Vol 11 Chapter 3 (1/2)
Chapter 3 - Those Who Arrive in Front of God
Tokyo's shi+njuku Ward That's what it used to be called
The dah to reshape the land and the reconstructed shi+njuku was different froinal
This city that held the Inquisition's headquarters flourished and sparkled more than any land in old japan
But now there wasn't a single remnant of that
The post-war devastation froain
The collapsed buildings and trees Cars in flames The smell of burned human bodies
Not even a single person was alive in here
The victims weren't just inquisitors and sorcerers
Ordinary people children and the elderly, even pregnant wo on the roads
Nearly all the bodies were dried up as if mummified
”this, is what”
Usagi crouched and held her mouth
It wasn't just Usagi, everyone was horrified
Only half a day had passed since the war had began, this e was unusual
Under the gloomy, cloudy sky, there was hell
”Why were the civilians still here?! Why weren't they evacuated!”
Ouka spat out those words with anger
”No vital reactions? No way right? There were hundreds of thousands people in here!!”
She desperately used le sign of life within the range
In the place the shelter was in, there was a crater that looked like one after bo The white powder in the air must have been the only remnant after humans
They could only think that the ene on the location with the most civilians
”It's also strange that there's no signs of Inquisition or Valhalla either it wouldn't turn out like this even if they used Hyakki Yakou All the bodies are dried up”
Even Ikaruga couldn't iine what happened
”It's so this now What do we do, Kusanagi Rejoin the alliance and wait?”
Kyouya usted expression and asked
It was a sound judg the rest of alliance now that they didn't understand the situation The enes weren't lins of life
”we'll head to the academy Valhalla's destination is Inquisition's headquarters we need to stop them”
If they don't, Kiseki will enter combat
Takeru was bothered by the fact Kiseki still hasn't appeared, but thought about going to s
He couldn't afford Valhalla to get in the way of their sibling fight
Judging by the dae dealt to this city, it'll be too late if they don't hurry
Takeru and the others hurried on the road to school
The more they advanced forward the more of the same scenery they have seen There was no one alive as they passed, not a single voice
The city that had soin it was silent as if there was no one in there in the first place
This city was dead, in just half a day its life was exhausted
And——
”no way”
Ouka who arrived at the school gate fell on her knees
The first thing that entered the sight upon coical Heritages
It was collapsed starting from the root
The Coliseue-scale exercises, the ca and anything was destroyed
There were corpses of the inquisitors and the students lied around the gate's defense line as well asside, corpses of the sorcerers and wreckage of Magical Dragoons could be seen
It was clear that Inquisition resisted with all it had
”the academy was”
Pale, Usagi looked at the collapsed school
All the h here had the sah they were unpleasant, there were ether, fought against each other and grew together
The fa shooting grounds, the Coliseum where the mock battle tourna Witch Hunt Festival and their platoon room
All of it was destroyed and gone
There was no way they wouldn't receive shock
This place here the 35th Test Platoon belonged to
The place for them to return to
”what do we do Takeru hey, what do we doo?!”
Tre to Takeru
”Takeru?”
When she grasped his clothes, Takeru's posture broke
Sage as right beside him, supported Takeru's body
”You okay?”
”! At a time like this!”
Takeru's vision shook, a pain as if he was hit in the head with a club had assaulted him
If his concentration is interrupted even for a moment, the Soumatou will activate by itself
Its running out of control ca with a tremendous amount of pain
Losing all his strength, he fell down on his knees despite Sage supporting him
”Don't force yourself It's dangerous for you to fight in this state 35th Platoon should hide We and the Sixth Guard will carry out reconnaissance, starting with scouting for enemies in the academy”
”but!”
”It's fine, leave it to us This kind of work is our specialty No clue about the Guard though”
When Sage said that, Yuzuho yelled furiously ”whaattt?!”
”We too can do scouting just fine! How dare you coan witchcraft——?!!”
It hen she was refuting with a rough voice
Although Yuzuho tried to strike the ground with her spear, she swung it sideways instead
——Moiant body had suddenly eed
Her swung spear hit the giant that had eed
But the giant didn't even flinch from the blow
”this guy's!”
Surprised Ouka er to the limit
Blood-colored stakes burst into the giant's head and chest
The dah the translucent, shi+ning armor
”An 《Einherjar》!”
Sage iical circle and round
The chain attached itself to the e its movement
”All members, spread out! Move away!”
In response to Sage's voice, everyone rushed in various directions
As Takeru couldn'tinto Witch Hunter form Ouka lent him a shoulder and leaped all at once to make distance
The chain that wound around the Einherjar had stopped its h it was torn apart and the railgun-shaped sas pierced onto the ground
【”《Crystal Vanish》”】
Along with the ic circle shone
”Sage!”
Takeru shouted over his shoulder
Sage continued to ic in order to buy time to escape
Right after that, crystals have overflowed fro in acute angles like icicles of a glacier sed Sage, and the next ht burst out
Ouka who carried Takeru on her shoulder hid in the building's debris together with Ikaruga
A shockwave sed up everything, shrouding the surroundings in smoke
Inside the smoke that was the aftermath, Ouka put down Takeru on his back on the rubble
”Hide in here, Takeru!”
”I'll fight too!!”
”What if you exhaust yourself here! Your power is our truinami, take care of Takeru!”
Ouka shook off Takeru's hand and rushi+ng out, she disappeared in smoke
Takeru tried to go after her, but Ikaruga grasped his shoulders stopping him
Although he tried to shake her off, but as the shaking in his brain assaulted hiround
”damn it!!”
His outstretched hand fell to the ground, he clenched his fist in frustration
The suns in her hands Ouka ai opponent
It was unknohat happened to Sage The Einherjar was alive and well, with the constraints released he gracefully pulled out the railgun froround
The crystal-like armor most likely the enemy's armor wasto dae it
At the sai appeared from the sides
”Please leave support to us”
”Blue Crystal that's nasty Well, he's no opponent for ic”
”Don't let your guard down I'll be the decoy Saionji, supporthim doith one blow”
” ”Roger!” ”
At the saan her attack
She kicked off the ground and jumped forward at the same time as she fired a stake at eneh the smoke
dinnnngggg!
Along with a high-pitched sound, the Einherjar's railblade and the stake collided
The reason she challenged hiic bullets Because Einherjars had an unusual aic bullets fired by them were ridiculously powerful
They couldn't match him in rapid fire The best course of action was to focus on close coic
The enei, Ouka wanted to make a crack in the arht find his weakness, but she ai before she thinks
Fortunately, her allies right noeren't just the platoon members
”Guards' Spearsmanshi+p ——Eternal Triple Flash!+”
At the same time a voice was heard from above, Ouka leaped away from the Einherjar
As they exchanged positions, Yuzuho hit the Einherjar's head with her spear When she made her attack, to Ouka it seemed as if there were three Yuzuhos
It was an illusion ic that made it seem like there were three of her
The Einherjar staggered, Yuzuho landed on the ground
Although it seee of collapse he had airound
Yuzuho bent her knees and jumped, but it was too late for her to avoid The enehtly faster
That's when, a green shadow had slid in from behind Yuzuho
It was Kyouya
Kyouya passed between Yuzuho's legs and slipped under the Einherjar
”Buckshot!”
Nero's shotgun fire hit the Einherjar from zero distance
The armor on the abdomen crumbled off, the selass
But the shattered armor was repaired moinal state
Despite the fact it looked like a Dragoon, inside there was an Einherjar The railgun was also a Magical Heritage, it was appropriate for it to have a special performance
However, it wasn't like the 35th Test Platoon was unfaainst Einherjars as to let him repair
Along with the sound of gun fire, five bullets slipped past Yuzuho and Ouka
The bullets pierced the ar it again
Usagi stood holding her rifle, smoke rose up from the muzzle
”——Nikaido, please take care of it”
When Usagi said that with a squint, a rainbow-colored shadow had co from the sky
That silhouette swinging its right arm, was the Witch of Aurora, Nikaido Mari
Expanding five-layered th
Magical power converged to the limit, her joined two hands shone
And——
”《Aurora Impact》!!”
——Mari swung down her hands at Einherjar's head, releasing the ic
” ” ” ”——HEYY?!!” ” ” ”
The accus momentarily Everyone turned pale on spot Everyone expanded barriers and protection as not to get engulfed in the shock wave and Ouka acted as Usagi's shi+eld
Mari who pulverized the Einherjar landed lightly on the ground and ers she directed it towards her comrades
”Hoas it, ho? Did'ya see it? My est after all! I wouldn't mind if you praised me〜!”
As Mari puffed up her chest and burst into a sot pissed off
Everyone was covered in pure white dust that was raised into the air
”Think of your attack's range, retard!”
”Good grief, sorcerers are always like this! Really!”
”Just noas enough to kill us all you imbecile!”
”Since you are a lady you should hold back a little!”
”sorry everyone but would you pull me out? I've been buried even deeper just now”
Dissatisfied with the situation where she was blaround with ”what's with you all〜” Sage as completely buried in the rubble also seemed safe and was pulled out by other members of the Pureblood Party
Seeing everyone was safe, Ouka sighed with relief
”that Einherjar, it can't be that”
”Without a doubt it was transferthat can be used so easily the consu soate on the other side isn't so simple”
After questioning Mari about the transfer ic, Ouka's expression turned steeper
”Which means they've improved it?”
”even so, it's still abnor it would be——”
When Mari was about to say it, that moment
A distortion in tiiant hu in an empty space
A new Einherjar And it wasn't over with just one, their numbers increased very fast
After just a few seconds, Ouka and the others were surrounded by an army of Einherjars
”speak of the devil!”
”These numbers what do we do?!”
Everyone poised the Einherjars in the surroundings
Twenty in total Each of the Arthur had partially destroyed AntiMagic Acadefried summoned in the Border too, was a formidable enemy for a company and the 35th Platoon before he was taken down
And now there were twenty of monsters of that class
Even though they were finally able to take one of them doith participation of six members
”Keh co with numbers, huh Fine by me!”
Kyouya changed Nero's form into tonfas and raised them up
”Don't move carelessly stop!”
Sage pulled out a wand from his belt and poised it
”Blackspirits of the dead inside mechanical dolls there should be a limit to bad taste”
Holding a spear, Yuzuho had her comrades stay behind and moved towards the front
The Einherjars looked for any movements of the enemy with their emotionless, mechanical eyes
If anyoneas if they were surrounded by a pack of beasts, all the members felt their nerves strained
Gripping their weapons, poising as to be able to attack any time they only stared at Ouka and the others' moves
Unexpectedly light entered through between clouds, blinding everyone
Blinking, Usagi looked upwards in surprise
And there was——
”As I thought, it was you all”
While wary of the Einherjars, everyone looked upwards
She was there, in thedown from between the clouds
The white figure looking like that of a God's er was incredibly mismatched with the appearance of the city that turned into hell
The wo in the wind as she coldly looked down at the ground
”Mother Goose!”
Obstructing the light with her hand, Mari angrily called the woman's name
Mother Goose slowly looked through oneat Mari
”It has been a while, Nikaido Mari-san It's great to see you in good health”
”Ghh, answer ?!”
Asked a frank question, Mother nodded in response
”Yes Exactly so I was the one who summoned Einherjars and assaulted this city”
Mother responded indifferently, without any shame
Mari swung her right ared expression
”Why weren't you supposed to be East Side's top?! Why are you doing so West Side would do! Didn't you say you didn't want to involve unrelated people in the war?!”
”I also have said, that I' to make the minimal sacrifices”
These frosty words caused Mari's anger to culminate
”Minimal you say? Just how many hundreds of thousands do you think you killed?!”
The shock Mari received was indescribable
More than ic Academy, of course she didn't trust Mother Goose completely She didn't believe in Mother's pretty words, after all this woman tried to kill her in order not to have information leaked
But the world of East Side Mari kneas a very co in there arm
An utopia for the witches who live outside the thought that the person who had created it stood behind this massacre had overwhelmed Mari
As if seeing through Mari's heart, Mother closed her eyes as if to a prayer
But soon enough she opened her eyes and looked at everyone with her pupils looking like glass beads
”I won't excuse nor defend myself This city's sacrifice——is minimal to me”
She overlapped her palms and in mid-air, prayed to the heavens
”Back down This is not your battlefield If you are to become my enemies——”
Her hair was ruffled, her eyes opened wide
The ruby pupils have spread, dyeing her eyes bright red
”——The majesty of ”God's Authority” will crush you all”
Then a pure whiteas if it covered the entire sky and light had poured down from several breaks in the clouds
An army of Einherjars descended Their number increased to over a hundred
The Einherjars surrounding the alliance uns, they fired sparkling ic from the muzzles
”——Protective ic! Everyone defend!”
At the saic have created protective barriers with all ical power they had
Magic bullets were siical power capable of siical power held by Einherjars, their destructive poas incoic
Protecting from them was extremely difficult But surrounded, the had no choice but to protect from them
The railguns weren't intended for high rate of fire If they withstand the ene able to escape
”They're co!”
Sage fluttered the point of his wand, building up a wall of rust and covering everyone with it
His protective barrier had a very high defense against physical and ot in the way of visibility
A rust wall strong enough not to even let any sounds in had protected everyone
”——Ghh!! Seventh Squad! Everyone build a multi-layered barrier! Mine won't hold!”
As Sage ordered his subordinates, they built up a ith a joint chant
Cracks entered Sage's barrier, the sound froed in fro fro continued
The e's protection shattered
The Seventh Squad's quadruple barrier replaced it, but two layers were ih and the third layer had filled with cracks
”Guards too, build an inviolable area and reject the《Shrouds of Rejection》!”
Yuzuho pierced the ground with her spear, together with the members of the Sixth Guard behind her she solidified the defense For ward overlapping like a chain mail
But that barrier too, a piece of wire after piece had collapsed
Although Yuzuho received e, the limit had come all too soon
”nhh, I leave the rest to you!”
When she reached her limit, Yuzuho clenched her teeth and said so, and her barrier burst
At that round
”Leeaave it to me!”
Scattering rainbow-colored round
”《Aurora Fortress》!”
At the saical power covered her comrades
It was a huge fortress shaped with ical power The fortress had perfectly blocked the nuic bullets fired by the Einherjars
If Mari's ic was 《Aurora Gate》, then the 《Aurora Fortress》 was the one that exerted the e operative procedure, it needed a long chant Her comrades have earned the time for her to finish it
This fortress——will not collapse with soic bullets
The Einherjars used not only ic circles were drawn in the air and the s like on apparitions and such, assaulting Mari's fortress
”Thesedamn!”
Cracks appeared on the Aurora Fortress
And——there were no chances to run
While the barrage paused, the rest of Einherjars used ic bullets began
”Nikaido! Hold out!”
”I know dang it!!”
At this rate, it will only get worse
At this rate, the fortress will crumble
At this rate, everyone will die
At this rate——
”If that's how it is then sink or swim!”
——Everything ending at this rate, was so ”Witch of Aurora” could not accept
While ic and chanting She wanted to create a chance to attack, but targeting the enemy in this situation was impossible
Then——she needs to call out an existence that would create confusion
That's what she bet on
【”If ye doth not tread ov'r living insects, doth not tread ov'r grass, doth not desire destruction of life, respond to mine call I shi+ne with that radiance I shi+ne with nobility Respond to me, respond to h Come come!”】
Along with a chant, Mari closed her eyes and sent her consciousness to another world
Passing through the distant time and space, Mari's consciousness arrived in that world
Mari felt that world to be nostalgic When she was taught basics of sue, she played around by co in contact with presences in different worlds like this Even though the existences fro her presence, they couldn't understand the words she spoke That's why, she always just stared at the beautiful beast standing still in a spring in of different world The beast too, only stared at her
Still, she was able to feel that the beast had took a liking to her It ht have beenin that was the only way to survive now
Respond to me please!
The beast usually standing in the spring, was Mari's hope
The beast noticed Mari
And as if responding to her wish, the light in its gentle eyes was reflected in the water
————It responded!
Mari's consciousness returned to this world and she opened her eyes wide
And, ic circle behind herself, she spoke
”Come, Sacred Beast——《Kirin》!”
Sound disappeared from the world for a aze ic circle Mari made
The heartless battle dolls, Einherjars have felt a foreign existence was being summoned
And the next ic circle, a beast covered with richly-colored scales tore through space
Raising its front hooves high, the appearance of it standing on the hind legs as it let out a voice was beautiful, it was undeniably a anism——a Sacred Beast 《Kirin》
Sage and his group, Yuzuho and his group who have coic looked up at the beautiful beast, astounded
Even that Mother Goose looked in surprise from the sky, her eyes wide open