Chapter 36: Academy Exchange Meet: Development (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: Academy Exchange Meet: Development (4)
It was an ocean of flames.
I scanned my surroundings far and wide.
It was the Alps, blindingly white against the eyes. Yet it was scorched here and there as if covered in black mold. Beyond the rugged ridges, a faint crimson glow flickered in the distance.
The sky was a dull ash-gray from acrid smoke, while the ground below was entirely drenched in deep red. Looking up felt as though it would blind me, and looking down felt like my eyes would cook in their sockets.
This had been the glamorous Parsi Academy. That was precisely why it was impossible to overlap this living hell with the scene before me. Had it not been for the statue of the Parsi principal, I wouldn't have recognized it so quickly.
Even the statue had melted limply like ice cream, exposing its iron rebar skeleton. A six-meter-tall monstrosity resembling an anatomical dummy from a science lab—it was practically a scene out of an urban legend. But compared to the crowd packing the grounds of Parsi Academy, the dummy was mere child's play.
Fwoooosh!
People bowed toward the flames surging in every direction. Among them, those wearing pointed hoods muttered continuously under their breath while repeatedly snapping their fingers.
“Are they… using magic…?”
I flinched in shock.
Humans could cast magic—just as the Villains who had formed contracts with the Corps Commanders in the past had done.
If it were just the remnants of the Villains crawling out again to cause chaos, that would actually be better. I could just beat the hell out of them and be done with it.
‘That isn't magic bound by contract.’
They weren't Villains. They were gathering magic power on their own to cast spells.
I could see it. Fine particles of light flowed into the hands of the hooded crowd as if drawn there. My eyes caught the flow of magic power.
To name them… they were ‘magicians.’ A role that didn't exist in the current Miracle Blessing M system.
Among humans, only Villains imitated ‘magic.’
Their concept was borrowing magic power by using their master as a fuel tank. That was because the Human Realm was an environment where magic power could not naturally flow.
Therefore, this was an illusion. This scene, shattering the common sense of this world like glass, was false. Just how many foundations of the universe were being shaken right now?
Never….
‘This can never be real.’
At that moment, my vision reeled. I pressed a hand to my temple.
“Ugh.”
My head rattled. The sense of presence was overwhelmingly vivid. The mechanism felt no different from reality.
‘This isn't a simple illusion….’
A voice spat out from ahead, as if grafting itself onto my thoughts.
“It's not.”
It was Chae Lina.
“You know this isn't just a simple illusion, ■■. Running away from reality won't change anything.”
It's the future. That was what Chae Lina was trying to say.
“What an incredible ability…. Even Lady Medea's Poet's Blessing can only catch glimpses of the future at best. Is it because you were affected by the Counterforce? Your ability is a total cheat code.”
I forced words out.
‘Normally, my sword would have moved before my mouth.’
I couldn't do that now. My body wouldn't budge an inch.
A suffocating pressure felt as if thick ropes were wrapped tightly from my solar plexus down to my ankles. It seemed Chae Lina had pulled some trick.
Was it ‘Gleipnir’?
“What's on you right now isn't Gleipnir. It must be Humbaba, the chains of the dimensions.”
…Is she reading my mind?
“It's an arrangement by the Counterforce to bind you, a Demigod. No, maybe it's a restriction you placed upon yourself.”
Chae Lina babbled incomprehensible words with her usual indifferent expression. Yet her eyes were somehow filled with pity. Almost as if she sympathized with me, or felt sorry for me.
“How long do you intend to stay bound to your boyhood? Everyone will become miserable at this rate.”
“…For someone who introduced herself as hell itself, you sure worry a lot about others….”
Blood dripped from my nose.
The drops of blood must have hissed and evaporated before even touching the ground. That was how intense the heat boiling beneath my feet and Chae Lina's was.
Humans using magic.
Worshiping extraordinary flames, the product of magic power. If the surface had been completely destroyed by the raid of the Demons, it could be rebuilt. There was already a precedent with Joaquin Academy.
‘If humanity itself falls into depravity…’
Then there would be no solution.
Regressor, Possessor, or Reincarnator—whatever the fuck this beautiful girl was, the hell she was describing…
It must refer to a world where the order and very foundation of the universe had collapsed.
“My name is simply Hela. I am not hell itself. On the contrary, I am the one who wants to stop hell. To do that, ■■, I need your cooperation.”
It was a request loaded with implications.
She cut out all context and demanded cooperation out of nowhere. Yet, I could read between the lines.
Though I was only half of one, I was the God of Sword. With fragments of the truth inside my head, I could vaguely grasp what Chae Lina meant.
“Cut the bullshit. I might not be well-versed in mythology, but I know ‘Hela’ is part of eschatology.”
I rubbed my philtrum with the back of my hand. Then, through bloody lips, I spat at Chae Lina:
“Just because my attribute is hell doesn't mean my alignment is evil. Just as you are a god presiding over destruction, yet trying somehow to stitch this broken world back together.”
I didn't have a good retort for that.
“This world is crumbling.”
“…….”
“■■, because you bound yourself to your boyhood, this world is slowly rotting away. Of course….”
Chae Lina lowered her gaze.
Countless humans raised their heads like anti-aircraft guns. The gazes of those below were fixed upon us.
“—Ahhh-! Behold! The siblings of the Apocalypse!”
“—O Ruler of Niflheim, O Wolf that devours heaven and earth! We are deeply grateful for granting us equal power…!”
The faces in the illusion praised us with overwhelming emotion.
“—O Almighty who became a boy!”
“—May you be set free!”
“—Show us true demonic power!”
Chae Lina looked down at them. Flames flickered within her stunned retinas.
“Every world is destined to fall, but if we join forces, we can somehow stitch it back together.”
“What on earth are you—”
“We are the agents of the Apocalypse.”
Chae Lina stepped close. A sweet scent drifted past my hair.
“Me, the ruler of Niflheim. That woman playing Saintess, the serpent coiling around Midgard. And you, the wolf that devours the universe.”
Her delicate hand stroked my chin. It felt rough.
“We, the agents of the Apocalypse, shall devour the Counterforce. By maintaining the status quo through that….”
“Don't speak nonsense.”
“……?”
I met her widened black eyes.
“I get that your ability is impressive. Hela? Gleipnir? Whatever it is, trapping me in an illusion and binding my movements is remarkable. As the God of Sword, being tied up by a kid really destroys my dignity.”
Strand by strand, my hair began to float upward.
“Chae Lina, instead of stopping the apocalypse, you'd better start worrying about how to deal with me once I break out of this illusion. I let it slide when you played the cousin, but going this far? I'm not going to let you off easily.”
“…Once this illusion ends, you'll lose your memories too.”
Chae Lina bit her lower lip slightly in frustration as she spoke.
“Do you know why? You're close to omnipotent, but you threw away omniscience in exchange for choosing pitiful humanity. You could be grand and supreme. Why do you kick that opportunity away?”
“Because I've always lived doing whatever the hell I want. In my past life, and in this one.”
Just as I shrugged my shoulders while bound by unseen strings, a sudden cry shattered the silence.
Caw—!
* * *
…I am happy.
I know blind love doesn't always come back the same way. I'm not a child anymore, after all.
…That blonde human, Rachel, is just excessively grown, but I am a respectable adult now too.
I learned at Joaquin Academy that what matters is not physical development, but mental growth. Spending three autumns with him, I too have matured.
It is a blessing in disguise. Entering the Wolf Class despite the opposition of my family and grandfather… it was the best decision of my entire life.
No, thinking about it now, it was the very first time I judged and acted for myself.
How could I summon such courage? Need I even say? There's someone I always want to be beside… someone I watched from afar, even if we've grown a bit distant now…
Still, I am happy. Just because he is alive, because I can see him whenever I set my mind to it, I…
Really?
R-Really!
Losing him was entirely due to my own lack of capability. I can't blame anyone else…
Back then, I was immature, and keeping my distance because I felt I was unknowingly being a burden to him… In a way, it's all my fault that I couldn't paint a future with him.
So you're just going to give up?
I…
I……
Starting now, I will do my absolute best. I will clean up the obstacles in his way, one by one, with my own hands. Did I dislike getting blood on my hands? Does that even matter?
A-Ah, of course! I don't mean I'll harm my friends! The people staying by his side are precious friends to me as well!
This isn't a cowardly excuse. This is my true, honest heart, without a single shred of falsehood.
And I believe this sincerity will surely reach him. Even though I couldn't convey it when I was clumsy…
This time, it definitely will…
There will be obstacles, won't there?
T-That sort of thing is fine.
Why?
Because I will eradicate them all.
…….
Do you know?
Crows live by scavenging corpses. People see only that and avoid crows as bad omens, but in Mongolia or Tibet, it's different. They have a funeral culture called sky burial. It originates from the belief that the deceased travel to the heavenly palace alongside the crow.
Don't tell me, you…?
“…….”
Geomma-kun.
I love you.
“So…”
Love me back.
* * *
“…Hugin, Munin? Why are you two here?”
No sooner had Chae Lina muttered those words than a giant crow thrust itself between us. With its crest raised high, it shoved Chae Lina back fiercely.
Caw—! Caw—!
Chae Lina had no choice but to step away from me.
My left shoulder felt slightly heavy. The giant crow alighted gently upon it.
Caw—!
Then another crow firmly gripped my remaining shoulder with its talon-like feet.
While the crow on the left glared vigilantly at Chae Lina, the crow on the right pecked at my body with its beak.
There wasn't a single scratch. On the contrary, as the bird bobbed its head like a woodpecker, freedom of movement returned to my body.
At the same time, I began to slowly break free from the soul's bondage.
Ssshh.
Feeling a wave of liberation, I closed my eyes.
The illusion shattered into fragments like a window struck by a hammer. The pieces clicked back together, reconstructing the present.
Fssss.
The scent of fresh green grass brushed past the tip of my nose. A cool breath of fresh air seemed to seep into every crevice of my mind.
When I opened my eyes, a crimson hue draped over my peripheral vision.
Scraaaape.
A familiar figure passed by me, dragging a katana along the ground.
Swoooosh.
Crimson hair scattered wildly in the night wind.
“Geomma-kun, it's alright.”
The gaze piercing through her hair was redder and murkier than pomegranate seeds. She was not the Chloe I knew.
“This time, I'll save you.”
It had been ten years.
—Academy Exchange Meet: Development. End.