Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Brighter Than Gold☆ (4)
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The thunderous roar from the bombardment of golden cats.
The head of the 'Serpent', paralyzed from the impact.
Amidst the chaotic scene.
Ófnir raised his mantis-like forelegs in a threatening gesture.
"You call yourself a god? How arrogant, how utterly arrogant...! An inferior species, destined to perish amidst the movements of the stars, dares to speak of gods? Heh...! You don't even know who you ought to serve...!"
Beneath the overcast sky,
the shadow cast by his massive blades loomed.
His two forelegs were raised, like an apostle praying to the heavens.
The [Priest of Conflict], genuinely enraged.
Unlike his usual self, always full of scorn, the killing intent simmering on his blades was thicker than ever. And in sync with his movements, thousands, tens of thousands of armaments embroidered the dim sky. The authority of the 'Serpent', formed from black ether, manifested in countless numbers.
Rrrrrumble—!
At the same time.
The ground rippled, churning with black ether.
Ominous sounds and presences undulated, assaulting the senses.
The environment was charged, as if on the verge of exploding at any moment.
"...!"
"...!"
Hilde and Freyja sensed the unusual change.
They hurriedly assumed combat stances. And they prepared to charge toward Ófnir's exposed main body at any moment.
"B-Be careful...!"
"Lara, the ground...!"
"Yep☆ I know─♪ Looks like he's trying to summon a bunch of clones this time☆ Now that I've seen through him once, he seems to be getting desperate─☆ But if we go in now, we'll definitely get ambushed~ Just wait for a sec♪"
"What...?!"
The two of them froze in their charging stances.
Ófnir's displeased sigh could be heard as he watched them. It was so faint that Hilde and Freyja didn't seem to have heard it, but...
"...Tch."
Right.
He's always like this.
No matter how different his movements were from the game, that tendency remained the same. And my cognitive abilities could detect and pinpoint every single sign of it.
'Just like the guy who'd pretend to be bugged by moving like he's spacing out, or use counter patterns that hit when the player flinches at the background music and graphics...'
A veteran's strategy spoiler.
I carefully observed his tells, cautiously gripping the golden cat dagger. From my palm, I thought I could faintly hear Lotha's voice.
"H-How did you...?"
"..."
But Freyja seemed puzzled by my confident attitude. Hilde also seemed to have many questions, but she was keeping her promise to trust me.
'After all, I was always at the center of the ill-fated conflict with those Ratatoskr bastards... And now it seems we'll have to come up with a plan against the 'Prophet' together...'
I couldn't live with the misunderstanding of being [The Faded Spiral] or whatever forever. Hadn't Hilde already been worried, thinking the golden petals flowing from my wound held some grand meaning?
"..."
This fight isn't the end, but a new beginning.
Let's use it as an excuse to truly move forward.
Once this fight is over, I feel like I'll have to confess a lot of things.
'Though I don't know how much they'll believe me.'
My memories.
My recollections.
My heart... my still wavering heart.
'My feelings... for you, too. I'm not sure yet... but including all of that.'
I looked at Hilde beside me.
In the two silver eyes that met mine, there was still no trace of wavering.
Krrr-rumble—!!
A surging bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating the silver-haired girl.
Hilde held her massive lance, raising her azure-white ether, and looked at me quietly. There were many things she wanted to say, but she offered me only a single sentence.
"I'm happy that I can fight alongside you again, Lara."
"..."
Her pure sentiment made my heart swell, and I replied playfully to hide my embarrassment.
"Though this time, we're fighting against the same opponent─☆"
"...That, too, makes me happy."
"Me too─☆"
"That, too... makes me happy."
"..."
Really... when will I ever be able to win against this girl?
More than the path to a state beyond Apex,
I felt like I needed to learn how to win at human relationships.
Thinking this to myself, I blurted out a reply.
"...I'm happy to be able to fight with you too, Hilde."
"...Mm!"
As if finally satisfied with my answer.
Hilde gave a faint smile and nodded. I could smell a subtle scent of mint from her shimmering silver hair.
A smile without a hint of hesitation.
For some reason, I felt shy looking at that smile, so I turned my head forward again.
"..."
Twitch.
The now-familiar purple cat ears twitched.
Vwoooom—!!
Freyja slowly activated the [Eternal Spindle] behind her back and spoke in a baffled voice. The hostility that had once been sharp as thorns was no longer present in her tone.
"I-In a situation like this, y-you two are really something..."
"I'll tell you lots of things too, stray cat~♪ Oh, while we're at it, how about we have a girls' talk...!"
"N-No thanks... And how long are you going to keep calling me a stray cat... My name is...!"
Rrrrrumble—!!
"...!"
"...!"
"...Looks like it's starting."
The black ether slowly seethed.
The ground we stood on... black ether surged from the 'Serpent's' head. From the murky surface, which looked like a mix of various paint colors, numerous presences were slowly emerging.
Ófnir's clone generation pattern was complete. But he didn't exude the air of someone who had succeeded.
"..."
The violet spindle beginning to turn.
The azure-white lightning endlessly flashing and blinking.
And the cat weapons standing firmly behind me.
We too were fully prepared, having assumed our combat stances.
'The small fry are easy enough to cut down, but that guy's counterattack hurts like hell. This is actually more advantageous for us.'
Ófnir, who had been pretending to show an opening while preparing a counter, lowered his blade-like forelegs in vain.
"..."
But even though his specialty, the counter-baiting pattern, had failed, he didn't seem fazed at all. Instead, an air of understanding flowed from him.
"...A dangerous one. Perhaps... even more so than [The Azure-White Lightning Spear] who killed the old man... The traces of the 'Prophet' are always like this..."
"...Old man?"
Hilde questioned softly,
but Ófnir didn't answer and glared at me instead.
"Heh... I see. Now I understand... In this [Conflict], my true rival... was you."
A low, mumbling voice, as if he'd realized something.
For the first time, [The Priest of Conflict] Ófnir spoke in an emotionless voice.
"Yes, you... I must kill you here. Perhaps even this is part of my [Destiny]... for the sake of what is to come..."
"Are you saying that to my face? You're a hopeless troll─☆"
"...Indeed, I declare this before the center of the universe."
Rrrrrumble—!!
Black ether surged and swelled like a sea of mud.
Black armaments rained down on us like a downpour.
Shushushuk—!!
Chwaaaak—!!
Hundreds of clones with grim expressions.
Ófnir's clones swarmed toward us. The killing intent contained within the black ether in their outstretched hands erupted like a storm.
"Another trace of the 'Prophet'...!"
"Must...!"
"Be killed...!"
"For the coming age of chaos—!!"
"Must be killed...!!"
"For my true god!! For the cycle of [Destiny]!!"
"Must be killed!!"
"Must be shattered into pieces and killed!!"
[Vanish within the conflict—!!!]
The black weapons raining from the sky.
The dozens of clones rising from the ground.
The priest's cry from afar as he swung his giant blades, creating a black gale. A cloying storm of killing intent.
"..."
Amidst it all.
I stepped forward and controlled my breathing.
With the help of the golden ether, I enhanced the cognitive abilities of the [Spiral].
"Hoo...!"
The world of an instant.
Whoooosh—
Everything flows in slow motion.
I can begin to see the flow of all existence.
As if everything is flowing through water.
I can feel the sound and vibration of everything surging toward me. I can feel the air that constitutes the world and the sense of existence. Everything in this world is made to flow.
My love, my friendship, my memories...
My anger, my despair, my enemies...
Everything flows.
Everything flows and vibrates.
It endlessly collides with the world and resonates.
I perceive all those 'moments' as the 'world'.
The dagger twirls in my hand.
I switched my grip on the golden dagger to a reverse hold.
Zzzzing—!!
A girl's memories flowed out from the golden dagger. That golden memory, holding the warmth of a sunset, resonated and seeped into my heart.
Lotha's dream.
Her older sister, who passed away early from an illness.
The memory of playing with her, hand in hand, in a golden garden.
The golden dream she cherished after hearing the stories left by [The Golden Witch].
-Hey, sis...! I'm going to create a wonderful magic that lets everyone get to know each other! I'm going to make the prettiest magic in the world!
-Yeah, that's wonderful! I know you can do it, Lotha!
-Really? You think so? I'll make lots of friends, just like [The Golden Witch], right?
-Yes! You'll make lots of friends who will cheer for your dream...!
A smile crept onto my face.
'Yeah, that's a really wonderful dream.'
A true dream that only one person believed in.
That's why it was buried somewhere in Lotha's memories.
But in this moment, that memory was becoming a fairy tale, seeping into me.
Dreams become memories.
Memories become fairy tales.
Fairy tales become feelings and flow.
Everything flows like that.
The world existed as such a beautiful flow.
I drew my arm back to swing the dagger.
Then, a dazzling ether shone from the golden dagger,
carrying countless memories and lending me strength.
I made a vow to Lotha's sister, whom I could see in the golden fairy tale.
'I'll cheer for that dream, too. So watch over me from there. I will absolutely... absolutely make sure everyone gets a happy ending!'
The girl in the memory looked at me and nodded.
-...Thank you.
"...!"
Was it an illusion?
A delusion?
Even amidst that inexplicable miracle... everything was flowing.
Everything flows and [Vibrates].
And [Vibration] gives birth to 'change'.
The power to 'change' the world as ether.
In this world, it is called [Wave Ether].
I looked at the endlessly swarming enemies and swung the dagger. Contained within the brilliantly shining golden trajectory was my heart.
At the very front.
Swing toward the enemies.
I move beyond nothingness, toward martial prowess.
World, change according to my will.
This is not a mere swing of power, but a strike of martial art.
The [Spiral] moves beyond the Apex, toward the Martial Apex.
Pouring my heart into it, I unleashed my second secret art.
"[Blue Sweet Macaron]—!!"
Fwaaaaa—!!
The dagger is swung.
Golden ether begins to shine from the dagger's tip.
The endlessly compressed ether flashes white.
And like a spring uncoiling, a wave of ether surges forward.
A deafening [Wave] of destruction.
It flowed toward dozens, hundreds of enemies.
Kwaaaaaang—!!!
"Kuhak?!"
"Uwaaah!!"
"Keoheok?!"
If [Red Flower Darjeeling] was a simple flash of destruction,
[Blue Sweet Macaron] was a wave that pursued the enemy.
Countless clones were shattered and vanished by my single strike. But that alone was not enough to obliterate them all.
But there were attacks being fired from behind to help me.
A wave of violet armaments.
A charge of azure-white lightning.
"Lara!!"
"Scoundrel!!"
The cries of [The Violet Spindle] and [The Azure-White Lightning Spear].
The wave flows.
I advance within the flow of power.
"Ófnir—!!!"
And so, I closed in on Ófnir faster than anyone else.
His gaze was fixed on me.
Ófnir retreated, evading the wave from my [Blue Sweet Macaron]. An eerie resonance spread from his wide-spread wings. His green body soared nimbly into the air.
"Haaaaat!!"
Tatat!
I kicked off the ground and pursued Ófnir.
Ófnir crossed his massive arms, firing a black whirlwind at my approaching form. It shrieked through the air, filled with sharpness, coming to take my head.
-Meeeoow—!!
Another golden cat leaped into my arms.
It soon transformed into a dazzling golden spear.
I raised the spear high and cut through the raging whirlwind.