Editing Mondaiji-tachi ga isekai kara kuru soudesu yo:Volume 7 Prologue

==Prologue==

─────2222 Outer Gate ‘City of Moonlight’

Kuro Usagi ran through her home forest in tears as it was burning down. Her young, small limbs desperately pushed her forward, panting, and while she was frightened by the beasts howling in the moonlight, she frantically kept running. The main road was already full of beasts and no longer passable. What she was running through was an unpaved animal trail. Running barefoot on gravel and thorns, her young legs were painfully wounded and bleeding. But even then, Kuro Usagi kept running while she cried.

“Haah. Haah………!”

─────Today was supposed to be a fun birthday festival, too. She’d wear the heiress clothes that her mother and aunt picked out for her, and she was supposed to spend her day having fun until sunrise like every other year after performing the Hounou-Enbu<ref>[magrefnotes: Hounou-Enbu is the ritual dance in offering to the gods, like Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance eh?]</ref> that she’d practiced for so long. But when she turned back, her homeland was enveloped in flames and was falling into pandemonium.

“……Hi,cu………!”

She forced her hiccups down in her throat. If she pricked her ears, she would be able to hear the roars of the beasts that attacked her community. If she stopped moving her legs now, her young body would easily be ripped apart. Even the strong and resilient moon rabbits met their own end that way. They, endowed with a multitude of gifts and even being known as some of the best in the Little Garden, were easily shredded by those beasts. In spite of the barrier that should’ve had the providence of Sakra devanam Indra, they came commanding an army akin to a horde of gods.

“Father………Mother………!!”

Her parents took the rear guard to let her escape. Despite her concern for their safety, Kuro Usagi ran, tumbling through the forest. But behind her, she was already beginning to hear the panting of a beast. Limbs thicker than large trees felled the trees. Claws harder than steel tore up the ground. While fangs that could swallow mountains and rivers were bared. The beast’s scurry quaked the earth as it steadily closed the gap behind Kuro Usagi. But even though it was a forest in night conditions, the moonlight was especially bright tonight and it would be easy to spot her figure. The more she heard the crawling tremors, the more her fear chilled her spine. When Kuro Usagi was gazed upon by a ferocious glare as she ran through the forest, she was assailed by the sensation of a fierce blood-lust.

“………Ah,”

Her legs got tangled and she fell over as she felt the unusual wave of intimidation wash over her. Rolling down head over heels, Kuro Usagi crashed into a conspicuously large tree’s trunk which was bigger than most in the forest.

“O,Ow………!”

She had smacked onto the roots that were protruding from the ground and she let out a scream as her young body creaked. Even if she looked at things objectively, it was impossible for her to keep running. She was quaking with fear as she clung to the trunk of the tree. The sounds of the tremors and the beast’s laboured breaths accompanied the overwhelming pressure from its presence as it felled and crushed trees in its approach. The beast that slowly appeared from the shade was——-an aberration with the body of a white snake with limbs and 2 heads.

“Uh, ah………!?”

Its ruby red devil eyes stared in her direction and that alone was sufficient to make her lips quiver without being able to let out a scream. Its massive jaw could easily swallow Kuro Usagi whole. Having caught the sight of its prey, the two headed monster leapt, weighing down on Kuro Usagi. The two headed snake, having caught an excellent prey, dripped drool from its mouth like a flood while intimidating Kuro Usagi. Lightly tapping Kuro Usagi’s young, soft, beautifully snow white skin with its claws, it licked the blood from her wound. Downing it like ale, the pleased two headed white snake scrambled to see which head would devour her first. The young Kuro Usagi quaked with fear, and prepared for her demise.

“─────GEEEYAAAAA!!!”

A fierce roar that shook heaven and earth. But it was not that of the two headed white snake’s. It was from a golden lion with a mane that shone brilliantly like the sun.

“Eh………!?”

Kuro Usagi thought she was hallucinating for a moment. The lion descended upon the two headed white snake which had come within ten centimeters of her nose. Its mane bustled about, looking like a meteor; all those who saw it would think that it was the sign of a king. The lion sank its teeth into one of two heads’ necks and slammed it on the ground after shaking it about like a rag doll. At that moment, a fountain of blood danced in the air.

The two headed white snake took a fatal blow, but from the blood that poured out came serpents and scorpions which bound the lion’s body. The white snake descended upon the now restricted lion. Its sharp, pointed claws teared at the lion’s mane. The lion had already rolled over, covering its vital points, but the mane that the white snake had shredded was harder than vajra<ref>[BionicMeerkat Note: I assume it meant this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajra]</ref>. If the lion took a direct hit from that, it wouldn’t get away unscathed. The two headed white snake tried to follow up on its attack. But as if interrupting the two, another figure jumped out in verbal abuse.

“You idiot, don’t let your guard down! What’s the lion of the sun doing like that!”

“Grr, I don’t need to hear that from the likes of you, demon child!!!”

The verbal abuse came from a female. With the moonlight at her back, she appeared, her hair gleaming brightly and vividly like gold threads, and dazzling looks. However large the Little Garden was, there was only one species with those outward features. Kuro Usagi, still not able to lift her legs, she held her breath in shock.

“A,A pure blood vampire………and a lion of the sun……!?”

Confused by the bewilderingly changing situation, she finally let out a voice. At a glance, anyone could tell they were a strange combination. A vampire who controls the night, and of the sun——-a lion who pulls the chariot of Surya<ref>[BM note - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surya]</ref>. Seeing opposing species together on the same battlefield was nothing short of a bizarre sight.

“You insignificant lizards, don’t think you can keep me down forever!!!”

The golden lion let out a roar like a gust of wind. As if in response, his mane released a surge of scorching heat, turning into a fire storm and burned away the rabble.

“……………!?”

─────A pure blood vampire and a lion of the sun. Fighting these two wouldn’t be favorable. Deciding that, the two headed white snake sprang back into the shade of the forest and left. The vampire and lion were about to chase after it, but a voice soon called them to stop.

“You two, that’s enough. There’s no need to chase after it anymore."

The voice that told them to stop was also from a female. Stunned as Kuro Usagi watched the events unfolding, she looked up silently at the figure of the woman who appeared from the animal trail. She wore a white trench-coat, leather long boots, and spiral shell piercings on both her ears. Her gentle blonde hair was like confetti, and her friendly face in turn felt like it represented the depth of her benevolence as a whole. The compliant lion sidled up against the blonde woman and asked.

“But Canaria. If we leave that alone, it will continue to grow without limit. If we’re to stop this at the roots, then it must be now.”

“Nothing’s going to change if we hunt down just one of them. Unless we take down the main body, they’ll multiply infinitely.”

“Even if you say that, leaving that alone is,”<ref>[magrefnotes: this is by the lion, I got no idea on how to make tones in words yet, so I’m leaving it as it is now, the tone would have been something like referring to himself as a third person and saying that he should not leave it.]</ref>

“Just listen to me. You may have been reinforced with the sovereignty of the sun, but you can only deflect sharp blades. You’d be a bad match against that dragon. ………But before that.”

The woman called Canaria let out a breath as her gaze met Kuro Usagi’s. Lifting up Kuro Usagi off the floor in her arms, she tilted her neck and smiled.

“Nice to meet you, little miss bunny. Are you alright?”

“Y,Yes.”

She gulped as she nodded. Canaria also nodded back, smiling as her hair swayed like confetti.

“To fulfill our oath to the Alliance, we have made haste to the moon rabbits’ place. What’s your name?”

“K,Kuro Usagi.”

Oh? Canaria said as she tilted her head. But quickly understanding the situation, she let out a bitter smile.

“I see. You haven’t been given a name yet, have you.”

“Y,Yes. At today’s birthday festival, my mother was the one who was supposed to——-“

She was about to say, but nothing came out. Tears suddenly welled in her eyes as her sorrow surfaced. Her mother and father, her family, her tribe, all of them took up the rear to let her escape. This much, even a ten year old Kuro Usagi could understand. So even if she desperately tried to hold it in, her tears overflowed as they fell.

“………Where are your parents?”

“They said they’d go guard the gate that leads to the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods………my entire tribe, they stayed in the castle. Because I’m the heiress………Take the blessing handed down to us and run, my father said………!”

As she spilled large tear drops, she handed over a gift card to Canaria. Looking at the gift card which depicted a black and white half-moon, she lowered her gaze as she figured out the situation.

“The authority of the moon and Chandra Mahal………I see. So you’re the rumored heiress.”

Canaria delicately wiped away her tears, and gently hugged her.

─────Moon rabbits are naturally endowed a multitude of gifts from their patron Lord of the gods, but amongst them, there were ones that possessed a special reality and even those that ranked the highest in divine armor. Despite the long history of their race, it is said that only three people have been endowed with the divine equipments. But now in the current generation, those records have been completely destroyed.

Kuro Usagi was just barely ten years old, and the one to have inherited four types of divine arms.

‘Vajra’s Replica’

‘Mahabharata Karna’

‘Brahmastra’s Replica’

Sovereignty of the Moon ‘Chandra Mahal’

Sakra devanam Indra, accompanied by the war god masses, the twelve Adityas. Among those, four of the war gods’ divine arms were left to this girl. Her unparalleled talent obviously had her tribe very agitated. To think that one of their own children, not only born with the sovereignty of the moon, but also with their old home, the Chandra Mahal. Although it was normal for some of the young in the race to be born with the Sovereignty of the Moon, but the one that Kuro Usagi’s been bestowed with from birth had been the hometown that they had lost for a long time—[Chandra Mahal].<ref>[magrefnotes: ‘Although it was normal for some of the young in the race to be born with the Sovereignty of the Moon, but The one that KuroUsagi’s been bestowed with from birth had been the hometown that they had lost for a long time—[Chandra Mahal].’ is an addition from Chinese one, might have been an alternate of ‘To think that one of their own children, not only born with the sovereignty of the moon, but also with their old home, the Chandra Mahal.’ But I’m just adding it as extra since it didn’t really look alike.]</ref> This good omen would hail further prosperity for the moon rabbits, and no one doubted this as they rested their expectations on her. Since then, Kuro Usagi was set up as the moon rabbits’ heiress, and they celebrated her birthday every year. Around this time, she was supposed to be spending the night having fun with her mother and father.

“Mm……You’ve done great getting this far. Leave the rest to us, and sleep well tonight. When you wake up——-we’ll have finished everything by then.”

When Canaria said that, a breeze blew through the forest. The gust of wind that blew through scattered the clouds in the night sky, projecting the stars across the entire sky. Leisurely raising her right hand, Canaria infused her power into a brilliantly dazzling ring. Waiting behind her, Leticia’s mouth twitched in surprise.

“H,Hey, Canaria.”

“With the heavenly gate connecting to the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods destroyed, the road for the twelve Adityas to come to the Little Garden has been sealed. ………Which basically means that the only ones who can stop that demon lord is us. If another heavenly army<ref>[magrefnotes: If case you are wondering about this talk on heavenly armies, even in the Japanese Taoist/Buddhist(they call this Shinto right?) they are many factions. Not forgetting that this is the world of Gods, we are also looking at the other religions like Greek gods, Norse, etc. Adityas refer to the Juniten, I think I mentioned this in the earlier volumes. ]</ref> comes out, the lower and middle floors will be scorched under the pretext of purification. I’d rather not see that happen. ——-So with that in mind, it’s our turn, Croix Baron.” 

As soon as she said this, a shadow darker than the abyss draped over the night sky. Belonging to an extremely small amount of just holy spirits and devils, it was the power to control the boundaries of the world——-Astral Gate, which cuts through the heavens and unlocks the gate. The shadow that had crawled out from the cleft open night sky soon took the form of a faceless, planar human figure, and materialized, standing in front of Canaria wearing a tailcoat and bowler hat.

In front of an aberration one step above the white snake, Kuro Usagi could not hold back her pitiful screams.

“A,A,A real grim reaper………!?”

“YES! Khaha, this must be my favorite, a wild rabbit with an excellently promising future! There’s no doubt that this child will grow into a fine sexy lady! Is she the tribute this time, master!? Then let’s get hustling!! We’ll be bunking for three days and nights without food or drink, so let’s do our best!!!”

<nowiki>*Eeek*</nowiki> Cringing, her bunny ears drooped as Canaria held onto her. As if finding her fearful gesture interesting, the faceless tailcoat wearing grim reaper cracked open a smile in the shape of a crescent moon and rolled around on the ground laughing.

─────Grim Reaper ‘Tailcoat Demon Lord’.

Portrayed in a sect currently in South America, it is known to people as a holy spirit of life, death, and pleasure. Standing at the crossroads to the world, it is said that he lets life force pass through, becoming omniscient. Even though he is known as a wise Godly spirit, his true essence is vulgar and thinks it right to interact with the opposite sex with raw passion, a god of love. In the equinoctial week, the day of the dead which is called Halloween, his spiritual status, which was symbolized by the passage of a thousand spirits in a few parts of the world, was undoubtedly very strong.

With no other choice, she handed over Kuro Usagi, was completely frightened by this grim reaper aberration, to Leticia. After letting out a small sigh, Canaria wordlessly stomped the tailcoat demon lord’s crotch under foot.

“Oh f-!?”

“Calm down a bit, you worthless god. She’s scared to bits.”

“E,Even so, what’s the big idea stepping on my golden magnum, you bitch master………!?”

“No one cares about that, so notify the Alliance in my name. Tell them, ‘Gather all the troops’.”

─────The figure that was convulsing while holding his crotch became perfectly still. The planar figure of the grim reaper, questioned in return with an extremely strange voice.

“………All the troops, you said?”

“Yes, all of them. ─────I’m not letting you say that you can’t, tailcoat demon lord. Around this time of early winter, it is the period that your spiritual status strengthens as with the control over your powers. Summon every community that can move.”

She declared fearlessly as her white coat fluttered. The gentle expression she had just before was no longer there. Canaria’s face now showed only that of a seasoned warrior, who has been through hundreds of battles, as she issued the command with that aura of hers. It was then that the tailcoat demon lord finally stopped fooling around. He looked towards the sky, carefully observing with eyes that concealed its omniscience. After a few moments of surveying the surroundings, the figure caught onto the enemy’s main body and clicked his tongue.

“………You can’t be serious. That lizard is among the oldest of demon lords. Originally, that class ranks among the domain the twelve Adityas or the Lord of the gods. Even if you bring everyone together, who knows if we’ll be able to win,”

“You fool. That’s why it’s so interesting.”

Who wouldn’t have fun in this predicament, smiled Canaria mischievously. The figure widened his eyes for a moment, but as if influenced by her spirit, he humbly laughed.

“………How nostalgic, that spirit is. It reminds me of when you killed the demon lord of dystopia. It makes me want to fall for you all over again.”

“Heheh, fall for me all you want. ─────You can do it, right?”

The tailcoat wearing figure received his master’s honest expectations. Complying with her order, the servant gaudily laughed as he slashed a cross in the night sky.

“Khahahahah!!! Okay, I gotcha! Let’s have them make a grand entrance─────!!!”

In a flash, the tailcoat demon lord’s existence expanded enough to cover the sky.

The rift in the sky became a gate that connected their world to the spiritual world, and started summoning companions from far away. This cross shaped astral gate was one of the heavenly gates entrusted to the omniscient grim reaper. On the other side of the gate, opened by the passage of a thousand spirits, was─────a massive number of symbols, countable by the hundreds, streaming through.

“Banners………all of them are………!?”

While being held, Kuro Usagi murmured in amazement. They were all banners of veteran communities.

 

The flag of the [Demon of Laplace], with a million eyes.

The flag of [Salamandra], with scorching flames that illuminated the night.

The flag of [Draco Greif], running through the heavens.

The flag of [Avalon]<ref>[magrefnote: From ch source notes: Avalon is one of the important islands in the Legends of King Arthur. One of the central places for old religions, and it is also known as the Fortunate Isle. The place where Caliburn(Excalibur) was forged.]</ref>, with the shine of a holy sword. 

 

Setting up bases in the four digit territories, they were all mighty veterans whose might alone would be equivalent to having a thousand. All of them were former inhabitants of the upper levels, and history’s greatest floor masters. The first to answer the call, [Salamandra], let his banner fly and showed himself before Canaria’s eyes. Following the fire dragon’s banner, all of the winged dragons came flying through one after the other to land before her.

Canaria smiled at them, a bit surprised.

“………What a surprise. I didn’t think the first one to come would be you. Would you like to tell me why, old man Salamandra?”

Canaria asked with a mischievous smile. The old massive dragon, who seemed to be the chief, sulkily snorted.

“Hmph………I’m not going to listen to your nonsense. You should be kind to these old bones.”

“Then retire already. Sala-chan will make a good floor master.”

“………What do you know.”

The fire dragon snorted even harder at Canaria’s words as she lightly smiled. Right behind them was the [Draco Greif] community and one of the gryphons, Draco Greif, followed. The dragon horn, complying with the gods of Greece, released lightning that could pass for a storm. Flapping his massive wings, Draco Greif landed and from his back, a young feline man popped his head up.

“Sis! It’s been a minute!<ref>[magrefnotes: it’s been a minute is a slang for it’s been a long time. Lols was puzzled at first by this… but oh well, my fault for not knowing slags]</ref> I see you’re doin’ fine!” 

“Been a while, Garol. You too, Draco. ………Is that broken horn okay?”

“Hmhm, that’s not something to ask after an emergency summoning. The situation is urgent, is it not?”

“Something like that. This time, to defeat this demon lord, right now we need numbers. Draco will lead his kin and support Avalon. Garol, go meet up with the Laplace’s kids and play support. And Koumei─────er, wait a sec.”

She furrowed her brow quizzically. Looking around, she sighed sulkily.

“………Where’s Koumei? Wasn’t he with you, Draco?”

“I believe he headed west a few days ago.”

“Did he leave a message?”

“He didn’t leave anything, nor did I hear anything.”

With both hands on her hips, she let out a sigh, shocked from the bottom of her heart.

“Geez………that free and unrestrained person. He doesn’t know that he’s my strongest arsenal, does he?”

“Khahahah! There’s no way that blockhead would know!”

No kidding, everyone nearby muttered. Fatigue rushed over Canaria as she dropped her shoulders, but she soon collected herself and raised her head.

“Anyway! Draco, Garol, follow your orders. Salamandra, construct a line of defense and a kekkai before the enemy herd gets out. Please remember that allowing even one of those God-classed fellows to escape to the lower levels would lead to a chaotic situation.”

“Understood.”

“Good luck to you too, sis!”

Flapping his wings, Draco Greif and Garol Gandach flew into the air. Salamandra’s dragons flew away next. Kuro Usagi, who was listening dumbfounded to the strings of conversation, finally had the question ‘Who is she?’ welling up in her mind.

A pure blood vampire. The tailcoat demon lord. A lion of the sun companion.

The southern floor masters, [Avalon] and [Draco Greif]. The northern floor masters, [Salamandra] and [Laplace Demons].

No matter how you looked at it, they all had nothing in common, it was a nonsensical group. To call out this many strong communities with no questions asked, she wondered how important that person was. Noticing Kuro Usagi’s quizzical gaze, Canaria responded with a mischievous smile.

“Come to think of it, I never introduced myself, heiress Usagi-sama. I am Canaria, tasked with being the adviser for '<span style="color:white;">..............</span>'.”

“………Canaria, sama.”

“That’s right. We can discuss your future when the sun rises. We’ll keep the moon rabbit survivors safe as best we can.”

“R,Really?”

“Of course. We of the '<span style="color:white;">..............</span>' Alliance don’t leave anyone behind. Especially moon rabbits, who have fought alongside us. There’s no way we could abandon them. So─────”

Just rest easy, she said. Saying that, she kissed her forehead. At that moment, Kuro Usagi was suddenly assailed by sleepiness.

With a gentle voice like her mother’s, and a dependable hug like her father’s, Kuro Usagi sank into sleep. In the middle of her descent into slumber, Canaria whispered a promise.

‘When you awake, this nightmare will be over.’

＊＊＊

And that is how that night of nightmares came to an end. At a later date, Kuro Usagi would become Canaria’s adopted child after meeting up with her again and would be accepted into '<span style="color:white;">..............</span>'. This was Kuro Usagi’s and Canaria’s─────their fated chanced meeting which carried the future of what would come to be called the No Names.


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===Translator's Notes===
<references/>

{{Mondaiji Nav|p1=7|p2=Illustrations|n1=7|n2=Interlude}}
</noinclude>