Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Shadow Behind the Gold☆ (1)
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Alvitt desperately swung her longsword at the person climbing onto the truck. In response, the dark elf student in magi-armor hastily assumed a defensive stance.
*Claaaang—!*
A black gauntlet was scarred by the crimson blade.
The attack, carrying a heavy impact, forced her back.
But Alvitt’s assault didn’t end there.
‘Now!’
Alvitt’s eyes gleamed as she attacked.
“[Flash Sword: Wild Strikes]—!”
“…!”
The power of the second stage of understanding the world.
An Ether skill she had recently awakened.
She unleashed a strike that had reached the realm of [Vibrating Ether].
*Sh-sh-sh-shk—!*
Countless sword strikes were carved into the armor.
A multitude of straight lines, drawn like a spiderweb.
They swarmed the armor, radiating an energy that seemed ready to burst at any moment.
“Kuh?!”
The armored girl was flustered by the sword strikes approaching like a moving wall. Even after the attack ended, they clung to her like an entangled spiderweb.
“…!”
But her surprise was momentary.
The armored girl, who had just climbed onto the truck, activated her magi-armor’s defensive function. As expected of an item issued to a member of the Svart Industrial High School’s disciplinary committee, the golden sigils glowed as a sturdy Ether shield materialized.
*Zzzzziiing—!*
The dark elf student in black armor grinned and shouted, her voice filled with an unconcealable confidence.
“To think I’d be pushed this far by a mere first-year—! I’m different from the ones you’ve faced until now—!”
“…”
“Take this!! Then the promotion and the bounty are mine—!!”
*Clang!*
A golden blade clashed with Alvitt’s crimson one. The armored girl quickly pressed a button on the hilt of her one-handed sword.
*Click—!*
*Chwaaaak—!*
Simultaneously, an Ether circuit deployed, causing the golden sword to glow. From it, an intense red light erupted like a whirlwind.
*Shwoooosh—!*
It was a supplementary function that allowed for an attack comparable to that of a [Wave Ether] user, albeit for a fleeting moment. The only drawback… was that it could only be used once or twice after melting down a very expensive, high-purity Ether-conductive ore into it.
The dark elf student boldly activated her sword and attacked.
“This is no time to be stingy—!!”
“Kuh?!”
Alvitt hastily deflected the attack by rotating her crimson blade. It was an unconscious action born from her experience sparring with Vel.
The blades slid past each other.
But the attack continued.
“A first-year showing off her cheap tricks!! It’s not over—!!”
The armored girl once again swung the sword, which now glowed like a red torch, at Alvitt. The tip of the sword advanced, leaving a sinister trail of fire along its trajectory.
*Shwaaak—!*
The glowing magi-weapon emitted a threatening light and a sound like the passing of hell’s chariot. The magi-weaponry of Svart Industrial High School was worth every bit of its high price.
“Take this—!”
As the attack came, Alvitt twisted her sword from an offensive stance to a defensive one. It was a fluid transition between offense and defense, a fundamental of Ether swordsmanship.
*Claaaang—!!*
The two blades clashed.
Again, she deflected and parried.
The flow of battle had reversed once more.
At that moment, Alvitt caught a subtle opening created by the repeated shifts between offense and defense. The armor’s defensive function was adjusting automatically for the user’s convenience.
‘The armor’s defense has weakened…! Now!’
Alvitt’s eyes shone in the darkness as she spoke softly. Yet her voice was clear, impossible to drown out even by the wind rushing past the speeding truck.
“It seems… since you rely on your equipment to fight, your openings are much larger than a true [Wave Ether] user’s.”
“What…?”
The armored girl’s face contorted.
At the same time, the numerous spiderweb patterns etched onto her armor began to glow.
The girl frantically patted her armor in a panic.
“Huh…? Huh? What is this…?!”
“Farewell. I hope we never meet again.”
“Huh? W-Wait…!”
*Poke—!*
Alvitt jabbed the armor with the tip of her crimson sword and turned away as if there was nothing more to see. Since mastering the second stage of Ether manipulation, she had gained complete control over the timing of her [Flash Sword]’s explosions.
Simultaneously, the spiderweb-like patterns from her sword strikes detonated.
*KABOOOOM—!*
With a heavy thud of something falling far below the truck, she had successfully fended off all the students who had climbed aboard.
Then, a playful voice reached Alvitt’s ears.
“Ooh~ Not bad at all~”
“…Vel.”
Vel was giggling, her eyes crinkling into a smile. Having already dispatched all five of the Svart Industrial High School disciplinary committee students, she had been watching Alvitt’s fight.
*Flick—!*
Vel turned around meaningfully.
Her eyebrows knitted together, her brow furrowed.
Her expression seemed to be mimicking Alvitt’s serious face.
Vel reenacted the scene and spoke playfully.
“Defeating the enemy in a flash… and then showing your back while saying, ‘I hope we never meet again.’… You’re starting to develop a taste for this sort of thing, aren’t you?”
“…”
“Turning your back just as the explosion went off, that was totally for dramatic effect, wasn’t it? Huh? You’re into this stuff too, aren't you~?”
She was likely referring to the showy taste for flaunting one’s strength in front of strangers.
Realizing this, Alvitt let out a deep sigh. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks, a sign of her growing embarrassment.
“Haa… It’s not like that.”
“Aw, why not~! I’m telling you, it feels amazing! Posing in front of weaker kids feels so good~! I thought you were finally getting a taste for the good stuff…!”
“I get it, I get it… please stop teasing me…”
Vel cackled for a while longer.
Then, as if proud of her, she patted Alvitt’s shoulder and said.
“Hehe… anyway, good work. The others can’t fight well in such a narrow space. We were able to win because you were here.”
“I only beat one person.”
“And what’s wrong with that? Hehe…!”
After laughing for a while on the speeding truck, Vel walked over to the driver’s cabin. She tapped on the roof and shouted.
“We got ‘em all~! Just keep going straight, we’re almost there!”
“Is that so? My goodness…”
*Click!*
The driver’s side window rolled down, and Kara’s face popped out.
“Comrade Vel and Comrade Alvitt, you’ve worked hard! To think they’d chase us so relentlessly even after we broke through their encirclement…”
“Tell me about it~ I can’t believe Andrea, that golden ghost bitch, would come after us. We were just unlucky. And after The Violet Spindle worked so hard to create a diversion…”
Vel sighed deeply. Sigrun and Greta, who were in the passenger seat, spoke with apologetic expressions.
“We’re sorry, Secretary Vel—!! My resolve was lacking—!! I should have fought by swinging my bow like a club—!!”
“Ugh, I’m sorry. I can barely fight in such wide-open spaces…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine~ All you have to do is follow this adorable secretary~! We’re almost there, so rest as much as you can!”
Vel squeezed her way into the cabin through the open passenger window. But Alvitt wasn't petite enough to do the same, so she simply sat down on the truck's roof.
*Whoooosh—*
She felt the wasteland wind as the truck sped on.
“…”
As she watched the walls of the Golden District draw nearer, Alvitt thought of her pink-haired senior. Although Clara had said she was fine over and over, Alvitt couldn't help but worry.
‘Senior… are you really, truly okay…?’
Memories from the beginning of the semester surfaced.
Memories of when she had looked down on Clara.
Thinking back to that time, her heart ached at her own callous words.
‘…I’m sorry.’
It was a guilt that would likely resurface from time to time.
“…”
Again…
Once again…
Was she again failing to hear her senior’s sorrow and screams?
Was she again ignorant of the loneliness of a senior who was burning herself up for their sake?
‘If you’re in pain, please tell me, senior… I won’t turn a blind eye anymore…’
Such thoughts still lingered in Alvitt’s mind.
*Clank—!*
The sword at her hip hit the floor, making a sound. Alvitt gazed at the blade that had become her most cherished possession.
“…”
The crimson sword was growing more familiar with every fight.
Clutching the precious gift her senior had left her, Alvitt prayed that they would resolve everything… and meet again safely.
It was at that moment.
*Vroooooom——!*
Another engine sound.
On the road leading to the grounds of Aesir Girls' High School.
A sound that shouldn't be heard in the deserted western wasteland was ringing out.
“…!”
Startled, Alvitt looked behind her. There, a golden cargo truck, gleaming with dazzling decorations and emblems, was in hot pursuit.
[I thought you’d be hiding among those worthless beanpoles, but you came out so boldly… Thanks to that, our client is very angry, you know?]
A slick voice drifted over.
An unidentified announcer was rambling through a loudspeaker.
[Hmph, looks like the disciplinary committee members I sent ahead were all taken out. Man… even with the hefty success fee I’ll get for sending a pursuit team, I wonder if this will even be profitable? Still… a deal’s a deal, so I’ve got to do the work I was paid for.]
The low, resonant voice spoke toward them.
[Hey, you little rats. If you stop there, I’ll be nice and only charge you the principal for damages… so how about you stop? The ruler of the Academy City is about to change, so choose wisely.]
A high-performance loudspeaker, its sound carrying for hundreds of meters. In time with the voice it carried, numerous vehicles were approaching from the distance.
*Vroooooom——!*
*Vroom, vroom—!*
At least several dozen golden vehicles.
The pursuers were slowly closing the distance. Unlike their vehicle, which had been hastily commandeered from a battlefield, these seemed to have been built for pursuit.
[For messing with us this much, even your lives won’t be enough to cover the interest, you know?]
As the voice spoke, the truck's cargo bay doors opened.
And as they opened, what was slowly revealed was…
*Zzzing—!*
*Zzzing—!*
*Zzzing—!*
…the glowing eyes of dozens of magi-armor puppets.
Vel frantically shouted from the passenger window.
“Th-that’s the voice of Andrea, the student council president of Svart Industrial High School!! What the hell are those bitches thinking, invading all the way to the Golden District?! We have to get away—!!”
“Even if you say that, they’re getting closer…!”
“Aaaargh~!! This is driving me crazy~!! We’re so close~!!”
Vel clutched her head and whimpered.
Alvitt’s face slowly turned pale.
All the while, the pursuers’ vehicles drew ever closer.
***
The first thing I saw upon entering the Golden District was chaos.
‘What a mess…’
Two groups were letting out streams of murderous Ether, veins bulging in their necks. Countless high school girls, their beautiful faces contorted, were spewing primal hatred laced with elegant insults and vulgarities.
“You damn furry beasts—!! How dare you commit treason against Aesir Girls’ High School?! I’ll skin every last one of you and turn you into carpets!!”
“Ha! You barbarian usurpers who swing those pathetic scraps of iron…! Since when was this Academy City your land?! The city will now return to the hands of its rightful nobles!”
“Let’s see if you can still spout that nonsense with a sword stuck in your mouth!!”
“I will pull out every tooth that uttered such insolence and use them as gravel for the school garden!!”
And without hesitation, they clashed, creating a deafening roar.
Sharp swords and menacing magic.
Countless weapons flying through the air.
Students charging across dozens of meters.
Crumbling buildings and a shattered cityscape.
*Krrrrrumble——!!*
*KABOOOOM——!!*
Like giants hammering in the distance, the thunderous clashes of lightning and massive weapons echoed endlessly. Below, students in black and white uniforms fought in organized groups.
If you were to turn the black and white stones of a Go board into people, would it look like this?
‘It’s a bit cruel to say… but since they’re so clearly divided into black and white, it’s easy to gauge the situation.’
Contrary to the seemingly tense standoff, the momentum of the battle at the gate was tipping in favor of Public Vana Boarding School. About one in every ten students, beastkin girls with snake tattoos on their necks and wrists, were shining.
“Golden armament, obey—!!”
“Obey—!!”
“Obey—!!”
A messy swinging of weapons… without even a chant.
But in response to their swings, countless armaments materialized.
*Thud!*
*Thud!*
*Thud!*
Dozens of weapons instantly flew toward the students in black uniforms. They created threatening explosions, deciding the course of the battle.
Magic unleashed haphazardly, without any incantations.
A bombardment of heterogeneous, childish power, devoid of any trace of the user’s personal Ether skills or individuality, rained down mercilessly.
Watching this, I groaned inwardly.
‘The power to have one’s [Fate] stolen by an ancient god who doesn’t follow the laws of the World Tree… In the game, it was just lore for the ‘heretics’ that appeared after the ending, so I didn’t pay it much mind…’
The power bestowed by The Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle was… alien and grotesque. But the noble faction beastkin students using it had gleaming eyes and wore satisfied smiles.
“Hehehe…! This is the dignity of the noble faction!! Finally!! A power granted to the rightful rulers of the Academy City, after a thousand years—!!”
“…”
“…”
Watching from a distance, the expressions on Freyja and Lotha’s faces were wretched.
It was a scene of students from Public Vana Boarding School, known as a prestigious school of magic, borrowing an unknown power to indiscriminately wield things beyond their means.
Amidst the chaos, there were some noble faction students who weren’t fully participating in the fight.
“Hiiik…!”
“I-I didn’t come to school for this…!”
“I don’t know anything about… the Vana nobility’s long-held wish!!”
They were simply trembling, hiding in alleyways and holding their breath, as if they couldn't believe this reality. Most of those hiding were ordinary first-year students from Public Vana Boarding School.
We focused our attention on them, sitting there helplessly.
Freyja let out a sigh of relief and said.
“A-at least… it looks like th-that stupid idiot Frau didn’t force that power on the first-years…”
“Yeah…☆ Could it be she gave her juniors a choice—♪”
“N-no… sh-she probably just didn’t share the power with anyone who wasn’t completely under her thumb…”
“…I-I see—☆”
I recalled the petty personality of Frau, who, in the game, had disappeared as an early-game boss without ever obtaining such immense power.
‘Well, she was the type to sacrifice people without a second thought for her own goals, like Cao Cao… I guess she brought the first-years along to use as cannon fodder instead of her main forces…’
Lotha tugged on my sleeve and whispered.
“Senior, those girls… maybe they know something about the current situation?”
“W-well… th-there’s no one else to ask… s-so let’s just ask them a few things and leave them if they’re no help…”
I was taken aback by Freyja’s words.
“Hey—☆ That’s too harsh~♪”
“Wh-what’s too harsh are the bitches who burned my thesis and my luggage… The moment I saw those flames… any minor distinctions or mercy on the battlefield… vanished from my heart…”
“Haa…☆”
We were about to approach the students trembling in the alley.
“…!”
“…!”
Freyja and I sensed a group approaching and looked in their direction. Lotha, seeing our gazes shift, quickly hid behind me.
*Thud-thud-thud!!*
A group of students appeared swiftly from the distance. They were from the central district, wearing the uniforms of the United Student Council. And the student leading them was, surprisingly, a black wolf beastkin.
‘Huh? She’s…!’
She was the United Student Council’s second-year vice president… Sieglinde.