Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 6 Chapter 1 (section)

===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.