Chapter 47
Chapter 47
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: If You Target Someone, Your Back Is Left Open☆ (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Within the deep abyss.
All around, gnarled tree roots intertwined like serpents.
A place where black ether ceaselessly surged from the dark space.
In that desolate subterranean space stood four figures clad in robes of different colors.
The gathering place of the four ‘Priests’. It was an otherworldly space where the Priests of , who served [The Dragon Crouching in the Abyss], hid and resided until the moment of [Destiny] arrived.
A man in green.
A woman in silver.
Brown-clad twins.
Among them, the man in the green robe rested his chin on a scale-covered hand and let out a dry laugh. His face, twisted in a roguish grin, was covered in all sorts of tattoos.
The green-robed man chuckled for a long while, his upper body shaking.
“Khuhuhu... This is just ridiculous. That old fool, Grafvölluðr... believed some nonsense prophecy or whatever some weirdo spouted 1500 years ago. The moment he stepped out, he croaked. Khuhuhu... Thanks to him, a punk like me ends up in charge just by seniority. Hahahaha... It's driving me crazy.”
Even after speaking, the man in green let out another dry laugh, as if in disbelief.
Normally, the green-robed man, the second strongest among them, should have been the first to leave. But their leader and commander had gone out first, claiming he would verify the ‘prophecy’, only to die.
Until the moment of [Destiny], only one of them could leave at a time. The man in green, who had left through the suddenly vacant ‘passage’, learned the news belatedly.
The man in green couldn't help but find it hilarious.
“Khuhu... That old man, with his cowardly nature, wouldn't have just sat around and died... He probably couldn't shake that habit of rambling on when he thought he'd won, and then just suddenly dropped dead... Ah, khuk-khuk... Just imagining it is driving me crazy, khuhuhu...”
Their former leader, who had died so absurdly.
A mumble filled with curses directed at Grafvölluðr, the [Priest of Corrosion].
But the twin Priests listened with expressions of discomfort.
One of the twins, a boy in a brown robe, spoke.
“Isn't that enough, Ófnir? Instead of insulting him for his death, we should be planning our next move. Breaking through the inferior races guarding the World Tree.”
“Oh, are you uncomfortable because he was the adoptive father you followed since you were bugs? Sorry, sorry... Khuhuhu. But isn't it funny how he always acted so high and mighty, only to die so ridiculously? 'Thooose infeeerior raaaces~ are goooing to chaaange the wooorld~ Gack~!!'... Khuk-khuk-khuk...!”
“You son of a...!”
As the man in green mocked the words the [Priest of Corrosion] often uttered.
The twin sister, who had been listening quietly, reacted with a growl.
“This crazy bastard is just spouting whatever he wants with that mouth of his...!”
“Hoh—? 2000 years ago, you two would flinch if I so much as stamped my foot. Have the twins all grown up now? Khuhu!”
“This bastard...! Today, you're...!”
“Today? Today what? Try me if you've got the guts!! Hahaha!!”
“Grrrrr...!”
Goooooooo—
The man in green and the twins all unleashed waves of black ether. Their horns and tails began to grow, exuding an overwhelming pressure.
The situation was explosive.
They were on the verge of reverting to their true forms in the abyss and fighting.
A clear sound pierced through the tension.
Ting—
Ting—
Hearing that sound, the three Priests flinched, halting their fight.
She was the weakest.
And for that very reason, the woman in silver's voice was the most terrifying.
“Stop. Meaningless.”
“...Tch.”
“...”
“Kuhk...”
Ting—
Ting—
The woman in the silver robe tapped a large, clear glass orb, her eyes closed. A refreshing energy spread from it, washing over the Priests and flowing into the abyss.
Once the atmosphere calmed.
The woman in silver, still with her eyes closed, turned toward the man in green and spoke.
“[Discord], Ófnir. This is, a sacred space. Discord, is sacrilege.”
“...Tsk. Fine, I get it.”
“[Discord], Ófnir. The plan, what is it?”
“Hmph... You ask the obvious. There's only one thing for the [Priest of Discord] to do.”
The man in green muttered with a roguish smile.
“Poke and prod everywhere, make them all fight... and then throw in the worst possible move. That is the destiny of [Discord].”
“[Discord], Ófnir. Preparations?”
“Hehe... The bait is already taking effect. I've unleashed the power of the ‘Old Beast Gods’ on the inferior races, who don't even know who they follow anymore.”
“Respect. The current head Priest, is [Discord].”
“Then shut up and watch.”
“...”
The woman in silver nodded upon hearing this.
And the man in green began to slowly exit the space, speaking nonchalantly.
“I... will follow the [Destiny] that befits my name, rather than some prophecy from a nameless bug. That is what I received from the great dragon. I'll even use the power the old man told me to save until the very end without hesitation.”
The man in green resolved himself.
‘[The Crimson Trajectory] and [The Azure-White Lightning Spear], the ones who supposedly killed the old man... First, I'll have to divert their attention.’
As he accepted the black ether that slowly coiled around him to exit the space, the man in green looked up at the ceiling of the abyss.
There lay the traces of the great dragon, now unreachable... and a man who had called himself 'The Prophet' 1500 years ago, sleeping. He was sacrilegiously slumbering in the same place as the dragon.
『I know the future.』
『I will give you the information needed to reach the [Destiny] that will awaken the dragon.』
『And I will grant you the power of two beast gods, equal to the dragon.』
『In return... entomb me within the abyss until the moment the dragon awakens 1500 years from now.』
“...”
Ófnir, the [Priest of Discord].
The man in green recalled that arrogant tone for the first time in a while as he left the abyss.
In his hand was a relic from the beast god who had possessed power equal to [The Dragon Crouching in the Abyss]...
The rune left behind by [The Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle].
***
Early morning.
Alvitt locked the main gate of .
The school's main gate, which closed smoothly thanks to Kara and Maya's oiling.
Then, she turned around and called out to us loudly.
“Shall we get going now?”
“Yep—☆ Let's go, let's go—♪”
“Senior, from now on, don't wander off alone. You have to stick close to me!”
“Yes, yes—♪ Besides, we're just heading to the garrison where Vel and Sigrun are☆ Don't worry~ It's fine, I tell you~♪”
“...”
Alvitt didn't answer.
She just squeezed my hand tightly.
Through my calluses, a warm heat conveyed the girl's kindness.
Clink—
The crimson longsword at her waist made its presence known, clinking with the movement. Few students in the Academy City would use such a high-quality item.
A crimson blade.
Intricate patterns.
A luxurious matte finish.
It was quite a magnificent weapon.
‘In the game, it was just an image file, but seeing it in person, it's really cool. When Alvitt eventually gets her exclusive legendary weapon, should I ask her to pass this one down to me...’
Didn't Red Hare and the Green Dragon Crescent Blade change owners several times?
A good weapon, by its very nature, has the eco-friendly quality of being passed down among many great warriors.
‘Though I don't plan on fixating on a specific weapon type just yet...’
I was in the process of awakening by trying out every weapon type. High-quality items like the ones my juniors used could wait.
As I thought this, I gazed down at the hand Alvitt was holding.
‘...Anyway, my hand is starting to get sweaty.’
Fortunately, Alvitt let go of my hand before it could get clammy.
She then turned to Lotha and Kara to check their readiness.
“Lotha, are you ready?”
“Anytime.”
“Kara?”
“Perfectly ready, of course.”
The two of them raised their crimson capes and banner-spears.
After nodding at them, Alvitt turned to Freyja and asked.
“Freyja-sunbae, are you ready too? Did you lose anything or leave anything behind? Is your uniform properly mended?”
“Uh, I burned everything except my wand and uniform anyway... and, and even so... I'm not in a position to be worried over by a first-year...”
“Ehh~ Says the stray cat who burned her own train ticket for and is now borrowing Maya's pass—☆”
“U-ugh... Th-that's... *sigh*...”
Freyja sighed and said dejectedly.
“I... I called the sch-school... but they're not picking up. And a-all my train tickets burned up... s-so I have no choice... but to go... via ...”
“A train trip together—☆ Yep♪ So exciting and romantic—☆”
“Senior, calling it a trip... isn't that a bit much? This is a pretty serious situation...”
Lotha cautiously raised her hand and refuted my words.
‘Still, they're just fur-bea... ah, right, no racist thoughts in front of Lotha... think nice thoughts...’
While internally correcting one of my bad habits.
I responded to her refutation with a straight face, completely unfazed.
“Then shall we go for a 'conquest'—♪ A grand☆con☆quest of the dungeon by cute girls~!! Fufu♡”
“...Let's just call it a trip.”
And so, we prepared to head for the ether train station early in the morning.
‘Honestly, when I heard the broadcast, I wanted to rush out immediately like I did with ... but it would be a disaster if an unexpected situation arose like last time.’
The more haste, the less speed.
We had decided it was better to get a full night's rest and go with proper equipment.
Alvitt announced the start of our journey in a cheerful voice.
“Alright, let's depart!”
“Ooh~☆ Let's go help our small and adorable friend Vel, who must be in trouble right now♪ If nothing's wrong, we can just get some snacks and tea like last time—☆ Isn't that why we got these tickets, to foster friendships between girls~☆”
“Truly, I never imagined we would find such a useful purpose for it.”
Kara gave a wry smile as she took out the pass to that she had received from Vel.
After the commotion at , the pass we received from Vel turned out to be surprisingly useful. Even while I was sick and recuperating at school, my juniors often went back and forth to <mimir industrial="" high="" school=""> to procure supplies.
‘Sometimes when we visited the garrison, Vel would come out and serve us snacks and tea.’
To help our friend. And to stop the uprising of the Eastern... fur-bea... the Eastern Federation, which for some reason was happening just like in the original story.
‘With , <scarlet academy="">, and <mimir industrial="" high="" school=""> maintaining a solid alliance... the Eastern Federation acting according to the original plot is what's strange.’
In the original story, the northeastern part of the Academy City was their turf, but now, this was just a suicidal move.
“...”
Somehow, I could feel the influence of the changed in this. That's why we decided to use the train passes to head for the <mimir industrial="" high="" school=""> garrison.
On the way down the hill where was located.
We came across a tall girl waiting for us.
It was Maya, waiting with a truck parked at the bottom of the hill.
Maya, who had left first after breakfast, spoke to us.
“Oh, you're leaving.”
“Maya!”
“Maya-sunbae!”
Freyja gave Maya a slight... a very slight nod and said.
“The t-ticket... when this is all over... I'll pay you back... d-double.”
“Whatever.”
“Ugh...”
Maya didn't care about such things.
‘That cool demeanor of hers... no matter how many times I see it, I can't get used to it...’
But that was why.
Somehow, I could trust her.
‘Hilde is the one who makes my heart pound the most... but Maya is the one I'm most comfortable with.’
Guilt, duty, missions... unbound by any of it.
The friend with whom I could feel the most free in the Academy City.
I gave my friend a fist bump and said.
“We'll be back—☆”
“Where to...? You need to go to your school.”
“Ahaha—☆ Is that so~♪ You said you were going to pick up the kids from the Facilities Engineering department, right?”
“Yeah. I told them to scatter. So I have to be the one to gather them.”
Maya patted the truck.
It seemed she planned to drive the truck around the area to pick up the members of the Facilities Engineering department.
“...”
“...”
Maya suddenly said to me.
“[Spiral]... Clara.”
“Hm?”
“Are you happy?”
“Yeah! Of course—☆”
“Good.”
Thump.
Maya simply patted my shoulder and climbed into the truck. With a heavy roar of the engine, the heat-spewing truck disappeared down the road.
‘Happy... huh... Maya always asks me that before we part for what feels like a long time.’
What is it... that she's worried about for me?
“...”
We watched her go for a while before heading to the ether train station. We each took out our passes and boarded the fastest ether train bound for .
‘This is the first time a journey has started so smoothly.’
Somehow, the smooth start of the journey began to excite me.
***
“Don't move! You plebeians! This train is now under the control of the noble faction of !”
Ah, hell...
I really tried not to call them fur-beasts...