Vol 10 Chapter 1 (1/2)
The sound of footsteps from multiple people echoed within a dark and enclosed space
Thestaircase see ht back to the time when I first descended these stairs, ere almost about to reach the bottom of the clock tower
”Mononobe~”
Hearing the slightly exhausted voice fro in the staircase
I looked back to see the panting silver-haired girl—Iris Freyja—looking up at me from the step below me I could not see the others because the vieas blocked by the twisting staircase, but I could hear their footsteps behind me
Several hours earlier, we had felt a treround surface Next, Ariella's betrayal caht have been coroup would head up to the surface
Our current goal was to confir place for shi+on and Jeanne Rescuing Ariella was also imperative
”You're cli too fast~ Let's take a short break”
Iris reached out to hed deeply
”Didn't I say I'll head out first to make sure it's safe? There's no need to force yourself to keep up with my pace”
”B-But what if so happened to you while you're alone, Mononobe!?”
Cli the stairs faster than she could handle, beads of perspiration kept appearing on Iris' forehead, but she stared at me seriously
”Am I that untrusted?”
”Because lately Mononobe, you keep taking action alone That's not good, right?”
”Ouch”
I fell silent for a moment because her comment struck a sore spot
That time at the mountain villa, the plan to intercept NIFL had failed because I had separated froainst Kraken Zwei, it was Iris who had saved me from the hopeless situation Hence, I had no words to refute her
”That's why I want to follow you as ht now, Mononobe I-I am your mate”
Iris blushed red and spoke quietly in embarrassment
I noticedup because of her words However, there was soside her
”—By the way, Iris, can you still use Catastrophe?”
Due to getting hly likely that her abilities were affected in addition to her body During the battle against Kraken Zwei, Iris' staff had turned into a part of her body during the dragonification process, even allowing her to produce the ”Third Eye”
”Oh, yes, in a way We at least confirmed it when I was examined”
”In a way?”
The auous answer made me frown
”Umm, how should I put it? Before, I kne to use Catastrophe without needing to think at all But I can't do it anymore, no matter what Because of that, I can't use it unless I transmute dark matter”
”I see—So now it's the same for you like how it is for me and Mitsuki”
Like Iris, Mitsuki and I had inherited powers froravitational matter, Ether Wind, anti dark enerated from the transmutation of dark matter in order to connect to the plant network
However, Iris alone had been able to use Catastrophe directly Hence, her body had transfor to Vritra's explanation
Having lost this unique aspect of hers, Iris could no longer use Catastrophe beyond her capacity to generate dark onify like before, I suppose
However—as the one who had on, which meant it was possible that Iris had sion
”That's why I can't attack at alike when I generated dark matter in the past”
Iris waved her hands to gesture but I sht of her ”special skill”
”No , Iris, your dark matter always explodes Also, Catastrophe's effect cannot be controlled So don't use them on humans, okay?”
”Sheesh, of course I know that Mononobe, it's you who should take more care, okay?”
Iris pouted slightly and stared at me
”Me?”
”That's right You o overboard, okay? Killing is wrong!”
Bahten
Iris was bringing up matter-of-fact common sense A moral worldview shared by all humans However, I had not used this kind of perspective to distinguish good fro time now
Duringunder Major Loki at NIFL, I had turned into so at will”
In the past series of battles, I had gradually lost the luxury of choosing ”not to kill” In the battles against Hreidh the defeated armored soldiers were empty inside, if they were transforht have committed murder already
But before that
”Very well, I got it I'll re to rescue Ariella and protect Charl—the principal”
I answered, as though carving these words upon round hot spring and were currently cli staircase
Just as Iris had said, killing was definitely wrong No matter what the reason, it was not an option that should be chosen
”Then Mononobe, it's a promise!”
Iris nodded deeply and extended her little finger towards me
”I promise”
After a er with Iris'
Optienerally had a tendency to iine the worst-case scenario If a situation arose where I had to take a life in order to protect Iris and the others, I did not have the confidence to keep this promise
On the other hand, people surely exchanged promises with one another precisely because they lacked confidence
Thinking that, I proether
”Mononobe, let's give it our best together!”
Iris ser
”—Yeah”
Her s I did not want to betray
”Mm!”
Next, I heard a voice expressing agree our break, the petite red-haired girl—Ren Miyazawa—looked up at us with her tiny fist clenched tightly
”Onee-chan must be saved Whatever it takes”
She declared strongly and ran up to us Overtaking Iris and cohtly
Next, the rest of the girls arrived one after another and looked at Ren and me
”Yes, we must save Ariella We haven't heard her story properly yet”
The girl who norave off a spaced-out impression, Firill Crest, concurred with Ren whose eyes were showing intense determination
Lisa Highwalker tossed her long blonde hair and nodded at them
”Indeed—There must be some sort of reason Since Ariella-san is the kind of person who can do anything on their own, sheto anyone Goodness gracious My friends are full of these people who get stuck in their stubborn ways of thinking, how troublesome”
Lisa glanced sideways at my foster sister, Mitsuki
”Why are you looking towards me, Lisa-san?”
”Oh my? Would you like me to explain?”
Confronted with Lisa's aze
”N-No, it is fine I am aware of my similarities with Ariella-san”
Mitsuki replied with so how she had entered conflicts with Lisa many times due to her own obstinate views on the shi+nomiya Miyako incident
Next, Mitsuki held her hand against her chest with a so heavily, probably exhausted froo Upon closer examination, I noticed that the redness of her face was not purely due to embarrassment
”Mitsuki, are you okay? Just take a break if you're tired, or”
I stopped h she was dressed in Midgard's enuinely feed to the sa as the sniper due to her rare ”eyes” of outstanding talent
And right now, Jeanne was carrying a purple-haired girl on her back The girl was nahter of the Krakenified shi+nomiya Miyako, she currently adored Jeanne as family
”Captain?”
”Papa?”
Making eye contact with me, Jeanne and shi+on tilted their heads in puzzles as ht shi+on that she and I were her fa called ”Papa”
However, shi+on would feel insecure if I were to look troubled, so I tried to smile back at the two of them as naturally as possible
”C-C-C-Captain, if you stare at me like this It would feel a bit”
I ended up causing shi+on to shtly flustered
Seeing the and her face turned even redder
”No, there is no need for you to carry me! Also, I do not need a break Our first priority is to ht now!”
Mitsuki refused in a fluster Nevertheless, as her fa time, I could definitely tell that her condition was not normal
Ever since she transfor contact with ic She had clai for too long, but I concluded it was necessary to consider the effects of being turned into my kind
Furtherh their transfor unusual, yet Mitsuki had quite an intense reaction during the process Although the reason was unknown, it seereater strain than the others
”—No need to hurry so much This route leads directly to the bottoirl apparently took route that eet is this school's principal, it is all but assured that ill arrive ahead of her”
The one who interjected was the unmotivated Kili Surtr Muspelheim
She was neither close with Ariella nor had any reason to protect Charlotte, which hy she felt no urgency
”That being said, we cannot afford to dally while it is unkno much time remains Nii-san, let us proceed”
Saying that, Mitsuki began to ascend the stairs Since she was giving this look of ”I shall venture forth even if all of you stop here,” I had no choice but to start ain
”Yuu! Since Mitsuki alk on her own, Tia wants to be carried!”
But before long, I heard Tia Lightning's voice fro the stairs, only to see Tia staring atruby-like eyes
”Sure—”
It was fine since she was tired Just as I nodded in consent, Vritra objected from beside Tia
”Wait If thou art going to carry so”
Identical to Kili in appearance except two sizes s the stairs with an expression of utter irritation Even if one were to tell others that she was the cause of the first dragon disaster that had plunged on—no one would probably believe it
”Tia is tired!”
”I am more tired”
”Tia is more more tired!”
Tia and Vritra began a fruitless debate Although I had no idea how to handle this, Lisa sth to fight like this, it implies that you can still cli the two of them to shut up immediately
”Oh, Mononobe! It's a door!”
Iris interjected at just the right moment and pointed up the stairs
”Mm”
Ren gripped htly with nervousness in her demeanor
”Let's advance as quietly as possible from here on”
I turned roup Iris and the girls nodded
Leading the way, I ascended the stairs quietly and stood in front of the heavy door There was neither a door knob nor a keyhole Beside it was a circular handle, probably meant to be rotated in order to open and close the door
I focused my mind to listen for sounds on the other side of the door There were no hu intent
After asking everyone to back away slightly, I turned the handle and the door opened automatically with heavy noise of vibration
The other side of the door was hter than the staircase side I squinted and observed the surrounding situation Exposed pipes were running along the passage's ceiling and walls No one see was different coh on my way down
”Follow me, everyone”
I said to the girls as they stepped into the passage
”Onii-chan What's wrong?”
The first to catch up was Ren, who asked in head-tilted puzzlement
”The route Mica-san showed me has been blocked”
I pointed at the other end of the passage and explained It looked like it had been blocked off by a very thick partition
”Then we have to find a detour?”
Firillit a ht
”Midgard is probably safeguarding against underground invasions The other passage must surely be the same In that case, wouldn't it be faster to contact shi+nomiya-sensei to have her open the partition?”
Hearing that, Iris brightened up in demeanor
”Oh right! Although we couldn't use our terminals in the cave, there's reception here!”
”Then allow me to contact shi+nomiya-sensei”
Mitsuki nodded and took out her portable terrabbed Mitsuki's shoulder from behind to stop her
”Hold on It's better not to underestiree, Jeanne-chan?”
Kili looked suggestively at Jeanne, a forhtly and nodded
”Yes Now that NIFL has landed on the island, it would be best not to use co”
”Ea-ves-drop-ping? Ea-ves-drop-ping?”
Curious about the ter on Jeanne
”Itsecretly But it's true that we don't want them to know about our position and situation”
While explaining to shi+on, I acknowledged Kili's viewpoint Then Mitsuki frowned
”Be that as itto break the partition in order to move forward?”
In order to get there before Ariella, we could not afford to waste tiht aid NIFL, there was no other choice Just as I was thinking that, soed the corner of my shi+rt from the side
I looked there, only to see Tia looking up at
”No problem! Leave it to Tia!”
Walking briskly, Tia approached the partition and pressed her hand on the control panel next to it
With a spark of electricity near the red horns on her head, followed by a heavy sound of turning, the partition opened
”Wow”
Impressed, I exclaimed and Tia puffed out her little chest proudly
”Codrasil, this kind of machine is too easy! Tia will close it up properly once we all pass through NIFL won't get easy pickings!”
Listening to her, Kili smiled with satisfaction
”Fufu, as expected of my Tia There is no co obtained Yggdrasil's processing power”
Kili probably thought of herself as the one who had raised Tia, but I noticed Lisa's broitching on the side
”Tia-san, you are truly a out all the time”
Walking over to Tia, Lisa bent down and smiled
”Ehehe Thanks But Lisa helped Tia even more”
Hugged by Lisa, Tia s Tia's head tenderly, Lisa secretly glanced at Kili
”Hmm”
Seeing Lisa's actions and gaze that seemed to declare ”Tia is not yours,” Kili looked displeased
”Another partition lies ahead Could you take care of it again?”
”Yes!”
Nodding energetically, Tia held Lisa's hand and walked over there
While following the Kili
”—Although it's not ainst Lisa on this front”
”I know that”
Frowning unhappily, Kili replied
”The er possible for her to get close to me, the one who had killed her 'human parents'”
Kili lowered her voice, speaking only loud enough for me to hear This was the first time for her to broach the subject ever since she joined us
I took a breath and voiced a concern that had been occupyingtime now
”Why did you kill theo that far, was it?”
”No, it was necessary Even now, I still believe I did nothing wrong”
Kili instantly replied in an icy voice
”Hht? You destroyed that life and did nothing wrong, are you serious—”
I could not help but findlouder, so I stopped er with a wry smile
”Happiness for Tia was not necessarily happiness for her parents”
”What do you mean?”
After hearing Kili's profound stateer and asked Next, she questioned me instead
”An arht?”
”That's right—Those people took her parents hostage and forced her to create gemstones I was the one who rescued her from there”
After I nodded, Kili smiled sardonically
”Hostages eh? Were it not so, they wouldn't have tried to sell their daughter off again”
”What?”
Was it because I reacted with bated breath exactly as she had predicted? Kili continued with a look of satisfaction
”The involveanization is required to efficiently convert gean to search for a new buyer However, the news spread tooan anti-dragon organization”
Anti-dragon organization was the uons and treated Ds with hostility, considering the a dragon was impossible for them no matter how much they wanted to, their activities were specifically lianizations or antagonizing Ds through witch hunts In the past, Ariella had belonged to a sianization
”Wait, since things ended up that way—”
”Indeed, an attack fro themselves to be 'justice,' of course”
Kili shrugged and nodded with aexpression
”Arriving as the official buyer, but a step too late, I fought off those people But Tia's parents were mortally wounded by then Froht men to attack her parents”
”Huh?”
In that case, Kili was not the one who had murdered Tia's parents However, she looked at me with a smile of self-deprecation and shook her head
”Norenic transmutation to save them even if the wounds were hopeless However, I 'cre that”
Kili distanced herself fro for this whispered conversation to conclude
After we passed through, the partition auto the next partition
Haltingall this, I said to Kili
”What you told me just now—Does Tia know?”
”No, you're the first to know”
Kili turned her gaze to Tia and answered softly
”Why didn't you tell her?”
”Even if I told her things that she did not witness personally, she would treat theood would come out of it”
Kili replied in resignation
At thisnoise While confir there were no enemies on the other side, I looked at Kili
”—Sure enough, I take back what I said earlier”
It was not so about Kili
”Huh?”
Kili was looking at me in puzzlement I said to her with a smile:
”What I said about how you can't win against Lisa If you're envious, just stop thinking too o hold Tia's hand”
Kili was being considerate for Tia in her oay If this could be conveyed to Tia, surely—
”Wait, h-how did you reach this conclusion? Guh, s-stop pushi+ng me!”
Pushi+ng Kili's back while she was showing a rare unsettled look for once, I walked over to Tia and the others
Part 2
After opening countless partitions, we finally reached the elevator
Was it due to the defense eency? With doors shut, the elevator was not operational However, this was also resolved by having Tia hack the systeot into the cramped elevator car and made our way to the clock tower's top floor
”Is the principal still in her usual room?”
Iris murmured worriedly
”It's possible that she went elsewhere But anyway, let's check first”
Although I felt that she should be in her office or personal room, it was also possible for her to be at the co our objective of finding the principal before Ariella did, checking the principal's office first was the best option
”We ht suddenly encounter NIFL's forces and Ariella-san Please prepare yourselves to fight, everyone”
After Mitsuki reenerated their respective fictional armaments
”—AT Nergal”
Considering this was going to be anti-personnel combat, I used transun instead of a fictional armament
Holding the gun's solid grip with both hands, I waited for the moment for us to arrive at the top floor
With a light electronic sound, the elevator stopped
”I will generate an air barrier”
Firill took a step forward and placed her hand on her book-shaped fictional armament
”Generating air in a narrow space will increase air pressure dramatically Please construct the barrier concurrent with the door's opening”
”Yes, I understand”
Firill nodded to acknowledge Mitsuki's reminder The moment the elevator doors opened, intense wind blew This was probably the barrier Firill erected by generating a large volume of air
At the saal in case enens of anyone on the other side of the elevator doors
”We worried needlessly”
After Lisadown the empty corridor, Firill lowered her hand in relief Was it because the barrier was released? The wind suddenly stopped
”—Let's go”
I took the lead and walked out of the elevator, then stopped in front of the principal's office at the end of the corridor
There were no signs of a prior battle nearby Neither was there any killing intent co that NIFL had yet to reach this place, I cautiously knocked the door
”Charl, it's me”
I waited for the other side to respond
””
Some kind of weak voice seemed to answer, but I could not hear it clearly Further soundsanxiety to sprout spontaneously in my heart
”H in”
Announcing one-sidedly, I opened the door and wassmell of blood The red scene before my eyes stunned me
Charlotte was sitting in her chair as usual in the back of her office However, there was a knife stabbed in her chest The blood pouring out was dyeing her lab coat red
Blood was spreading on the floor, producing a ine that such a volume had bled from her slender body
”Principal!?”
Mitsuki suddenly called out On the other hand, Iris and Firill si a word
”—Don't look!”
Lisa covered Tia and Ren's eyes Jeanne also led shi+on away to stand in the back of our group
”damn it!”
Gnashi+ng my teeth, I stepped into the room
Did I arrive a step too late!?
Filled with anxiety, I ran over to Charlotte's side, hoping there ought to be some way to save her However—
”Stay away Don't worry”
With a knife stabbed in her chest, Charlotte stoppedhad caused blood to enter her windpipe, she coughed repeatedly with red droplets of blood flowing out from the corner of her mouth
”Charl Are you okay?”
”This isn't enough to kill me Didn't I tell you before that I'm immortal?”
Charlotte opened her eyes, which had been shut, and smiled
”Well That's true indeed”
I answered in a stutter
I knew about Charlotte's ability She had used it to cure me of injuries that would have taken months to recover from As someone who had entered a blood pact with Charlotte, shi+nomiya-sensei had survived a fatal wound Charlotte herself should be even more ”immortal” than that
However, during our fight, Ariella had clearly said she was going to kill Charlotte Not only was her co but she also see similar in quality to Hreidmar and ”Fafnir” In addition, this forcibly imposed inspection was definitely one of Major Loki's plots
No uarantee that she would be fine for sure
Major Loki had orderedas that was his objective, it was highly likely that he had prepared multiple backup plans
”Hmm—It looks like you came to check on me because you were truly worried about me Thank you, my friend”
After speaking happily, Charlotte pulled out the knife froh blood spurted out, it stopped immediately as soon as she applied pressure to the wound
Standing behindtheir breath, extreh they had previously heard that Charlotte was a dragon, it was only natural to be shocked when personally witnessing her regenerative powers
”This knife You stabbed yourself with it?”
It was the only conclusion based on the scene I asked in puzzlement
”Indeed I needed a bit of blood”
”Blood?”
I looked at the pool of blood on the floor Upon closer exa doards, the blood was draining in that direction
”My authority takes effect by using bodily fluids as a e amount of fresh blood in order to use my ability on a massive scale”
”I get the reason But isn't there any other way? Even if it'll heal, it hurts like hell, right?”
Recalling how painful Charlotte looked earlier, I frowned
”It definitely hurts, but this is the quickest method My body will recover instantly even if wounded Well, I guess it looks like I' that aside—”
She placed the bloodstained knife on the table and looked at Mitsuki and the girls standing at the door
”What's the round i must have happened”
Mitsuki and the girls looked at one another then walked into the principal's office
”H”
Charlotte seeaze, so I explained
”Ariella has probablythis way”
”What is going on here?”
Charlotte's expression turned grim as I told her about what had happened
After learning the cause of Ariella's betrayal, Charlotte crossed her arms with a serious look on her face
”I see That person—”
”Yeah—But to the very end, Ariella still cared for Ren Therewith NIFL”