Chapter 40
Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Beasts That Scatter Gold ☆ (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I looked around one last time.
“…”
The airship, its engines already humming, was ready to depart from the dock, a gentle breeze in its wake. The sounds of students bustling about, moving materials the airship had brought from Mimir Industrial High School to Scarlet Academy, filled the air.
But nowhere among them could I see Hilde.
Before leaving the infirmary, I had asked the students from the United Student Council's health committee one last time.
But they had only seen the student council president hurrying off somewhere. No one else seemed to know where Hilde had gone either.
It was as if she had vanished from the city since yesterday.
‘I had a feeling… she might still be here.’
For some reason, I had a hunch that Hilde hadn't left the northern region yet. It was an inexplicable… an utterly absurd premonition. I felt that I would see her one last time before leaving the city.
But nowhere at the dock could I spot her silver-white hair.
There was only the sight of countless students chattering away as they moved luggage.
“…”
Was I mistaken?
After leaving so irresponsibly all those years ago.
Still hoping she would consider me a friend…
Was this just the self-justification born from an adult's selfishness?
“…”
I shook my head and walked toward my juniors, who were loading luggage into the cargo hold. It seemed better not to indulge in any more strange premonitions.
‘From now on, I won't act on impulse or make assumptions. I'll meet her and talk to her directly.’
I'm sure I'll see Hilde again.
When we meet again someday, we'll talk.
With that thought in mind, I walked toward the airship's entrance.
Eir was standing there, lined up with numerous students from Scarlet Academy.
The gentle breeze from the airship rustled the hem of her black coat. A uniquely shaped sword was strapped to her hip. The other Scarlet Academy students around her were also clad in simple black overcoats, each holding their own weapon.
‘Hundreds of them in black coats, black masks, and red uniforms… They look more like delinquents than actual delinquents.’
If delinquents were street thugs, these kids looked like the mafia. And their average combat prowess was far superior to any riffraff.
Among them, I noticed a few second-year students.
A few of them were still staring at me with fiery gazes. They were named characters, ones who would later become allies… or in other words, playable.
‘Were they away on a mission back then? I didn't see them that night… Then again, the entire student body must have been scattered to fend off all the chaos fiends.’
I wanted to get a good look at them one last time, but Eir was waiting right in front of me, so I just moved on.
As I approached, Eir greeted me with a smile.
“You’re here, [Spiral].”
“Yep♪ I’m here, [Trajectory].”
Whoa.
Whoa…
Good grief…
It came out so naturally, and I responded right back.
To think we’d greet each other by our titles.
It was something I couldn't have imagined even during our stormy first year.
To exchange titles so naturally, like martial artists trading aliases. Honestly, after doing it, I felt less embarrassed and more like a businessman exchanging business cards.
It just felt like a natural greeting…
‘I’ve really become a game character…’
The Scarlet Academy students saw this and let out a wild ‘Hyaah!’, loving it. Unable to contain their excitement, some of them pounded their weapons on the ground or stomped their feet.
‘These kids really love things like passion, oaths, resolve, titles… all that stuff…’
I gave a wry smile at the sight.
Eir revealed her jagged, shark-like teeth and let out a choked laugh. Being a Scarlet Academy student to the bone, she seemed to thoroughly enjoy such a meaningful greeting.
“…Heh heh, I think that’s the first time you’ve called me that.”
“We’re comrades-in-arms who fought against the same enemy~☆♪”
“Ah… that’s right… We were comrades.”
“Yep☆”
“…”
“…”
Eir’s crimson eyes, which always burned so brightly, wavered slightly.
Unlike the tense atmosphere of the night we reunited, her face now truly showed the relaxed expression of old. It seemed tinged with a mix of longing and regret.
Her slightly stiff expression gradually softened as she murmured quietly.
“I should have… come to talk to you sooner.”
“It’s not too late~☆ We’ve met again, haven’t we?♪”
“You’re right… Yes, that’s right… We can still… meet like this.”
As if shaking something off, Eir closed her eyes and gave a gentle smile. In the end, she was still a girl searching for something unchanging amidst the flow of time.
Her expression was somehow both pitiable… and as welcoming as an old classmate I’d run into unexpectedly.
‘If I’d known she’d be this happy to see me, I would’ve just been honest from the start.’
She was disappointed in how I'd changed when we first met, but I was relieved that seeing me fight against the Priest seemed to have softened her heart.
‘Well, after fighting so flamboyantly, shooting energy blasts and all, my [Faded Spiral] persona was completely exposed as a cosplay anyway.’
Soon, Eir let out a sharp breath as if she had made up her mind, and walked toward me.
And then…
She pulled me into a tight embrace.
An embrace so powerful I could feel the beat of her heart against mine.
It wasn't the embrace of a shy girl, but one filled with fiery passion.
I looked at Eir’s fierce face, now so close, and spoke.
“Eir, what’s wrong~☆? Are you upset about something?”
“…”
Eir replied in a voice that was rough, but full of sincerity.
“…Clara. Thank you. For saving me, and for protecting our school.”
“Hehe☆ Don’t mention it~♪”
“You risked your life… for me, for your juniors, for everyone…”
Eir met my gaze and made a vow.
“I, too, will risk my life for you, for your juniors, for everyone. Thank you, my friend… I’m sorry I misunderstood you.”
“Mhm~☆ Don’t mention it~♪ Thanks.”
“And…”
“…?”
Eir whispered quietly in my ear, her voice filled with conviction.
“There’s a stage beyond [Unique Aether]… isn’t there?”
“…!”
“That night, watching you fight, and watching that ‘Priest’ guy fight. I felt a different level of power. A realm beyond [Unique Aether], which I had always thought was the limit.”
“Eir…!”
“I sensed a state that makes the conventional wisdom—that [Unique Aether] is the final form—completely irrelevant.”
I stared at Eir’s face in shock.
Her expression was still confident, burning with intensity.
Somehow, she seemed to have realized the existence of ‘Apex’.
And with that fiery spirit, Eir declared her second vow.
“I will…!! I will absolutely… reach that place…!!”
“…!”
“So watch me grow…!! [Spiral]!! You have an obligation to, because you are the one I acknowledge… as the true strongest in the Academy City—!!”
A shiver ran down my spine.
She had called me ‘the strongest’.
Knowing the weight that title held for her, a girl who knew nothing but fighting, I could only stare wide-eyed, trembling.
While I was still stunned, Eir took a few steps back and shouted.
“Demons of the Flame!! Is our friend!! Our savior!! Worthy of our farewell—?!”
[She is—!]
[She is more than worthy of our farewell—!]
The thunderous stomping of hundreds of feet followed.
The cries of countless warriors echoed through the sky.
A farewell ritual from Scarlet Academy, something never shown in the game.
The Demons of the Flame shouted.
The Demons of the Flame stomped their feet.
The Demons of the Flame struck their weapons.
[Send her off—!!]
*Thump!!*
[The warrior—!!]
*Thump!!*
[The hero—!!]
*Thump!!*
With every stomp, the ground trembled, and it felt as if the sky itself might shatter. They drew their weapons, igniting them with crimson flames. The blazing weapons shone, shooting fire toward the distant sky.
*Fwoooosh—!!*
[Ignite—!!]
*Thump!!*
[The flames—!!]
*Thump!!*
Hundreds of Scarlet Academy students shouted in unison. Their voices, filled with passion and spirit, drew the gazes of everyone in the northern city.
[You are our sister, and our heart—!!]
[We will gladly burn our lives for you—!!]
[If you have an enemy, turn your head and call upon the crimson flame—!!]
Eir added one last thing.
“Anytime!! Call on us!! If you need the flames of war!! We will gladly answer!!”
And then the cheers erupted.
-Waaaaaah!!!
-Waaaaaah!!!
Until we boarded the airship, they sent us off with farewell shouts that seemed to tear their throats. Shouts that everyone in the northern region could hear. They shook the earth, echoed in the sky, and resonated deep within our chests.
[The airship bound for Central Prism Academy will be departing shortly. All passengers, please be seated…]
Even after boarding the airship and taking our seats,
we stared out the window for a while, speechless, simply trembling as we felt the reverberations.
I chuckled as I watched my juniors, who were initially shocked but now deeply moved.
“Hehe☆ The kids from Scarlet Academy are pretty nice, aren't they?♪”
“Huh?”
“We only fought together once, but they called us sisters who would share their lives~☆ Yep♪ I guess that just shows how passionate they are~☆”
“…”
Alvitt replied, her voice tinged with dissatisfaction.
“…If that one battle caused her to lose all her aether and become unable to fight anymore. For a hero like that… I think such a send-off is more than appropriate.”
“Hm…?”
“…That’s just my opinion, though.”
Alvitt quickly turned her head away from me.
She pouted as if hurt, pretending not to notice.
Lost?
Her power?
All of it?
…Who?
“…”
I pressed my face against the window again, watching the backs of the Scarlet Academy students as they departed after seeing us off. A sense of unease washed over me, and I couldn't help but be horrified.
‘Do they still think I’m the real [Faded Spiral]… and in a completely powerless mode at that?! I thought they’d know I was fine after a simple check-up from the health committee kids…?!’
After fighting so spectacularly.
So now I don't look like someone hiding their power... but someone who's *lost* their power.
No wonder Hilde, Vel, and Eir all said their goodbyes so grimly.
‘This is a disaster…’
But there was no time to clear up the misunderstanding; the airship was already afloat, heading toward Central Prism Academy.
***
Eir stood blankly, watching the airship disappear to the east.
‘Watch me… In your place, you who lost all your strength for our sake, I will one day defeat [The Azure-White Lightning Spear]… and become the strongest.’
That was the only way…
To honor Clara, who had burned her last precious flame for them.
[The Pink Spiral] had lost everything, yet she remained bright and cheerful.
No…
Even her faded appearance before she squeezed out her last bit of strength to fight was no different from her past self. She had always been someone who walked her own path cheerfully.
Eir smiled bitterly, mocking herself.
‘If anything… I was the one who was lost.’
And as she opened and closed her fist again, she felt the path slowly coming into view. The ennui she had felt since awakening her [Unique Aether] was now gone, replaced by the drive to follow the pink spiral toward the path of the strongest.
Eir threw a punch into the air.
*Fwoosh—!!*
All she had to do now was move forward.
***
Brynhildr stood atop the tallest building, gazing blankly at the airship.
“…”
In her eyes, the faded pink hair of the girl sitting by the window in the distance was clearly visible.
In the end.
She couldn't muster the courage to go and say goodbye.
The shock of being rejected once had made her flee like a coward.
“…”
And so, Brynhildr stood there, watching the airship.
In that moment.
It seemed as though the faded, light-pink hair swished as the girl turned to look her way.
“…?”
Brynhildr shot to her feet.
In truth, it was a distance that even she, who aimed for a realm beyond Apex, couldn't be certain of, but she somehow felt that Lara was looking at her.
She slowly waved her hand toward the window.
“…Lara.”
Perhaps it was just a wave meant for the Scarlet Academy students who had seen her off.
But…
Still, Brynhildr waved.
“…Farewell.”
Farewell.
Let’s… meet again.
I hope we can meet again.