Vol 4 Chapter 3 (1/2)
Frorandfather Albert Crest was a very distant figure
Although she could see her grandfather every Sunday at the dinner party where the entire faathered, he would finish his meal in an instant then leave the table due to busy matters to attend to When she saw hi others Firill inexplicably feared hiht that he was probably uninterested in her
However, when Firill awakened as a D, he had roared in anger at the Asgard staff visiting the palace:
”What kind of joke is this!? How could I allow hter to be locked away in a some kind of detention facility!?”
After that, he changed the world in a few short years While calling for the protection of the Ds' huard's independence, he kept refusing the extradition of Firill
Although he was still the saher the same sense of distance as before—
Firill kept trying to find the chance to convey certain words to hiry Even when she found a chance, she did not dare to talk to him Finally, time came for Firill to leave the country
Since Midgard had gotten on track as a self-governed educational institute, he decided that the system was sufficiently perfected
Due to illness, her grandfather was absent from the dinner party before her departure Hence, in the end, Firill never got to tell him those words
”Grandfather is still so distant”
Fro out at the coffin and portrait in the hall inside Erlia Castle, Firill murmured quietly to herself
The distance between them still felt the same as back then
While praying silently, she kept repeating certain words she had been unable to voice all this tirandfather
Ariella had said that souls existed Firill did not think it was a lie However, Firill did not knohere his soul was located
”Souls—If only they were visible”
Then Firill would be able to convey those words directly to him
But of course, that kind of as equivalent to daydrea
When Firill sighed gloomily, a noisy commotion suddenly started in the hall
Entering the door, people pointed outside and see
—Hraesvelgr
She seemed to hear that word
Part 2
”No choice—I'll protect you!”
I grabbed Kili's arm and ran back to the hall The calamity was probably known already It was a bit noisy in the hall and the orchestra had stopped playing too
I looked around and found Mitsuki then I brought Kili over to her
”Mitsuki!”
”N-Nii-san! What happened to your hand!?”
Seeing inally a bit farther away, Iris, Lisa, Ariella, Ren and Tia all gathered to see as going on
”Oh, my wound is fine, it's already healed What's more important is this, look”
Saying that, I showed Kili's dragon irls
”What—”
They all stared at Kili's arm, too surprised to speak
”Hraesvelgr is here”
Then I summed up the current situation Mitsuki immediately showed comprehension on her face
”I see—So this is the situation”
Swiftly figuring things out, Mitsuki glared at Kili
”Indeed, this is the situation”
Kili nodded nonchalantly to concur
”Although I have things to say I will put them aside for now”
Mitsuki re balcony on the second floor where ere taken to earlier
”shi+nomiya-sensei, Level A alert! Type Yellow! We will intercept, Sensei, so please lead the ordinary people to evacuate!”
Perhaps to avoid the chaos to spread further, Mitsuki used Midgard's alert jargon to report the situation to shi+nomiya-sensei
”—Understood”
From the balcony, shi+nomiya-sensei nodded Next to her, Firill also leaned out
”I will head over immediately!”
”No, Firill-san, please remain in the hall! Someone needs to protect Kili-san and the people here”
”Got it”
After hearing Firill's response, Mitsuki called to us
”Everyone, let us et visually”
We left Kili in the hall and ran outside
”Eh? Eh? What's going on?”
Iris still see, she asked in puzzlement
”Yuu, what does 'this is the situation' mean?”
Because things developed too suddenly, Tia had not caught up either
”You just saw the dragon et is Kili To prevent Kili fror”
”Ehhh!? We have to fight now? What if I get the dress dirty”
Hearing what I said, Iris looked down at the white dress she earing Although so was off with her worries, since she still had the luxury of worrying about so like that, there was no problem
What concerned hts
”—Hraesvelgr”
As though squeezing out her voice, Ariella ritted her teeth hard
Passing through the door leading to the corridor, we then rushed into the courtyard Iht at us
I looked up into the sky to see the giant golden bird that happened to fly past Its body looked bigger than before
Although it was difficult to get a sense of distance, it looked like Hraesvelgr was descending froh altitude
”That is Hraesvelgr Although it frequently passes near Midgard's territorial waters, this isit from so near”
Lisa coht sky
”Hraesvelgr is infa all kinds of attacks ineffective However, we have no need to be pessimistic, because we possess what has never been tested before—Powerful means of attack”
Saying that, Mitsuki instantly issued orders to us
”Lisa-san and Ren-san, cooperate to fire a positron cannon of maximum firepower I will borrow Iris-san's dark e antion armaments with Tia-san's assistance! Ariella-san, deploy barriers as necessary!”
”Affirmative!”
We all answered in unison then taking positions some distance apart from one another, we looked up at the sky
”Gungnir!”
Lisa generated her fictional ared it
”Brionac!”
Mitsuki borrowed Iris' dark matter to create a fictional arer than usual
”Tia, I' on you”
The aenerate at a tion armaments, I needed to borrow dark matter from others
”Great! Tia's power is all yours, Yuu”
Tia nodded and held my left hand
I raised ht hand and materialized the weapon from an ancient civilization
”Special artillery—Megiddo!”
Borrowing the darkat the sky
Controlling the cannon that was linked to r in the air
”—Aegis”
Ariella equipped her gauntlet-shaped fictional arr
”It is still outside attack range Please wait until it approaches before attacking! If Hraesvelgr's target is Kili-san, it will surely land in this castle”
Mitsuki shouted to us after ere all ready, then nocked an arrow of dark matter onto her fictional armament
Hraesvelgr was gradually circling over a s for Kili's location while descending
Due to its figure getting nearer, I figured out why it was so hard to pin down the sense of distance
Its outline was unsteady without a specific size
Despite being bird-shaped overall, Hraesvelgr did not have a fixed forolden steam
Flying in the night sky, Hraesvelgr looked very noble and sacred, alon, the eneer and started to carry glittering golden particles
”Its et ready!”
Perhaps certain that Kili was in Erlia Castle, the circling Hraesvelgr started to descend The giant golden bird ht towards our direction
”To confirm whether the various attacks are effective, ill attack in waves Lisa-san, please fire your first shot!”
”Understood—Pierce, flare!”
Gungnir's tip glowed brightly The flash of positrons, r's location
”What?”
Lisa exclaimed in shock
Despite getting struck by positron blast, Hraesvelgr tore through the flash of light and continued to descend Instead of slowing down, it sped up
Seeing what happened, Mitsuki drew Brionac's bowstring
”My turn! Ter Arrow—Last Quark!”
Mitsuki shot an arrow of antiard's trump card
HraesvelgrMitsuki's antimatter projectile head on
The explosion—did not happen
Bouncing off the surface of Hraesvelgr's body, Mitsuki's arrow disappeared without trace
”No way Why—”
Mitsuki was at a loss but quickly came to her senses and turned to face me
”Nii-san, please fire!”
”Understood!”
I nodded then gripped Tia's hand tightly
Using the darkfroy to fire Megiddo's boundary-incinerating blue flames
”—Fire!!”
The projectile, a sphere of blue light, rose in the night sky Aiht on the r's body
Due to the blinding light, the stars and the moon in the sky vanished
—Whoosh!+
The sound of wings flapping could be heard aht
Breaking through the blue sun in the night sky, the giant golden bird fleards us
Exactly like Lisa's attack, it did not work
”Gah I'm not done yet!”
Holding Tia's hand I left Megiddo, which was gradually , then constructed another anti-dragon weapon
I felt a sharp pain in rew hazy Consecutive construction of anti-dragon armaments caused amble
”Marduk, main cannon—Babel!”
A giant barrel, split into two, gradually appeared Tia closed her eyes and transmitted all her dark matter to me
Hraesvelgr had descended to a height where details of its body could be seen clearly
With golden feathers, Hraesvelgr's entire body was enveloped in dazzling particles of light The reason why its size and outline fluctuated unsteadily seemed to be due to the particles' oscillation The actual body was roughly ten r seemed rather petite in size
We were out of options if this failed
”This must succeed—Fire!!”
The lens-shaped device inside the barrel glohile pitch-black light extended towards Hraesvelgr
This was a supergravitational spatial discontinuity which devoured and crushed all creation Apart froravity like Leviathan's, there was no method to resist this attack
At least, it should halt Hraesvelgr's movements
However, the supergravity's bea contact with Hraesvelgr
As though the space occupied by Hraesvelgr rejected all interference, the supergravitational field could not reach it Thus, only sing the night wind, it vanished
This was not an issue of effectiveness Instead, it was an issue on a completely different dimension
Most likely, our attacks could not interfere with Hraesvelgr at all
Understanding this was already too late Descending with fierce speed, Hraesvelgr charged into Erlia Castle
”—Pressure barrier, deploy!”
After Ariella's shout, I heard a giant noise and the ground shook intensely
Dust flew up and the ancient and beautiful castle collapsed
Debris of various sizes scattered, falling like rain
”Yuu!”
Tia screaed me
The flood of dust and flying debris was blocked entirely by Ariella's barrier of wind and did not reach us
”—Thank you, we're saved”
I thanked Ariella but she was showing a grir had charged into There was intense hostility that her eyes normally did not show
Due to the cloud of dust in the surroundings, it was al, but there was no doubt that Hraesvelgr had charged into the vicinity of the hall
”Anyway, let us hurry to Kili-san! We fight while protecting her!”
Mitsuki issued orders and took flight, taking Iris with her The door to the hall had already collapsed, so she probably intended to enter the castle froh
”Tia will fly with Yuu!”
Using dark s, then transmuted air to hover Wrapped in her wind, I flew and pointed to the large hole appearing in the dust cloud
”Enter from there!”
”Got it!”
Taking me with her, Tia rushed into the castle that was shrouded in dust The rest followed us in
Inside the great hall whose ceiling opened up to the third floor, screams and sounds of chaos could be heard
Hraesvelgr's figure could be seen vaguely in the center of the hall which was filled with dust and golden particles Perhaps because the golden particles covering its body had dispersed when it charged inside, Hraesvelgr see earlier
For so
In such poor visibility conditions, I focused and looked, searching for Kili and Firill as supposed to guard her
Only after looking did I realize that the dae to the hall was unexpectedly small Perhaps Firill had deployed a barrier to protect people fro harmed by the debris
”Yuu, over there!”
Kili discovered Kili and Firill faster thanAlbert's coffin was kept
Firill was holding her book-shaped fictional are to the hall
”Over here, everyone!”
I called Mitsuki and the others then we all headed over to Firill
We landed nearby and Kili snation
”Fro badly”
”Yeah”
I answered bitterly then looked at Firill
”Are you okay, Firill?”
After hearing me, she seemed to relax her expression Her shoulders also became less tense
”I'uys came back I really wouldn't knohat to do on my own”
”After entering the castle, Hraesvelgr just stayed there withoutthe whole time?”
The using her fictional arolden bird in the middle of the hall and asked Firill
”Yes, it turned its head to look this way and that, like searching for so, but didn't discover us yet, apparently”
”Could it be that it cannot find Kili-san due to the poor visibility?”
Lisa ree
Fror's behavior, I could sense hesitation that the previous dragons lacked
Unlike Leviathan and Basilisk that had pursued in a straight line as soon as they picked their targets, Hraesvelgr circledinto the castle
And right now, at the center of the hall, its gaze andering as though indecisively
During this time, all the people in the hall had escaped outside
We should escape too but the nearby entrances had collapsed and were blocked Even if we could evacuate to sor were very low
After the hall settled down, Hraesvelgr's gaze shi+fted towards us Most of the s around it, Hraesvelgr's figure was clear to see
”Ugh”
Kili frowned in pain and held her hand against the dragon ers
Hraesvelgr finally recognized Kili as its mate
”We have no choice but to do everything we can to stop it In any case, we , to find a solution to this predicament!”
Under Mitsuki's orders, we readied our fictional armaments and stood in front of Kili
Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Before we could attack, Hraesvelgr spread its wings with an acute cry Golden particles were released fro towards us
”Air Wall!”
Firill instantly deployed a barrier of wind but the particles engulfed us, ignoring the wall of air
”Gah!?'
The instant the particles surrounded me, my body became unable to move Despite a very clear consciousness,spirit sealed inside the body
—What is this? What the heck is happening—
Surrounded by golden particles, all of us stoppedSince Kili was in my blindspot, I could not see her situation
damn it! Was there no solution?
The darkmy mind alone were destroyed by the particles as soon as they appeared
Hraesvelgr approached us leisurely
However, I was powerless, unable to lift even a finger
”I thought perhaps you r—But in the end, it's still too hard”
I heard a voice of despair
Kili went past r Perhaps because ere acting as shi+elds, she was the only one as not covered by the particles
S sadly, Kili looked back and asked me:
”Or perhaps the reason 'to protect o all-out?”
Since my mouth could not move, I was unable to answer
But I was serious and I was prepared to fight to th
However, there was so in my power I had not tested out all possibilities
To avoid thinking of that option, I had placed it last But by this point, I could not even choose that option—Because it was too late
”Never ratitude to you Thank you for protecting me Also, I had a lot of fun today This was probably the second time in my life to experience such a fun day”
Saying that, Kili turned to face the front and walked towards Hraesvelgr on her own
”If this is destiny then it can't be helped Perhaps I should feel thankful that I could beco at the moment”
Kili spoke in self-deprecation, halting her steps in front of Hraesvelgr
Hraesvelgr stopped as well and looked at Kili below
”Come—Do as you please”
She lifted her right ar for the moment to arrive
Hraesvelgr slowly bent down, bringing its beak towards Kili's hand
Stop!
I could not h I wanted to yell
But just as it was about to touch Kili's fingertips, Hraesvelgr stopped
Clad in a coating of inviolable light, the dragon quietly stared at Kili's shi+ning dragoninterest
”Eh?”
Kili's voice was hoarse
Ihtness
The change in color reverted?
Walking past the shocked Kili, Hraesvelgr approached our iroup
The giant golden bird looked at each of us in turn then settled its gaze on Firill
What was it going to do—?
A bad preed
Its interest piqued by sor bent its body and approached Firill's face
Then the golden particles filling this vicinity became even more concentrated
But just as the particles covered King Albert's coffin, I witnessed an unbelievable scene
Auously
Like a dot drawing, the tiny golden particles traced outlines
I recalled what Ariella had said about Hraesvelgr possessing the ability to materialize souls Reportedly, a scholar had also proposed that Hraesvelgr's ability was generating ether particles that caused souls to materialize
Then the figure gradually taking for Albert's coffin, could it be—
The a, arriving in front of Hraesvelgr that was staring at Firill up close, then swung its arm that was made of particles
—Thud!
Hraesvelgr's beak shook slightly while the the particles of the human silhouette's arm scattered from the reaction force
That action was like the figure wanted to protect Firill
Due to a higher concentration of particles near Hraesvelgr, the figure's face gradually became possible to discern
In other words, these particles were ether particles And that over there was King Albert's soul?
If that was the case, covered by golden particles, Hraesvelgr's body was also—
I was just about to discover Hraesvelgr's true forhts were interrupted by acute cries
—Kuehhhhhhhhhhhh!
Hraesvelgr opened its beak towards the particles that see Albert's soul
Instantly, there was a strong gust of wind The golden particles filling up the hall stirred, restrained by the wind, they were sucked into Hraesvelgr's mouth
Even the particlesAlbert were no exception
Rustle—Like a sand castle collapsing, King Albert, h particles, lost his outline
The ical bird that devoured souls
Just as in legends, Hraesvelgr devoured souls
Before Firill's eyes, it devoured the soul of the gradually disintegrating King Albert
But in this state where even using our voices was i
Just before vanishi+ng, King Albert seemed to turn his head towards Firill However, even his expression could not be read—All of him vanished
Perhaps satisfied fror left Firill and turned its back to us
Spreading its golden wings, Hraesvelgr took flight
Then exiting the large hole it had opened in the wall, Hraesvelgr departed by flying through the sky
Is thinned out and ain
Inside the quiet castle, the sound of debris collapsing emptily could be heard
”Really? I guess an ion either”
Staring at the giant hole where Hraesvelgr had departed, Kili laughed dryly
”Fufu Ahahahaha! What a shained!”
Then—Having regained her freedom, Firill collapsed on the floor and cried
”Sob Sob Ahhh Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
Kneeling at the spot where King Albert's soul had stood, she cried with sorrow
None of us were able to say anything
The crisis was over for now and we had avoided the worst-case scenario However, the traur was far too deep
Part 3
Before long, the Principality's police gathered and the surroundings becahtly noisy
shi+nomiya-sensei and Prince Alfred explained what happened on our behalf Exhausted from battle, ere driven back to the castle by Helen-san
In the car, Firill was still crying nonstop Lisa was hugging her against her chest, caressing her head gently
Ariella was sitting in the opposite seat, staring at Firill with a pained expression Kili was looking out theblankly
Feeling responsible, Mitsuki had her head doithout saying a word Iris, Tia and Ren were looking at everyone worriedly
I foundwords and could only listen to Firill sobbing
After reaching the palace, Firill told Lisa ”I'm fine now, thank you” and went back to her own room
”Impossible How could she be fine?”
Lisa retful look, but perhaps she decided it would be best to let Firill have some quiet time to herself, Lisa did not chase after her
”Then I' to my room”
Kili's roo that in a feeble voice, she left too
””
Staring at Kili while she left, Mitsuki looked like she wanted to say so, but in the end, she entered her own room silently
”Goodnight, Mononobe”
Iris sht, then opened her room door
”Yeah, 'night”
I said goodnight to her and returned tomyself on the bed directly
Firill's sobbing and Kili's dry laughter kept circling in my mind
—Not enough to o all-out?
Kili's words still lingered in my ear
”damn it”
Torh fainting
—Knock knock
Perhaps because h I was exhausted,at the door
I checked the tiht We had returned to the palace at 8phly four hours of sleep
”Who is it?”
I sat my heavy body up and projected ue, at least the headache froone now
”—It's me, Ariella Can I take a bit of your time?”
”Ariella? Sure I' the door now”
Despite feeling troubled by the unexpected visitor, I got off the bed and walked to the entrance Since Midgard's dorot to lock ht
”Good evening—Thanks for having me”
As soon as I opened the door, Ariella swiftly entered without waiting for my response
”H-Hey”
”Mononobe-kun, come this way”
Ariella pulledthe , one could reach the balcony outside and view the courtyard scenery
”What the heck is going on?”
”Look over there”
Ignoring s, Ariella pointed outside the
I looked in the direction indicated and found a figure kneeling near the courtyard fountain
”Is that Firill?”
I looked closely to discover it was Firill in her formal dress
”Yes, I was looking out theby chance and saw—That's why I came to let you know”
”Let me know Why me?”
”I want you to go over to her”
Hearing Ariella say that as though it were so easy, I frowned
”In that case—Isn't Lisa a better choice than me?”
In the end, I had acco Albert nor think of any words to co Firill All I did atch
”Firill was putting on a brave face in front of Lisa e returned to the palace To her, Lisa is probably her best friend but not someone to seek help and rely on”
”Even if that's true, why me—”
”Intuition, I guess After seeing what happened in this country, I feel that you're the best choice”
Ariella replied with a cheerful smile However, I could sense fro herself
”Did you think of going yourself?”
”If I go, we'll just be licking each other's wounds Even though I can empathize, I can't shoulder her pain and sorrow”
Ariella answered bitterly, looking atfrom tears
”—Me too, r”
”What”
”I rew up in an unstable Middle Eastern country Many people died whenever large-scale conflicts occurred And every tie itself on souls to its heart's content”
Looking up at the night sky through the , Ariella continued:
”Although soer to transport souls to heaven, I think it's si, that's all”
Ariella touched thefra it In a voice of suppressed emotions, she said:
”But Hraesvelgr doesn't kill people directly My loved ones lost their lives because they got caught in a terrorist attack But even so I still can't forgive Hraesvelgr for taking their souls away in the end”
Saying that, Ariella scratched theglass with her nails, looking like she was about to burst into tears, she stared at Firill as kneeling in the courtyard