Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 12 Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Bahamut of Eternal Longevity

Part 1

On the interior side of the hatch leading to the deck, I waited for the moment to begin the operation. Was it a design consideration for space use? There was a double-door airlock chamber in front of the hatch.

Waiting beside me was Iris, with a nervous look on her face, and Kili, who was stretching with sleepy countenance.

Lisa and the others had gone to the hatches on starboard and port side, leaving only the three of us here who were heading to the deck.

"S-So... Kili-chan, you didn't get enough sleep?"

"Not really. Too much happened, so I basically didn't get to sleep."

Kili gave an ambiguous answer with a weary look.

"Looks like keeping Vritra company is a tough job."

I sympathized but Kili stared at me in disbelief.

"Oh my, how did you know my mother was the reason?"

"Uh, I didn't, but Vritra is always out of control, you know?"

Noticing my slip of the tongue, I hastily explained myself. Earlier, I had accidentally peeped on various things when I was observing the situation in the cabins, which was how I knew the hidden story. Disliking shampoo, Vritra was running all over the place, making a lot of trouble for Kili.

Would she find this odd? A chill and sweat began to spread down my back. Fortunately, Kili did not seem bothered and she nodded vigorously.

"Yes, that's true. For the sake of my mother's puny dignity, I can't give any details, but it was very tiring."

"I see... It must be tough for you, Kili-chan. Oh, what about you, Mononobe? Will Marduk stay active if you're not at the bridge?"

After listening to Kili's response, Iris asked me.

"Yeah, no problem. Thanks to Jeanne taking over recon, I'm able to focus calmly on controlling the ship. Jeanne will share necessary external information with me, and I can control Marduk like an extension of my own body, so no matter where I am, it doesn't change the precision of my control."

Just by focusing my mind on marduk, I could find out Bahamut's current location and the situation in the surroundings.

Marduk was currently flying north over a frozen ocean. We were going to encounter Bahamut and the NIFL fleet just by continuing forward.

"There should still be some time—We are currently following Bahamut's trail, flying behind it. Once NIFL engages Bahamut in battle, I'll accelerate all at once to close in. Once visual contact is made, we'll go out."

I switched on the communicator on my ear so that everyone else could hear me.

I heard "roger that" from everyone through the earpiece but next to me, Iris sounded the most nervous.

"R-Roger, but I'm so worried. The people at NIFL..."

Seeing Iris so ill at ease, I placed my hand on her head.

"According to reports from NIFL, other than the Naglfar, the only forces they are deploying are the unmanned battleships we saw during the Leviathan battle. If the line cannot be maintained, the flagship Naglfar will most likely withdraw, so don't worry."

"Really...? That's good to know."

Iris finally smiled but it was still very stiff. Next, Kili interjected in exasperation.

"Iris-chan—You've been worrying about others all the time, what about yourself? If you fail to use Catastrophe at the crucial moment, we're all in trouble, you know?"

"Eh... Oh, don't worry about that. I can generate Catastrophe, no problem. It's just that I'm a little worried since the method is not quite the same as before..."

Iris scratched her cheek and answered. I added:

"Iris used to be able to generate Catastrophe directly, but now she can't do without using dark matter as an intermediary. It's probably because I turned her back into a human I selected when she was transforming into Basilisk."

My explanation caused Kili to show overt displeasure.

"—Is this really okay? Since the generation process requires dark matter, shouldn't you make preparations like borrowing dark matter from others? In the worst-case scenario, we'll have to consider unsealing my mother..."

Kili pondered with a hand against the side of her face, but Iris hastily shook her head.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. I already found out during an examination when we returned to Midgard. Catastrophe has virtually no mass, so it's pretty much unrelated to the capacity to generate dark matter."

"Eh, that's something I didn't know. Then does that allow you to use it with greater power than before? If it's virtually massless, you can theoretically generate it without limit."

Very interested, Kili inquired of Iris.

"Hmm, how should I put it...? Rather than transmutation, to me it actually feels more like the dark matter is acting as a 'gate'... Although I don't know how much I can generate exactly, there should be a limit."

Kili shrugged at Iris who was answering with her head cocked.

"That's very wishy-washy, Iris-chan. You're the only one who can defeat Bahamut, so you've got to get your act together."

"Sob... Kili-chan, please don't put more pressure on me. Of course I'll give it my best shot."

Confronted with Iris' tearful gaze, Kili looked away in embarrassment.

"I know you're already trying your hardest. However, this isn't something that be taken care of through vigor or determination. Putting more thought into it is necessary."

Although Kili's words were a bit blunt, Iris showed a look of comprehension.

"Ah—Hey hey, Mononobe! Just now, did you hear that just now!?"

"Huh? What about... just now?"

Puzzled, I asked her in return, causing Iris to explain with slight displeasure.

"Seriously, don't you remember? Mononobe, didn't you give me the same advice before? Back when I couldn't do transmutation properly, didn't you say that just working hard wasn't enough? I had to confront my failures, something like that."

"...Now that you mention it, I think I did."

Memories surfaced from back when we first met and I was having special practice sessions in an underground training site together with Iris who had failed the test to get into the Dragon Subjugation Squad.

"But what about it?"

Although it was very nostalgic, I had no idea why Iris meant by bringing it up.

"So it's the same as what Kili-chan said, you know?"

"Oh, okay. Yeah, pretty much."

Overwhelmed by her vigor, I could not help but nod. Then I glanced at Kili. It seemed like the conversation had lost her, leaving her with a look of puzzlement.

Thus, Iris grabbed my hand and said with a happy smile:

"It's wonderful for the advice to be the same. Kili-chan and Mononobe are a bit alike."

"...Although I'm not offended by this comparison to Yuu, I don't get why you're so happy about this."

Unable to hide her confusion, Kili sighed.

"Eh? Oh... Why am I so happy?"

Even you don't know? Iris cocked her head in puzzlement.

"—Forget it. To be honest, no matter how much time I spend with you, I still can't say I understand you."

Exhausted in mind, Kili slumped her shoulders.

To me, Iris was also "a girl who effortlessly transcended expectation," beyond the realm of my understanding. Hence, I agreed completely with Kili on this point, but since Iris would get excited again, I kept this comment to myself.

"Captain, NIFL has engaged Bahamut."

At that moment, Jeanne's report came on the communicator. Linked to Marduk, she could speak to me mentally, but in order to share information with everyone, she would stick to using the communicator as much as possible.

"I copy that. Marduk, maximum atmospheric flight speed. We will exit the ship once Jeanne gives us the signal. Don't forget to deploy the air barrier."

While increasing Marduk's speed, I called out to Iris and Kili.

Close by, Iris and Kili nodded solemnly, then the others replied they were ready.

Feeling that the distance to the fifth calamity, the fifth dragon—"Eternal Life" Bahamut—was shrinking, I melded my consciousness into all of Marduk's armaments.

Part 5

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