaged, and right now, its computational power had dropped to its limit.

Conversely, after devouring Yggdrasil's consciousness, Tia's thoughts had acquired overwhelming processing power.

But due to excessive expansion of her ego, her original self turned fuzzy. Having obtained processing power that was originally impossible for humans to have, Tia's mind could not keep up with her thoughts.

"Tia is... what?"

Amidst her expanding ego, her consciousness was wavering.

But his words, carved deeply in her heart, kept Tia's consciousness together.

—You are a—cute, girl.

Tia gritted her teeth and used her dark matter to the limit to use her thoughts to rewrite everything.

"That's right... Tia... Tia will become Yuu's wife!!"

Then her will raced along the network formed from plants, exploring Yggdrasil's true nature.

Then she understood. The power to control electricity was merely one part of Yggdrasil's true nature.

The name of the authority was: Akashic Record.

There, Tia caught a glimpse of ''everything''.

===Part 6===

Composed of golden particles, Yggdrasil's mind twisted and changed in shape.

The gigantic body, never collapsing no matter how many times Noah attacked, changed in form as though melting.

"Tia... What did she do?"

I looked in surprise but I was soon struck by even greater shock.

Shaking, gradually fading away, the Ether Wind proceeded to trace out a certain outline.

Instead of a giant tree, it was the silhouette of a young girl.

"Tia-chan...?"

Iris cried out in surprise.

Indeed—The golden particles were undoubtedly showing the figure of Tia Lightning.

"Looks like it's a success. Tia has already taken control of Yggdrasil's core."

Kili smiled happily and explained to us.

"What... Control of the core?"

Since it was too shocking, I could only repeat like a parrot.

"Yes, capable of outputting thoughts as electrical signals, right now, Tia can electrically interfere with senses, in other words, hack into Yggdrasil then tamper with the core, forcing the system to recognize her as the new core."

Kili replied so nonchalantly, but after seeing the Ether Wind fade away, she smiled.

"From the start, I raised Tia intending to have her devour Yggdrasil. But back then, I had no idea that Yggdrasil was such a terrifying monster. If we had challenged it normally, I think we would've failed already. It's all thanks to you inflicting damage to the core, Yuu, that we succeeded on this occasion."

The golden particles scattered amidst the sky's morning glow.

The particles showing Tia's image also disappeared gradually.

Visible under the particles was Yggdrasil's collapsed remains and a girl with a pair of radiant wings on her back.

Looking up at the young girl flying back to our side, Kili said proudly:

"Look, Yuu, this is the new dragon I raised—Tia Lightning Yggdrasil."

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| Back to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_6_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Unlimited_Fafnir|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_6_Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 6 Chapter 4

2018-01-13T18:00:50Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 2 */

==Chapter 4 - Ether Wind of Gold==

===Part 1===

Tia Lightning thought back to what Kili Surtr Muspelheim had told her at the Castle of Mirrors.

"As things stand, Tia, Yggdrasil cannot be defeated no matter what. But if you give up your human identity, there might be a path to hope."

"Eh...?"

Tia stared blankly at Kili.

The hall all covered with mirrors gave an illusion of infinite space. At the same time, it also produced countless reflections of Tia and Kili.

An uncountable number of virtual images—Facing the black-haired girl was the girl with two red horns on her head in great unease.

"I originally planned to raise you as ''the trump card for taking down Yggdrasil''. Your horns are also an organ existing for the sake of opposing Yggdrasil."

"These..."

Putting her hands on her head, Tia touched her two red horns.

"Indeed, this is an organ connected directly to the brain, which is why I can't put it on myself. Manipulating your own brain will mess up your concentration in the process, causing the control of biogenic transmutation to fail."

"Then... If Tia works hard, Yggdrasil can be defeated?"

Tia asked timidly but Kili shook her head.

"No, I haven't finished with your treatment, so those horns cannot function as intended yet. But if you wish, I could perform the final treatment for you."

Staring into Tia's eyes, Kili made this proposal.

"Then like this... Tia will be able to help Yuu and the others?"

"If all goes well. After all, I can't guarantee success since this is the first time, but if your horns function as planned, Yuu and the others have a shot at victory. However—"

Kili paused and narrowed her eyes.

"—The moment Yggdrasil is defeated, you will surely become a ''dragon'' transcending the boundaries of Ds and humans."

"...!"

Tia gasped and took a step back.

"Don't worry, I won't force you, so no need to be afraid. I'm no longer a puppet controlled by Mother. I will freely decide my 'way of living' according to my own will, so please make a choice according to your own wishes."

Kili's expression turned gentle and she smiled at Tia.

"Kili..."

It was a gentle smile that Tia had never seen on Kili's face.

"Yuu said before that how one lives their life is more important than what they are. What matters is not the identity of your existence, but what you want to do."

===Part 2===

In the middle of this predicament with Yggdrasil's branches flooding towards us, I was stunned on the spot with all eyes on me.

My secret had been revealed.

The fact that Yggdrasil was stealing my body had been exposed.

Finally, she still ended up finding out. Clearly when Mitsuki was the one person I did not want to know this secret.

"Mononobe-kun, tell me the details."

"I want to hear your explanation."

Firill and Ariella approached to question me.

"Yuu, tell Tia the truth..."

Tia stared at me with determination, refusing to back down by a single step.

"I'm interested in the details too."

Kili urged me to explain with her gaze.

By this point, I could not cover things up anymore.

Gritting my teeth, I searched for an answer to give them, but—

"Mononobe Yuu, clearly the only choice is to tell them. The weapons you used so far to defeat dragons were created based on data provided by Yggdrasil. The price you paid is that your body is now about to be stolen."

Lisa's fictional armament fired a flash of light, attacking the branches above while she spoke to me.

However, what she said felt strange to me.

"Huh...?"

Hearing her say that, Iris stared wide-eyed from the side.

The price paid under the deal with Yggdrasil was the loss of my memories, while taking over my body was the trap it had laid. These two were a bit different in meaning.

When my thoughts reached this point, I noticed something. When Tia overheard my conversation with Lisa, the subject of memory loss was not mentioned.

Then at least the worst situation—that I was not the "Mononobe Yuu" whom Mitsuki knew—Perhaps this one fact could still remain hidden to the very end.

...Thank you, Lisa.

While feeling grateful for Lisa's quick thinking, I started to explain to Mitsuki and the others.

"Just as Lisa said, I secretly made a deal with Yggdrasil to defeat dragons. But there was apparently something similar to a computer virus in the data that was sent, so gradually—and right now—I'm being invaded by Yggdrasil."

Omitting the memory part, I revealed the truth.

"To defeat dragons...? Could it be that three years ago, Nii-san, you—"

Mitsuki murmured blankly.

Three years ago, to protect my hometown, I used a power, which was normally impossible, to repel Hekatonkheir. This was done exactly by relying on anti-dragon armaments created from the weapons data obtained from Yggdrasil.

Smart as she was, Mitsuki seemed to recall that immediately.

"Yeah, the fight against Hekatonkheir three years ago was the first time."

I nodded in response to Mitsuki, despite knowing that Mitsuki would feel heavily guilty as soon as I confirmed it.

However, this was much better than telling her "the price was memories."

As long as Yggdrasil was neutralized, its invasion of me would presumably stop, but there was no guarantee my memories would recover.

When it was impossible to recover the real "Mononobe Yuu"—I did not want to bring despair to Mitsuki.

"Mononobe-kun... Why did you hide this? If the weapons for defeating dragons is the reason, then you must have made a deal again back when I was in a crisis, right?"

Firill glared at me angrily.

"...Sorry, because I didn't want you to feel responsible or in debt. Also, I only found out recently I was being controlled. I never expected things to turn out this way."

I bowed my head and apologized to Firill.

Seeing me like that, Ariella scolded:

"I understand how you feel, Mononobe-kun, but it pisses me off that we're the only ones kept in the dark. From the way it looks, Iris and Ren also knew in addition to Lisa, right?"

Iris looked down in shame when Ariella glanced at her, but Ren met her gaze and pointed her finger in the air.

"Mm."

I took a closer look. Because fewer people were attacking, the branches were gradually closing in.

"—Meaning it's not the time for arguing? Can't be helped, I'll complain properly later."

Ariella returned to attack after glaring at me.

"Me too... I have things to say but I'll hold back for now."

Firill turned her back to me and started attacking the branches again.

"—As thanks for letting me hear something interesting, I'll help out a bit."

With a wave of her hand, Kili incinerated branches with a red beam of scorching heat.

But in this situation, Mitsuki and Tia did not take their gazes off my face.

I saw Mitsuki biting her lower lip, shoulders trembling, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"M-Mitsuki—Don't cry. It's really my fault, I'm sorry—"

Even I was surprised at how shaken I was inside. I kept apologizing to her. To me who had lost all memories beyond three years ago, she should not be someone "special"... But my heart was shaken to a ridiculous degree.

"...Nii-san, you need not apologize. I am crying because I am too useless... This fills me with chagrin... So do not worry about me."

Mitsuki spoke hoarsely and brusquely wiped her tears away with her hand.

"Putting that aside, please allow me to confirm one fact. Is what you said just now everything?"

"Eh..."

My heart pounded like crazy.

"I knew long ago that you were hiding things from me, Nii-san, but I also understood you were hiding desperately... So I deliberately refrained from asking, but this incident has filled me with extreme regret. So this time, I will muster my courage to ask you, Nii-san, are you still hiding things from me?"

Mitsuki asked me with conviction.

I thought I had concealed things well, but now I knew I was totally seen through.

More than anyone else, Mitsuki knew this person of "Mononobe Yuu." She knew everything about me that my current self had forgotten. In front of someone like that, of course hiding would not work.

"...Yes."

I nodded to confirm Mitsuki's question, but I continued:

"But I can't tell you, Mitsuki."

I prepared myself and asserted clearly.

"Why?"

"I still can't say it yet."

I shook my head and stared into Mitsuki's eyes that were red from crying.

"Then when can you say it?"

"—Once I've retrieved everything."

I gave this answer because I could not think of another way of saying it.

"Even if I ask you what you mean by that, you will not answer, right?"

Mitsuki smiled wryly with feelings of resignation.

"...Sorry."

"Very well—Because I know how stubborn you are, Nii-san, I will not force the matter at this time. However, one final matter, please tell me—Tia-san said that Yggdrasil must be defeated now. Is that true?"

Mitsuki's expression tensed. She asked me in a tone of suppressed emotion:

"...It's true that Yggdrasil's interference in me has strengthened, but I won't get controlled by it immediately, so there's still time. We should retreat temporarily."

To be honest, I had a feeling that the final time limit was not far away, but I answered this way to reassure Mitsuki. Because right now, we were totally out of options.

I was admittedly happy that Tia said she would protect me, but right now, we should retreat and request reinforcements from Midgard. With a larger force, it might be possible to handle the branches' rate of growth.

"I understand. Indeed, as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad, there is no alternative as a decision. Well then—"

Mitsuki paused halfway then turned to face Shinomiya-sensei.

"Shinomiya-sensei, forgive my willfulness, but I, Mononobe Mitsuki, hereby relinquish my duties as captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad."

"What are you suddenly..."

Shinomiya-sensei was shocked.

The others, still attacking branches, also stared in Mitsuki in surprise.

"Mitsuki-chan...?"

Troubled, Iris called her name, tilting her head in puzzlement.

"Mitsuki..."

Tia also showed doubt on her face but I could also see her trying to figure things out.

But ignoring everyone's reactions, Mitsuki turned to face me.

"Starting now, I will only fight as your younger sister to protect you, Nii-san. I will absolutely not retreat."

"H-Hey—I said there's still time, right?"

"Nii-san, do you think lying can deceive me?"

As though having come to a realization, Mitsuki showed a refreshing smile while glaring at Yggdrasil's branches extending from the western sky.

"Hold on, what do you think can still be done in this situation? If there's a solution, I wouldn't call for a retreat."

The way I saw it, Mitsuki was going to attack recklessly without a plan. I made haste to stop her.

"Indeed, given the current situation, marching forward while keeping sufficient distance from the interference range will be impossible. However, much can be done as long as one disregards one's safety. Such notions would disqualify a commander... But right now, I am merely a ''younger sister'', nothing more."

Mitsuki smiled as though telling a joke and continued:

"By eliminating branches in the minimum range ahead and flying at high speed, it might be possible to advance."

"What...? But if you get caught in Yggdrasil's interference range, even if just a little, you'll crash immediately, right? It's too dangerous!"

I instantly yelled in objection.

"—I know, which is why I intend to go alone. I will find a way to reach a spot where I can aim at Yggdrasil directly, to destroy the base of the branches. That way, I should be able to buy quite a lot of time before it grows again. Nii-san, you and the others will use that window to attack."

Mitsuki's expression showed that she was completely prepared already.

"Don't do something stupid like that—"

I reached out, trying to stop Mitsuki, but she was surrounded by a layer of wind, deflecting my hand.

Everyone tried to call out and stop her with frantic expressions.

But before anyone could make a sound, ''she'' acted even faster.

"Wait!"

Mitsuki hovered into the air, but Tia crashed into her, wrapped in her own layer of wind.

"Kyah!?"

Entangled together, the two girls fell to the ground.

"Tia-san, let go of me!"

Mitsuki tried to pull off Tia who was hugging her waist but Tia resisted desperately and yelled:

"Don't do that, Mitsuki! Leave it to Tia! If it's Tia, it will definitely succeed!"

"Huh...?"

Hearing what Tia said, Mitsuki stopped.

"Sorry, Tia should have said this earlier, but Tia finds the current life so happy... Don't want any change... So Tia could not gather enough courage. But Tia has decided now."

Tia separated from Mitsuki who had stopped resisting, then looked at Kili.

Originally helping out with eliminating branches, Kili stopped and faced Tia at this time.

"Is that right? Tia, you will be choosing your ''way of living''."

Kili spoke gently to Tia.

I did not know what was going on, but my heart was in turmoil.

Tia nodded and said with a voice of determination:

"Please, Kili, give Tia the power to fight Yggdrasil."

"Got it, then I'll perform the final treatment for you."

Kili slowly approached Tia.

"Hey, what treatment? What are you planning to do!?"

Unable to grasp the situation, I yelled acutely at Kili.

"—I will make Tia's horns complete."

Kili placed her palm on the pair of horns on Tia's head and gave me a brief answer.

"Make her horns complete... What on earth is—"

"Tia is the child I raised to become the trump card against Yggdrasil. These horns were created as an organ for opposing Yggdrasil. Although the horns currently don't function, so long as Tia wishes, I can make these horns complete. This was what I proposed to her at the amusement park."

Staring at Tia's horns, Kili quietly explained.

So that was what they talked about in the Castle of Mirrors that time—

"...Tia has been brooding the whole time after returning from the amusement park, like she was in a dilemma... afraid of something. Is that final treatment something ''frightening'' to Tia?"

I stared at Kili and questioned her in a fierce tone of voice.

"Yes, I don't know what will happen if it fails. Even if it succeeds, Tia will become an existence transcending the boundaries of what it means to be a D. Based on Midgard's definitions, she might end up categorized as a dragon."

Hearing Kili's words, Iris' shoulders shuddered.

As a D who had transcended boundaries, Iris must have felt greatly shaken inside after listening to Kili.

"I won't let Tia do something so dangerous!"

"That's not for you to decide."

Just as I tried to take a step forward, a small explosion detonated in front of me.

"!?"

I guarded my face with my hand and jumped back reflexively. The searing pain on my skin forced me to frown.

"Don't get in the way, Yuu. Even you have no right to stop Tia from choosing her own path."

Exuding off intense killing intent, Kili restrained me from taking action.

The surrounding temperature rose. Sweat was seeping out of my forehead and neck. She must have deployed Muspelheim.

What should I do...? Stopping them would require the determination to murder Kili.

Just as I hesitated, Tia smiled at me.

"Don't worry. Because no matter what Tia becomes, Tia will be still the one who loves Yuu most—Yuu's wife."

Then the dark matter generated in Kili's hand melded with Tia's horns as though getting sucked in.

"—!!"

The two horns shone with dazzling light while Tia emitted a deafening scream.

===Part 3===

Blinding light and an extended scream.

"Tia!"

Ignoring Kili's deployed Muspelheim, I dashed towards Tia.

The final treatment probably ended in an instant—Kili did not stop me. After she put down her raised hand, Tia immediately collapsed on her knees.

As though sliding, I caught Tia's petite body, feeble and drained of strength.

"Stay with me! Tia!"
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v06 257.jpg|thumb]]

I called to her but Tia seemed to have lost consciousness. No reaction. Her two red horns also showed no change in appearance.

"Tia-chan, are you okay!?"

"Tia-san!"

Iris and Mitsuki rushed forward from behind, peering at Tia's face.

Unable to leave their positions from eliminating branches, Lisa and the others looked in our direction with paled faces.

I looked up and glared at Kili.

"What happened to Tia? Did it—fail?"

"Can't tell until Tia wakes up. The completed horns have connected to Tia's brain, so as long as she is able to withstand the strain, she'll surely—"

Just as Kili spoke in a praying tone of voice, Tia stirred.

"Mm..."

A faint sound came Tia's pink lips. A spark of lightning flashed and popped near her red horns.

"Tia can hear..."

Tia spoke hoarsely while opening her eyes slightly.

"Thank goodness, you woke up."

I breathed a sigh of relief, only to see Tia staring at me.

"Tia can hear a cold voice calling Neun... Neun... Is this the voice of Yggdrasil that's troubling Yuu?"

"What...? You can hear it too, Tia?"

I asked in surprise.

Just as Tia said, Yggdrasil's voice was still sounding in my mind right now.

"Yes... So this is Yggdrasil... Yuu's enemy."

Tia spoke as though in the middle of a dream and stood up.

"Tia?"

I noticed Tia acting a bit strange and called to her but she focused her gaze westward towards Yggdrasil instead of answering. The electrical sparks scattering over Tia's head in the horns' surroundings gradually increased.

"...Stop making Yuu suffer, be quiet!!"

The instant Tia yelled, electricity exploded nearby.

"What!?"

Boom, Shinomiya-sensei's laptop exploded. The surroundings suddenly felt quiet.

"Yggdrasil's voice... disappeared?"

I muttered blankly. Yggdrasil's voice was originally loud enough to feel noisy, but now, no matter how I much I focused my mind in order to listen, I could not sense the voice anymore. The sense of dissonance in my left arm also disappeared.

"Looks like it succeeded."

While everyone was feeling troubled, Kili was the only one to show a contented look.

"What did Tia do?"

I demanded an explanation from Kili.

"—What Tia has constructed is an electromagnetic barrier that could probably block out Yggdrasil's interference completely. And if my predictions are correct, Yggdrasil is currently unable to steal Tia's dark matter. Just by maintaining this barrier, your side will be able to enter Yggdrasil's interference range."

"What... Tia is now capable of that kind of thing?"

I gasped and asked.

"Yes. Speaking of which, the reason why Yggdrasil can steal dark matter is because electrical signals simulating thoughts will have more interference strength than weak mental waves. That's why I've given Tia a renewed organ capable of outputting thoughts as electrical signals."

"Namely... those horns?"

I looked at Tia's horns, surrounded by glowing electricity.

"Also, Tia has a habit of subconsciously transmuting dark matter into electrical currents. When the dark matter is transmuted emotionally, it becomes equivalent to thoughts encoded into electrical signals. This further strengthens Tia's interference strength, repelling Yggdrasil's interference. This is the truth behind the electromagnetic barrier."

Thinking back, Tia really did have a habit of generating electrical currents when emotional. That was probably why Kili had chosen Tia.

After listening to that, Tia held her head and asked Kili:

"So... If it's Tia right now, Tia can protect Yuu and the others?"

"That's right. As long as you think intensely and generate dark matter persistently, the electromagnetic barrier will be sustained. As long as they stay inside the barrier, the dark matter of Yuu and the others will be free from interference."

"Got it... Tia will work hard."

Tia nodded and moved her hand away from her head. I saw pearl-like sweat on her head.

It was probably causing her quite a lot of strain. Bestowed with an organ that was not inborn, it was only natural for her body to have a rejection reaction.

But Tia steadied her shaking body with her legs and spread the pair of red wings that was her fictional armament.

"Yuu—Everyone follow Tia. Tia will take everyone to Yggdrasil."

Tia spoke with unshakable determination.

Will you be okay? I could only swallow these words.

Because I quickly understood that it was a meaningless question. Asking it would be a waste of time.

I could see that she was not okay at all. She was clearly forcing herself.

In reaction to becoming like this—No, she had chosen to do this.

Simply for the sake of protecting me.

Lisa silently approached Tia and hugged her.

"—I know, then I will count on you, Tia-san. However, please focus on maintaining the barrier. I will fly and carry you."

"Thank you... Lisa."

Tia dispelled her fictional armament and held onto Lisa's waist.

"...I will carry Onii-chan."

Feeling someone pull my right hand, I turned my gaze to see Ren looking up at me.

Ren's cooperation with me was the key to the next part of the plan, so it was probably better that I traveled with her.

"Okay, I'm counting on you."

I held Ren's hand. Having confirmed the situation, Mitsuki walked over to Iris and took her hand.

"Then I will be responsible for Iris-san's transport. So this is it—Shinomiya-sensei, we are setting off."

Holding the wrecked laptop in her hand, Shinomiya-sensei was looking a bit lost. Then at this time, she smiled wryly and acknowledged.

"Okay... Looks like I can't provide support anymore, so I'm leaving the rest to you. Captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad—Mononobe Mitsuki."

Shinomiya-sensei intentionally added the title when addressing Mitsuki.

Having just declared she would relinquish her duties, Mitsuki made a slightly embarrassed look before saluting with upright posture.

"Affirmative. I will fulfill my duties as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad."

===Part 4===

Gathered around Lisa, who was carrying Tia in her arms, we flew through the night sky.

Yggdrasil's branches were growing at a frightening rate in front of us.

Although it was impossible to measure the exact interference range, the area under the branches was most likely its territory.

We cautiously lowered our altitude and rushed into Yggdrasil's interference range.

—No change.

Having confirmed there was no interference in our fictional armaments or any signs of impedance to transmutation, we increased our altitude and flying speed. The sky glowed white faintly. Dawn seemed to be approaching.

Flying in the lead while carrying Iris in her arms was Mitsuki. Holding the rear was Ren, transporting me, with Kili flying by our side.

"How unexpected. I can't believe you came along, Kili."

Flying in the sky with Ren holding my hand, I spoke to Kili beside me.

"Let me enjoy the show to the very end since I'm already here. Of course, I won't just watch. I'll offer a helping hand and won't drag you down, so relax."

"I don't doubt your abilities, but I'll be watching you to see if you have any ulterior motives."

I declared to Kili that I refused to trust her.

"Fufu, I don't mind. That means you'll have your eyes focused on me."

Kili smiled confidently.

"...!"

Her smile was inexplicably dazzling and stunning, rendering me speechless for a moment. Sure enough, this girl was not easy to deal with.

"However, you should probably focus your attention on Yggdrasil rather than me. Once it realizes its interference over dark matter isn't working, it will surely take other measures."

Just as Kili reminded me to pay attention, Mitsuki yelled from the front:

"Heads up, Yggdrasil's branches are showing changes! Be careful, everyone!"

I hastily looked up to notice that we were already under a canopy made from Yggdrasil's branches.

These capillary-like branches blotted the sky, writhing in a sinister and spooky manner. Numerous branches, as sharp as spears, were attacking our position.

"All units deploy shields! We will break through by force!"

Mitsuki commanded in a sharp voice.

"Looks like it's my turn."

Kili grinned proudly and raised one hand to the sky.

"—Such flammable-looking branches won't even manage to enter my Muspelheim."

The approaching branches suddenly caught fire, burning into tiny particles of ash.

She had most likely deployed an invisible barrier of high temperature in the air.

Mitsuki and the girls also deployed barriers of wind, but all the branches were burnt to ash before reaching them.

Under the gradually brightening sky, the outlines of Mount Fuji's tall appearance and the towering Yggdrasil were gradually coming into view.

"Target confirmed! Once we pass over Mount Fuji, our distance to the target will be 10 kilometers or so—Sniping distance. Iris-san, show time for you!"

"Yeah!"

Iris nodded in response to Mitsuki.

"Once we pass Mount Fuji, Lisa-san, Iris-san and I shall attack the main body in full force while trying to get even closer. Firill-san and Ariella-san, continue to deploy shields. Nii-san and Ren-san will prepare to scatter Ether Wind after the main body is destroyed!"

"Yes!"

I answered and made eye contact with Ren, exchanging nods in acknowledgement.

"Huh? What about me?"

Without being called on, Kili asked, prompting Mitsuki to reply in a cold voice:

"If you wish to help, please participate in attacking."

"Oh dear, it feels like you're not expecting much of me?"

Kili grumbled with dissatisfaction.

Immediately, Iris, who was carried by Mitsuki, looked back and smiled cheerfully at Kili.

"It's not like that, Kili-chan, let's do our best together!"

"...Y-You're really good at getting others caught in your pace. Fine, whatever. Having created this chance for Tia, even without being told, I seriously intend to go on a rampage."

Kili spoke with violence in her eyes.

The snowtop of Mount Fuji was before us, but the branches suddenly stopped attacking.

Just as it seemed like Yggdrasil had given up on obstructing us with branches, Lisa yelled acutely.

"Look quickly! Yggdrasil's shape—"

Located on the far side, Yggdrasil's towering trunk was gradually expanding unnaturally in the middle.

Then bizarre and thick branches were forced out from the bulging portion.

The sun seemed to rise at last and the sky brightened all at once. Behind us, the sun's rays from the east were making us slightly dizzy.

"Everyone! Go down rapidly right now!"

Just at this moment, I heard Tia shout anxiously.

"Yggdrasil's target is Tia!"

Hearing Tia's urgent voice, everyone lowered their flying altitude without fully understanding what was going on.

In the next instant, a flash of blinding light rushed past us above.

"W-What was that!?"

Firill cried out in surprise.

"No idea, it seems like something flew out from Yggdrasil..."

Ariella had not figured out the situation either.

"Dodge quickly! It's aiming again!"

Tia yelled again.

"Descend further!"

Mitsuki instantly ordered us.

After we obeyed, another flash of light passed over us.

"That light... Its speed... The power of electrical interference—It might be an object shot at high-speed using electromagnetic induction."

Flying ahead, Mitsuki said in a stiff tone of voice.

"Isn't that a railgun!? Isn't it impossible to dodge if something like that is aiming at us!?"

Lisa yelled anxiously but Kili interjected confident after hearing her:

"—Don't worry. Tia noticed the attacks in advance, twice already, right? Tia, did you feel anything?"

Tia nodded lightly at Kili's question.

"Yes, there's a dangerous feeling."

"I knew it. Tia's horns are also quite sensitive towards external electromagnetic waves. Although it wasn't an ability by deliberate design, as long as we have Tia, we should be able to dodge."

After Kili said that, Tia made an alarmed expression and yelled:

"It's coming again!"

"All units dodge right!"

Mitsuki instantly commanded.

I could see a glowing ball shot out from the branches protruding from Yggdrasil's trunk.

Just as I was thinking that, a blinding light flashed past our left.

As Lisa said, it would be impossible to dodge visually.

But such a powerful attack could very well get me caught up in it too. Yggdrasil seemed quite shaken when harming me in Midgard. Although the reason was unknown, it looked like it wanted to obtain me intact.

Nevertheless, Yggdrasil seemed to be prioritizing the elimination of Tia over ensuring my safety. Perhaps that was how much of a threat it viewed Tia.

"It's not over!"

We listened to Tia's directions and steadily closed in on Yggdrasil while evading the railgun shots.

Finally, we passed over Mount Fuji's peak.

The railgun shots we dodged dug up the side of Mount Fuji. Amidst the cloud of dust and debris, Mitsuki issued orders.

"Begin the attack on Yggdrasil's main body! If the main body is like a CPU, damaging it ought to lower Yggdrasil's computation power. This might be able to dampen its unrestricted growth and regeneration."

"Understood!"

In charge of attacking, Iris and Lisa responded.

Kili also went "got it" and went up to the front with a fearless smile.

Mitsuki raised Brionac. Holding onto Mitsuki's waist with her right arm, Iris raised her left hand.

"Come, come, fragments of time—"

Iris murmured like praying then generated a red glow in her hand immediately. The words she uttered served as an incantation to focus her mind. She had apparently made changes in order to use Catastrophe.

"—Caduceus Catastrophe!"

With a shout, the red glow turned into the shape of a staff. At first glance, it seemed to be a fictional armament of a different color, but most likely, no dark matter had been used.

It was definitely what Iris had used at Midgard last time, a staff formed from concentrating the light of Catastrophe.

"Iris-san, please attack after me!"

While Iris was preparing, Mitsuki aimed at Yggdrasil and fired the first shot.

"Terminating Arrow—Last Quark!"

Mitsuki fired an antimatter arrow that had eliminated several dragons to date.

But as though to block the arrow's advance, the branches spread above came down, entangling one another, forming a wall.

Mitsuki's arrow caused a giant explosion upon contact with that wall, destroying the branches. However, due to the distance, the antimatter explosion did not reach Yggdrasil's main body.

The branches forming the canopy came down to attack us from overhead. However, they were deflected by Firill and Ariella's barriers. But during this time, branches formed a new wall in front of Yggdrasil.

"Our attacks won't be able to reach the main body if it bolsters its defenses like this!"

Lisa raised Gungnir and shouted.

"Don't worry, Lisa-chan, I'll eliminate them all!"

Pointing the tip of her red staff towards Yggdrasil, Iris shouted acutely:

"Catastrophe, actualize!"

The red light of Catastrophe pierced the dawn sky.

An attack of red light, rivaling Basilisk's, devoured the wall of branches that Yggdrasil had weaved, instantly weathering it away into dust.

Without weakening, the light struck the railgun's discharge port directly.

The longer the duration of exposure, the more time was stolen. Slicing through Yggdrasil's gigantic tree trunk, Iris' beam pierced straight through.

The original location of the discharge port was turned into a giant hole.

"Pierce, flare!"

Seizing the chance, Lisa fired her specialty, the positron cannon, from the tip of her spear. Her attack made a direct hit on the top part of Yggdrasil—the base of the branches.

Severed from the main body, the branches instantly stopped moving and started to fall gradually towards the ground.

Passing through gaps in the falling branches, we increased our altitude and got within Yggdrasil's vicinity. In front of our eyes was a towering gigantic tree that was way too enormous.

"My turn."

Completely fearless, Kili raised her right hand towards the sky.

"—Laevateinn."

Extending a scarlet flash of light towards the sky, Kili swung that flash down like a sword.

The sword of flashing light left a trail on the morning clouds in the sky.

Chopping Yggdrasil's main body vertically, the light sliced into the center of the tree trunk, causing a large explosion. That shockwave caused Yggdrasil's trunk to split apart left and right.

"This time, I will strike the target."

Aiming at the crack in Yggdrasil caused by Kili's attack, Mitsuki released another antimatter arrow.

The pure white light of annihilation erupted from the inside of the trunk. The internally detonated explosion caused Yggdrasil's body to expand greatly. Losing balance, the body gradually collapsed under its own weight.

"It is almost time. Descend to the ground, scatter Ether Wind and attack Yggdrasil's mind using the anti-dragon armament."

Seeing Yggdrasil collapsing, Mitsuki gave orders.

Ren would no longer be able to fly once she passed all her dark matter to me. Furthermore, the anti-dragon armaments had to be secured on the ground for support, which necessitated landing.

"Onii-chan...!"

"Yes, let's start."

Ren held my hand tightly and I gripped back in return.

Unless I followed up on the attack, all we had accomplished was merely destroying Yggdrasil's body. Sooner or later, it would transfer its core to somewhere else.

Hence, before that could happen, we must drag on ''the contents'' to destroy it after obliterating the main body.

Finding a location with good visibility, we landed at a lakeside near Yggdrasil.

Everyone scattered to protect Ren and me. Helped by Tia who was in charge of preventing Yggdrasil's interference, I generated dark matter.

"Fictional armament—Siegfried."

I created the fictional armament shaped like an ornamental gun.

Then Ren placed her hand on Siegfried.

"I will only think about you, Onii-chan, and you will only think about me. That way, I'll definitely be able to give all of it to you."

"—Got it."

While I nodded in response, Ren's dark matter poured in.

It was a massive amount that I had never succeeded in controlling before.

However, my fictional armament expanded in volume in a stable manner without its shape going into disarray.

By thinking of each other strongly, we caused our dark matter to merge without problems.

It felt like Ren's mind was naturally permeating into mine.

My fictional armament grew to several dozens of meters in size within the blink of an eye.

Ordinary matter of that size would be almost impossible to balance or support. But the dark matter forming fictional armaments had the property of responding to thoughts and had no weight.

Consequently, I could support it with no effort, simply by thinking silently in my mind, the enlarged Siegfried remained in midair. Thanks to the electromagnetic barrier Tia deployed for us, the dark matter would not get stolen.

Responding to my will, Siegfried pointed its muzzle towards Yggdrasil.

While aiming, I compressed the dark matter pouring in from Ren inside the fictional armament.

"Onii-chan, just a bit more."

"...Got it."

I focused my mind, not letting the fictional armament collapse.

The fictional armament showed a hint of red color. Perhaps this was the color of Ren's thoughts.

"—This is everything."

Then Ren's dark matter was all poured into my fictional armament.

I turned all that dark matter into a single bullet.

Transmuted into golden particles that caused souls to materialize—

"Ether Bullet!!"

The fictional armament vanished the moment the bullet was shot.

The golden bullet, with everything of Ren's and mine poured in, shot high into the sky. Giving off intense brightness, it then exploded.

Instantly, the sky's color turned from pale blue to a dazzling golden.

Glittering brightly, the radiant particles drifted down from the sky.

It was finer than snow—Like golden diamond dust.

Descending from the sky, the Ether Wind gradually covered Yggdrasil's collapsing main body.

"How is it...?"

I observed the situation with bated breath.

If Director Miyazawa's predictions were true, then Yggdrasil's mind ought to manifest.

Amidst the drifting brightness, an outline gradually surfaced.

A scene just as hoped, but—

"This is... impossible."

Ariella muttered blankly.

The others gasped in surprise.

I did not make a sound, simply shocked by the sight before my eyes—

Yggdrasil's soul was gradually materializing as though flooding out of its collapsed body.

It was an outline of a giant tree, whose branches extended to the other side of the horizon, completely blotting the sky.

Its size was not merely 5000 meters, but much more gigantic.

Seeing its outline cut off unnaturally, I could tell that what the Ether Wind caused to manifest was merely a small portion of the whole.

This gigantic soul, how do we destroy it?

Only then did I realize we were too naive.

Yggdrasil's true nature was a network built from all the plants in the world. On further thought, it would not be strange even if its soul was on the scale of the Earth.

Just as all members of Brynhildr Class were stunned. Kili quietly looked up at Yggdrasil and turned towards me.

"Yuu? Aren't you going to fight? You're destroying that thing, right?"

"—!"

Her words prompted me to regain my senses.

Indeed... By this point, there was no choice but to do it. This was surely Yggdrasil's core without a doubt.

No matter how despaired, for the sake of everyone who had brought me here, I must not give up!

"—Ren, I'm going to borrow dark matter from you again, to construct an anti-dragon armament this time."

"Mm!"

Ren's eyes blazed with fighting spirit. She gripped my right hand firmly.

"Anti-dragon armament Marduk—Psionic multi-barreled cannon, Noah!"

I transmuted the dark matter flowing from Ren into a pre-civilization weapon.

Performing transmutation using blueprints in the mind was much easier than making a fictional armament.

A double-barreled turret appeared on a rotating artillery platform. With a design of glowing lines carved on its surface, the multi-barreled cannon was linked to my consciousness, aimed at Yggdrasil.

As a weapon that amplified and shot out the gunner's thoughts, Noah was effective against spirit bodies which did not interact with ordinary matter. This was already proven during the battle against Hraesvelgr.

—I will defeat you. I won't become your possession!

"Fire!"

Turning strong willpower into energy, Noah's multi-barreled turret fired two shells.

The shells struck the materialized spirit body, causing golden particles to fly into the air.

However, Yggdrasil's spirit body was far too humongous. These tiny shells did not produce much trace of destruction.

"—Fire! Fire! Fire!"

Even so, I still fired relentlessly.

But the more I repeated, the more I realized that my attacks were equivalent to a toy gun against Yggdrasil's spirit body whose size was extraordinary.

Even if I were to shoot dozens, thousands of times, I did not think I would succeed in destroying it.

My consciousness gradually grew hazy because the more I shot, the more mental energy was consumed. Even if I increased the number of turrets like during the battle against Hraesvelgr, it was pointless because my mind's energy was limited as the source.

"Fire—Huff, huff, huff..."

After who knew how many shots had been fired, I breathed heavily. My vision was blurred from the sweat entering my eyes. I could see Yggdrasil's spirit body standing upright, completely unshaken.

"Damn... it..."

There was no time left.

The Ether Wind scattered earlier was fading bit by bit.

"Onii-chan..."

Ren looked up at me with worry.

"I'm fine... I can still shoot."

I feigned vitality and forced myself to answer, then glared at Yggdrasil's spirit body that had appeared due to the golden particles.

I must endure... As the only one capable of attacking spirit bodies, I could not rely on the others.

I had relied so much on them beforehand, so I must accomplish this—

But my knees gave way.

My body was about to fall over forwards.

I slowly approached the ground... But stopped just before my face smashed the ground.

"Huh...?"

I came to my senses only to find Mitsuki, Iris and Tia's face before me.

"Nii-san, are you okay!?"

"Mononobe!"

"Yuu!"

The three voices sustained my consciousness that was about to be cut off.

"—Thank you all."

I thanked them and got up, but this time, I fell backwards.

However, warm hands caught me this time too.

"Goodness gracious, get a grip on yourself and stand properly."

"Do your best, Mononobe-kun."

"Mononobe-kun, hang in there."

Lisa, Firill and Ariella supported my body from behind.

"Sorry. Thanks."

I thanked them. Standing in the distance all alone, Kili asked me:

"Yuu, are you at your limit?"

"No... Not yet. I feel power surging from within."

This was not pretense. I really did feel I could continue to fight fiercely.

My heart felt very warm and it seemed like the mental energy I had depleted had recovered a little.

However, this was surely just my own wishful thinking.

Thoughts or mental energy could not be transferred to others like dark matter.

—When this thought crossed my mind, a question occurred to me.

Really... Is that true?

Who decided that mental energy could not be transmitted? When was it proven?

Through training with Ren, I found out that dark matter from other people consisted of fragments of the mind—fragments of thoughts and feelings.

The transfer of dark matter was equivalent to sending your thoughts to someone. To sustain the psionic multi-barreled cannon, Ren's dark matter continued to flow.

Was dark matter really the only thing Ren was giving me?

Those hands, tightly held together, supporting my heart, perhaps that kind of power would—

"Everyone, can I ask you for a favor?"

I asked the girls.

"What is it? I am willing to do anything in my power for you, Nii-san!"

Mitsuki instantly answered and the others urged me to tell them.

"I hope you will transmit your ''thoughts'' to me using the same principles as dark matter transfer."

I did not know if this would actually pass mental energy over. Even if it could, it would probably serve as merely psychological consolation.

But in order to fight to the very end, I sought everyone's power.

"Thoughts...?"

Iris widened her eyes, cocking her head in puzzlement.

"Yes, lend me your thoughts... the power of your heart and soul."

"—I understand. Just thoughts and feelings, isn't that right?"

Lisa nodded, applying force through her hand that was supporting my back.

"Mononobe-kun... I will think of you as strongly as I can."

Gripping my shoulder firmly, Firill spoke.

"I will cheer for you, Mononobe-kun."

Ariella said while touching my back.

My heart began to warm up. Everyone's thoughts were making me happy. My mind gradually felt satisfied.

Was this mental energy flowing in? Or simply the effect of receiving encouragement? I did not know actually.

But my originally sapped strength surged again, this was the truth.

I slowly took the power received from everyone and poured it into Noah. The lines carved all over the multi-barreled cannon began to glow with dazzling light.

"Tia is always always thinking of Yuu!"

"Nii-san, please accept my thoughts!"

Tia and Mitsuki pressed their hands on my chest, praying strongly.

Then Iris placed her hands on top of theirs.

"Mononobe—"

Iris simply called my name and smiled faintly.

But I could feel it. I could feel Iris' thoughts. I could feel intense feelings that made my chest hot.

Not only Iris but Tia and Mitsuki's emotions and words were giving me power.

The multi-barreled cannon, which converted mental energy into shells, rumbled, giving off light that shone all around.

"Onii-chan...... Don't lose!"

Gripping my right hand tightly, Ren cried out as hard as she could.

Ren's thought flowed into me together with her dark matter.

I could feel the unprecedented power of thoughts, dense and fierce, gradually growing stronger inside the anti-dragon armament.

Everything was poured into this one attack.

Let me fire the thoughts and feelings of insignificant humans towards Yggdrasil.

Let it know that we are living with such fiery emotions in our hearts.

"We're doing it, everyone."

"Yes!"

The girls responded to my call.

Then in unison, we fired our thoughts.

"FIRE!"

An intense glow expanded from the two muzzles, shooting at the sky. While firing, the psionic multi-barreled cannon exploded from within and collapsed.

The two balls of light melded together, forming a gigantic shell, striking Yggdrasil's spirit body.

Immediately exploding with blinding light, golden particles then scattered all over the sky.

The atmosphere shook slightly. The outline of Yggdrasil composed of Ether Wind shook for an instant.

Once the particles scattered and disappeared in the air, I could see a massive hole opened up in the center of Yggdrasil's spirit body.

However, the spirit body showed no signs of overall collapse.

"Damn it! This didn't work either..."

I said with frustration.

"Onii-chan... One more time."

Ren pulled my hand. She did not show any signs of giving up in her expression.

"—Yeah, until it's destroyed, we'll shoot no matter how many times it takes."

I nodded and prepared to construct the anti-dragon armament again, but Kili stopped me.

"No, this is good enough."

Kili approached me and smiled with satisfaction.

"Enough...? Yggdrasil's core consciousness isn't destroyed though."

"But damage has been inflicted, so next is your job—Tia."

Kili patted Tia, who had been lending me power, on the shoulder and said to her.

"Tia's job?"

Tia widened her eyes and stared at Kili.

"You should be able to hear it, right? Yggdrasil's screaming."

"...Yeah, but it's a mess. Can't hear what it's saying."

"That is evidence that the core's functionality is damaged. Given now, Tia, you'll surely prevail over Yggdrasil."

Kili grinned and continued.

"Your pair of horns is not simply for defending against Yggdrasil's interference. It is a weapon existing for the sake of devouring Yggdrasil, a power to enable you to become a dragon."

"The horns are a weapon... Become a dragon—"

Tia touched the horns on her head, apparently thinking of something.

"Against Yggdrasil that's trying to take Yuu's place, just do the same thing to it. Tia, you have that power."

"—Yeah!"

Tia nodded. Looking like she understood what she must do, she constructed her wing-shaped fictional armament on her back.

"Hey Tia!"

Before I could stop her, Tia had already flown into the sky, heading for Yggdrasil.

"Kili, what are you planning to have Tia do!?"

I glared at Kili and asked her what was going on.

"I simply presented a choice. Everything is Tia's own decision. Don't belittle her resolve."

Glared back by her with such intense emotions, I could not help but gasp.

"Mind your own business and quietly watch Tia's battle."

Kili spoke in a sharp tone of voice to stop Lisa and the others from chasing after Tia.

"You will soon know what Tia is about to do."

Staring at Tia in flight, Kili spoke quietly.

Tia arrived at Yggdrasil's spirit body then jumped into the hole I had punctured.

Several seconds later, blindingly bright lightning erupted with Yggdrasil as the center.

===Part 5===

Flying through the air where golden particles drifted, Tia Lightning recalled the first time she met him—the time when she encountered Mononobe Yuu.

Back then, Tia did not quite understand much about herself.

Her parents called her human but demanded her to create gemstones through transmutation.

Later on, Tia and her parents were captured by an armed gang. This time, she was exploited as a D with the power to generate dark matter.

Hence, Tia had asked him—Mononobe Yuu who had rescued her from that armed gang—What am I?

Then with broken speech, he replied in Tia's mother tongue:

'You are a—cute, girl.'

It was a very gentle answer.

Tia wanted to become like that, hoped for herself to become like that, it was the answer Tia desired too.

Tia had always kept those words in her heart.

Meeting Kili, raised to become a dragon, selected by Basilisk—Tia had abandoned that dream once... But after reuniting with him and rescued by Lisa and the others, Tia made a decision as a result.

Tia would live together with Lisa and the others as humans.

To become the cutest girl of all in Mononobe Yuu's eyes—to become his ''wife''.

Then like how he had protected her, she would protect him too.

"Tia will save Yuu!"

Tia generated wind from her fictional armament, a pair of red dragon wings, and charged into the interior of Yggdrasil's spirit body.

Her surroundings were covered by golden particles, so bright that her eyes could almost see nothing. Tia heard Yggdrasil's ''cries'' in her mind.

'Thought, flaw—collapse, reject—reject, reject, reject, repair, prioritize—'

Not just a voice. Through her horns, Tia could sense intangible feelings.

"—It's afraid."

Tia murmured.

Yggdrasil was afraid. Afraid of its consciousness disappearing, afraid of losing its existence, afraid of eath—Extremely extremely frightened.

'Neun—needed, must have—uncertain, ninth authority, one and only—most suitable, survival strategy—'

And it wanted—

To survive, it needed Mononobe Yuu.

Tia could sense this concretely.

Tia did not know what it was afraid of. Yggdrasil's thoughts were fragmented, incomprehensible.

However—

"You're not having him!"

Tia declared to Yggdrasil in no uncertain terms.

"Because Yuu will become Tia's husband!!"

Tia poured all her thoughts into dark matter, transmuting it into electricity then released it.

Tia's consciousness spread as an electromagnetic field, expanding inside of Yggdrasil.

Attacked and damaged by Noah, Yggdrasil's core system had encountered a bug, allowing Tia's consciousness to invade.

Hacking into Yggdrasil, this was precisely the true function of the pair of horns given to Tia.

"...!"

Intense pain struck her head, causing Tia to frown. Yggdrasil was resisting, it was struggling, trying to evict Tia's consciousness that was invading in the form of electrical signals.

"Tia won't lose... This time, Tia will protect Yuu!!"

Using willpower as fangs, turning emotions into claws, Tia bit and ripped apart Yggdrasil's consciousness.

Tia's thoughts were endlessly amplified by the electrical energy obtained through the transmutation of dark matter, gradually conquering the core system.

The golden particles shrouding the surroundings shook. It was a sign that Yggdrasil's spirit body was starting to change.

'—Reject, reject, reject, unacceptable, overload, unacceptable—destroy, reject, reject—!'

Yggdrasil resisted desperately but the CPU had been destroyed physically, the mind was damaged, and right now, its computational power had dropped to its limit.

Conversely, after devouring Yggdrasil's consciousness, Tia's thoughts had acquired overwhelming processing power.

But due to excessive expansion of her ego, her original self turned fuzzy. Having obtained processing power that was originally impossible for humans to have, Tia's mind could not keep up with her thoughts.

"Tia is... what?"

Amidst her expanding ego, her consciousness was wavering.

But his words, carved deeply in her heart, kept Tia's consciousness together.

—You are a—cute, girl.

Tia gritted her teeth and used her dark matter to the limit to use her thoughts to rewrite everything.

"That's right... Tia... Tia will become Yuu's wife!!"

Then her will raced along the network formed from plants, exploring Yggdrasil's true nature.

Then she understood. The power to control electricity was merely one part of Yggdrasil's true nature.

The name of the authority was: Akashic Record.

There, Tia caught a glimpse of ''everything''.

===Part 6===

Composed of golden particles, Yggdrasil's mind twisted and changed in shape.

The gigantic body, never collapsing no matter how many times Noah attacked, changed in form as though melting.

"Tia... What did she do?"

I looked in surprise but I was soon struck by even greater shock.

Shaking, gradually fading away, the Ether Wind proceeded to trace out a certain outline.

Instead of a giant tree, it was the silhouette of a young girl.

"Tia-chan...?"

Iris cried out in surprise.

Indeed—The golden particles were undoubtedly showing the figure of Tia Lightning.

"Looks like it's a success. Tia has already taken control of Yggdrasil's core."

Kili smiled happily and explained to us.

"What... Control of the core?"

Since it was too shocking, I could only repeat like a parrot.

"Yes, capable of outputting thoughts as electrical signals, right now, Tia can electrically interfere with senses, in other words, hack into Yggdrasil then tamper with the core, forcing the system to recognize her as the new core."

Kili replied so nonchalantly, but after seeing the Ether Wind fade away, she smiled.

"From the start, I raised Tia intending to have her devour Yggdrasil. But back then, I had no idea that Yggdrasil was such a terrifying monster. If we had challenged it normally, I think we would've failed already. It's all thanks to you inflicting damage to the core, Yuu, that we succeeded on this occasion."

The golden particles scattered amidst the sky's morning glow.

The particles showing Tia's image also disappeared gradually.

Visible under the particles was Yggdrasil's collapsed remains and a girl with a pair of radiant wings on her back.

Looking up at the young girl flying back to our side, Kili said proudly:

"Look, Yuu, this is the new dragon I raised—Tia Lightning Yggdrasil."

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| Back to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_6_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
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| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_6_Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 6 Chapter 1

2018-01-13T05:30:21Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 1 - Silent Genius==

===Part 1===

Midgard was the stronghold in the southern seas where Ds, people capable of generating and using dark matter, were gathered.

Their powers would awaken with the onset of secondary sex characteristics then disappear when they reached maturity. Hence, the majority of Ds were school-age children.

Hence, an ''academy'' was established at Midgard for the Ds.

The Academy's campus contained all kinds of facilities. There was also a medical building fully equipped with cutting-edge technology.

A week earlier, I was severely injured in the battle against Yggdrasil and admitted to this medical building for treatment, but—

"Principal... I'm getting sleepy. Can we end this here?"

I—Mononobe Yuu—spoke hesitantly to the blue-eyed blonde who was sitting on the bed, face to face with me.

She looked like a petite girl in her teens but was actually Midgard's chief administrator—Charlotte B. Lord.

Dressed in a loose-fitting lab coat, she looked like she was merely "playing doctor" but she actually had a medical license. She was currently my principal physician to conduct treatment for me.

But after arriving at my room under the pretext of diagnosis, she had already stayed for as long as three hours.

"Wait, be quiet, I'm currently thinking."

The principal furrowed her elegant brow, pursing her pink lips, concentrating on her thoughts. Meanwhile, her gaze was focused on the game of Japanese chess on the board between us.

"I'm basically a hospitalized patient, right? I don't think pulling all-nighters is good for my health."

"I've already healed your wound. Since your body is back in full health, keep me company for a while longer. Okay, try this move!"

Smack, the principal moved her chess piece and looked proudly at me.

Yes, my wound originally required a long time to recover completely, but it was all healed now. I was scheduled to go back to school tomorrow.

This was only possible thanks to a "power" possessed by the principal.

She was the "Gray" Vampire—the dragon that controlled other people by using bodily fluids as a medium.

I heard that she had managed human society from the shadows the whole time, preventing humanity from destroying itself. My left arm, controlled by Yggdrasil, was currently at peace only thanks to the principal's power.

But in exchange, my left arm was no longer under my own control either.

"Unfortunately, it's over. Here, checkmate."

I sighed and used my mobile right hand to place my piece in front of the king.

"What!? I can't believe you used a captured piece. That's way too underhanded! You're under my dominance right now, so don't forget I can read your thoughts if I wanted to, okay? But I faced you fair and square without doing that!"

The principal frantically spoke and pointed at the piece I had moved.

"I can't help it even if you call me underhanded, because that's what rules are like for Japanese chess. And I basically explained in the beginning, right?"

"Hmmmm... Looks like I wasn't listening carefully because I was focused on memorizing how the pieces moved. I never expected these factors absent from international chess... This game is more complicated than I imagined."

Arms crossed before her chest, the principal stared at the ended game in chagrin.

"It might be a bit hard playing the first time when you need to memorize lots of things, but I'm actually not that good at chess. Once you get the rules down, Principal, you'll probably play better than me. Besides, I got totally thrashed in international chess just now... Yawn... Then I'm going to bed." 
I cleared up and prepared to put the chessboard away while yawning, but the principal showed displeasure on her face.

"Hold on, one more game. It's too much of a waste to end things here when I went out of my way to order a Japanese chess set just to play with you."

"Can't we just play again next time? I'll be your opponent any time I'm free."

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I tried to convince the principal, but she made a sulking look and started to place the pieces.

"How could I sleep without avenging my defeat?"

"You're such a sore loser..."

Given no choice, I arranged the pieces in their starting positions.

Inside the quiet sickroom late at night, the principal and I began a second game of chess.

"But by the way, it really is so similar."

After capturing my pawn, the principal placed the piece in her hand and murmured.

"Similar to what?"

"Not just defeating the enemy but also bringing them over to your own faction to become part of your strength—Don't you find this very similar to our relationship with dragons?"

Prompted by the principal's question, I thought briefly about it.

"—Yeah, we gain the powers of dragons by defeating them. Conversely, if we lose, dragons would turn Ds into their mates... It really is quite similar to chess now that you point it out."

"I know, right? As a result, a single victory in our war would greatly affect the overall development of the situation. Mitsuki Mononobe defeated the 'Purple' Kraken while you defeated 'White' Leviathan. Replicating their powers was conducive to later victories, but—"

Then the principal showed a gloomy expression.

Understanding what troubled her, I lowered my voice and asked:

"...You're thinking about Iris?" 
My classmate, a lively and straightforward girl—Iris Freyja.

During the battle against Yggdrasil, Iris had used Catastrophe without going through the step of dark matter. There was a fundamental difference between Iris generating Catastrophe directly, versus how Mitsuki and I replicated dragons' powers through transmutation. This difference was so great that it might transcend the boundaries of what it meant to be a D—

"Yes, I was wondering this. Suppose Iris Freyja were to change into a dragon, whose side would she take?"

Looking at the opposing chess pieces on the board, the principal spoke with worry.

While moving my piece forward, I looked into the principal's eyes.

"Iris is human. She's not a monster like Basilisk."

Falling unconscious from my severe injury, during my first conversation with the principal after I woke up, I heard that Iris might turn into a dragon, but I could not accept such a suggestion

"Don't make such a scary face, it's just speculation. Although I've conducted thorough physiological exams on her, I haven't found any anomalous changes in her body. As a result, I've no intention of treating her as a dragon."

The principal smiled wryly and shrugged.

"Good to hear that."

I breathed a sigh of relief but the principal made a serious face in response.

"Compared to what you are, how you live is more important. Bluntly stated, whether someone is a dragon or not is totally irrelevant. On the other hand, you should pay more attention to her and don't let her feel troubled by her own existence."

"—I understand."

After I nodded and answered solemnly, the principal relaxed her expression contentedly.

"I've inherited this title of a dragon too... But I choose to stand on your side, to live this kind of life. I've also gained a friend like you, so I'm very satisfied with my current lifestyle."

The principal's smile conveyed her candid joy. Feeling embarrassed, I avoided eye contact.

"T-The pleasure is all mine..."

Perhaps offended by my reaction, the principal pouted unhappily.

"However, could you quit speaking so formally to me? I'm playing games with you as a friend right now, so there's no need to care about hierarchy, okay?"

"Huh? But even if you say that, I..."

Having spent a long time at NIFL, a place with a clear system of hierarchical relationships, I could not help but speak in a reserved manner to superiors. This had become a kind of habit.

"Hmph, you're taking that respectful attitude again. Fine, I've decided! If I beat you at Japanese chess, you're forbidden to use polite speech with me again. Also, you'll use my nickname of Charl."

"H-Hold on. Principal, you're Midgard's chief administrator. If I call you that, what would other people think?"

"No problem, just address me that way when we're alone. Okay—I'm going to get serious now."

The principal put her smile away and moved her chess piece with a smack.

"...Sure, and if I win, you'll give up, right?"

I sighed and advanced my piece as well.

"What are you talking about? I intend to play until I win."

The principal smiled proudly.

I was rendered speechless and realized that I was probably not getting any sleep until the principal won tonight.

Feeling bright light hurting my eyes behind my eyelids, I opened my eyes.

By the time I knew it, it was already morning. White rays of dawn were streaming in through the window, illuminating the sickroom's interior brightly.

I remember playing Japanese chess with the principal last night...

Tracing back my memories, I recalled the previous night's events.

The principal really refused to give up unless she was victorious. Taking advantage of my drowsy consciousness, she won against me in the third game. I could not remember anything after that, so that was probably when I fell asleep.

Trying to move my body, I felt something weird. My right arm seemed inexplicably heavy.

I turned my head right to see the principal's pretty face. She was lying on my right arm, using it as a pillow, and was staring at me with her gemstone-like eyes.

"What a wonderful morning. Sleeping next to someone else's body warmth is kind of nice, actually."

The principal rubbed her cheek against my arm with a comfortable look on her face, greeting me in a gentle tone of voice.

"What... W-Why are you sleeping here, Principal?"

Despite a moment of speechlessness, I still asked.

"Because you fell asleep last night the moment I won. To make sure you keep the promise, I decided to wait until you woke up. Come, we're alone right now. Don't be shy, call me Charl."

The principal leaned herself against me on the bed, rocking me. A fragrant scent was tickling my nose. Making body contact with a supple body, I felt blood rush to my face and ears.

"Y-You're too close. Please move away a bit."

"I refuse. I won't release you until I get my reward for last night's victory, because I won't tolerate you cheating me out of my reward."

The principal grabbed me even more stubbornly. Things were not going to end at this rate.

"...Got it. I'll keep my promise."

I prepared myself and took a deep breath.

"Good, ready any time."

The principal waited excitedly for me to speak.

Meeting the principal's gaze, I spoke like a friend:

"Good morning, Charl."

Instantly, a smile bloomed all over the principal's face.

"Wow, you did it! Excellent, that's more like my friend!"

The principal rubbed my head happily.

While her delicate fingers combed through my hair, I felt both embarrassed and extremely comfortable. With these indescribable feelings, I exhaled.

"Is this enough?"

"Yes, I'm happy now. Since you listened to my unreasonable demand, I must do everything I can for you in return."

The principal straightened her relaxed expression and continued seriously:

"Ever since the giant tree, ostensibly Yggdrasil, appeared in Japan, the interference power affecting you has been increasing. Even I cannot tell how long I can suppress it, so we must find a way to take down Yggdrasil as soon as possible."

"But didn't you say before that defeating Yggdrasil requires wiping out all plant life from the Earth? Or maybe I should put it this way... If such drastic measures are required to defeat it, what exactly is Yggdrasil?"

I posed a question I had not asked before. It was a bit awkward to speak because I had to intentionally avoid using polite language.

"When I controlled you, I sensed Yggdrasil's true nature... But I don't have proof. Currently, I am asking Asgard's laboratory to perform verification and I believe there will be response soon. I'll tell you the details later."

"Asgard... So it's a research facility of the higher-ups."

Asgard was an international organization in charge of dragon-related policies, the superior agency ruling over Midgard and NIFL. Most likely including the principal's true identity, they were privy to many secrets. Otherwise, Asgard would feel suspicious about how the principal was able to obtain information regarding the truth of Yggdrasil.

"Gathered there are the world's most prominent researchers on dragons, countable on one hand. Believe in me and them, rest properly and wait for the time to act."

"—Got it. I'll believe in you, Charl, and bide my time."

Seeing me nod, the principal smiled contentedly.

But at that moment, the sickroom's door opened.

"Mononobe, it's morning already! Have you woken up?" 
Entering the sickroom was the girl whom the principal and I had discussed last night—Iris Freyja.

"Eh...?"

Iris was originally smiling cheerfully, but the moment she saw us, her expression froze instantly.

My classmates from Brynhildr Class were also showing up behind her.

"Nii-san, I heard you were coming back to class starting today, so I came to pick—"

My little sister of no blood relations—Mononobe Mitsuki. Upon seeing the principal lying in bed with me, her entire person froze.

The price for downloading pre-civilization weapons data from Yggdrasil was that I had lost virtually all my memories beyond three years ago. Hence, I did not have my memories from when Mitsuki and I were still family and more often than not, I did not know what she was thinking—But now was an exception.

Her face was red, eyebrows raised and eyes staring in anger. Anyone could tell what Mitsuki's current emotions were.

"N-Nii-san... What on earth are you doing?"
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v06 027.jpg|thumb]]

Pointing at me, Mitsuki cried out in a trembling voice.

Entering the room after Mitsuki, the others also questioned me with their faces red.

"Mononobe Yuu! What is the meaning of this!?"

Lisa Highwalker glared at me, her long blonde hair almost about to rise vertically.

"Mononobe-kun and the principal... What did you two do?"

Always reading, never showing much change in expression, Firill Crest was showing a terrifying smile.

"No fair that only the principal gets to do this! Tia wants to sleep with Yuu too!"

The young girl with two red horns on her head—Tia Lightning. Only her reason for being angry was different from the others.

"D-Don't do that, Tia. It's not allowed."

Ariella Lu tried to dissuade Tia. Her ribbon-tied ponytail also jumped.

"Mm!"

Ren Miyazawa also kept nodding, her red hair swaying.

"Wait, t-this is a misunderstanding! Listen to me, all of you!"

I frantically tried to find an excuse, but the principal spoke up as though interrupting me:

"—Hmm, it looks like the Academy's students have caught sight of my unseemliness. Actually, I was locked in an intense battle until late last night. Utterly exhausted, I fell asleep with him like this."

The principal got off the bed nimbly and explained the reason to the group.

But after listening to her, all the girls' faces went even redder.

"A-An intense battle until late last night...?"

Repeating the principal's words in shock, Mitsuki looked like she was getting some kind of weird misunderstanding again.

"I'm a bit sleep-deprived... But since there's business matters to handle today, I need to get back to the principal's office first. Work hard on your studies, everyone."

Ignoring the girls' reactions, the principal walked to the door.

The just before exiting the room, she looked back and smiled proudly at me.

"I'll practice seriously from now on and overwhelm you next time. I'll make you scream. Prepare yourself."

Leaving behind words that could easily cause misunderstandings, the principal left the sickroom.

Left behind, I looked in trepidation at the people gathered.

Tia was staring wide-eyed while the others were red in the face, glaring sharply at me.

"Nii-san... Even though I said that impure relations between students were forbidden, I never expected you to make a move on the principal..."

Seeing Mitsuki's clenched fist shaking nonstop, I shook my head and denied in full force.

"I-It's not like that! Last night, we were only playing—"

But Firill interrogated me in a fierce tone of voice after hearing my explanation.

"You were only playing with the principal? A depraved... adult relationship?"

"Stop thinking in wrong directions! My conscience is totally clear!"

Although I explained as much as I could, thanks to deep misunderstandings, it took me a very long time before I could get the girls to accept my explanations.

===Part 2===

"Seriously, Nii-san... Why did you not say so earlier if all you were doing was playing Japanese chess?"

Along the way from the medical building to Brynhildr Class, Mitsuki remarked with displeasure.

"No, I already said it who knows how many times, but you won't believe me..."

I sighed in exhaustion.

"B-Because it sounded too much like an excuse... Oh, putting that aside, how are your injuries, Nii-san?"

Mitsuki changed the subject in embarrassment and shifted her gaze to my left arm and abdomen.

I had changed into my uniform with my left arm in a cast. Although it was covered by clothing, my abdomen was also wrapped in bandages.

"Don't worry. Although my left arm might take a while to heal up, I think the abdomen bandages can be taken off soon."

Although to others, it might look like I had suffered grievous injuries, thanks to the principal's ability, my wounds had long recovered.

The cast was a disguise to mask the immobility of my left arm while my abdomen did not actually need bandaging. For those who neither knew about my relationship with Yggdrasil nor about the principal's power, the cover story was that I had suffered a fracture.

"That is a relief, but please do not overexert yourself. Please observe instead of participating in PE and practical classes."

"Got it. Thanks for worrying about me."

"Eh... Oh, yes."

Hearing me thank her, Mitsuki nodded somewhat in surprise, her cheeks turning red faintly.

Maybe the way I was talking did not sound like myself.

It occurred to me—If I saw Mitsuki as ''family'', I might not be thanking so solemnly in this kind of situation. But having lost my memories, of course I could not possibly know the right answer.

"Mitsuki-san, you worry too much. This level of injury is completely nothing seeing as it is Mononobe Yuu."

Lisa touched my cast from the side.

Due to knowing the whole story, she was also clearly aware that my left arm was uninjured.

"Lisa... So Mononobe-kun is actually that reliable in your view?"

However, Firill interpreted Lisa's words differently and interjected in a playful tone of voice.

"What, I never... Uh, after all, since he is the one who rescued my parents from Yggdrasil's evil grasp, I won't regard him as unreliable, but... Umm..."

Blushing, Lisa seemed especially flustered.

Seeing her reaction, Firill smiled.

"And you two have pretended to be a couple before. I'm a bit jealous... that your relationship with Mononobe-kun has gotten so close all at once."

Saying that, Firill leaned in. I could not help but feel flustered from the contact between her voluptuous bust and my elbow.

"H-Hey, Firill?"

"Listen, Mononobe-kun, even for just a moment, play the part of my boyfriend—or rather, play the part of my prince."

Looking at me with a pleading and endearing expression, Firill made such a suggestion.

"Wait, Firill-san! I simply asked him to play the part of my boyfriend out of necessity, but right now, there is no need for him to play a prince."

Before I could answer, Lisa pulled me away from Firill.

"Eh... That's so unfair, Lisa, hogging everything."

"I-It's not unfair! I am simply maintaining public morals on Mitsuki-san's behalf."

Lisa looked away from Firill's glare of dissatisfaction. Her answer sounded like an excuse.

"Y-Yuu! Tia wants Yuu to play husband character too!"

But this time, Tia pounced on me from behind wrapping her arms around my neck, choking me.

"T-Tia, I-I can't breathe..."

"Don't do that, Tia, Mononobe-kun is still injured."

Seeing the situation, Ariella cautioned Tia.

"Oh, sorry! Does it hurt?"

Tia frantically jumped down and apologized to me in worry.

"No, I'm fine, it was just hard to breathe. Just as Lisa said, this level of injury is nothing."

"Thank goodness, but... Tia is unfit to be a wife, failing to consider husband's injury."

Tia breathed a sigh of relief but got depressed.

"I-It's not like that. I'll feel cheerful as long as I can see you lively and energetic, Tia. No one will say you're unfit to be a wife."

I tried my best to console her. Immediately, Tia looked up at me and said as though examining my face:

"Really? Then... You think so too?"

"Eh, well, of course, but I'm just giving an objective opinion—"

Given what I had already said, I could not refute my own words, so I had to nod ambiguously.

"Objective opinion? Tia doesn't get what that means, but Yuu approves of Tia as wife! Then Yuu, let's get married!"

However, my ambiguous answer did not work on Tia. She raised her arms and cheered with a joyful expression.

"W-Wait, those are totally separate things—"

"Not marrying a wife who's not unfit, that would be weird!"

"Maybe you have a point, but..."

Cornered by Tia's logic, I could not help but take a few steps back.

However, just as I was about to be trapped, someone extended a helping hand.

"Tia-chan, please don't make things difficult for Mononobe."

Iris had intervened in Tia's conversation with me. Arms akimbo, she spoke to Tia.

"Muuu—Iris is always getting in Tia's way. So Iris wants to marry Yuu too, right?"

"Ehhh!? I-I..."

Iris instantly blushed to her ears. She secretly glanced at me from the side.

But as though suddenly realizing something in alarm, she looked in Mitsuki's direction then shook her head hastily.

"N-No, it's not like that. Tia-chan, what I mean is you can't get married at your age. If you make a fuss, you'll be a nuisance to Mononobe..."

Iris answered with a suffering look on her face. Seeing her expression, I felt a stabbing pain in my heart.

Iris knew that "the me before I had lost my memories" used to have an engagement promise with Mitsuki. Because I had told Iris that "the real Mononobe Yuu" probably loved Mitsuki the most.

Ever since, Iris always worried about Mitsuki's feelings. Surely, she was considering what would happen after I recovered my memories.

Currently—Iris and I were deeply in love with each other.

However, Iris seemed to have prepared herself for the ''present'' state of affairs to be lost eventually in the future.

Hence, I was not confident at all whether these current feelings were legitimate, because I could not be certain whether these feelings might waver.

Thus, in the roughly two months that had passed since Iris and I confessed our feelings to each other after the Basilisk battle, our relationship had not advanced a single step. Neither advancing nor regressing, it simply remained stationary while time continued to flow by.

"Feels like Iris never speaks the truth."

Perhaps sensitively noticing Iris' feelings, Tia grumbled with dissatisfaction.

"N-No! I'm not lying! Right, Ariella?"

"Huh? Well—Tia's age definitely cannot marry. I don't think there's a need to rush to get married. You should enjoy the current life more. There's so many things to do before marriage."

Suddenly called out, Ariella answered in a bit of a dilemma.

"Really!? Then what kinds of things need to be done before marriage?"

"W-Well..."

I did not know what Ariella was thinking of, but she went red and stammered ambiguously.

"Hey Ariella, tell Tia!"

Tia tugged Ariella's arm and begged her to answer.

I felt bad for Ariella but breathed a sigh of relief that the subject of conversation had moved on from me.

Perhaps to escape Tia's questioning, Iris also left us in a hurry, going off on her own. Instantly losing someone to talk to, I looked around me with nothing else to do.

We happened to have reached a connecting corridor between buildings, overlooking the school's courtyard and sports ground.

A pile of abandoned scrap, probably from the school festival, could be seen in a corner of the school.

My classmates and I had prepared and opened a Japanese teahouse for the school festival.

Tragically forced to crossdress, pretending to be a couple in front of Lisa's parents, fighting Yggdrasil's clone—Now that I thought about it, those were two extremely busy days.

And only a week of time had elapsed since then.

While I was immersed in reminiscence, I noticed that just like me, Ren was staring out at the school festival scrap.

She looked especially forlorn from the side of her face. Hesitantly, I tried to ask her:

"Ren, what's wrong?"

"......"

She threw a glance at me but did not say a word.

But that was how she always behaved. Ren always answered briefly with an "mm," typed on a terminal, or responded with silence.

I had never had normal ''dialogue'' with Ren so far.

But somehow, I had already grown accustomed to interacting with her without the use of words and language. We were naturally able to achieve communication.

If she responded with silence, it was a signal that she did not wish to broach this subject.

Hence, I did not pry and switched to another topic.

"But anyway, so much happened during the school festival. Ren, did you enjoy yourself?"

"Mm."

This time, she nodded in response.

"What did you find the most fun, Ren?"

Ren thought for a while after hearing my question then typed on her portable terminal and turned the LCD screen towards me.

"—Rossweisse Class' haunted house eh. Yeah, that definitely was a blast."

I read out the words shown on the screen and smiled wryly.

Rossweisse Class was where the youngest Ds in Midgard were gathered. Their haunted house consisted of costumed girls trying to scare visitors, but since all they did was scream and play around, it was not scary at all.

However, simply watching young girls playing around in excitement would bring a smile to one's face—Although it was tiring, I found it to be a fun activity for sure.

"Due to Yggdrasil, the afterparty had to be suspended, but if there's another chance, I'd really like to enjoy thing from start to end completely."

"Mm."

Ren answered in agreement. A bonfire party was originally planned for evening festivities. Without seeing the bonfire, it felt like a proper conclusion was lacking.

"Oh... Now that I think back, there's so many things to do apart from the afterparty. I didn't get to visit all the homerooms, and despite this rare visit from my parents, I didn't even greet them once..."

I sighed heavily.

While I was unconscious after the incident with Major Loki, my parents already left Midgard. Since meeting them directly might expose the fact of my memory loss, in a certain sense, it was quite fortunate.

Even though it was unavoidable, I still could not avoid getting tormented by guilt for feeling "thank goodness" inside.

"......"

This time, Ren responded with silence. However, I got the sense that rather than refusing to answer, she was expressing her empathy for what I felt. The same forlorn expression from earlier surfaced on the side of Ren's face again.

"—Is there someone you want to meet during the school festival, Ren?"

Feeling this inexplicably, I tried to ask her.

Ren's shoulders immediately shook. She looked down as though hesitating on how to answer.

However, it looked like I was not too far off the mark.

I knew nothing about Ren's origins and family background, so I had no idea who she wanted to meet at the school festival, but—

"If you want to see the other person, you'll see them eventually. Don't worry."

I placed my hand on her red hair and encouraged her.

There was no proof but I had a precedent. Mitsuki and I were only able to reunite at Midgard because of the effort she had dedicated towards wanting to see me.

However, Ren kept shaking her head under my palm.

"Oh, sorry."

I thought she hated being touched on the head, so I hastily withdrew my hand.

Ren shook her head again as though saying "that's not what I mean." She typed on her portable terminal then showed me the words.

"...I don't want to see him. I hate that kind of person the most?"

I read out the words on the screen. Ren immediately nodded in confirmation.

"By 'that kind of person'... What kind of person do you mean?"

I asked Ren whom she was referring to.

"..."

However, Ren kept her lips shut tightly without answering the question and looked away.

Evidently, she was not going to say more.

Although Ren's relationship with me had become slightly more harmonious compared to the very beginning, there was still a tall barrier between us.

One day, will I be able to become better friends with her, even to the point of having a ''dialogue'' with her?

While thinking this, I glanced sideways at the young redhaired prodigy.

===Part 3===

The situation changed four days after I resumed attending classes.

"—Twenty-five years ago when the first dragon disaster took place, Japan suffered the most severely as the location where Vritra made its appearance. Although the Greater Tokyo Area was devastated, reconstruction after the fact proceeded quite rapidly because the Japanese delayed resistance and refrained from conducting useless attacks. No signs of the tragedy remain visible anymore. However, other countries chose to fight to the very end. The pollution caused by chemical and nuclear weapons has hampered reconstruction efforts."

During second period, Shinomiya Haruka-sensei was lecturing on modern history.

Her long black ponytail swayed every time she walked back and forth at the lectern.

She was both Midgard's commander and the homeroom teacher of our Brynhildr Class.

"—As you all know, Japan is also the country with the highest incidence of Ds. Hence, during reconstruction, many Asgard facilities were built on reclaimed land along Tokyo Bay's shore. Furthermore, there is a large-scale NIFL base. An important stronghold against dragons, from Tokyo's perspective. The people who promoted the construction of these facilities are Asgard's first leader and Japan's prime minister at the time. This will all be on the exam, so please pay attention. Iris Freyja, given your grades, you don't have the luxury of napping in class, do you?"

"Hwah!? Y-Yes!"

Frequently nodding off to sleep, my neighbor Iris replied frantically at the call of her name.

At this moment, the classroom's door suddenly opened.

"Sorry for interrupting the lesson, but I have an extremely urgent announcement."

Principal Charlotte and her secretary, Mica Stuart-san, showed up. Dressed in a maid uniform as usual, Mica-san was holding a stack of paper.

"Principal, what exactly is the matter?"

Shinomiya-sensei asked with concern.

"—Asgard's First Laboratory in the east has proposed a ''possibility'' that might be able to defeat Yggdrasil. To verify the plan's feasibility, they have asked us to send Mononobe Yuu to assist them."

"Why does Nii-san have to go..."

Mitsuki asked. All eyes gathered upon me.

Seeing everyone's reactions, the principal added to her explanation.

"There is something you have not been informed yet... After defeating Hraesvelgr, Mononobe Yuu gained the ability to replicate Ether Wind using dark matter. When fighting Yggdrasil, that Ether Wind might come in handy."

"What!? When exactly—"

Mitsuki glared at me. Her face seemed to be saying: Why did you not tell me?

"Don't blame him, because during the process of verification experiments, I warned him he must neither disclose the fact nor carelessly generate Ether Wind."

The principal smiled wryly and appeased Mitsuki.

"—In that case, Principal, do you intend to accept their request?"

Shinomiya-sensei went back to the main topic and asked the principal.

"Yes, not just Mononobe Yuu. I intend to send all members of Brynhildr Class to head forth as the Dragon Subjugation Squad. Once it is known that the plan is feasible, you will go directly to strike Yggdrasil. Of course, I will send additional personnel when the time comes."

After the principal replied, Mica-san, who had been standing on the side, walked up instantly.

"These are letters of instructions issued to all of you. Please accompany them as the commanding officer, Haruka-san."

Mica-san distributed the papers in her hand to us. Written on them were orders dispatching us to the Asgard laboratory in Japan, authorizing us to leave Midgard temporarily.

"Instant departure...? Isn't this too rushed?"

After reading the letter of instructions, Shinomiya-sensei frowned.

"If a means to defeat Yggdrasil exists, then it must be carried out as quickly as possible. The Yggdrasil that has appeared on Aokigahara is growing bigger day by day. The range of mechanical anomaly is also expanding gradually. I fear that the longer we delay, the more disadvantageous it will be to us."

"Fair enough, but... somehow, I feel that you seem quite anxious—"

Shinomiya-sensei's words conveyed slight worry.

"...Nothing of that sort. Anyway, you will start preparing to head for Japan immediately."

Although the principal denied what Shinomiya-sensei said, I knew she was lying.

She was anxious for my sake. Along with weapons data, Yggdrasil had transmitted ''something'' akin to a computer virus to my brain. Once the invasive state increased dramatically, even the principal would be unable to stop Yggdrasil from controlling me.

Hence, Yggdrasil must be defeated as soon as possible.

"—Understood. Everyone, we will return to the dormitories to prepare."

Lisa nodded and called for everyone to move.

"Yes! We must get to Japan earlier!"

Iris concurred with a solemn expression.

Since Lisa and Iris knew about my relationship with Yggdrasil, they probably understood the principal's anxiety.

"I agree... Besides, I cannot allow Nii-san to go alone. I have no objections."

Mitsuki agreed with a serious expression. Firill and Tia also nodded.

"The First Laboratory of the Far East Branch... Don't tell me it's..."

But for some reason, Ariella showed a grave expression and muttered to herself.

"Mm..."

Beside her, Ren also made a complicated expression.

"Ariella and Ren, what's wrong?"

I asked out of curiosity, but Ariella smiled wryly and dodged the question.

"Eh? Oh, nothing much. This has nothing to do with you, Mononobe-kun, so don't mind us."

Ariella replied while putting her hand on Ren's shoulder.

"—Don't worry, Ren, I'll be at your side."

"Mm..."

Hearing her say that, Ren nodded lightly in response.

Although seeing them like that worried me, since Ariella said it had nothing to do with me, I could not pry any further.

"Nii-san, let us return to the dorm too."

"Oh, sure."

Urged by Mitsuki, I left Ariella and Ren.

Japan was the country where Mitsuki an I were born and raised.

But to Ariella and Ren, perhaps it was a place of complicated backstories.

===Part 4===

Midgard was a remote island located south of Japan.

Compared to Firill's homeland that we visited before—the Principality of Erlia in Europe—it was not that far away from Japan.

Hence, we took a long-distance transport helicopter directly from Midgard to Japan, but—

"Ooh... I have had enough of this."

Lisa remarked irritably inside the cramped helicopter cabin. The propellers were noisy and even sitting next to Lisa, I could barely hear her voice.

With four of us sitting against each side of the wall, we waited quietly to reach our destination.

Sitting on the opposite row of seats, Mitsuki and the others showed weariness on their faces.

Without large windows inside the cabin to offer a view of the outside scenery, there was a strong sense of isolation. The frequent vibrations caused our arms to shake, making it impossible to kill time through reading.

Even so, Firill still tried to read a book in the beginning, but since that would definitely result in airsickness, I confiscated her book for the time being. My decision was probably correct since she had quickly gotten seasick on a ship.

"Last time's helicopter ride was clearly much more comfortable..."

Sitting on my left, Iris said in boredom.

"Because this is a military transport used by NIFL as well. Unlike civilian transports, comfort is not a consideration, but we'll probably get there soon. Iris, Lisa, just hang in there a bit longer."

Checking the time on my portable terminal, I encouraged the two girls.

We should be almost there. I was still part of NIFL not too long ago, so I was already used to this kind of uncomfortable transport. However, it must be quite a harsh experience for Iris and the other girls.

Most likely, the principal prioritized ''speed'' above all else despite knowing this. Time might be more pressing than I imagined.

I sighed at the sight of my left arm in the cast.

I must not repeat that mistake ever again.

Looking at Lisa's delicate neck while she was sitting on my right, I warned myself.

Controlled by Yggdrasil, I had strangled Lisa's neck, trying to suffocate her. Had the principal not arrived to the rescue, things might have developed past the point of no return.

"...What is it?"

Noticing my gaze, Lisa asked in puzzlement.

"Oh, nothing much... Umm, your neck—I was worried whether any marks were left behind."

Despite feeling embarrassed, I still answered Lisa.

"You still feel guilty about what happened? I'm fine already. Although the finger marks stayed for a while, they're all gone by now."

Lisa replied in exasperation. Her reply was drowned out by the propeller noise. Apart from me, no one heard her.

"I see, that's good to hear."

I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"By the way, just to be clear... Even if marks were left behind, I would not resent you, okay?"

"—I know, because you're so nice, Lisa."

I nodded and smiled wryly but Lisa blushed in embarrassment.

"What!? W-What do you mean by nice? It's not like that, it was simply my own carelessness... You're the one who is nice."

"Huh? Me?"

I was surprised to hear this unexpected response.

"For my sake, you accepted this job to play the part of a couple and even worried this much about me... You are too nice, it's so unfair."

For some reason, Lisa's tone of voice sounded a bit angry.

"No, but playing a couple was part of the deal when you agreed to listen to my troubles, right?"

"Indeed that is true, but even without any terms of exchange, upon seeing me in trouble, you would have agreed to my request either way, right?"

"Well... I guess I would've agreed."

If Lisa really was in trouble, I could not leave her without assistance.

"That is why I'm calling you nice, and because you are such a nice person, I—"

Lisa gazed at me with moistened eyes. Due to the propeller noise, I could not hear what she said at the end.

Then just like that, Lisa rested her head against my shoulder.

"L-Lisa?"

Feeling my heart rate rise, I called her name.

"I feel a bit sleepy. Lend me your shoulder."

"You can sleep in this kind of noise?"

"Indeed, as long as I have my lover's body warmth."

Lisa smiled gently and closed her eyes.

"What—"

"Just kidding."

With her eyes closed, Lisa replied with laughter in her words.

Then she really slept peacefully for real.

Next, someone tugged my clothing from the left side.

I looked over to meet gazes with the pouting Iris.

"What are you and Lisa-chan talking about?"

"U-Umm... Nothing important."

Discussing whether I was nice or not—This sounded too embarrassing, I could not say it out.

"Hmph... Mononobe, you really seem like a real couple with Lisa-chan."

Iris made a jealous look. Then looking at Lisa who was sleeping on my shoulder, she leaned against my other shoulder too.

"Hey, Iris?"

"I'm sleeping too, Mononobe, so don't move."

Saying that, Iris closed her eyes.

With Iris and Lisa leaning against me on both sides, I could not move. Giving up, I served obediently as their pillow.

But suddenly feeling gazes from the front, I looked up.

Seated opposite to us were Mitsuki, Tia and Firill, glaring coldly in my direction.

Although they were showing scary expressions on their faces and seemed to be saying something, I could not hear them due to the propeller noise.

"T-This can't be helped..."

I knew my voice could not reach them but still defended myself and stiffly avoided their gazes.

Ignoring us, Ren and Ariella simply stared into space with frozen expressions.

It was roughly half an hour later when an internal line announced that we had reached the destination.

The helicopter landed on a helipad on the roof of a high-rise building somewhere.

Ending the long journey, we dragged our weary footsteps and got off the helicopter. It was currently 10pm at night. Since the longitude here was similar to Midgard's, there was virtually no time difference.

This was probably the Asgard laboratory located in the Tokyo Bay area. Rows of undecorated pure white buildings surrounded this building, reminiscent of a hospital.

The helicopter instantly flew away after we disembarked. According to Shinomiya-sensei, it was apparently flying to a nearby NIFL base to refuel.

"Kyah!"

A strong gust of wind blew, causing Iris to hold down her hair. Compared to Midgard, the air temperature was much lower, but not to the point of chilliness. My sense of seasons had numbed due to being on a tropical island, but now that it was September, Japan was entering autumn.

The sun had already set in the west. Illuminated by bright streetlights the sky showed a murky purple-red hue. With almost no stars visible, there was only the moon hanging high in night sky with the occasional aircraft lights crossing back and forth. The scenery on the shore was hidden behind deep darkness.

But just by turning my gaze inland, I was instantly greeted by a magnificent scenery of the night. Red lights flashed on the roofs of high-rise buildings. Countless dots of light leaked out from windows, decorating the brightness of urban areas. Rows of connected lights were surely headlights from cars driving on highways.

—This is Tokyo.

My hometown was farther inland. Besides, I had already lost all memories prior to three years ago, so I had no recollection of this scenery, but for some reason, a hint of emotion resembling nostalgia flashed across my heart.

"I only visited Tokyo a few times when I was young, but even so, there is this feeling like returning to my hometown."

Mitsuki seemed to be feeling similar emotions while she remarked with a wry smile.

"Well, it's because we've already left Japan for three years. We'll still feel this way even if it's not a city where we lived."

While looking out at the stars twinkling on the ground, powered by electricity, I concurred with Mitsuki.

In contrast to the city center's dazzling brightness, the reclaimed land on shore was only sparsely illuminated. Many facilities were probably deserted during the night.

"Tia is so happy to come to the country where Yuu was born!"

Tia was originally feeble when she first got off the helicopter, but had recovered her vitality now, bouncing around energetically.

"But by the way... No one came out to receive us."

Lisa looked around. Her long blonde hair was fluttering in the strong gust of evening breeze.

On this roof equipped with a helipad, the only people visible were Shinomiya-sensei and the students of Brynhildr Class.

"Do we have to enter on our own?"

Firill pointed at the stairwell leading to the building's interior.

However, Shinomiya-sensei shook her head.

"No, they said someone will lead the way when I contacted them from the helicopter. Let's wait a while longer."

"...Who will it be?"

Ariella commented quietly.

Ren clutched Ariella's clothing tightly, showing an even more nervous expression than on the helicopter.

Then the stairwell's door finally opened and a man in a lab coat jogged over to us.

"Oh my, sorry about that. I'm late because there was a bit of work I had to finish."

The man scratched his messy hair apologetically, his stubble-covered face smiling.

Ren's expression became stiff the moment he appeared. I did not miss this change.

"I knew it..."

Ariella gnashed her teeth and glared at him sharply. She was giving off aggressive emotions akin to killing intent, causing the mood to tense up.

—Was this someone they knew?

I was intrigued by Ren and Ariella's reactions.

"No, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to receive us. I am Shinomiya Haruka, Midgard's commander and their homeroom teacher. As the leader of the group this time, I am accompanying these students, Mononobe Yuu most of all."

Shinomiya-sensei greeted and extended her hand to the man.

"I am Miyazawa Kenya, the director of this laboratory. Nice to meet you."

Then man introduced himself and shook hands with Shinomiya-sensei.

Miyazawa, the same family name as Ren. Since it was not a rare name, it could be coincidence, but Ren and Ariella's reactions did not seem to be directed towards someone they were meeting for the first time.

Also, I seemed to have heard the name Miyazawa Kenya somewhere before...

"Miyazawa Kenya... Is that not the author of the paper on Ether Wind? If that is the case..."

Mitsuki asked in surprise then glanced in Ren's direction.

Her words prompted me to remember.

In the initial battle against "Yellow" Hraesvelgr, no attacks worked. In order to find a strategy to break through the impasse, Mitsuki had found a paper on Ether Wind written by someone named Miyazawa Kenya.

"Yes, I am. And you are?"

"Forgive me for the late introduction. I am Mononobe Mitsuki, captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad."

Mitsuki lowered her head and bowed, greeting him.

"Mononobe Mitsuki... I see, you are the one with antimatter... I remember you called me during the battle against Hraesvelgr, but I only heard about it after the fact. Unfortunately, due to the timing, I could not answer your call. My utmost apologies."

"No, not at all... The paper alone was enough to inspire me greatly."

"I am very happy to hear that. Since you are here, that means... The girl who can use 'Catastrophe' is present too?"

Miyazawa Kenya swept his gaze over us after saying that.

"—Oh, that would be me."

Iris timidly raised her hand.

"Wow, what unexpected fortune. If possible, may I collect some data?"

"Eh... Well, if there's time."

Miyazawa Kenya's eyes shone with excitement. Intimidated by him, Iris answered vaguely.

"Then you have my thanks. Next—Mononobe Yuu and Tia Lightning, I presume?"

This time, Miyazawa Kenya turned his gaze to Tia and me and confirmed with us.

"You know about us?"

Seeing subtly different emotions in his eyes compared to earlier, I asked with concern.

"Although I don't know your faces, I could tell at a glance. I've always wanted to see you, the only male D and the one who successfully replicated 'Antigravity' and 'Ether Wind,' as well as the girl who was given horns through biogenic transmutation."

He leaned towards us in excitement.

"This man... feels so scary."

Frightened by his forcefulness, Tia hid behind my back.

"Oh sorry, I'm a bit overexcited. But I strongly hope you could assist in my research. Especially your Ether Wind, which might turn out to be a trump card for opposing Yggdrasil."

He stared at me and said.

"Well, that's what we came here for, but why Ether Wind—"

"I'll explain that in detail later. First things first, all of you must recover from the fatigue of long-distance travel. I'll take you to your rooms and the dining hall first."

Saying that, Miyazawa Kenya walked to the stairwell. We were just about to follow when a sharp voice pierced the night breeze.

"Wait."

I looked closer to see Ariella glaring at him in fury.

"What is it?"

"...That's all?"

Ariella questioned him in a low voice. Ren stood by Ariella's side with her head down.

"Hmm...? Aren't you Ariella? And Ren too—So you two came as well."

Ren's shoulders shook.

"In other words, you didn't notice until now? How uninterested in us you must be."

Ariella spoke with a strong tone of sarcasm and hostility.

Not knowing the backstory, Iris and the rest of us could only look at one another awkwardly, but Mitsuki and Shinomiya-sensei's faces showed worry instead of a troubled expression. Perhaps the two of them knew something about Miyazawa Kenya's relationship with Ariella and Ren.

"No, it's not like that. I am very happy for a reunion after so long. But why did you come here? You two are not needed this time."

While we watched, he posed this question with an expression on his face as though he found it unbelievable from the bottom of his heart.

Listening with her head bowed, Ren clenched her tiny fist.

"—!"

In that instant, Ariella kicked the ground.

Closing in with merely one step, she swung her fist sharply in a powerful stride.

Mitsuki and the rest of the girls could not react because Ariella's movements were too fast.

Only I made it in time.

Before Ariella's attack aimed at Miyazawa Kenya's face could land, I caught her fist from the side.

A monotonous thud. I felt a wave of numbness on my right palm.

It was a heavy and acute punch. Ariella had exhibited expert martial arts before. She must have trained somewhere before.

"Calm down, Ariella. I don't know the story but violence is not good behavior."

"..."

Ariella gnashed her teeth and withdrew her fist, but she still glared at him.

Staring blankly at Ariella, Miyazawa Kenya asked without any visible surprise:

"—Are we done? Then let me take you all inside."

He turned around and walked to the stairwell.

Without a doubt, Ariella seriously wanted to punch him, but he was completely unfazed.

He could dodge even if I did not intervene—That did not seem to be the case. Judging from the way he walked, he did not seem versed in martial arts.

"Still the same as always... It doesn't mean anything to him. Whether getting beaten by me—or anything to do with Ren."

Ariella muttered in chagrin. Ren approached her and gripped her sleeve tightly.

"What the heck is going on?"

I kept opening and closing my still-numbed right hand while asking Ariella and Ren.

"Oh—Sorry, Mononobe-kun. Thank you for stopping me. I did something pointless and almost caused trouble to everyone."

Ariella smiled wryly and apologized to me.

"No, it's fine..."

I shook my head to tell her I did not mind. Glaring at Miyazawa Kenya's back as he receded into the distance, Ariella spoke:

"Legally speaking, I am his adopted daughter."

"Huh?"

This sudden confession made me speechless.

"And Ren is his daughter by blood, but we are not family with him. Because he has never tried to be a father to Ren."

Ariella continued to glare at his back, speaking in a fierce tone of voice.

Led by Miyazawa Kenya, we entered the lab through the stairwell then took an elevator to the guest rooms on the eighteenth floor—

Based on the elevator display, this building seemed to have twenty floors.

After we settled into our assigned rooms with our luggage, we were taken to the staff dining hall in the lab.

The dining hall seemed to be self-service. Everyone picked their preferred menu items, picked up their food then took a seat, but the atmosphere was very heavy. This atmosphere had hung around ever since Ariella's reveal.

However, only Miyazawa Kenya seemed unfazed. On his own, he continued to explain the interior of the facility.

"This is an ID card for guests, which also serves as a room keycard, so please take the card that corresponds to your own room. This ID card gives access to the eighteenth floor where the guest rooms are, the tenth floor where this dining hall is located, as well as the ground floor's entrance lobby. You can come and go as you like. I basically won't interfere in your movements, because I wouldn't have granted access to anywhere I don't want you to go in the first place."

After saying that, he placed numbered ID cards on the table. The cards were otherwise unadorned.

Once we had picked up our respective cards, he stood up.

"—So, I'm leaving first because I've already eaten. Despite appearances, I'm very busy. I'll come pick you up once you're done with the meal. The battle plan against Yggdrasil will be explained in the conference room after that."

Then without waiting for our answer, he quickly left the dining hall.

Since he was no longer around, the mood eased up somewhat.

Originally glaring at him, Ariella took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

Due to Ren looking downwards, I could not see her face.

"Then let us begin."

Sitting next to me, Mitsuki announced and we began our meal.

"—So you already knew that Miyazawa Kenya is Ren's father?"

While eating my pork tenderloin cutlet set meal, I quietly asked Mitsuki.

"I already knew beforehand that Ren's father is named Miyazawa Kenya, the scholar who wrote the Ether Wind paper. However, I did not know that he is the director of this lab or about his relationship with Ariella-san and their complicated past."

Mitsuki took a sip of miso soup and answered.

"What happened between him and Ren and Ariella...?"

I whispered while glancing sideways at those two while they were eating.

"You would have to ask them directly."

"I guess you're right... But let's not ask that for the time being."

I smiled wryly to Mitsuki and shook my head.

Ariella had not said a word since what happened earlier. I could tell that she refused to let us pry further. Although Ren was silent as usual, she looked quite unsettled inside.

Given the current mood, trying to get to the bottom of the matter now would truly give one pause.

"Hey Mitsuki-chan, he said we could come and go as we like. Can we go sightseeing?"

As though trying to dispel the heavy atmosphere, Iris asked Mitsuki in a cheerful voice.

"—Shinomiya-sensei, what do you think?"

After thinking briefly, Mitsuki sought Shinomiya-sensei's judgment.

"Please be aware that we are not here for fun. We are currently here to carry out a combat operation against Yggdrasil."

"Y-Yes... I'm sorry."

Hearing Shinomiya-sensei's harsh words, Iris apologized timidly.

"But plans are not yet set. Whether there are days for free time will depend on the schedule. I will consider it based on the situation at the meeting after dinner."

"Oh—That's wonderful! Thank you, Shinomiya-sensei!"

"I'll say this upfront. Don't get your hopes up. It's better if you think of it as a bonus if you do get it."

Although Shinomiya-sensei issued a reminder to the overjoyed Iris, she was also showing signs of a smile on the corners of her lips.

"Nii-san, perhaps we might be able to visit home."

Mitsuki said happily to me.

"Yeah..."

I smiled stiffly and nodded in response.

If I had to be honest, I wanted to avoid it as much as possible due to the risk of my memory loss coming to light if I came into contact with our parents. But I already felt guilty about missing the chance to greet them during the school festival, so I could not refuse.

BOOM!

At this moment, there was a sudden explosion, shaking the entire building. The windows in the dining hall kept vibrating.

"Eh... What happened?"

"An explosion...?"

Firill looked around in puzzlement while Lisa frowned, not knowing what was going on.

"Yuu, look! Outside the window!"

Tia pointed at a window in the dining hall.

Although it was hard to tell from the darkness, there was a plume of dense smoke rising.

The alarm began to sound and the surroundings suddenly got noisy. Armed security guards rushed past in the hallway outside the dining hall.

I stood up from my seat and approached the window. The others followed.

"Looks like... it's no simple fire."

Looking through the window, at the dense smoke rising from the bottom part of the building, I commented.

If this were a fire, they would announce directions and prioritize evacuation. But since they had mobilized armed guards rather than make an announcement, chances were high that this was an external attack, or rather, an invasion.

"Everyone, please remain here on standby before the situation is clarified. But as a precaution against all kinds of situations, materialize your fictional armaments first."

Shinomiya-sensei issued orders to us who were panicking.

"Understood—Brionac!"

Mitsuki instantly responded and created her fictional armament of a bow.

"Caduceus!"

Iris summoned her fictional armament after Mitsuki.

Fictional armament—Siegfried.

I also generated my fiction armament with the appearance of an ornamental gun.

With bated breath, everyone looked out the window.

Next, something suddenly flew out of the dense smoke

It was a shadow rising towards the sky with a tail of red flame—

"Just now... What was that?"

Ariella asked in amazement but no one could answer the question.

Since it happened for such a brief instant, I could not capture the object's appearance clearly either.

But when I looked at the gradually receding red flame, I noticed the object was turning around high in the sky and coming towards us.

"M-Mononobe! It's heading here!"

Iris shook my shoulders in a panic.

"Get away from the window, everyone!"

At Mitsuki's orders, we all kept our distance from the window. Just at that moment, the descending flame stopped outside the window.

Only then did we realize the shadow's true identity.

Wrapped in burning red flames, using them as a means of propulsion to hover in the air was a girl with long fluttering black hair. In addition, there was a blond young man hugging her waist.

I knew their names.

"Kili... and John?"

Overcome with surprise, I called their names.

The black-haired girl was Kili Surtr Muspelheim, the leader of the dragon cult, the Sons of Muspell. At the same time, she was also a D who was deemed a disaster.

The young man was named John Hortensia. Back when I was part of NIFL and the captain of the special forces team named Sleipnir, he was the sniper under my command.

I had heard from my former commanding officer, Major Loki, that John had been abducted in the Principality of Erlia. It turned out that they really were together.

Kili smiled proudly on the other side of the window as soon as she made eye contact with me.

Immediately, the window glass glowed red from heat and melted like candy. Kili's specialty was using dark matter to generate ''heat''. Most likely, she had used high temperature to melt the window glass.

Carrying heat and a burnt smell, the wind blew in through the hole in the melted window glass.

"—Yuu really is here. Your ''eyes'' are amazing indeed."

Kili landed on the window frame and said to John.

"Like I said, I cannot possibly miss the captain's figure."

Despite answering proudly, John looked somewhat unimpressive because he was still clinging to Kili's waist. But since he was still suspended in midair, he could not just let go.

"Why are you two here...?"

I asked this question in surprise. Kili turned her gaze to me and smiled.

"We are searching for something. Currently, we are searching every Asgard lab and NIFL base in Japan."

"What... Then you caused the explosion just now?"

"Yes, we made an emergency escape because we were discovered. We were planning to escape just like that, but because Jeanne-chan said she saw you—"

"Hey Kili!"

John cried out frantically.

"...Jeanne-chan?"

Hearing Kili, I frowned in puzzlement.

"Oh sorry, I made a mistake. Speaking of which, your name is John."

Kili spoke suggestively while John gnashed his teeth, looking like he was holding his anger back.

"I'll make you pay later..."

"Fufu, how scary. I won't get it wrong again, so please forgive me—John."

Kili replied gleefully.

Watching their interactions, I felt troubled.

"You two seem to be getting along quite well. I heard from Major Loki you were abducted by Kili... Don't tell me that you're working with Kili voluntarily, John?"

"T-That's a misunderstanding! Captain! This bitch took me away by force... Although it's true I'm currently assisting her, I'm not getting along with her at all—"

Stuttering, John tried to explain the story.

But many footsteps approached from the hallway then security guards rushed into the dining hall.

"Freeze! Surrender now!"

The guards pointed guns at them and issued a warning.

Judging from their equipment, they might be soldiers sent from NIFL. As an international organization, Asgard's premises were not bound by Japanese laws. If necessary, they could shoot without hesitation.

However, even if that was the case, their opponents were not to be underestimated this time.

"Shut up."

Kili glared at them. Instantly, the guns in their hands glowed red-hot and melted like the window just now.

"Uwah!?"

The guards hastily let go and the guns fell to the ground. Then the gunpowder inside exploded.

This was Kili's Muspelheim. By spreading dark matter, too small to be seen by the naked eye, throughout space, this method of fighting allowed her to generate high temperatures at will without any preparatory motion.

"With people in the way, we'll talk next time. Since you're in Japan, there will be other opportunities."

Saying that, Kili stepped on the window frame and jumped into the air.

"H-Hey!"

"Seeya."

Giggling, Kili waved goodbye and flew high in the air, taking John with her.

Even Kili and John had come to Japan...

Watching the trail of red flames, I felt a premonition that an even bigger storm was brewing.

===Part 5===

"—This place got busy no sooner than you arrived. But to think the intruder was Kili, the leader of the Sons of Muspell... It's such a shame I didn't get to see her."

Saying that, Miyazawa Kenya honestly looked like he found it quite a shame.

We were located at a conference room located on the same floor as the dining hall.

He had arrived immediately after Kili and John had left, then taken us here while we were perplexed by the sudden situation.

"You... want to see Kili? But she's a dangerous character deemed a disaster, you know?"

Surprised by what he said, I asked him.

"I heard she is currently the only D capable of biogenic transmutation. As a research subject, it's very interesting."

He insisted with added emphasis in tone. Ariella glared at him coldly and said to me:

"Mononobe-kun, this guy isn't interested in anything outside of research."

"...Looks like it."

I sighed and decided he and I had different values.

Back to him, Ren was silently looking out the window.

"It's unfortunate that data on Kili could not be obtained, but let's have a chance of pace. Come, please listen to the plan I've conceived to defeat Yggdrasil."

Miyazawa Kenya entered the main topic seriously.

When he operated the laptop by his side, the lights dimmed in the room dimmed and a white screen was lowered from the ceiling.

Shown on it was the image of a giant tree.

"This is an image of the Yggdrasil that has appeared in Aokigahara. Compared to when it was making the Germany-Denmark border its territory, its size is roughly ten times larger. Currently at a height of 5000 meters, it continues to grow."

"5000 meters..."

I could not help but gasp because it was too enormous.

"Although I have my opinions on Yggdrasil's choice of location and the reason for its rapid growth... Let's put that aside for now. The issue here is what kind of existence Yggdrasil is."

After saying that, he switched the image on the screen.

The screen showed the appearance of Yggdrasil that we had fought recently at Midgard. Although its massive body exceeded fifteen meters in height, it was dwarfed by the image we saw earlier. The "mass of vines" produced from my dark matter had expanded to this state after absorbing the fictional armaments of Iris and the other girls.

"To you all, it must have been a huge disaster for Yggdrasil to suddenly appear at Midgard. But thanks to that, we were able to obtain plenty of valuable data. The fact that Yggdrasil relies on the application of electrical interference to tamper with dark matter, this is a new discovery. In addition, the renowned dragon researcher—Principal Charlotte B. Lord—also proposed an extremely interesting 'hypothesis.'"

He spoke quite suggestively.

This so-called "hypothesis proposed by the principal" was probably what she sensed regarding "Yggdrasil's true nature" through her power of dominance.

Miyazawa Kenya was probably one of the few people privy to the principal's true identity. Unless one knew the principal possessed special powers, her hypothesis would become completely baseless.

"We tested that hypothesis and conducted verification. Finally, the full picture of this being known as Yggdrasil has surfaced. It is... the core consciousness of all plants on Earth."

"Core consciousness?"

Hearing this unfamiliar term, I could not help but frown.

But "all plants" reminded me of what I had heard from the principal.

The principal had said: Defeating Yggdrasil requires wiping all plant life off the entire planet.

"For example, Yggdrasil might be considered an operating system... of a biological computer built from a network of all plant life. We have observed that Yggdrasil will transmit weak electrical signals to nearby plants."

We exchanged glances with one another after hearing what he said. Iris and Tia only stared wide-eyed, evidently not understanding, tilting their heads in puzzlement.

The others seemed to grasp the rough principles, but Shinomiya-sensei seemed to disagree and asked a question:

"A computer of plants... That would mean that plant life itself is a dragon. But Midgard has plants to begin with. If Yggdrasil was hostile to us, it should be able to take action earlier, right?"

Immediately, Miyazawa Kenya explained proudly as though praising her question for being a good one.

"Things are not that simple. According to the results of observations, the surrounding plants show no signs of high-level information processing. From this, it can be seen that the giant tree known as Yggdrasil is the only part possessing information processing ability. That true is both the CPU and Yggdrasil's main body. All other plants are like external memory. Hence, one could deduce that only the main body is self-aware and capable of action."

After listening to him, Lisa leaned forward emotionally and spoke:

"Then all we need to do is defeat that main body!?"

She was probably this anxious because she knew about my situation.

However, Miyazawa Kenya shook his head.

"No, Yggdrasil disappeared together with Hekatonkheir on the Germany-Denmark border, but after that, just as you all know, it appeared in Midgard. Then after its defeat, it appeared in Japan like this. Simply destroying the main body does not solve the problem."

"Indeed that is true..."

Lisa's tone weakened while she bit her lip anxiously.

"Yggdrasil's consciousness most likely exists on the network formed by all plants. Even if the CPU, its main body, is destroyed, another plant will simply become the new CPU. Although destroying a mature CPU would definitely weaken Yggdrasil's abilities... The effects might only last for a limited time."

"I-Isn't that the same as saying Yggdrasil cannot be defeated unless all plant life is exterminated!?"

Lisa went pale and exclaimed hoarsely.

Only now did I understand what the principal meant.

"Indeed, the method you described is the only way to eliminate Yggdrasil from the root. But that method is close to impossible. Even if it could be done, humans cannot survive in a world where plants have been eradicated."

Without changing his tone, Miyazawa Kenya calmly told of despairing speculation.

"However, you have an idea, right?"

Calmly listening to his explanations, Firill asked Miyazawa Kenya in a serious tone of voice.

"Yes, of course. That's precisely why I requested for Mononobe Yuu to be sent here."

He turned his gaze towards me and smiled.

"Is there something I can do?"

After listening to all the explanations so far, I did not feel that there was anything I could help.

"Yes, you are currently the only one who can replicate Hraesvelgr's ability—Ether Wind. I believe it will be the key to defeating Yggdrasil."

"Why Ether Wind...?"

Hearing my question of incomprehension, he changed the screen.

Dimming briefly, the screen then showed an image of the Hraesvelgr battle. The picture showed Hraesvelgr enveloped in golden particles as well as us, about to strike it down with anti-dragon armaments... Someone had evidently recorded the battle in detail.

"Mind and body—Living organisms cannot function normally unless both are maintained in healthy states. Since Yggdrasil's physical body cannot be eliminated, just destroy its mind. It is possible as long as we have your Ether Wind and the weapon that penetrated the 'soul coating' surrounding Hraesvelgr."

Miyazawa Kenya pointed at my anti-dragon armament on the image and asserted clearly.

Shinomiya-sensei's eyebrow moved as though she had noticed something. She urged Miyazawa Kenya to continue.

"Director Miyazawa, could you explain in greater detail?"

"It's actually not that hard to understand. The plan itself is very simple. First, obliterate the majority of Yggdrasil's main body, then spread Ether Wind. After that, if Yggdrasil's mind—the soul—materializes, use the weapon that defeated Hraesvelgr to physically destroy Yggdrasil's soul. That's all."

After listening to his explanation, everyone gasped.

If the main body could be switched endlessly, just destroy Yggdrasil's intangible consciousness itself—I believed that this approach was correct in theory, but...

"That method... Will it really work that smoothly? Given Nii-san's dark matter generating capacity, will there be enough Ether Wind to spread around...?"

Mitsuki turned her gaze at me. I smiled wryly at her in return.

"Definitely—my generating capacity is too little."

Converted into mass after transmutation, the amount of dark matter I could generate at a time was roughly ten kilograms. Compared to an average D's capacity of ten tons at least, the paucity of my generating capacity stood in even greater contrast.

Even after hearing such a question, Miyazawa Kenya remained unfazed. Smiling, he said:

"Your worries are very normal. Hence, in order to review whether this plan is feasible or not, I must first collect more detailed data. If possible, it would be best to start immediately."

He looked at me with eyes filled with anticipation. I sensed that his motivation stemmed more strongly from curiosity and his interests as a researcher than for the sake of the battle plan. However, I had no objections to getting started as soon as possible, because based on what the principal had said, time was running out.

"I understand."

"Wow, thank you. If possible, I would also like to have Tia-kun, Mitsuki-kun and Iris-kun's assistance. Although there is no direct relation to the battle plan, the uniqueness you possess might provide breakthroughs to problems."

He thanked me and sought the cooperation of Tia and the others.

"Tia will go along with Yuu!"

"Me too, if Mononobe is going, I'm coming along too..."

Tia and Iris agreed, but Mitsuki looked at Shinomiya-sensei and asked:

"Shinomiya-sensei, what do you think?"

"I will permit it so long as the examinations do not burden the students' bodies or mind. If you intend to conduct suspicious experiments, I will stop you immediately."

Shinomiya-sensei declared to him in a fierce tone of voice.

"I understand. I only need to examine the matter they create and carry out oral interviews. I promise not to use any drugs or touch a single hair of theirs."

He answered in a relaxed tone of voice then stood up.

"Then please follow me. I will take you to the examination room in the research area."

But just as he was about to exit the room, Lisa called to him.

"Excuse me... What about us?"

Lisa, Firill, Ariella and Ren were not named by him just now.

He swept his gaze across them then said in apparent disinterest.

"Oh, I don't particularly need data from you, so you may return to your rooms."

"...!"

Hearing his reply, Ariella gnashed her teeth in anger. Ren kept her head down and did not react. Although I did not know what had happened between him and Ariella and Ren, I could understand that his words had hurt them. Including me, everyone was glaring at him as though condemning him.

"...? What's the matter?"

However, he was not fazed the least. He probably was not even aware that his words had hurt Ariella and Ren.

"—Then we'll be on our way. Let's go, everyone."

Firill spoke to smooth things out. As though to appease Ariella, Lisa placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ariella-san, Ren-san, let us depart."

Hearing Lisa, Ren nodded lightly.

Thus, Lisa, Firill, Ariella and Ren quietly left the conference room. After that, the rest of us followed Miyazawa Kenya to the research area.

===Part 6===

Leading us to take the elevator, Miyazawa Kenya swiped his own ID card on the panel. Immediately, all the floor buttons lit up.

Access to different floors by elevator was probably restricted based on each ID card's authority.

He pressed the button for the third floor underground. From what I could see, this building seemed to have five levels underground at most.

After reaching the third floor underground, we walked out of the elevator and looked around. A dark corridor extended into the distance. Apart from faint air conditioning noises, there was no sound at all. It was especially quiet.

"This way please."

He walked in the lead with Shinomiya-sensei, Mitsuki, Tia, Iris and I following in that order.

"It feels a bit scary..."

Feeling an atmosphere different from the dining hall floor, Tia commented uneasily.

"It does feel slightly creepy... Or rather, I would describe this atmosphere as like a hospital at night."

Mitsuki looked down the deserted corridor and remarked.

"So many crossroads. I'll definitely get lost if I came alone."

Iris looked left and right at a set of crossroads, squinting.

"Don't run around randomly, okay? If you end up somewhere weird and the alarm sounds, the guards might come rushing straight away."

"Yeah, in that case—I'll hold on to you, Mononobe."

Iris nodded then paying attention to Mitsuki and the others in front, she hugged my arm.

Feeling my elbow against Iris' soft bosom, my heart rate began to quicken.

"H-Hey."

"If anyone looks back, I'll let go, so please, I want to act like a couple with you, Mononobe."

Iris whispered quietly so that only I could hear, then hugged my arm even more tightly. Feeling my arm sandwiched between those beautifully shaped breasts, my blood rushed to my face. Iris was apparently still bothered by what happened on the helicopter ride.

"—Got it."

I smiled wryly and agreed. Iris then happily leaned her forehead against my shoulder.

Since I must pay attention in front while walking along the corridor, I felt especially nervous.

"This feels so exciting, Mononobe."

Perhaps feeling the same as me, Iris smiled mischievously and whispered softly.

Seeing her like that, I suddenly thought—Speaking of which, if Iris were to be examined as she was now, wouldn't that be bad?

"Iris, after the battle against Yggdrasil, did you ever try using Catastrophe?"

"No, not even once. The principal said it was very dangerous and asked me not to use it on my own."

Iris shook her head so I asked her:

"Iris, do you still remember... how you used Catastrophe?"

"Let me tell you... Honestly, I can't remember at all, because I was in a trance at the time."

Iris drew near my face and answered quietly.

As expected, Iris did not seem to have realized herself that she had used Catastrophe without going through the step of dark matter.

In that case, if the following examinations brought this to light, Iris might feel quite troubled. Moreover, if Asgard were to learn of this truth, it might be very bad.

The principal had said that Iris might become a dragon. If Miyazawa Kenya or Asgard were to see her in the same way, Iris might be in a dangerous position.

"Iris, if that's the case, could you not use Catastrophe during the tests? Because we should obey the principal, Midgard's chief administrator, above all else."

"Oh... I guess that's true. If you didn't remind me, Mononobe, I probably would've wanted to use it. Thank you, Mononobe. Then I won't try a real demonstration."

Although I found the reason a bit contrived, Iris accepted it honestly and thanked me.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v06 083.jpg|thumb]]

I breathed a sigh of relief. Now, Iris' secret would not be leaked.

"—We've arrived. Please enter."

We happened to reach the examination room at this time. Iris and I hastily separated and entered the room at Miyazawa Kenya's urging. Instantly, the smell of antiseptics struck my nose. The plain white room contained many examination devices. There was a spacious room next door separated by glass.

"Then let us hurry and collect data. You'll start first. Please enter the examination room over there and show me Ether Wind."

He pointed at the examination room and looked at me with fervent anticipation like he could not wait. I nodded and entered the room that was isolated by the glass.

Fictional armament—Siegfried.

Then I used my dark matter, which was maintained in the shape of a gun, to transmute Ether Wind.

"Ether Bullet."

Golden particles were shot out as a bullet then exploded.

'Splendid... This is precisely Hraesvelgr's—'

I could hear Miyazawa Kenya's voice through a microphone.

Through the glass, I could see his expression twisting in joy.

His expression gave me a creepy feeling. Indescribable unease surged in my heart.

Following Miyazawa Kenya's instructions, I performed transmutation inside the examination room then answered questions based on the data afterwards. The examination was this simple.

He seemed quite disappointed about Iris refusing to try out Catastrophe, but it could not be helped. Surprisingly, he spent the most time on interviewing Tia.

"—I heard that Kili gave you your horns. Could you tell me in detail what happened before and after that?"

Just as when I used Ether Wind, his eyes displayed a strong desire for exploration while he asked Tia questions. I listened closely because it was also my first time hearing her talk about this topic in detail.

"Umm, she first gave me an injection to prevent pain... Then I felt sleepy. When I woke up, the horns were already there."

"I see... Since anesthetics were required, it meant that the process probably strained you substantially. Did Kili say anything about your horns?"

When he asked that, Tia went "hmm..." for a while.

"Kili said that these horns were for making Tia become a dragon."

"To become a dragon, these words could be interpreted in so many ways. What else... Did she say anything about how these horns should be used, for example?"

"Used... Oh, come to think of it, Kili seems to have said—'We will fight together when you're able to use these horns!' She said that we needed to fight to become real dragons!"

Hearing Tia's answer, his eyes flashed with the light of excitement.

"In other words, your horns are for fighting a certain existence? What exactly is the opponent? Also, what does a 'real dragon' mean?"

Tia shook her head in puzzlement at his additional questions.

"Dunno. When Tia's dragon mark turned red, Kili said 'Since you will become a Basilisk, those horns probably won't be needed'... Apart from that, she refused to say anything more."

"Right, you were targeted by Basilisk initially. In other words, you almost became a dragon, in a manner contrary to Kili's original intent, but because they defeated Basilisk successfully, you are still a D..."

He glanced at us, slightly regretful in tone, as though he felt disappointed that Tia was a ordinary D.

"I guess I must ask Kili if I want to know more. Thank you for your assistance."

Saying that, he ended the questions for Tia.

Since his inquiry of me, Mitsuki and Iris had finished, all examinations concluded here.

The whole thing took roughly an hour.

Things ended earlier than originally expected. I exhaled.

"Then how are the results? After these tests, do you think the previously mentioned plan to strike Yggdrasil is possible to carry out?"

Mitsuki asked him while he was summarizing the results.

"Well, if the original plan were to be followed exactly, success is impossible."

"Eh..."

Seeing him give a negative answer so readily, Mitsuki was speechless for a moment.

"I just confirmed with him earlier. When the soul of the previous King of Erlia manifested due to Hraesvelgr's Ether Wind, its size was roughly the size of a human. In other words, the size of a soul might very well be proportional to the size of the physical body. In that case, the amount of Ether Wind he can create at a time is still not enough."

Miyazawa Kenya looked at me while replying.

"No way... Then what should we do—"

Iris said with melancholy on her face.

"No, I don't think you need to be that pessimistic. If there is a shortage, just add extra supply. You Ds are capable of lending dark matter to one another, aren't you?"

"Oh, that's right! Tia just needs to lend dark matter to Yuu!"

Tia raised her arms and cheered.

Indeed, this problem would be solved just by borrowing dark matter, however—

"Tia, controlling other people's dark matter is very hard. I don't know if I'll be able to do it..."

"Really? I heard that you always borrowed dark matter from others to construct giant weapons..."

Hearing what I said, Miyazawa Kenya asked in disbelief.

"I can't explain it very well... But this is different from the principles of weapon creation. Even if you ask me to try right now, it'll probably fail."

When creating weapons, I performed transmutation according to the data downloaded from Yggdrasil. Due to clear blueprints, it was possible to forcibly filter other people's dark matter through the blueprints.

But when using my own imagination as the base to perform transmutation, there would be ambiguous portions no matter what. If interference from the dark matter lender was added to the mix, the transmutation process would fail.

Lisa had trained in borrowing Ren's dark matter prior to the Basilisk battle, but it was still quite an arduous struggle. This was despite the fact that they had already accumulated vast amounts of dark matter training even before my transfer to the Academy—

"Hmm... But it's not impossible, right? Then all I can do is ask you to do your best. Regarding the prior stage of destroying Yggdrasil's main body, it should be achievable just by using antimatter or Catastrophe, so please do your best for the rest."

He finished as though it was no concern to him, then turned his back to us and started clearing up the examination room.

"Hold on, is there no other way?"

Shinomiya-sensei asked him frantically but he replied without even looking back:

"None. This is the only battle plan I can offer. But if alternatives occur to me during the process of data analysis, I will let you know. Okay—Let me take you back to the elevator."

Switching off the lights in the room, he ushered us to the corridor.

While walking, he still continued to browse our examination records on the tablet on his hand.

He no longer looked at us, simply muttering to himself while walking quickly along the dim corridor. Just as Ariella said, he was only interested in his own research.

Perhaps he was simply using the Yggdrasil matter as an excuse to collect data from us.

"Looks like we can only rely on ourselves for the concrete battle plan."

Mitsuki remarked while staring at Miyazawa Kenya's back.

"Yeah... Can you think of a solution?"

"This will depend you, Nii-san, because the plan is based on Ether Wind and the anti-dragon armament that defeated Hraesvelgr."

Seeing Mitsuki's expression of unease, I smiled wryly in response.

"I'll do everything I can even though I don't know if my power is enough."

Currently, that was all I could say.

But since Yggdrasil was an enemy... I could not use a new anti-dragon armament to reverse the situation as before. If I tried to download new weapons data, Yggdrasil really might try to take over my body this time.

"...You did not say those words this time, Nii-san."

Mitsuki commented with slight incredulity.

"Which words?"

"—Leave everything to me."

I was shocked inside to hear what Mitsuki pointed out.

If the original "Mononobe Yuu" were here, would it be that kind of scene right now...? Or was I feeling uneasy because I could no longer rely on Yggdrasil?

"...I guess I'm a bit afraid. Sorry, I should pull myself together."

Hearing me apologize, Mitsuki smiled for some reason.

"No, it is fine. Nii-san, you should be more afraid, because that reassures me more."

Mitsuki shook her head slowly. She seemed to believe this sincerely.

===Part 7===

"—We have to do our best on our own. That guy hasn't changed at all. He actually doesn't care about Yggdrasil, I think."

After hearing from Mitsuki what happened at the examination room, Ariella spoked as though spitting.

"...Mm."

Ren also nodded faintly to express agreement.

We were currently on the eighteenth floor of the laboratory, in the guestroom assigned to Mitsuki.

Including Shinomiya-sensei, all nine of us were gathered in the room for a strategizing meeting about how to fight Yggdrasil.

"However, we have already obtained the necessary information. It is also true that what follows is our own job. Hence, let us first consider how to defeat Yggdrasil."

Calming down the furious Ariella and Ren, Mitsuki operated her tablet on a table to display Yggdrasil's image.

Sitting side by side on the single bed, the girls looked at Mitsuki.

It felt quite packed with so many people in a one-person room.

But it would be a pain to ask Miyazawa Kenya to let us use the conference room again, so we made the best of what we had and gathered in Mitsuki's room.

Standing by the window overlooking Tokyo's night scenery, I listened to Mitsuki.

"As things stand currently, eliminating Yggdrasil is almost impossible. Hence, just as Director Miyazawa proposed, instead of targeting Yggdrasil's body, destroying its mind to paralyze it would be the most effective measure. However, there are two serious questions—"

Mitsuki shifted her gaze to me and continued:

"The first is Nii-san's dark matter generating capacity, which is probably insufficient to spread enough Ether Wind to materialize Yggdrasil's soul. The other is that of range."

"Range?"

I frowned, not knowing what she meant. Miyazawa Kenya had not mentioned anything about range.

"It is said that electronics act anomalously in the area around Yggdrasil, most likely due to Yggdrasil's electrical interference. Considering what happened in Midgard, our dark matter will very likely be stolen within that interference range."

"In other words, we cannot get close..."

Mitsuki nodded at Lisa's comment.

"Yes, I intend to request for information regarding the precise interference range. But from what I have seen in reports on television, its current interference range might be around fifteen kilometers or so. Furthermore, Yggdrasil continues to grow, which means that range will expand even farther."

"T-Then that means we must attack from very far away?"

Iris asked frantically.

"Indeed. Yggdrasil is gigantic. Although we could use the same method and have Lisa-san snipe from afar as during the Basilisk battle, Nii-san has to be the one to deliver the fatal blow. Nii-san, are you capable of sniping Yggdrasil from fifteen kilometers away?"

I crossed my arms after hearing Mitsuki's question.

With detailed weapons data in my mind, I considered the specs—

"Noah, which had defeated Hraesvelgr, is not a weapon suitable for sniping, because each shot is not very high in firepower. Destroying a target would require a large number of shells. But striking from as far away as fifteen kilometers is very difficult and would lower the power as well. To be honest... It's very hard."

Mitsuki brought her hand to the side of her mouth and said:

"In that case... We must approach as near as possible. If electrical interference is the only obstacle, we will discuss with Director Miyazawa to try coming up with countermeasures."

Shinomiya-sensei spoke up.

"Let me take charge of this part. Although I am reluctant to owe them favors, I will also attempt to contact NIFL."

"Thank you, Shinomiya-sensei. Then let us focus our attention on solving the other problem."

Mitsuki thanked Shinomiya-sensei and turned her gaze to me again.

"Nii-san, please borrow dark matter from Ren-san and try to construct your fictional armament."

"Huh... Borrow from Ren?"

I looked at Ren in surprise.

"!"

As soon as we made eye contact, Ren instantly hid behind Ariella.

"Indeed, Ren-san's dark matter generating capacity is outstandingly enormous even among us. Even so, it is still unknown whether it is enough to materialize Yggdrasil's soul, but I believe that having Ren-san assist in distributing Ether Wind would be the most suitable."

"—You heard her, right? Can I ask you to assist me?"

I lowered my gaze and asked Ren. Somehow, it felt like interacting with a wild animal.

"Come on, Ren, you're not afraid of Mononobe-kun, right?"

At Ariella's urging, Ren walked over to in front of me.

"......Mm."

Then she nodded hesitantly.

"Great, let's start. Fictional armament—Siegfried."

I constructed my fictional armament of an ornamental gun as usual.

"Mm."

Ren placed her hand on Siegfried's unsteady outline.

As a result, a large amount of Ren's dark matter flowed into the fictional armament all at once.

"Guh..."

The fictional armament expanded and became distorted in shape. Unable to maintain its form, Siegfried turned into black bubbles of dark matter and disintegrated.

"—Looks like it is true what Nii-san said previously about the principles being different from weapon creation."

Observing the entire process, Mitsuki showed a troubled look on her face.

"Yeah, it's very hard after all."

I stared at my empty right hand.

"Unless you can maintain other people's dark matter in the state of a fictional armament, you will not be able to perform transmutation freely. Nii-san, please train with Ren-san to achieve fictional armament creation as quickly as possible."

"Well, even if you say that, I... Is it possible to do that in a short amount of time?"

I understood after an actual attempt. Other people's dark matter would not obey ambiguous orders. Unlike weapon blueprints in the mind, constructing a fictional armament based on imagination alone was extremely difficult.

"In the battle against Basilisk, Lisa-san successfully synchronized with Ren-san in short time, so it should not be impossible."

"That's true now that you mention it. What kind of training did Lisa do at the time?"

I asked her to see if there was some sort of trick.

"Training huh? I did practice repeatedly, but I think your issue concerns the stage before that."

Lisa shrugged and answered as though exasperated by me.

"The stage before that?"

"Dark matter from other people carry their thoughts. You might call them fragments of the mind. If you want to control Ren-san's dark matter, you must first know Ren-san herself."

"Understand Ren..."

I looked at the redhaired girl beside me. I definitely did not know her very well.

"Rather than training, it would be better to say that you and Ren-san are lacking in communication. To help you know each other better—Why don't the two of you go out together and have some fun tomorrow?"

Lisa pondered for a moment then made this suggestion.

"Mmmm!"

But Ren went red in the face and shook her head fiercely.

"Hanging out as a pair immediately is setting the bar too high."

Seeing her like that, Ariella smiled wryly.

"In any case, let us all go out together, whereupon you two can communicate as much as possible in the process, how about that?"

"......Mm."

Ren showed a hesitant look but this time, she nodded in agreement.

"Then it is decided. Is there anywhere you would like to go?"

Prompted by Lisa, Ren took out her portable terminal and typed swiftly.

"Mm."

Ren showed us the terminal.

Two words were displayed.

"Amusement park?"

I read out the words and Ren nodded in confirmation with blushing cheeks.

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|-
| Back to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_6_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[Unlimited_Fafnir|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Unlimited_Fafnir:Volume_6_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 5 Chapter 1

2018-01-10T14:50:30Z

AeternisTaciti: /* Part 4 */

==Chapter 1 - Unreturned Memories==

===Part 1===

"Nii-san, wake up! Nii-san!"

Calling me loudly, someone was shaking my body, rousing my consciousness from deep sleep.

When I woke to a start, before my eyes was a familiar face.

A beautiful girl with gorgeous long black hair. Currently, she was pouting childishly. Rather than beautiful, cute would probably be a better description.

She—Mononobe Mitsuki—was my younger sister. Despite having no blood relations, we apparently lived together since childhood as family.

The reason why this sounded so vague was because it was purely knowledge. I lack the basis to support this knowledge... Memories.

I had now lost my memories from when Mitsuki and I were family in the past. To download data on the lost weapon for fighting Hraesvelgr, the price I paid was overwriting all memories prior to three years ago.

Hence, right in front of my face, glaring at me, she was nothing more than just a beautiful girl.

My heart raced. Unable to stare at her eyes directly from up close, I avoided eye contact.

"G-Good morning, Mitsuki."

I greeted her hoarsely.

"Do not give me 'good morning'! It is past 7am, you know? Hurry, get changed and come to the dining hall."

I found the alarm clock next to my pillow by touch and checked the time.

"Oh... I'm so sorry."

Normally, I got up at 6:30am but I seemed to have forgotten to set my alarm.

I frantically tried to get up but I felt a sharp pain when I applied force on my left hand.

"Ow..."

I frowned and drew out my left hand from under the covers, only to see a new swelling near the dragon mark on the back of my left hand.

"This is—"

I remember something similar happening before. Not long after defeating "White" Leviathan, a scar had appeared next to my dragon mark, then after that—I became able to create antigravitational matter.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v05 021.jpg|thumb]]

"Nii-san, what is with that wound?"

However, Mitsuki peered at my left hand, purely worried about me.

"I probably scratched it on something while I was asleep. This isn't anything serious, so don't worry. It'll heal up soon on its own."

Perhaps I might be able to perform new transmutations. Although this was possible, since there was no proof, I simply glossed over it randomly for now. First, I should confer with Principal Charlotte B. Lord since she had suspected a causal link between scars on the dragon mark and obtaining powers.

"No! What if it gets infected? I will bring the first aid kit. Please wait, Nii-san."

Saying that, Mitsuki frantically rushed out of the room without waiting for my answer, apparently forgetting that she was still angry a moment ago.

Left alone in the room, I exhaled.

It was the third day after returning from the Principality of Erlia with the intense showdown against "Yellow" Hraesvelgr.

Finally free of battle fatigue and jet lag, my body had returned to normal.

But I was still unused to playing the role of Mitsuki's older brother properly.

I had not lost my memories at Midgard, so I knew how to get along with Mitsuki. But even so, my acting was still poor.

Mitsuki treated me as family and would interact with me at this kind of distance, but it troubled me and made me involuntarily nervous.

I had considered coming clean to her.

Seeing as I did not consider Mitsuki family on an emotional level, I should not be feeling excessive fear towards hurting her with the truth.

But in actual fact, I could not say it no matter what. Whenever I wanted to bring it up to her, I found myself unable to make a sound.

It was almost like ''the real me'' was holding me by the throat, telling me "don't hurt Mitsuki."

Hence, I was still playing the role of Mitsuki's older brother—while simultaneously tormented with the guilt of continued deceit.

Soon after, Mitsuki returned to the room and placed the first aid kit on the bed.

"Then I shall treat it for you, Nii-san. Please hold out your left hand."

"O-Okay."

As soon as I extended my left hand, Mitsuki grabbed it without hesitation. The feeling of her hand, a size smaller than mine, was making my heart race. Nervousness froze my body.

"It might sting a little, so please endure it."

"Ow!"

I made a small groan reflexively when the antiseptic was applied to the wound. Mitsuki immediately held my hand firmly and smiled gently at me.

"Do not worry, it will be done in a second."

As though coaxing a child, Mitsuki then wiped the antiseptic with cotton and applied a large band-aid to the wound.

"Okay, finished."

Mitsuki released my hand and ended the treatment.

"—Thank you."

"Not at all, you are welcome."

Mitsuki answered with a delighted smile.

"It feels like... you're very happy."

Feeling strange, I asked her. Mitsuki widened her eyes and showed surprise on her face.

"Is that how I look?"

"Yeah."

"Then perhaps it is because—It has been a while since I finally got the chance to look after you, Nii-san. Because lately, you seem to be helping me all the time."

Mitsuki scratched her face, seemingly quite embarrassed and turned her back to me.

"Well then, Nii-san, get changed quickly and come to the dining hall, because I would like to eat breakfast together with you."

Saying that, Mitsuki left the room without looking back.

"Got it, I'm freshen up and get changed as fast as I can."

Touching the band-aid Mitsuki had applied for me, playing the role of her older brother, I replied.

Twenty-five years ago, the first dragon suddenly appeared in the sky above Japan—"Black" Vritra.

Causing massive calamity while moving across the world, Vritra had vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

And starting from that point in time, children possessing the same ability as Vritra's began to be born among humans.

These children were known as Ds.

Just by thinking silently, these Ds were able to generate dark matter that could be transmuted into all kinds of substances. Currently, they were gathered to live at Midgard, an island far south of Japan with a diameter of several kilometers.

But three years ago, instead of Midgard, it was the military organization NIFL, in charge of handling dragon-related matters, that took me in.

I went through combat training at NIFL to become a member of the special forces team Sleipnir. Then for the next three years, I fought as a soldier on various battlefields. One day, I was suddenly reassigned to Midgard, and now, I was studying at the Academy like all the other Ds.

Indeed—Midgard was the self-governed educational institute of the Ds. Since Ds lost their powers after getting pregnant or reaching the age of twenty or so, all Ds at Midgard were at an age meant to attend school.

Life was very fulfilling and full of fun, going to school with people of the same generation. However, if there was one thing I felt unaccustomed to, it was the fact that there were no boys apart from me.

Although the reason was unknown, all Ds were born female. Currently I was the lone exception as a male D with the power to generate dark matter.

Hence, after Mitsuki and I left the dorm and started on our way to school, we became surrounded by school girls when reached the intersection where the road forked off to the girls dormitories.

When I first arrived in Midgard, the girls would stare at me from afar, making me feel very uncomfortable. But after returning from the Principality of Erlia, the situation got uncomfortable in a different sense.

"Kyah—!"

When Mitsuki and I appeared before the commuting school girls, they instantly screamed and cheered.

I jumped in fright instantly while Mitsuki calmly greeted them "Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning!"

Immediately the surrounding girls replied in unison.

Everyone stopped and gazed intently at us. Walking side by side with Mitsuki, I felt uncomfortable all over.

"What's with this situation..."

Hearing my quiet mutterings, Mitsuki looked up and said to me:

"This is the way things are. Because Brynhildr Class is currently regarded as the equivalent of heroes in Midgard."

"What heroes? That's way too exaggerated."

Hearing my answer, Mitsuki exhaled in exasperation.

"You are lacking in self-awareness, Nii-san. In anti-dragon combat so far, Brynhildr Class has always served as the mainstay of our forces. Apart from that, last time, we even defeated Hraesvelgr which was thought to be 'impossible to defeat by group tactics alone,' so being the center of attention is only natural."

"Hmm... Is that the way it works?"

Hraesvelgr was recognized as the hardest foe to deal with. For people to rejoice and feel particularly relieved after finding out that such a dragon had been vanquished, that I could sympathize. When Basilisk was defeated, everyone was ecstatic too.

But I got the feeling that this type of attention was different from last time's.

"But in your case, Nii-san, rather than a hero, it would be better to say you are seen as a prince."

"P-Prince?"

Hearing this term that suited me poorly, I felt quite troubled.

"This stems mostly from your relationship with Firill-san. Ever since returning to Midgard, rumor has it that she talked to many people about you, Nii-san, saying that you are like her Prince Charming—"

For some reason, Mitsuki's tone of voice was somewhat displeased.

Firill was my classmate who got targeted by Hraesvelgr. She was also a princess from the Principality of Erlia. I paid a heavy price to obtain victory in the fight to protect her.

"What Prince Charming, that's even more embarrassing than a hero..."

"However, Nii-san, you look very happy despite your claims on the contrary."

Mitsuki glared coldly and me then murmured quietly:

"...At this rate, someone might violate the rule against inappropriate interactions between the genders. I must pay more attention."

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"—Please pay it no mind. I was simply talking to myself."

Mitsuki replied coldly then quickened her pace.

I tried to ignore the surrounding gazes as much as possible and followed Mitsuki.

"Umm! G-Good morning!"

Along the way, several school girls greeted me. Seeing their eyes flash with excitement, I replied despite feeling troubled.

"Oh, good morning."

"...!"

Immediately, the girls blushed intensely and ran away. This situation repeated itself many times, but for some reason, Mitsuki's mood got increasingly worse.

"Nii-san, surely you must be happy to be so popular, but do not get carried away and disrupt public morals, okay?"

Mitsuki looked up to glare at me and warned.

"I-I know."

Oppressed by her inexplicably intimidating vigor, I nodded involuntarily. Perhaps feeling the tense atmosphere exuded by Mitsuki, fewer students came to talk to me after that.

However, there were also people who would not need to worry about that, namely, our classmates who belonged to Brynhildr Class.

"Oh, it's Yuu and Mitsuki!"

A joyful voice sounded from ahead.

Coming into view in front of us were some of our classmates. Since Mitsuki and I were walking rapidly, we soon caught up to them.

"Good morning, Yuu! Mitsuki!"

The first to notice us was a young girl. She greeted us energetically. Between the strands of her pale hair, which looked pink under the light, two red horns protruded.

This girl was named Tia Lightning. Roughly two months ago, she had gotten out of the dragon-worshiping cult, the Sons of Muspell, taken into custody and sent to Midgard here. Her horns were not decorations but real horns conferred to her through the biogenic transmutation of dark matter by Kili Surtr Muspelheim, the leader of the Sons of Muspell.

Then the other girls in Tia's company greeted us too.

"Good morning, both of you."

Turning around with fluttering long blonde hair was Lisa Highwalker.

Despite her strict attitude towards me, she was a girl who helped others generously and was very considerate for her friends. It would not be a stretch to say that Brynhildr Class was united with her as the center.

"Good morning, Mitsuki, Mononobe-kun."

"Mm."

Next to greet us were the tomboyish Ariella Lu and the reticent redhaired Ren Miyazawa.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning."

Mitsuki and I waved our hands in response.

However, there was one last person present—Firill Crest—holding a paperback in her hand. Instead of greeting us, she silently approached me.

"Firill?"

I looked at Firill doubtfully, only to see her close up her paperback, spread her arms and approach me with a hug.

"What!?"

Hidden under her uniform, two massive bulges pressed against me. That soft sensation was making my face heat up.

Watching from a distance, there was a commotion among girls.

"...Good morning, Mononobe-kun."

Standing on tiptoe, Firill whispered in my ear. Feeling her breath against my ear, my heart jumped intensely.

"Wait, Firill-san! What are you doing suddenly!?"

Mitsuki screamed.

"I'm not doing anything. This is just a hug. An ordinary method of greeting, filled with love."

However, Firill answered nonchalantly in a calm tone of voice.

Despite hearing noisy screams and cheering in the surroundings, she seemed completely unfazed.

"L-Love?"

Intimidated by her forcefulness, Mitsuki could not help but falter.

"It's so unfair that Firill gets a hug! Tia wanna hug too!"

Tia circled around behind me and hugged me from behind. Sandwiched between the two girls, I could not move.

Despite her young age, Tia's body still had feminine curves, no matter how small, and the softness unique to girls. Surrounded by the two girls' body warmth and fragrance, I could not help but feel dizzy.

"Even Tia-san too! Even if it is a greeting, this excessive intimacy is forbidden in public. It is detrimental to public morals!"

Red in the face, Mitsuki forced the two girls to separate from me.

"Mitsuki so stingy!"

Tia grumbled unhappily while Firill backed away obediently.

"Sorry, then I'll pick somewhere without people next time."

However, Firill left behind those words when she returned to Lisa's side.

"That is even more unacceptable!"

Mitsuki yelled angrily, glaring at me with her face blushing to her ears.

"Nii-san, stop letting others have their way with you. Fewer problems would arise if only you could pay more attention."

"I-I'll be more careful."

Intimidated by Mitsuki, I could only nod.

"—Putting that aside, I wonder what's up with Iris? Why hasn't she appeared..."

To change the subject, I looked for the girl who was not here. Including me, Brynhildr Class had a total of eight students. One person was still missing—Iris Freyja.

"Speaking of Iris-san, she overslept. We decided to leave for school first because she did not leave her room and it was getting late."

Lisa sighed while answering me.

"I see... But anyway, I guess she's always like this."

Iris was a bit airheaded, often oversleeping or forgetting things.

"Had I not roused you from bed, Nii-san, you would have overslept too."

Hearing Mitsuki murmur that softly, Lisa looked at me in amazement.

"Don't tell me that you require Mitsuki-san to rouse you from bed every day?"

"N-Not every day. It's just once in a while when I oversleep."

"If you rely on Mitsuki-san to wake you up, that means the same thing. Goodness gracious... If you are still dependent on your younger sister, that means you are not a full-fledged man, got that? Look, your hair is sticking up a bit."

Saying that, Lisa smoothed my hair in a natural motion.

Seeing me and Lisa close together, surrounding girls screamed "kyah!" instantly again. Hearing the screams, Lisa instantly became self-aware and rapidly left me with her face bright red.

"W-What did you make me do!?"

"You're asking me? ...Lisa, you touched my hair on your own."

Feeling a bit shaken inside, I gave a matter-of-fact counterargument.

Watching our interactions, Firill smiled warmly and placed her hand on Lisa's shoulder.

"I understand how you feel, Lisa. Mononobe-kun is clearly so handsome, but he doesn't put up his guard against others. It makes you want to look after him, right?"

"Indeed, perhaps there is that side to him... Wrong, I am simply agreeing with what you said about him lacking vigilance! I don't find him handsome at all!"

Pointing at me with her finger, Lisa spoke in rapid fire.

Then as though trying to hide her reddened face, she turned her back to me and strode off to school.

"Time to go, everyone. If we keep chatting here, all of us will be late."

"Oh, wait for me, Lisa."

Firill ran after Lisa and we followed.

Watching us from afar, the other girls cheered and screamed noisily while resuming on their way.

Looking around, I found that the bystander crowd had increased a lot without me noticing.

I normally only had contact with my classmates, but whenever I was surrounded by girls from other homerooms like this, I got overwhelmed by the totally one-sided gender ratio.

Fortunately, class sizes were less than ten people in Midgard's system. I could not help but feel thankful for this bit of good luck.

===Part 2===

"Iris... is so late."

I arrived at school with Lisa and the others but Iris still did not appear when the bell rang for homeroom to begin.

The seat to my left remained empty. Sitting to my right, Mitsuki also had a worried expression.

"Shinomiya-sensei is already here."

After Mitsuki spoke, the classroom door immediately opened and our homeroom teacher, Shinomiya-sensei, entered.

This woman was Midgard's commander and also held the rank of colonel.

Shinomiya-sensei's black ponytail swayed behind her as she stood at the lectern.

"Rise."

Hence, Mitsuki commanded the class.

After confirming everyone had bowed and sat down, Shinomiya-sensei spoke.

"There are several important announcements today. Before that, let me inform you of Iris Freyja's condition. She is absent with a fever today, probably due to long-distance travel fatigue. If anyone else feels unwell, please report immediately to me and don't strain yourself."

After listening to the teacher, the students began to whisper to one another.

"...So she overslept because of a fever. If only I had checked carefully."

I heard Lisa murmuring in regret.

I worried about Iris too while thinking back to what had happened at the Principality of Erlia.

Iris had tried her hardest to recount to me my shared memories with Mitsuki that I had told her before I lost them, then comforted me, declaring she would definitely help me recover my memories.

Probably due to this psychological burden, she was much more exhausted than the others. Perhaps I was partly to blame for Iris' fever.

"Shinomiya-sensei, can I visit her after school?"

I raised my hand and asked the teacher.

"It's fine for the others, but since you are male... Entering a girls dormitory is rather inconvenient."

However, Shinomiya-sensei showed hesitation.

"Back when I was hospitalized from the battle against Kili, Iris came to visit me, so I'd like to cheer her up a bit."

Even so, I still pleaded with Shinomiya-sensei and did not give up. Arms crossed, she contemplated silently for a while.

"Hmm... Considering your merits during the battle against Hraesvelgr, I suppose a small wish of this sort ought to be indulged. So long as you adhere to my conditions, I can authorize you to visit her."

"Conditions?"

"Yes. Firstly, you must obtain Iris Freyja's consent. Secondly, a student of that dorm must accompany you. Thirdly, you are not allowed to enter unnecessary places. Finally, you must leave the dorm before curfew."

Shinomiya-sensei raised four fingers and spoke.

"I understand."

"Very well. If you obtain Iris Freyja's consent and find someone to accompany you, report back to me during homeroom after sixth period."

After saying that, Shinomiya-sensei swept her gaze around the room once.

"—Any other questions? Then I will begin the announcements."

Shinomiya-sensei cleared her throat, paused for a moment then informed us solemnly.

"First of all, some not so good news. Hekatonkheir seems to have reappeared."

"In the end, it still appeared!?"

Mitsuki remarked with worry.

"Yes, it seems that Hekatonkheir still can't be killed permanently. Although it is not showing any signs of advancing here, we cannot rule out the possibility of it suddenly appearing in Midgard like last time, so please be prepared at all times, everyone."

Shinomiya-sensei demanded everyone's attention with a solemn expression then relaxed her demeanor.

"Then let's talk about the next item, which is not so serious a topic, although it might be a bit laborious for you..."

Shinomiya-sensei looked at us as though enjoying our misfortune.

"By laborious, do you mean we have another mission?"

Lisa asked Shinomiya-sensei.

"Well, in a certain sense, it does count as a special mission. Suggested by the principal—A school festival will be held one month later."

"S-School festival?"

Lisa spoke in puzzlement. The rest of us were equally surprised.

"When Midgard first started operating as a school, the number of Ds was quite small. The only event held was probably just the Christmas party at the end of the year. But now that the number of students and homerooms has increased, it should be possible to hold a relatively lively event—That's what the principal thinks."

After reaching this point in her explanation, Shinomiya-sensei lowered her voice slightly.

"This event was proposed not only for the students but also includes the significance of external promotion. I hope you will treat this school festival as a chance to make up for our mission failure last time."

Make up...?

I frowned, not knowing what this was about.

The last mission was heading to Firill's homeland, the Principality of Erlia, to protect Kili Surtr Muspelheim and transport her to Midgard.

However, Hraesvelgr attacked during the mission. Although we managed to defeat the dragon, Kili went missing.

But what did that have to do with holding a school festival?

"Kili Surtr Muspelheim publicly stated that NIFL has been eliminating anti-social Ds all this time. The influence of that statement still persists. And our inability to protect her has also marred Midgard's credibility. Thus, we are forced to prove to the outside world that Midgard is an educational institute, composed of Ds and founded for Ds."

"Speaking of which, will many external visitors come to attend the school festival?"

After hearing the explanation, Lisa asked.

Indeed, if we had to make a statement to the outside world, there would be no point unless we entertained external visitors.

"Yes, we plan to invite VIPs from various countries, major sponsors, and relatives of students. Naturally, all of them will go through strict background checks."

Relatives—

Hearing this word, I felt my heart jump violently. Having lost my memories from before I was taken to NIFL, I could not even recall the faces of my parents. How was I supposed to face them if they came?

"Nii-san—We might be able to see Father and Mother."

But in contrast to my internal panic, Mitsuki said happily to me.

"...Yeah."
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v5 041.jpg|thumb]]

I smiled clumsily and nodded.

"Every homeroom will be required to prepare an activity for the school festival. Since Iris Freyja is absent today, we will delay the decision for now. I will find another time for you to discuss but before that, please plan your proposals. Also, Mononobe Yuu—"

Shinomiya-sensei called my name at the end.

"Yes?"

Wondering what it was about, I raised my hand and responded.

"The principal apparently wishes to speak to you regarding the school festival. Please report to the principal's office during lunch."

"Got it."

Although I had no idea why she wanted to see me, this was perfect, because I wanted to discuss with the principal about the wound that had appeared next to my dragon mark.

Feeling the band-aid on my left hand that Mitsuki had applied for me, I wondered what the principal wanted to talk to me about—

===Part 3===

When the lunch break arrived, I went to the principal's office as instructed.

The clock tower was where the Academy's important facilities were gathered. Destroyed by Hekatonkheir at one point, it had been rebuilt during our expedition to take down Basilisk. It was only now that I finally stepped into the restored clock tower for the first time.

I originally thought the principal's office might have been relocated, but the internal layout seemed almost identical to before. The principal's office was still on the clock tower's top level.

"—You came at the right time, Mononobe Yuu."

I knocked and entered the room. Originally doing paperwork at her desk, the young blue-eyed blonde instantly looked up. At first glance, she seemed to be a girl the same age or slightly younger than me, but in fact, she was Midgard's chief administrator, Principal Charlotte B. Lord. The woman standing next to her, dressed as a maid, was the principal's secretary, Mica Stuart-san.

This room was the same as when I visited before. The curtains were tightly shut with a dim interior.

"Umm, I heard you wanted to talk to me about the school festival..."

I brought up the subject while feeling slightly nervous.

"Yes, there is one problem regarding the matter of inviting external visitors to take part in the school festival, but before that—"

The principal narrowed her eyes, stood up from her seat and approached me.

"Show me your left hand."

She turned her gaze to the back of my left hand where a band-aid had been applied, then ordered me.

"—Yes."

Impressed by how observant she was, I obediently extended my left hand.

"Is there any change in the dragon mark?"

"Actually, just like last time, a swelling appeared—Oh, hold on, I'll peel it myself."

I stopped the principal who was about to tear it off, and removed the band-aid carefully. To avoid causing Mitsuki unnecessary worry, I intended to put it back on later.

The principal stared at the exposed wound on my left hand then as before, extended her little red tongue and licked my wound.

"...I-I was curious since last time. What do you learn by licking like this?"

I felt a bit of a sting from the wound along with a tickling sense of pleasure, forcing me to shudder.

"This is my personal method of diagnosis, don't mind it."

"Method of diagnosis..."

Ignoring my puzzlement, the principal stared at the wound, moistened by saliva.

"—Just as expected, it doesn't disappear. Perhaps the fundamental properties themselves changed. Looks like it's a wound of the same nature as last time."

The principal muttered words which I could not quite understand. Despite merely licking with her tongue, the principal seemed to have conducted many analyses.

"Umm, Principal...?"

I called to her, hoping she could explain and help me understand. She looked up and glared at me.

"So—Have you tried it?"

"Tried it? Tried what?"

I asked in puzzlement, but the principal went "how dense" and sighed.

"Of course I'm asking if you tried to see whether you can perform new transmutations."

"...No, not yet."

Because I thought trying randomly might be dangerous, I wanted to confer with the principal first.

"Really? Then try it here."

"Eh? Are you sure? Shouldn't I go to a training site..."

"Don't worry, as long as you control the dark matter generated to a very small amount, even if there's an accident, effects will be minor."

"I-I understand."

I nodded then generated a sphere of dark matter on my left hand with a radius of one centimeter.

"—Great, what will it be this time? Speaking of which, so-called Ds are the rare people who wield the same ability as 'Black' Vritra. And among them, Mononobe Mitsuki even obtained the antimatter controlled by 'Purple' Kraken' whereas you have reproduced 'White' Leviathan's ability through antigravitational matter..."

The principal stared at the small sphere of dark matter hovering over my palm, then continued with excitement on her face:

"Although I did not receive any report when Mononobe Mitsuki gained a new ability, your dragon mark went through an unusual change before you created antigravitational matter. If the current wound near the dragon mark has a causal link to obtaining new abilities, then you should have obtained a dragon's power. Come, try it out quickly and show me."

Like a child, the principal tugged my clothing and urged.

"Uh... Now that I think about it closely, how do I test it?"

Generated dark matter was transmuted according to transmitted thoughts, hence I could not create something I did not know about.

"First try recalling the powers exhibited by the dragons you fought and defeated. Either 'Red' Basilisk or 'Yellow' Hraesvelgr. Considering past precedents, these two dragon's powers might very well have been inherited by Ds."

"—Got it."

I listened to the principal's instructions and started to concentrate.

I first pictured the red light fired from "Red" Basilisk's eyes. The terrifying ability known as "Catastrophe," capable of speeding up time.

However, the dark matter on my left hand did not change

Okay—Next one.

I recalled the appearance of "Yellow" Hraesvelgr that I had fought in the Principality of Erlia.

Hraesvelgr used golden particles as a medium and possessed a power known as "Ether Wind," capable of manifesting souls.

Then just as I pictured the particles enveloping Hraesvelgr's body, shining with golden light, instantly, the dark matter on my palm changed into tiny glittering particles.

"Oh..."

The particles shone with golden radiance. Flying up lightly into the air, they faded then finally disappeared.

"Wow, so you succeeded! What was that just now? Which dragon's power were you thinking of?"

With reddened cheeks, the principal asked me.

"Uh, just now, that was probably... the particles hanging around Hraesvelgr, capable of manifesting souls."

Amidst the delightful surprise of succeeding in a new transmutation, I answered the principal excitedly.

"Yes, Hraesvelgr's power, that's truly wonderful. Let's run through examinations and tests more concretely in a few days. Please cooperate when the time comes."

"Understood."

I was grateful too for a more definite check. After antigravitational matter, I seemed to have gained the ability to use Hraesvelgr's power, but this further baffled me right now.

Because speaking of which, I still had no idea what was the root reason why I became able to use the powers of dragons. To be honest, I did not feel happy about becoming stronger.

"However, if that was Hraesvelgr's ability just now, then there's a problem."

"Problem?"

Seeing the principal's worried expression, I cocked my head in puzzlement.

"Indeed, you tried to reproduce Basilisk's ability, right?"

"Yeah, but nothing happened."

"In that case, where exactly did Basilisk's ability go? Basilisk was defeated before Hraesvelgr, right?"

"Ah..."

Hearing what the principal said, I understood what worried her.

"You mean that someone else apart from me has already inherited Basilisk's power?"

I asked cautiously and the principal nodded solemnly.

"That's the only natural conclusion. Perhaps she has not noticed or is deliberately hiding it... There are many possibilities. But leave it to me to think about how to handle this."

Saying that, the principal left me and walked to her desk.

After sitting down forcefully on her grand chair, resting her elbows on the desk, she clasped her hands together, fingers crossed, looking extremely impressive. No—In fact, she really was quite impressive.

"Mononobe Yuu, please do not use Hraesvelgr's power lightly before you are examined. I will notify you of the examination time later."

"Got it, then I'll be on my way."

"Okay—No wait, wait! We didn't get to the main point!"

Just as I turned around to leave, the principal called to me frantically.

"Oh right, I was called here about the school festival."

I originally thought the conversation had ended, but scratched my head.

"That's right. Mica, hurry and get it done."

"Affirmative."

Mica had been waiting on standby in a corner of the room. Receiving the principal's order, she approached me.

"W-What's going on?"

Seeing me get nervous and wary involuntarily, Mica-san smiled sweetly.

"Don't worry, it will be over in an instant if you stay still."

Saying that, Mica-san knelt down and suddenly rolled my pants up.

"Uwah, hold on..."

"You have good-looking legs."

Ignoring my distress, Mica-san then rolled up my sleeves as well, staring at me as though confirming something. Then taking out a measuring tape from a pocket in her maid uniform, she started taking various measurements of my body. Due to being so close, Mica-san's massive bust was touching me through our clothing.

"U-Umm..."

Troubled because I had no idea what she was doing to me, combined with repeated contact with that soft bosom, my mind was already blank.

"My apologies, please endure a while longer, next is here and there...... Done, thank you for your cooperation."

Mica-san put away her measuring tape, bowed to me and walked away. Only after the soft sensation left me did I finally come to my senses.

"W-What the heck was that?"

I turned my gaze to the principal and demanded an explanation.

"Hmm, actually—No, I'd better not say for now. I'll tell you once preparations are complete. After all, it'd be a pain if you fled."

"I have a very bad feeling about this... Please tell me clearly."

Seeing the principal make an evil smile, I felt a chill along my back.

"Fufufu, it's best that you don't ask. Because if you found out, you probably won't be able to focus on preparing for the school festival."

"What... the heck are you planning—"

"Secret. Very well, we're done here. Get lost. Mica, show him the way out."

"Yes, thank you for your efforts."

Pushing my back, Mica-san drove me out of the principal's office.

"What the heck was that..."

Although the possibility that someone had inherited Basilisk's dangerous ability was quite unsettling, what gave me an ominous feeling was the principal's smile instead.

Hence, I walked to the classroom while not knowing what the future had in store for me.

===Part 4===

"So this is the girls dorm..."

After school, after emailing Iris to get permission to visit, I came with my classmates to the girls dorm where they lived.

Although the original condition was to ask someone to accompany me, since my classmates wanted to visit Iris too, everyone came with me except for Mitsuki who had student council work to do. Instead, Mitsuki prepared concise and easily-understood notes on today's lessons for me to take along.

"Please don't snoop around. It's very vulgar."

I looked up at the curved architectural design of the dorm but Lisa glared at me coldly.

"Come on... No matter what, it's not like I'll have lustful intentions from looking at a building."

I sighed and responded. Immediately, Firill peered at my face from the side and said:

"Really? I read in a book once that all men are perverts without exceptions."

"What the heck kind of book is that...? At least I'm not the kind of pervert that gets aroused by architecture."

"Then you're a different kind of pervert?"

"Stop nitpicking at my words."

Feeling that anything I said would be taken the wrong way, I slumped my shoulders dejectedly.

"Even if Yuu is a pervert, Tia doesn't mind at all!"

"T-Thanks..."

Although Tia tried her hardest to comfort me, my feelings were quite complicated.

"Tia, be careful what you say. If Mononobe-kun really is a pervert, he might do nasty things to you."

Hearing Ariella warn Tia in this manner, I became even more depressed.

"What are nasty things?"

"Huh? T-That's, umm..."

Questioned by Tia, Ariella went red in embarrassment. What the heck was she imagining?
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v05 055.jpg|thumb]]

Listening to such a conversation, Ren swiftly distanced herself from me.

"Ren?"

"Mm!"

I called to her but she glared at me with her face red. Now that the unfair label of pervert was imposed on me, Ren seemed to be guarding against me.

To avoid further provoking them, I decided to walk silently.

—Speaking of which, the person who had inherited Basilisk's power was possibly among these girls.

Rather, since the members of Brynhildr Class were the one who defeated Basilisk, the probability should be very high.

But as far as I knew, no one had reported an unusual symptoms after defeating Basilisk. Still, the principal said she would handle it, so I guess I should leave it to her for now.

Switching my thoughts, I passed through the dorm entrance.

The instant I entered the entrance hall, I felt cool air brush against my cheek.

The air conditioning was set at a suitable temperature and very comfortable. I saw the noticeboard in the entrance hall with all kinds of colored notices stuck there. Things seemed more vibrant here than Mitsuki's dorm. Due to the faint scent of girls indoors, I felt my heart rate rise inexplicably.

"Come this way."

I followed Lisa's guidance to head to Iris' room. Along the way, although I ran into girls from other classes several times, Lisa explained things for me each time.

Every room had a nameplate on the door. Judging from that, some students seemed to have roommates while others lived alone.

Walking along the second floor corridor, I reached Iris' room where the nameplate only had "Iris Freyja." It looked like Iris did not have a roommate.

"I shall enter first to tidy up the room. I expect it to be very messy still."

Saying that, Lisa knocked on the door.

"Iris-san, I'm coming in."

After confirming a muffled "Oh... Sure" response coming from inside, Lisa swiftly entered the room. Then we waited for roughly three minutes and the door opened from inside. Lisa waved to us.

"Please enter, it's now tidied up."

"...Pardon the intrusion."

I stepped into Iris' room nervously. During the trips to the volcanic island and the Principality of Erlia, I had entered rooms that were assigned to Iris at the time, but this was still my first time seeing her real bedroom, of course.

The floor was laid with a carpet with a calming color. A calendar hung on the wall. Unused spaces on furniture were decorated with photos and pretty shells, probably found on a Midgard beach.

Perhaps due to Lisa's tidying up, I did not find the place particularly messy.

Lying in bed, Iris smiled at us as we entered.

"Mononobe... Everyone... Thanks for coming to see me."

Iris thanked us in a feeble voice. I approached her and examined her face that was red from a fever.

"You look like you've got it rough... Are you okay?"

I brushed away her silver hair that was sticking to her forehead due to sweat. I touched her forehand with my palm to find that it really was quite hot.

"Hmm... Although it's rough, I've already taken my medicine... I'll get well soon enough, so don't worry."

I was slightly relieved to hear Iris' answer. Since she was allowed to rest in her own room after being diagnosed, it was probably not a severe flu. Since Midgard had a fully equipped medical building, a serious illness would have required her to be forcibly admitted to the medical building.

"These are the notes Mitsuki asked me to bring. It includes today's announcements and lesson content. Also, she asked me to tell you to take care."

I took out the notes from my school bag and placed them on the sideboard next to the bed.

"...Thanks, help me thank Mitsuki-chan."

"No problem."

I nodded. Then as though waiting for our conversation to wind down, Firill and the others instantly gathered around Iris' mattress and started talking to her.

"I bought jelly and sports drinks. I'll put them in the fridge."

Firill raised the plastic bag in her hand.

"I brought fruit. If you're hungry, let me peel an apple for you?"

Ariella held up a red apple and asked Iris

"Tia and Ren bought snacks together!"

"Mm."

Tia and Ren presented a gift box of snacks.

"Iris-san, get well soon."

After wiping off Iris' sweat, Lisa applied a cold sheet to her forehead.

"I'm so happy... everyone, thank you so much."

Perhaps feeling too touched, Iris had tears in the corners of her eyes while she thanked everyone.

Hence, after we encouraged Iris and did everything we could to look after her, Lisa said to Firill, Ariella, Ren and Tia:

"I think having so many of us here is too noisy and Iris-san will not be able to relax. Let us leave the rest to Mononobe Yuu."

"I agree. That way, Iris will cheer up more. Since she has a flu, I'll let her have special treatment just for today."

Firill smiled suggestively and nodded to concur.

"Eh? But is okay to let Mononobe-kun and Iris to be alone? It's because that's not too appropriate that Shinomiya-sensei added a condition to require someone to accompany them..."

However, Ariella objected with a slightly troubled expression.

"I will wait outside the door, so there won't be any problems. If Mononobe Yuu shows any signs of making an indecent move, I will rush into the room immediately and punish him."

Despite answering Ariella's question, Lisa glared sharply at me. I felt cold sweat slide down my cheek but this was probably her method of being considerate for me.

"I promise I won't do anything requiring punishment from you, Lisa."

Hearing me swear seriously, Lisa nodded with satisfaction.

"Please keep that promise no matter what. Then I shall leave Iris-san in your hands. I will escort you to exit the dorm when you're leaving."

Thus, the girls left the room one after another and the room suddenly felt spacious with a silent atmosphere.

"Why... is everyone being so nice?"

Lying in bed, Iris looked at the door and murmured.

"That's because they all love you, Iris."

Lisa would probably reply "because classmates in the same homeroom are family" but the way I saw it, everyone's actions stemmed from simple affection.

"Then... Is it the same for you, Mononobe?"

Blushing, Iris looked up at me and asked.

"W-Well—Yeah, compared to the others, I love you more, Iris. More than anyone, I worry more about you. That's why, for my sake, you have to get well soon."

Enduring my embarrassment, I answered her.

"For... you, Mononobe."

But for some reason, Iris' expression became gloomy.

"What's wrong?"

"—Sorry, Mononobe."

"Huh?"

Hearing her suddenly apologize to me, I was baffled.

"Right now, you're clearly the one suffering the most... Mononobe, you lost your memories with Mitsuki-chan and I clearly have to support you... I clearly promised to help you regain your memories... But I haven't done anything."

Iris showed chagrin in her face and forced these words out.

Only after hearing her say that did I understood how heavy a psychological burden Iris was bearing.

Since I had entrusted my ''memories with Mitsuki'' to Iris before I lost them, Iris was giving herself too much pressure, feeling that she must help me.

Furthermore, Iris had declared that she would help me recover my memories even if it meant defeating Yggdrasil.

Iris was sincerely angry and sad on my behalf about the theft of my memories.

Putting aside whether it was actually possible to regain my memories, Iris' thoughts and feelings were already giving me sufficient salvation.

However, Iris was seriously searching all this time for a way to recover my memories. Relentlessly challenging a question that had no answer would bring a lot of mental stress.

"Iris, you've already helped me enough. I'm the one who should apologize. Sorry for making you overexert yourself."

It was all because I relied too much on Iris. I was responsible for this.

"N-Not at all, Mononobe, you did nothing wrong."

"No, in my mind, I probably gave up on getting my memories back already. Earlier, I think I was shoving everything on you because I thought it's impossible to recover the memories. But doing that is wrong."

I spoke regretfully then chose to correct my mistake.

"From now on, I'll think carefully to see how I can get my memories back... I'll search for that method together with you, Iris, rather than have you shoulder everything alone."

I placed my hand on Iris' cheek and vowed while staring into her eyes.

"Mononobe..."

Irisi' face was hot and her eyes moistened.

My heart was pounding loudly.

We were gazing at each other up close. Our faces naturally leaned in.

My mind was blanked out. All I could think about was Iris.

My heart rate increased. Our breaths mixed together.

Iris' lips, exhaling hot breath, was drawing me to them—

"Oh... N-No, you'll get my flu."

But just before our lips touched, Iris blocked her mouth with her hand.

"R-Right."

Brought back to my senses, I frantically separated from her.

Although it was a bit embarrassing, amidst a silence that tugged at our heartstrings, Iris and I peered at each other's face.

"Mononobe, your face is so red."

"You too."

"Because I've got a flu."

At the end of this exchange, we both laughed at the same time.

After our laughter resounded in the room and vanished—The room returned to silence, but it was a comforting kind of serenity.

"—Mononobe, thank you. I'm very happy that you're saying we'll find a way together."

After a while, Iris said calmly.

"You don't need to thank me. It's something that logically I'm supposed to do, but it's just that I haven't."

"Even so, I'm still very happy. To be honest, the only method I thought of is defeating Yggdrasil... But that doesn't necessarily mean your memories will recover for sure..."

Iris smiled wryly and confessed that she had run into a wall.

"Yeah, we know too little right now. It's not a good idea to blame Yggdrasil for everything."

"...Mononobe, do you really think Yggdrasil is standing on our side?"

Hearing me speak in support of Yggdrasil, Iris watched me with worry.

"I don't trust it completely. But thanks to Yggdrasil, I was able to save you and the others. That's the truth too. I'm very grateful to it about this and I'd like to uphold my contract with it."

"Contract?"

"I obtained data on powerful weapons on the condition that I exterminate all dragons apart from Yggdrasil Excluding Vritra which has gone missing, the revived Hekatonkheir is the only dragon left. If that thing could be killed off completely... Yggdrasil's goal might be accomplished."

I thought of the dragons that had been vanquished so far while I spoke. Two years ago, "Purple" Kraken was taken out. In the last three months, we defeated "White" Leviathan, "Red" Basilisk and "Yellow" Hraesvelgr. Of the original seven dragons, only three remained, of which "Black" Vritra had never surfaced again after disappearing twenty-five years ago.

"Hekatonkheir revived?"

"Yeah—Shinomiya-sensei mentioned it this morning."

"I see... But won't it be dangerous to fulfill Yggdrasil's wish? We don't know what it plans to do once the other dragons are gone, right?"

"Well—"

I found myself at a loss for words.

I used to think that exterminating all dragons apart from Yggdrasil was close to impossible, so I never thought that deeply about it.

But in fact, Yggdrasil's objective might be after that.

"I still cannot forgive Yggdrasil for making you go through so much suffering, Mononobe... And I believe we mustn't lower our guard. If we don't all possible precautions ahead of time, we might end up being exploited for nothing."

Despite her state of fever, Iris' gaze was still very serious.

"That's why, although you might not want to, Mononobe—How about asking someone else for advice?"

"Huh?"

It troubled me to hear Iris' suggestion. I could not help but exclaim in surprise.

"I've been thinking about this the whole day. As much as I want to help you, Mononobe... At this rate, I might not be able to do anything and end up wasting time pointlessly. So, I'm wondering if we should get more assistance?"

"But I—"

"I know, Mononobe, you don't want Mitsuki-chan to know, right? Also, it could be troublesome if the higher-ups heard about it, right?"

"Yeah."

If Midgard's superior organization Asgard learned about this, I would undoubtedly be placed under strict surveillance. I would be quarantined as a traitor or even executed.

"However, I think there are people who'll keep the secret and help us. So let's try finding someone trustworthy to discuss."

"Someone trustworthy huh..."

My classmates' faces flashed in my mind.

Considering the girls who had fought alongside me many times, surviving many crises, gradually getting to know each other, I could trust them but—

"You're worried about getting them involved and causing trouble for them, right?"

Lying on the bed, Iris stared at my face and smiled wryly.

"That... goes without saying."

She had guessed what was on my mind. I avoided eye contact and nodded.

"Mononobe, you're so kind, but you have to cherish yourself more..."

Perhaps her fever was getting worse, Iris spoke with some suffering.

"Iris—"

I held her hands as though covering them up.

"Please, Mononobe. You don't have to decide now, but could you think over it?"

"...Okay."

Although this was not a conclusion that could be reached so easily, I promised Iris would consider her suggestion.

Perhaps relieve to hear my answer, Iris relaxed her body and closed her eyes.

Before long, I heard quiet breathing noises.

Hence, I released her hands gently, left the bedside and walked to the room's entrance.

I exited the room as quietly as possible, only to see Lisa, leaning against the wall in the corridor, turn her head to look at me.

Everyone else had probably returned to their own rooms. They were not in sight.

"Already done? There is still some time until curfew."

"I'm done, Iris is sleeping now so I decided to leave."

Hearing my answer, Lisa left the wall and walked over.

"Then I shall see you off to the entrance."

"Thanks for your help."

I thanked Lisa then walked with her side by side.

—Find someone trustworthy to discuss huh...

Recalling what Iris said to me, I stared at the side of Lisa's face.

Although I trusted every classmate, if I had to pick someone as the most reliable, Lisa would be the first to come to mind.

For the sake of Mitsuki who was tormented from guilt for killing her own best friend, Lisa could play the role of "the character who condemned Mitsuki's crime" persistently for as long as two years. That was the kind of girl she was, considerate for her friends and possessing great mental strength.

She had openly declared that classmates were equivalent to family, supporting all of us with strictness sometimes and gentleness on other occasions. If it was her, she would probably help me.

Hmm... Hold on. On further thought, Lisa still considered me a "probationary classmate," right?

Thinking I was still not acknowledged as a member of Brynhildr Class, I felt a bit unconfident.

"Is there something on my face?"

Noticing I was staring at her, Lisa asked me with a surprised look.

"No, I suddenly remembered something. Thinking back, I'm still a 'probationary classmate,' right?"

"Probationary classmate?"

Lisa cocked her head, evidently not understanding what I was talking about.

"After defeating Leviathan, Lisa, you mentioned promoting me to 'probationary classmate,' didn't you? But after that, you never promoted me again."

"And I was wondering what on earth you were talking about... I've long forgotten something so far back."

Looking at me, Lisa looked totally exasperated.

"Come to think of it, Lisa, have you already acknowledged me as a classmate?"

"Huh? W-Well, umm..."

Confronted with my question, Lisa blushed and reacted with awkwardness.

"And?"

"—Who cares! Decide for yourself!"

Lisa turned her face away fiercely and replied in anger, but this answer was equivalent to saying she acknowledged me.

She quickened her pace and kept moving forward, almost leaving me behind.

"Wait up."

I frantically chased Lisa. Because we walked so hastily, we reached the dorm entrance within the blink of an eye.

"Well then, off you go."

Sending me to the door, Lisa bid me farewell coldly, turned around and was about to return to the dorm.

"Oh, Lisa, one last thing. Can I ask a question?"

Watching Lisa's back as she receded away, I asked her.

"...What is it?"

Despite making a displeased look, she still stopped and looked back candidly.

"Suppose I said I needed your advice on something, Lisa, will you hear me out?"

"—If you are truly in trouble, I will help you. But if you're just trying to push trouble onto me, then I will rectify your character flaw."

Hearing Lisa answer so readily, I was quite surprised.

"Even if what I want to discuss is a very tricky affair?"

"Tricky or not is irrelevant. The key point is whether help is necessary. So—What would you like to discuss with me?"

Lisa stood arms akimbo and urged me to speak.

"N-No, I said 'suppose,' didn't I? I just wanted to check, that's all."

Because it was not something to discuss at this location and I had not yet prepared myself to talk to her either.

Hence, I frantically swept it under the rug.

"—Is that so? Then I shall take my leave."

Although Lisa should have noticed the wavering in my heart, she departed without pursuing the matter.

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

After saying goodbye to Lisa as she left, I turned around and departed too.

Whether to discuss with her or not, I'd better leave the decision a bit later.

While praying for Iris to come to school in good health the next day, I started walking back to Mitsuki's dorm.

===Part 5===

"Good morning!"

Perhaps the heavens heard my wish—The next day, Iris greeted me energetically then entered the classroom together with Lisa and the other residents of the girls dorm.

"Good morning. I'm glad you recovered from your flu."

Iris approached and I greeted her in turn.

"Yeah, I'm fully recovered."

Iris made a victory hand sign to emphasize her recovery.

I originally worried that she was forcing herself, but she really seemed to be well.

—Hmm?

I sensed someone's gaze vaguely, so I looked back, only to meet Lisa's eyes.

"!?"

However, Lisa instantly looked away in panic.

She was probably curious after I mentioned yesterday about having something to discuss.

While everyone was exchanging pleasantries and getting seated, Iris stopped walking to talk to Mitsuki.

"By the way, Mitsuki-chan, the notes I received yesterday talked about holding a school festival. Is that for real?"

"Yes, it was the principal's suggestion, to be held a month later. Since you are here today, Iris-san, I think we should discuss and decide what we will present as a class."

"Wow~ I'm looking forward to it! Mitsuki-chan, do you have something you want to do?"

"I have basically picked out several orthodox projects... But I do not plan on pushing any individual choice in particular."

Mitsuki answered solemnly. It seemed like she had set her boundaries clearly. Her responsibility was to provide choices to the class.

"How about you, Mononobe?"

Iris raised the same topic with me.

"Hmm... I don't really have an opinion either way."

To be honest, the term school festival did not evoke any feeling in me at all.

Due to losing all my memories beyond three years ago, I did not have any concrete impressions of school festivals.

"Come on~! You need to think about it more seriously!"

"If many suggestions are made, I'll choose among them seriously. What about you, Iris? Is there any activity you'd like to do?"

"Of course! I—"

Just as Iris was about to answer, the warning bell rang.

When the noisy clanging stopped, Iris smiled mischievously.

"—I'd better keep it secret for now. I'll propose it later."

Saying that, Iris returned to her seat.

Her excitement made it feel as though she did not just recover from illness. I could see how happy she was at the prospects of holding a school festival.

Next, just as Mitsuki said, during morning homeroom, Shinomiya-sensei announced a change to first period, to use that time to decide what our class was going to present at the school festival.

"—Thus ends the announcements. Mononobe Mitsuki will now chair the proceedings."

"Understood."

Mitsuki took Shinomiya-sensei's place at the lectern. After looking at everyone, she spoke:

"Then to begin, I would like all of you to nominate candidate activities. Does anyone have suggestions?"

The first to raise her hand in response to Mitsuki's question was Iris.

"Yes!"

"Please tell us, Iris-san."

"I want to do goldfish scooping!"

"......Huh?"

After a period of silence, Mitsuki showed a shocked expression.

"It's one of those stalls that always show up in Japanese festivals, right? I saw it frequently in the manga Firill-chan lent me."

"Uh, although school festivals are festivals, the meaning is a little different from that kind of festival..."

"It's no good?"

Iris asked sorrowfully.

"No, I am not saying it is no good, just that on a practical level, I believe that preparing goldfish will not be easy. This is because Midgard has strict regulations on bringing live animals into the Academy."

"I see... What a shame."

Iris put her hand down, disappointed from the bottom of her heart. It looked like she really looked forward to scooping goldfish.

"Any other suggestions?"

Mitsuki sought ideas again. This time, Firill put her hand up and spoke:

"How about a haunted house? We could do a Japanese-style haunted house."

"An excellent suggestion. In Japan, it is featured in every school festival."

Hearing a normal idea, Mitsuki seemed a little relieved while writing Firill's suggestion on the blackboard.

Sitting in front of me, Tia then looked back and asked me.

"Yuu, what's a haunted house?"

"It's a kind of entertainment venue where people dress up as scary monsters or ghosts to frighten visitors."

Although I had lost all memories more than three years ago, I had not lost any knowledge. Even without memories of visiting a haunted house, I still had that level of basic knowledge.

"Eh!? Tia hates being scared."

"It's okay. Even if we're doing a haunted house, we'll be the ones scaring others."

"But Tia is scared of becoming a monster too..."

Hearing her say that, I gasped.

—Becoming a monster.

Those words evoked the image of Ds targeted by dragons, turning into the same type of dragon.

Other people heard our conversation. Ariella smiled wryly.

"Looks like we'd better scrap the haunted house."

"Mm."

Ren concurred with Ariella.

"Yeah, because everyone having fun comes first."

Mitsuki exhaled lightly then wiped the words "haunted house" from the blackboard.

"No other ideas?"

Mitsuki sought opinions for the third time but no one raised their hand this time.

"Then to get some measure of direction, I will provide several examples."

Saying that, Mitsuki listed out what could be considered school festival cliches.

Drama performance, cafe, dancing, singing, music performance, planetarium, maze, movie, fortune telling, exhibition—

Fluently providing plenty of examples to the class, Mitsuki had evidently done prior research.

"I am not simply asking for you to pick from these. For example, there are many types of drama performances, such as plays, puppet shows, picture story shows, etc. I would appreciate it if everyone could use these as references to offer specific plans."

After listening to Mitsuki, everyone began to think seriously.

While I staring at the words on the blackboard, racking my brain, sitting to my left, Iris raised her hand again.

"Mitsuki-chan, can so-called cafes sell food?"

"Yes. Normally speaking, snacks are added to the menu."

"Then I think a cafe is best. Besides, I'd like to eat tasty food too."

Iris seemed to have voted for a cafe with food enjoyment as the priority.

"Hey, we're not opening a shop for gorging ourselves, you know?"

I confirmed with her from the side but Iris nodded as though she knew from the start.

"But we can taste test many dishes, right? Actually, if possible, I originally wanted to try eating goldfish once."

"—Hold on, Iris, what do you think goldfish scooping is about?"

"Eh? Don't you eat the goldfish after scooping them out?"

"Wrong, they're not for eating!"

Hearing this gigantic misconception on Iris' part, I could not help but scream.

"Then why do we scoop them out?"

"I think most people take them home to keep in an aquarium..."

"O-Oh I see, because Japan has sashimi, I was thinking they're for eating."

After knowing it was her misconception, Iris scratched her head rather embarrassedly.

This was typical Iris, so I could only smile wryly.

"Nii-san, Iris-san, please do not get too off-topic."

Mitsuki reminded us with exasperation.

"Oh, sorry."

"Sorry, Mitsuki-chan."

After Iris and I apologized, Mitsuki circled "cafe" while sighing.

"—Iris-san wants to open a cafe. Any other opinions?"

"I agree with opening a cafe. All of us cooking together and serving customers, that sounds like fun."

Lisa supported Iris' idea. All the others nodded with no objections.

Since there were only eight students in the class, collecting opinions was very fast.

"So, let us brainstorm the cafe idea."

Mitsuki rubbed out the other suggestions and continued the discussion. Hearing her say that, Ariella asked incredulously:

"Since we picked the cafe, isn't what we're doing all decided now?"

"Even a cafe has many different types. For example, in Japanese school festivals, the majority are maid cafes or cosplay cafes, etc, namely, cafes accentuate themselves by adding in their own unique appeal."

After hearing Mitsuki's answer to Ariella, Lisa concurred "indeed."

"Deciding on our selling point is very important. However, I believe that maid cafes are not unique enough, because a maid's job is naturally to serve customers. There's nothing novel about that."

"I agree."

Firill concurred with Lisa.

Lisa and Firill apparently knew each other from high society before coming to Midgard. Having lived life at the top, they probably found maid cafes unrefreshing.

"I don't really know much about appeal, but since we're cooking anyway, I'd like to cook fish in Japanese style."

Iris offered her opinion again.

Although she was probably still thinking about goldfish, this suggestion itself was not bad. Mitsuki looked like she thought the same thing as me. Under "cafe," she wrote down "fish cuisine."

"If fish is the ingredient, it should be approved as long as we apply to Midgard. But ingredients go bad easily in Midgard where it is hot and humid, so they will not allow us to make sushi or sashimi. If we are doing Japanese cooking, I believe grilled fish will be the method."

"As long as it's Japanese, anything's fine! I'm happy as long as I learn to make one dish."

Iris' reply was inexplicably motivated. Then she glanced at me.

"Oh~ So Iris, you're interested in cooking."

I felt a little surprised and commented. Iris blushed red and answered quietly:

"Umm... Because I was thinking... If I could learn Japanese cooking, Mononobe, you'd probably be happy..."

"What—"

Hearing Iris say something like that shyly, I felt my face instantly heat up.

But apart from me, other people apparently heard what Iris had said. Tia also joined in the conversation.

"If Yuu will be happy, Tia will learn cooking too!"

Then Firill also faced me and said:

"Although I've never cooked before... I'll try my best too."

Witnessing this scene, Lisa shook her head in exasperation.

"Then this is equivalent to a decision. If we are going to serve grilled fish, why not simply unify everything to Japanese style and switch to a Japanese teahouse instead?"

"Oh, that's great. In that case, we'll wear Japanese clothing to serve customers, how's that? I like wearing outfits that are like national clothing."

Ariella concurred with Lisa's suggestion.

There were no opposing opinions after that. Everyone began to discuss constructive ideas such as using green tea for drinks and the like.

"—Then we of Brynhildr Class will decide on a Japanese teahouse. Any objections?"

Mitsuki asked everyone for a final confirmation.

"Looks like there is no dissent, then it is decided. After school today, I would like everyone to start preparing. However, since I must direct the overall school festival, I will not be able to oversee our class."

As the student council president, Mitsuki's workload was quite heavy.

"Consequently, I would like to select two classmates to lead the class as members of the festival executive committee. Any volunteers?"

"—I shall do it."

Before Mitsuki had a chance to wait for people's reactions, Lisa raised her hand matter-of-factly.

How amazing of Lisa...

Precisely because she was well aware of her own position and competence, she could act without hesitation like that.

"Thank you, Lisa-san. Then the other spot will be filled by Nii-san."

"Huh? I didn't say anything, did I?"

Suddenly put on the spot, I frantically asked Mitsuki.

"Because you are the only boy in the Academy, Nii-san, it would be problematic if you did not work industriously. Also, there is plenty of physical labor, right?"

Hearing her say that, I could not refuse.

But seeing as I intended to work hard for everyone in the first place, I had no complaints.

"—Understood, I'll take on this job."

"Very well, I am counting on you, Nii-san."

Mitsuki smiled sweetly.

Thus, we started preparing for the school festival that was to be held a month later.

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