Vol 9 Chapter 4 (1/2)
While others were feeling a strong quake, Ariella Lu was alone in the roo at the screen of her portable terminal
The rest of the girls were gathered in the living roo voices
However, Ariella did not htly
With no reception here, the terminal could not perform its duties as a communications device She could only use it to read data that had been stored beforehand
In front of Ariella's eyes was a call history of repeated incoo Since the caller's identity was masked, the number was unknown and all that was recorded were the times of the calls
Like the earlier quake, these calls arning signs of the i
Presently, the end
She knew this She already knew this
”I was so happy”
Ariella nation
To her, everyday life was so that must come to an end
What she had lost in the beginning was an everyday life surrounded by warm family despite a lack of material wealth
Losing their lives in a civil war, her far
Without anywhere to go, Ariella had been taken in by the church she used to go to However, instead of attending mass, she would always stare off into the sky from the bell tower
Knowing that her parents had not been ”suless
—What should I do for everyone?
Staring at the sky where Hraesvelgr had floay, Ariella had asked herself countless times
What occupied her heart was anger towards the unreasonable and hatred for Hraesvelgr
However, it was ion unless war ended
Even so, Ariella's ill-defined enanization of dragon-haters
What should she do? She did not know, but she definitely wanted companions
People who shared the sas as her
That wish for companions was soon fulfilled
However, the organization did not have the power to fight dragons All it did was co cults and oppose mafias that secretly exploited Ds They also spread word about the dangers of the Ds ere cahts—In other words, what the organization fought were humans
But inside an organization whose solidarity was rock solid, founded upon siy between members, Ariella did not feel lonely there
There were er Ariella felt she had found her new fa when Ariella became aware of her previously undiscovered talents
—I' Too suited
Realizing this aspect of hers, she trained and controlled it She now had a role to play within the organization
It felt uni that needed to be done and ithin one's oer She was also glad that playing an active role would lead the younger children to treat her as a hero
But these days suddenly came to an end
The power to generate dark anization, had awakened in Ariella herself
A cursed destiny She hated her own body and power
Children, formerly close to her, would throw rocks at her She understood that her everyday life at the organization was ruined
When the organization began to discuss her execution, she accepted everything in resignation
But in the end, the cash-strapped organization sold Ariella off through underground channels Money had won out over ehteous cause
She had been sold to a research lab in japan Told that it was a al research with Ds, Ariella prepared herself to be dissected to pieces
But contrary to what Ariella expected, this researcher—Miyazawa Kenya—treated Ariella courteously Beyond exahter Ren
”Ren was like an unfriendly cat back then”
Thinking back to those tiia
She did not respond noAriella at an i Ariella ”Onee-chan” and ad her
The days from then on had been very happy, never want for lack of money for the first time in her life
However, this life did not last long Due to Ren beco a D too, the distorted family life ended
No—It was Ariella herself who had ended it herself
To prevent Ren froht the police for protection and blew the whistle on Miyazawa Kenya
Then the next part of her everyday life had lasted until now
Days spent with fellow Ds at Midgard
”I was so happy”
Saying the sa, Ariella stood up
Noticing the earlier shaking, Ren and hi to return
There should have been enough tis to him sufficiently
This was the only things she was honestly worried about
To spend her reer sister,” Ariella sloalked to the living room
Part 2
”Neither shi+nomiya-sensei nor Mica-san have come”
Sitting in the living roo
”With no reception on the terminals, there's no way to confirm the situation outside”
I stood withat round of Midgard, calls could not made here Without cable facilities linked to the surface, ere completely isolated on the information front
”N-NIFL is invading?”
Iris walked back and forth between everyone in worry
A few hours had passed since the intense shaking After dinner, all of us had gathered in the living room
”—Perhaps If that is true, then they won't have the leisure to visit us”
Drinking black tea at the table, Firill agreed with Iris
”We knew that an inspection was co sooner or later There's no need to panic”
Idly braiding Vritra's hair to play with, Kili spoke as though the situation did not involve her
”Conflict within the saless”
Vritra shrugged philosophically despite the fact that her hair was being played with
”Truly less”
Tia, who had been in low spirits the whole time, nodded from her seat next to Lisa
”Should we go confirm the situation?”
Clutching roup
”—No, I believe it is not tier”
Sitting on a cushi+on, Mitsuki offered her opinion, but cohtly lethargic look
”Mitsuki, are you okay?”
”Oh, yes I just feel a bit hot I must have spent too much time in the bath”
Blushi+ng slightly, Mitsuki replied to me
This had started ever since she returned froh it see faint from the bath, I was still a bit worried whether or not this was an effect brought by the transformation
”If you feel any worse, be honest and tell us, okay? Mitsuki, you're always pushi+ng yourself too hard”
”—Nowhere as bad as you, Nii-san However I understand”
Pouting slightly, Mitsuki nodded Then shi+on separated from Jeanne uncharacteristically and stared at Mitsuki's face
”aRe YoU reALly oKaY?”
”Oh I a”
Mitsuki was slightly surprised but happily touched shi+on's cheek It was possible that she saw a shadow of shi+nomiya Miyako in shi+on's voice and facial expressions
”thAnK goodness”
shi+on s what Mitsuki had felt Then shi+on returned to Jeanne's side and sat on her lap
Jeanne watched shi+on tenderly and returned to the conversation that had gone on a bit of a tangent
”—I also believe it is too early for action We should stay vigilant for now There are two paths into this cavern It would be best to take turns keeping watch throughout the night”
Hearing Jeanne give a practical opinion like a soldier, I nodded too
”That's right But the ones on watch should be lie humans in combat Jeanne and I—also Kili, can I ask you to help?”
”Eh— What a pain And it's like a steam cooker outside”
Retorting, Kili frowned overtly
”Don't be like that Please”
However, I bowed h deeply and slump her shoulders
”—Got it, okay But you'll have to reward me later”
Kili looked atwatch However, Lisa blushed and looked at Kili
”R-Reward—What kind of reward do you intend to exact from him!?”
”That would be a secret If you're jealous, why don't you try asking him for a reward too? We are all hison that level”
In response to Kili's joke, Lisa yelled with her face red
”Please get off your high horse! I as!”
”Sure sure Do your best”
Having ht before, Kili answered in a laid back manner
”H me”
Kili and Lisa glared at each other
At this moment, Ariella spoke up for the first time
”If we're alternating shi+fts, you need one more person I'll do it”
Rising froh to stop the what had happened last night, Kili looked displeased
”Taking on troublesome tasks on your own initiative, how meddlesome you are Oh well—You're even more capable than Jeanne-chan I don't mind”
Despite sarcastic words, Kili accepted Ariella as a candidate Jeanne pretended not to care
”No wait, Ariella's dragon ets captured by NIFL in that state”
However, I was quite hesitant to endanger Ariella in her current state
”Don't worry, Mononobe-kun It's not like we're going above ground We're just watching near the entrances There's not much difference in risk”
Ariella evaded my worries and replied in a relaxed voice
”I got it But don't overdo it, okay?”
Since she had a good point, I reluctantly nodded Despite the subtle unease in my heart, it was also true that I had no one else I could ask Judging from Ariella's combat abilities that I had witnessed a nu NIFL's soldiers
”Onii-chan”
Ren tuggedto say She probably wanted me to hurry and have my discussion with Ariella
I nodded at Ren, gently stroking her head to reassure her
”Mm”
Making an expression that read ”very well,” Ren closed her eyes partially
According to the sequence decided through rock-paper-scissors, Ariella was next with Tia last
From what I heard from Mitsuki, the two of them had intentionally chosen the last spots
Even if they had doubts or worries, I had already decided what I must do
—The power to protect them all and the reason to do so, that hat I wanted
Confir my oish that I had confirmed thanks to Ren, I firirls
Part 3
That night, I guarded one of the cavern's entrances to protect everyone as sleeping
”This place is a bit too hot”
Watching the metal door that was installed on a wall of rock, I wiped sweat off my brow To be honest, this really was not an environ while clothed
Although I endured it for a while, after deciding y would become depleted at this rate, I opened the door and ard
From this location, I would know immediately nooff the heat and humidity, it was more comfortable than expected
Ariella was guarding the other entrance I should have some time to talk to her when Kili and Jeanne took over the next shi+ft, but—Just as I as thinking over theseat the door
”Yuu, are you there?”
Then I heard Tia's slightly apprehensive voice I stood up in surprise and opened the heavy door
”—Thank goodness Tia thought you had gone off somewhere”
Standing at the door was Tia, stroking her chest, apparently reassured But when I saw Vritra standing behind her, I was a bit taken aback
”What's going on, Tia? And with Vritra too”
I looked at Vritra, ent ”hh I had no idea why, she looked quite displeased Had Tia brought her here by coercion?
”Tia has soood time?”
”Sure—I don't think itthis place”
I nodded, thinking she wanted to discuss the risks related to transformation
”Thanks!”
Tia shtly and came over to this side of the door with Vritra
I sat on the stairs and waved to her Keeping one person's distance, Tia sat down lightly Vritra watched us with her back leaning against the closed door
”To be frank—I've been wanted to talk to you the whole time, Tia”
I looked at Tia and spoke
”Why?”
”I heard from Iris that you've been down lately And in fact, you really are acting differently from usual I'm very worried”
Intending to use this opportunity to find out clearly what Tia's troubles were, I replied to her in a gentle tone of voice
What on earth was troubling her? I had thought a lot about it and couess
”Could it be that you're worried about your horns, Tia?”
Looking at the two red horns on her head, I asked cautiously
This hat I had guessed she orrying about If touching me would result in a transformation that could ht lose the power to control Yggdrasil
Iris and shi+on's transforh to deduce this Hence, Tia would probably feel more of a dilemma than the others—
”No The horns are fine”
But contrary to my expectations, Tia shook her head
”Really?”
Completely surprised, I doubted
”Yes The body's transformation is due to dark matter As I am now, I can interfere in the process and keep the horns”
Tia was speaking in a more mature tone of voice than usual, but I was extremely surprised by what she said
”What Tia, you can control dragonification?”
”I still couldn't earlier During the Zwei—shi+on—incident, it was beyond drasil, it's possible to hack Vritra's dragonification mechanism”
Saying that, Tia glanced in Vritra's direction
”As much as it displeaseth me, 'tis the truth what she said The Akashi+c Record's coht to be sufficient to interfere in biogenic transmutation Be that as it may, the system, which drives the transforon enes and impossible to stop completely A poorly done job would result in an amorphous form and a breakdown of self-identity”
Sulking, Vritra confirmed Tia's claim and warned
”A breakdown of self-identity—Tia, don't force yourself if it's that dangerous!”
I said to Tia in a panic but she shook her head lightly
”Interfering in another D's dragonification is very difficult indeed, but there is no problem when it's myself Tia knows herself best, so don't worry”
S tenderly, Tia explained to me
”But”
”Co even gdrasil About dragons, what is to co is”
Tia looked at
”You've found the inforoal has been achieved?”
I confir arms akimbo
Vritra had made a human stand-in to appear before us so that she could enter a dialogue with Tia who had taken control of Yggdrasil's core However, Tia had not been able to keep up with Vritra's conversation because she had insufficient infordrasil
After that, for the sake of obtaining data from the Akashi+c Record, Tia had increased her synchronization rate with Yggdrasil However, the arrival of Kraken Zwei had changed Vritra's ht us
”I have had talks with Tia Lightning Yggdrasil on several occasions Our conclusion is that we must first confirm whether thou art truly Neun”
Nodding at eting so
”Neun Both you and Kili have mentioned it many times What the heck is it and what does it mean?”
Vritra had called ested I was Neun
”Indeed Shall I explain?”
Vritra nodded at Tia to confirm
”Wait Tia will explain But before that, Yuu”
”What is it?”
Tia looked at , she continued
”Tia wants to hold hands with Yuu Otherwise, it feels uneasy”
”Uh”
The intense e my heart race
I knehat Tia meant without explicit explanation She had decided to make physical contact with me
In that case, I hts from my conversation with Ren
”Yes—No proble able to do that for you, Tia If you have troubles, I want to aid you I want to protect you So Let's hold hands”
Saying that, I extended my hand towards Tia
”Yuu Thank you”
Tia looked reassured and slowly reached out to s
Interfering in dragonification was most likely quite a delicate task
To avoid disrupting her concentration, I waited for her to touch me on her own
”—Here goes”
Murhtly
My dragon on h
But before that light could envelop Tia's entire body, The electrical sparks flashed especially intensely
Failing to reach Tia's horns, the blue light dissipated as faint particles in the surroundings
”It is finished”
After the light vanished completely, Tia panted heavily
As far as I could see, there was no change in her appearance, not even her horns
”You worked hard, Tia”
What kind of challenge she had surratulated her first on her effort
”Yes Then Yuu is now Tia's husband!”
Tia happily jumped at my chest
”H-Hey—!”
Instead of holding hands, Tia was huggingme
”I can finally touch you, Yuu Now I don't have to be afraid anymore”
But after I noticed thein Tia's body, I understood what kind of fear she had been enduring
”—I'm by your side So don't worry”
To reassure Tia, I patted her back
”Yes Then I'll begin, Yuu About Neun About dragons”
”Please”
What kind of truth was she going to reveal? No matter what happened, I must not allow Tia to worry I nodded firmly
Tia backed away slightly, looked intoher voice
”Well, Neun refers to the ninth counterdragon”
”Counterdragon?”
Hearing that term for the first time, I frowned
”Yes The dragons we have fought so far—Basilisk, Hraesvelgr, Yggdrasil and Vritra—are all counterdragons Rather than true dragons”
”What H-Hold on What do you r were fake dragons?”
With the coed into confusion
”Well They are not fake Dragons are dragons However, they were dragons born from this world—born from Gaia Oh, but Eins, the world itself, probably doesn't count as a dragon”
Tia explained in a bit of a dile Her explanations were peppered with unknown ter
Seeing ed in exasperation
”Explaining everything to thee would be too much trouble 'Tis a pointless waste of time at this rate I shall offer a concise explanation”
Leaving the door she was leaning against, Vritra approached us
”A true dragon is a calamity that threateneth the continued existence of the world as a whole 'Tis not limited to lifeforms, but includes phenomena too”
Looking straight into my confused eyes, Vritra spoke
”A calamity”
I repeated the word once Vritra nodded solemnly
”Indeed—Gaia has experienced eight hly wipe out all existing ecosysteons were born to avoid such destruction”
Vritra paused here and showed aexpression
”You dragons are the world's allies? Despite spreading those great disasters dragon disasters throughout the world”
Seeing Vritra speak though her existence were legitimate, I retorted in momentary ion disaster I could bring s with a ”So I see!”
But contrary to what I expected, Vritra shook her head
”Conteht Once born, an authority will not disappear, inherited by others when the holder perisheth Hence, the antibodies are haron disasters an allergic reaction of the world Be that as it may, know that ye humans are not victims”
”What?”
What was going on? I frowned
”The second and eighth calae I obtained frodrasil Coht to know more clearly as Zwo's successor”
At this moment, Vritra looked at Tia
Zwo, Kiskanu—These were so me
Yggdrasil was a biological co its existence completely was virtually i as a substitute for its core consciousness
In other words, Kiskanu was a being that had ruled over the plant network even earlier than Yggdrasil
Thinking over these ain and she nodded
”Yes 'Verdant' Kiskanu was a counterdragon born for the sake of opposing the second calamity Hence, full records reon—'Ultimate Wisdom' Atlantis was the first alien species to arrive on Gaia They possessed an extremely advanced civilization and were the ancestors of mankind”
”What—The ancestors of ons? Wait, but if the world wasn't destroyed back then, the counterdragon should've driven ht?”
I asked while feeling shocked Apparently anticipating such a question from me, Tia continued calmly
”What was regarded as a calaon, was not y Hence, Kiskanu was bestowed the power to control electricity—the authority to y was uprooted and eliminated”
”Destroying technology”
”What do you think happened to huy?”
”To survive, they'd have no choice but to live pri—Oh, so huain after that?”
Since they were called the ancestors of mankind, that was only inevitable
”Indeed But after countless years—humanity has acquired civilization sufficient to destroy the world again Hence, to prevent huhth calaon was born”
I already kneho Tia was referring to
Possessing the ability to dominate mankind and avoid nuclear war, Charlotte's father—the first ”Gray” Vampire
Reading frorinned in mockery
”Ye humans are fortunate Neither your civilization nor your race iped out In that case, 'tis evidence that nized as a part of the world However, this judgently”
Vritra spoke suggestively Realizing the internal connections, I changed the subject Having heard the explanations so far, I already understood thebehind the existence of Neun
”Then after taking care of mankind, Neun is the only one left to resist the ninth calamity?”
”Indeed However, I believe 'tis highly unlikely that thou art Neun”
Nodding, Vritra looked at me coldly
”Tia believes Yuu is Neun! Yggdrasil thought so too and wanted to obtain Yuu in order to survive the ninth calamity”
However, Tia clenched her fist in front of her chest and insisted In contrast, Vritra shrugged mildly
”Hdrasil that had focused its full effort on self-preservation More importantly, this contradicts Kiskanu's viewpoint”