Part 5 of 8
It’s getting harder to take out several targets with a single shot at this point, but I can definitely destroy at least one per bullet.
Yep, I’d say things are going swimmingly!
At this rate, I’ll wipe out every last mega-robot before you can say… Huh?
Looks like there have been other developments while I’ve been busy busting robots.
Vampy and Mr. Oni.
They’re facing off against Yamada and friends.
And, hello?
Why does it look like Yamada is writhing in pain?
Vampy!
What did you do now?!
“Thanks sooo much for your support, everyone!”
A familiar voice came from the television.
The male idol on the screen was one of the chimeras from this orphanage.
He happened to have a normal human appearance.
No, not entirely normal, I suppose—he was incredibly good-looking.
So he used those looks as an asset to get into the entertainment industry.
Here in the orphanage, a girl scowled at the boy on the screen.
They had a bitter breakup when he left to become an idol.
He insisted he wanted to get into entertainment, and she accused him of abandoning the orphanage.
Unlike him, this girl’s appearance was far from human.
The dragon genes she’d been made with were particularly strong, to the point where she essentially looked like a humanoid dragon.
That appearance made it virtually impossible for her to join human society; the orphanage was the only place she belonged.
I think that’s why she had a hard time accepting any of our brethren who left the orphanage.
At the time, more and more of the other kids were leaving the orphanage, not just the boy who went into the entertainment industry.
Although aside from him, the others tended to come back frequently, so it was more like they were spending nights away from home.
By this time, we were old enough to do such things.
Unfortunately, I had stopped growing several years ago, and looked younger than my actual age. My body just couldn’t get enough nutrition to grow.
It made little difference to me anyway, since I couldn’t be out of my wheelchair for long.
Maybe I was a little jealous of the others who could grow normally, but I would never admit it.
Everyone else looked their age, and since some of them looked human or at least very close to it, they started setting out into the world more proactively.
There were even a handful of kids who were visibly inhuman at a glance, like those two rowdy boys, but still decided to go out into the world—not many, but there were a few.
The one thing they all had in common was that they felt they couldn’t just keep depending on the orphanage forever.
They started striking out on their own, trying to become more independent, little by little.
The ones who stayed in the orphanage were kids with nowhere else to go, like me.
I returned my gaze from the television back to the object in my hands: a handkerchief I was embroidering.
It was a hobby I picked up when looking for something I could do even though I couldn’t go outside.
I suppose it was one of the only things I could do.
But by doing embroidery, and occasionally other crafts like crocheting stuffed animals, I was able to sell some of my creations and earn a little money—only a very small amount, though.
While everyone else was trying to stand on their own, I felt lonely, as if I were being left behind.
“I’m home.”
Just then, a young man wearing an eye mask returned to the orphanage.
“Welcome back.”
“Welcome.”
“Thanks. Ah, he’s on TV, huh?”
He must have heard the voice from the television and recognized the boy who’d become an idol.
“Guess he’s working hard.”
“Who knows? I heard he might be sleeping his way to the top.”
There were rumors that some entertainers, mostly female but some male, sold their bodies to get jobs, or so I was told.
It was an urban legend of sorts, however; I have no idea if that actually occurred.
“Nah, I’m sure he’s got better judgment than that.”
“Doubt it.”
“****, that’s too far.”
“You’re defending him, Ariel?”
“Sure. **** is doing this for our sake, too.”
The idol boy donated the majority of his earnings to this orphanage in order to support kids like me who couldn’t leave.
Specifically, I think he was doing it for the girl who was now complaining about him.
As far as I could tell, the two of them were mutually in love.
“…Well, I never asked for that.”
“…I really think you should try to talk things over with him.”
These two seemed to be growing further apart because they didn’t fully understand each other, which was why I gave that advice.
But she stubbornly refused to make the first move.
“Maybe if he contacts me first. I mean, he hardly ever comes back to visit.”
…In the end, they were never able to make amends.
I was embroidering alone in silence.
This one was meant to be given as a gift, not sold.
“I’m home.”
“Welcome back.”
The boy in the eye mask came back, just like before.
As it happened, the embroidery I was working on was a handkerchief for that boy.
He was blind, so he wouldn’t be able to tell what the picture was from ordinary embroidery.
Thus, I was embroidering this one with extra bumps, trying to make it uneven enough that he would be able to identify the image by touch.
In this case, I was embroidering a flower.
And it wasn’t just him: I was making handkerchiefs for all the kids from the orphanage.
I hadn’t given away any yet; I planned to give them out to everyone all at once when they were all completed.
But I wanted them to have proof that I existed.
As a memento to remember me by.
My health wasn’t getting any better, not by a long shot.
When I was first taken in by the orphanage, it improved very slightly because of the better living conditions.
But ever since then, it had remained the same.
No matter how hard I tried, the distance I could walk without my wheelchair never grew.
If anything, as time passed, it only got shorter.
I was sure I didn’t have much longer to live.
I could just feel it.
So I wanted to leave everyone with a physical object, so they wouldn’t forget me.
“…Think you’ll finish?”
“Uh-huh. I should manage to be done in time.”
I hadn’t told anyone that I was going to give the handkerchiefs I was embroidering to everyone as gifts.
But the boy with the eye mask was something of a leader in the orphanage, and even though he couldn’t see, he kept close watch over all of us.
Because of that, I think he had figured out more or less what I was trying to do.
My health was stable at the time, but if I caught a cold during the changing of the seasons or something like that, there was no telling what might happen.
For all I knew, I could drop dead at any moment.
So I wanted to finish the presents as soon as I could, and give them out to everyone.
But I didn’t want to give them something shoddy because I was rushing too much, either.
I made each one with care, thinking of the recipient as I worked.
I wanted my feelings to sink into every stitch.
As everyone started to become independent, I felt like I was being left behind.
But I was sure that in the end, I would be the one to leave them behind instead.
I did manage to finish those handkerchiefs and give them to everyone.
But ultimately, I was still the one who got left behind.
“Is Sariel here?”
That day, Gülie came to the orphanage.
He visited from time to time.
From my point of view, around the time when the orphanage first opened, I don’t believe he was particularly conscious of Lady Sariel.
But the more they saw of each other, the more interested he became.
That’s how it looked to me, anyway.
There wasn’t any sudden, dramatic development or anything.
But if you build up enough ordinary, casual exchanges, eventually that can develop into love.
I lived in a very small, sheltered world, myself, but I still felt impressed that love could work in such a way.
“Lady Sariel is out right now.”
“…I see.”
Looking obviously disappointed, Gülie handed me the gift of confections he’d brought.
As usual, it was a variety of soft gelatin desserts, perhaps out of consideration for my diet.
If only he could have been as considerate toward Lady Sariel, but alas, this man always managed to fumble where it mattered most and ended up failing in his efforts to impress her.
“…If you want to see her so badly, you should really show how happy you are when you do get to meet.”
“…It is not like that.”
In spite of his claims, everyone at the orphanage knew how Gülie felt by now.
“You’ll never get through to Lady Sariel with that attitude. She’s tragically dense enough about this kind of thing as it is.”
“…I told you, it is not like that.”
I shook my head and heaved a dramatic sigh.
“Hrm? Embroidery, eh?”
“Uh-huh.”
Gülie appeared to be trying to change the subject, and landed on the project in my hands.
“Should I make one for you too, Gülie?”
I made the suggestion without really thinking.
Since I could never leave the orphanage, Gülie’s frequent visits made him quite possibly my closest friend from the outside world.
So I thought it might be nice to leave him with a handkerchief, too.
“You ought to make one for Sariel before you bother making one for me.”
“Of course. I already have.”
Lady Sariel’s handkerchief was the very first one I made.
“Well, then, if you feel so inclined at some point, I would appreciate it.”
Gülie smiled softly and patted my head.
“But do not push yourself, all right?”
“…You should really show that kindness toward Lady Sariel.”
“…I keep telling you, it is nothing like that.”
“Hello, I have returned.”
Just then, Lady Sariel happened to come in.
“S-Sariel?!”
“Yes. Gülie. Welcome.”
“D-Did you hear our conversation just now?”
“No. I do not eavesdrop on other people’s conversations.”
“I-I see.”
Gülie was very clearly relieved.
But knowing Lady Sariel, even if she had overheard, she wouldn’t have figured out Gülie’s feelings anyway…
“So, what business brings you here, Gülie?”
“Nothing. Just ensuring that everyone is in good health.”
Gülie glanced in my direction as he spoke.
Why would he try to steer the subject toward me?
Now Lady Sariel was going to assume that he came to check up on me.
He should have just admitted that he came to see her…
It was incredibly frustrating watching Gülie bumble around like this.
But since Gülie and Lady Sariel were a dragon and an angel respectively, beings with all the time in the world, perhaps there was no need to rush.
Since I later became a similar being myself, I suppose I understand that feeling a little.
Still, there are times when you should really act while you have the chance, or you might come to regret it later.
Even now, I think Gülie should have tried to woo Lady Sariel more directly.
I have no way of knowing if she would have reciprocated, but either way, I am sure Gülie wouldn’t regret things as much as he does now.
Because he’ll never have another chance to woo Lady Sariel now.
…That reminds me, I never ended up making Gülie a handkerchief.
I wanted to finish them for everyone in the orphanage first, leaving his for later.
And in the end, I just barely managed to complete the gifts for them just in time.
…Right before the day when we would have to be separated from Lady Sariel.
After that, the system was created, and the world plunged into chaos.
With so much going on, I forgot all about making a handkerchief for Gülie.
…I know.
Once this is all over, when I have time, I’ll make Gülie’s handkerchief.
Yes, this time for sure…
The same vampire incident that affected Foduey also landed Potimas’s name at the top of wanted lists all over the world.
Cautious though he was, his actions were on far too large a scale.
In the end, even he couldn’t hide all of his many activities.
But of course, he was never the sort of person to simply go on the run.
What an obstinate man.
Around the time Potimas became a wanted criminal, he unveiled a certain research breakthrough.
Namely: the theory of MA energy.
If one’s Taboo skill reaches level 10, details revolving around the term MA energy become clear.
Even without that, it is likely that some have heard the phrase before.
After all, it is the gravest sin the people of this world ever committed.
Much time has passed since then, and most have forgotten what occurred in those days, but I suspect there are still some who continue to speak of it.
Dustin, the very pontiff of the Word of God religion, is one individual who knows the truth.
It would not surprise me if he secretly distributed some fragmentary form of that information within the creed of his church.
Hrmm? That phrasing makes it sound as if I am not overly familiar with the creed of the Word of God, you say?
Indeed, I am not.
I do not know the details of the Word of God religion.
Is that really so surprising?
To be perfectly frank, I have no interest in such a thing.
…You think that a cruel reason?
Perhaps so.
But give it some thought.
Dustin invented the Word of God religion in order to save humanity.
If you look past the details of the creed on the surface, its true nature is a tool of human supremacy.
It seeks to save humanity no matter the sacrifice, be it demons or even gods such as myself.
That is all.
Why in the world would I have any interest in the very creed that chose to save humanity by sacrificing Sariel?
I understand why Dustin chose to steer things in that direction.
It is essentially a reflection of his personal resolve.
So I do not blame him.
But I am free to have my own personal opinion of it, am I not?
Perhaps it is petty of me, but I could never bring myself to compromise on that matter.
Although I like to think I have remained neutral as an administrator.
In fact, as far as their opposition to Potimas goes, I have always been in full support of that.
But speaking of Potimas, let us return to the matter at hand.
The MA energy theory he developed shook the entire world.
Incidentally, from what I am told, the methods of accumulating energy in the reincarnations’ world were largely physical.
Instead of using magic or conjurings, they used natural materials such as oil and sunlight.
Our world was similar back then; the energy needed for everyday human activities was acquired through physical means.
Even with the existence of beings like dragons and Sariel, that aspect was no different from the world of the reincarnations.
But MA energy changed that forever.
At this point, perhaps you have gathered some inkling of the nature of this so-called MA energy.
Indeed, MA energy is a form of energy gathered through magical means, by way of conjuring.
For humans, who had always gotten their energy from physical sources, the MA energy construction theory that Potimas developed must have seemed like a way to create something out of nothing.
Indeed, MA energy was described as such: a miraculous energy that comes from nothing.
Unlimited energy that could be used indefinitely, without causing any harm to the environment.
…How very foolish.
As if such a thing could possibly exist.
Every resource has a limit.
That truth applies to everything physical, magical, and otherwise.
But humans did not understand that.
No, that is not entirely true. Some of them did.
Dustin was one such person.
However, the majority of humans will only believe things that are convenient for them.
All the more so when they are desperate.
The quickest to jump to MA energy were the most desperate of humans…
…especially the humans—or rather, nations—who were most impoverished.
The wealth disparity between the human nations was staggering.
The poorest of them saw hope in the form of MA energy.
The MA energy theory Potimas made public only described the method of acquiring MA energy.
Most people were skeptical when it was first announced, but the nations most in need used it nonetheless.
I believe it was what the reincarnations would call “grasping at straws”?
But indeed, these “straws” allowed those nations to successfully recover, at least at first.
MA energy certainly is an effective energy source, at least by all appearances.
The nations that used it to solve their energy crises quickly made advancements.
There were objections from the nations that relied on exports of resources like oil, but I shall omit such details, as they are no longer relevant.
And as the impoverished nations began growing rapidly with MA energy, the more developed countries began to use it as well.
No doubt they were loath to be left behind by what they viewed as lesser nations.
Thus, slowly but surely, more nations began to deal in MA energy.
Not all of them, however.
There were some nations that refused to use MA energy. Their reasons varied: MA energy was developed by a wanted criminal like Potimas, the nature of MA energy was still unknown, oil-producing countries still objected to the rise of MA energy, and so on.
The place where Dustin was president was one such nation.
His nation was large and influential. If they took a strong stance against MA energy, other nations were bound to hesitate as well.
However, it is a difficult thing to halt the flow of progress.
Before long, more and more humans began approving of the use of MA energy, seeing that it had the visible effect of solving the energy crisis.
On top of that, there was another breakthrough theory that Potimas released along with the MA energy theory.
Namely, the theory of evolution by way of MA energy.
Essentially, it suggested that MA energy could be used to make humans evolve.
It was like a progress report of the results of Potimas’s research on evolutions like vampirism.
But even if it was incomplete by his standards, humanity could not ignore those results.
By consuming huge amounts of MA energy for a surgical treatment, humans could advance to a new stage.
There were two major changes:
Improved physical capabilities and a longer lifespan.
The latter especially attracted attention.
Because the procedure required a massive amount of MA energy, it was primarily only the richest humans who could undergo it.
Until then, a longer life was the one thing their money could not buy, no matter how much they wanted it.
It unfortunately did not grant perpetual youth and immortality, but it was still an exchange of money for more time to live.
Small wonder that humans would jump at the chance.
Many advanced countries lifted their ban on MA energy because their richest citizens demanded it for this procedure.
Compared to all of humanity, there were very few who actually got the procedure.
Based on the population at the time, at least.
At any rate, their consumption of MA energy was far too high.
The humans seemed to think that it was an endless source of energy, but it could not be collected all at once.
Though most of the nations in the world were able to get enough of it to completely cover their operations.
But the amount of MA energy required for evolution was so unthinkably high that eventually there was not enough to go around.
I imagine that is why Dustin loathed those who underwent the procedure.
Though they were human themselves, he considers them separate beings, the enemies of humankind.
Which is why he calls the descendants of those who chose to evolve “demons.”
By expending huge amounts of MA energy for their own personal gain, they ultimately hastened the destruction of the world.
They were once the wealthy, privileged class of humanity.
When I think of how demonkind, who descended from them, is now teetering on the brink of extinction, it is hard to describe my feelings.
I suppose that was their punishment in a way.
But putting aside the origin of demons, the use of MA energy that started with the poorer nations eventually spread to developing and advanced nations as well.
There were few nations that objected.
At that point, it may have only been Dustin.
But there were some who were not from these nations who continued to object.
Namely, we dragons, and Sariel.
MA energy was collected by way of magical conjuring.
So those of us who were well versed in magic immediately recognized its true nature.
That is why we tried to warn them.
“Do not use MA energy.”
I suppose the current state of this world proves whether they heeded those warnings.
Indeed, the humans refused to listen.
They were not sufficiently fearful of dragons, I believe, in spite of the fact that we had destroyed a whole nation of theirs overnight in the past.
At that time, that particular nation somehow became possessed with the insane notion to drop a new kind of bomb on the home of dragons.
Of course, such things could never destroy us.
But we still wiped out that nation as our revenge.
Yet, that major event was only recorded in textbooks by the era of MA energy; there were few living humans who actually remembered it.
As generations passed, the fear we instilled in them naturally weakened.
Though the event still seemed recent from a dragon point of view, to humans it was already far in the past.
But since that was the only time we had majorly interfered with humanity, out of deference to Sariel, perhaps we sowed the seeds of ruin.
It allowed humans the wishful thinking that dragons were not actually so frightening, that they could ignore our warning.
In essence, they weighed the threat of dragons against the boon of MA energy and ruled in favor of the latter.
Our warnings were thus ignored, but Sariel was put in a difficult position as well.
For she was being pressured by her own employees in the Sariella Foundation.
The energy crisis was a problem of utmost import for those who worked in medical care, for the latest medical equipment could not operate without energy.
On top of that, the theory of MA energy evolution proved invaluable for research into treating previously incurable diseases.
Indeed, to the medical community, MA energy was a beacon of hope.
And of course, as I described before, the lower classes were helped immensely by MA energy.
Since the Sariella Foundation existed to support the less fortunate, they could not condone dropping the use of MA energy entirely.
Had Foduey been in good health, perhaps he could have handled this internal strife of sorts, but he had been quarantined because of his vampiric transformation.
Frankly, the Sariella Foundation had also become too large thanks to Foduey’s support.
So large, in fact, that the word of Sariel alone could not determine their direction, even though she was the founder and president.
Because her own organization was turning against her, Sariel ended up withdrawing from the public eye.
Since they had also just recently taken in the children who were victims of Potimas’s human experiments, she devoted her energy to managing the orphanage instead.
I still cannot say whether that was for the best or not…
The children from that orphanage, including Ariel, would go on to have a major effect on the future.
That likely would not have been the case were they not so closely involved with Sariel, which makes me wonder whether things would have gone differently otherwise.
Thus, Sariel’s influence was forced out of the Sariella Foundation.
But neither she nor I and the other dragons could tolerate the humans’ actions just because they refused to heed our warnings.
We knew all too well that things would go disastrously wrong before too long if they continued down this path.
Why? Because MA energy is an exploitation of the life force of the planet.
Planets have a life force, just like living things.
We gods absorb the excess energy given off by the planet in order to live.
Perhaps it is akin to how plants produce oxygen and animals produce carbon dioxide.
But that was not so for the MA energy humans were taking.
They were not using surplus that was naturally released, but forcibly extracting the energy the planet required to live.
If they kept this up, the planet was bound to weaken and eventually fall apart.
The dragons and Sariel alike told them to stop in order to prevent that.
We explained the reason too, of course.
…But as I said before, humans only believe things that are convenient for them.
And they will always find an excuse not to believe something that isn’t.
Foolish.
Truly foolish.
I am sure the cost of that foolishness was higher than the humans could have imagined.
When did humanity forget their fear of dragons…?
And why did they optimistically assume the dragons would not act on their fury…?
I still remember it clearly.
The elders summoned all dragons for a gathering.
There, they made the announcement.
“We will cull the humans.”
That day, the dragons bared their fangs against humanity.
Annoyingly enough, I have become a wanted man.
But no matter. The popularization of MA energy is succeeding.
The evolution theory, too.
Chances are slim, but perhaps someone will use these two theses and produce more successful research than I have.
It is not as if I must only find the path to eternal life on my own, after all.
Certainly that would be the surest and most reliable way, but if someone else were to find the key to eternal life instead, it would still be cause for celebration.
My research has hit a wall.
Just as I disclosed in my evolution theory, I have succeeded in prolonging the lifespan.
Truth be told, I have additionally found an evolution to another race that extends the lifespan even further.
For convenience, I have evolved into this species, which I call “elves.”
But my life is only longer now; it is not eternal.
More research is required, but that would necessitate massive amounts of MA energy.
There is a limit to how much MA energy one individual can gather.
That is why I popularized it.
If they learn the true nature of MA energy, the dragons will likely not stand silently by, but let them do what they may.
It matters not what using MA energy might do to this planet.
Research requires sacrifices.
As long as my research succeeds before the planet is destroyed, all will be well.
Should the planet perish before then, I shall simply abandon it and go elsewhere.
I have no use for a place where I cannot do research.
Why should I bother with a pitiful planet that cannot even grant one person eternal life?
I have already made preparations to take off into space.
From the moment we started using MA energy, this planet was already doomed to die, sooner or later.
I shall squeeze out every last drop that serves my research.
The other humans can deal with the wrath of the dragons for me.
Either way, when this planet falls to ruin, they will all go down with it.
They can at least be of use to me before they die.
I’m a little worried about Yamada and friends, but before I head over there…
I summon four battle clones and put the puppet spiders on top of them.
That way, if they find themselves in serious trouble, they should be able to get away using the battle clones’ teleportation.
Gotta say, though—the sight of a six-armed girl on top of a battle clone, aka a three-foot-tall spider…
So this is what you’d call creepy-cute!
The puppet spiders dash away gallantly atop their battle clones.
Hmm. They looked kinda pumped up about it, but I’m sure that’s just my imagination.
Anyway, now that I have nothing else to worry about, I’ll head over to see what’s happening with Yamada and the others.
Teleportation, activate!
So, now I’m on the scene and all, and… What exactly is this chaotic situation here?
First of all, Yamada is curled up on the ground clutching his head.
He doesn’t appear to be unconscious, but he’s definitely in serious pain of some kind.
And for some reason, a half-elf is lying next to him.
Umm, what was her name again? Anna?
Then you’ve got Ooshima, who’s sitting close to Yamada and holding him.
Hyrince and Shinohara are standing in front of Yamada, as if to protect him.
Ms. Oka is a little way behind them.
Plus, Tagawa and Kushitani are on the ground, too, totally knocked out.
As if all that wasn’t chaotic enough, Natsume is standing there giving Vampy a total death glare, and Vampy is glaring right back at him, making zero attempt to hide her desire to kill him.
Mr. Oni appears to have no interest in those two; he’s just staring at Yamada, looking bewildered.
Um, hello?
What’s going on here?
Someone explain, please!
But there’s no time to stand around being confused because things are only getting worse.
So I decide to take care of the most immediate danger first: namely, getting between Vampy and Natsume.
Or rather, I teleport behind Natsume, but close enough…
For now, I reach out slowly, careful that he doesn’t notice me.
Then I grab him hard by the back of the head.
…Why couldn’t I have done things more gracefully after reaching out so slowly?
There’s no time for that, fool!
Just like that, I give the order to the spider clone living inside Natsume’s head to put him to sleep for a little while.
While I’m at it, I might as well take back the little parasite spider, too.
The role I needed Natsume to play is pretty much taken care of at this point.
He can do whatever he wants from here on out.
Whatever happens as a result is his own responsibility.
You might think it’s cruel to just abandon him after using him so much, but remember, Natsume was already up to no good before we started taking advantage of him.
So just tell yourself he deserves it, thank you very much!
The tiny clone crawls out from Natsume’s ear, and I take it back.
As I do so, Natsume passes out on the ground.
“Master, could you not interfere, please?”
Vampy stomps over to me, looking blatantly annoyed.
Look, if I didn’t interfere, you totally would’ve killed Natsume, am I right?
I don’t know what happened, but you can’t just go around killing people whenever you get the urge.
You should try getting more calcium.
…That reminds me, apparently the puppet spiders used to feed Vampy bones for a while.
Maybe she’s been so moody because of a bone deficiency?
Aren’t vampires supposed to drink blood, not eat bones?
“It can’t be… But how?”
Oops.
I got so distracted with pointless thoughts that Ms. Oka said something to me.
Or at least, she whispered something to herself about me, anyway.
“Hello again, Ms. Oka.”
I decide to give her a response.
Vampy and Mr. Oni look openly taken aback by my reaction.
L-look, I can greet people if I really want to, okay!
Even if it’s mostly just because it’s Ms. Oka we’re talking about!
“Wakaba…?”
Yamada groans, notices me, and murmurs that name.
Then he passes out, like a marionette whose strings have been cut.
He doesn’t seem to be dead. But judging by the state he was in before he fainted, I can’t assume he’s fine, either.
I’ve got to check on his condition and treat him right away.
So I take a step forward, only to be stopped by someone standing in my way.
It’s Ooshima, looking at me desperately and brandishing a broken sword, trying to protect Yamada.
Look, I’m trying to save him, okay? Don’t give me that “if you want to get near him, you’ll have to kill me first!” kind of look.
I glance over at Hyrince, who’s standing right next to Ooshima, but he has the nerve to ignore my “do something about this!” look.
In fact, he’s blocking my way right alongside Ooshima.
Is he saying that he’s going to keep acting the part of Hyrince here, not Güli-güli?
Hm. Hrmm.
If that’s how Güli-güli’s acting, is it safe to assume that means Yamada’s condition isn’t an emergency?
I guess there’s no need to panic, then.
In that case, I guess my next move is to punish the person who caused all this chaos.
“Why does it seem like you’re giving off an extremely threatening aura right now, Master? Is it just my imagination?”
Oh, it’s extremely real, Vampy my dear.
I know you must’ve made some careless decision that led to all this!
Now spit it out, pronto!
What did you do?!
“Oh, don’t give me that accusatory look. I didn’t do anything, all right? I don’t think it’s very nice that you always assume it’s my fault whenever something like this happens, Master.”
Liar!
“Wakaba…that’s you, right? What’s going on here?! What did you do to Shun?!”
Ooshima is yelling at me, but it’s going to have to wait, because I’m in the middle of interrogating the person I suspect of actually doing something to Shun.
“Ms. White, we really didn’t do anything.”
Just as I’m about to grab Vampy by the scruff of her neck and force her to confess everything, Mr. Oni unexpectedly steps in to defend her!
“Shun did something to that half-elf there and suddenly started writhing in agony. Based on the circumstances, I’m guessing he used some kind of skill and got hit with side effects or something?”
Vampy nods along vigorously to Mr. Oni’s calm appraisal.
“In fact, if anyone did something wrong, it’s me, not Sophia.”
Mr. Oni looks at me apologetically.
Huh? It wasn’t this idiot who keeps nodding with a triumphant grin?
“I cut down that half-elf, and Shun healed her, but in the next instant he was on the ground writhing in pain. At least, that’s what it looked like to me.”
Great analysis, Mr. Oni.
Very concise and easy to understand.
Hmm? Wait, he healed her and then fell over in pain?
“Incidentally, unless I’m sorely mistaken, there was no way he should have been able to heal that half-elf. It was definitely a fatal wound. No matter how good at magic Shun might be, he couldn’t have possibly saved her in time.”
Hmmm?
Wait, what? You’re telling me that the half-elf lying next to Yamada is dead?
But she’s totally breathing… She’s definitely just passed out, right?
Which can only mean… Yamada used his Mercy skill to bring her back to life?
“Did Shun bring her back from the dead somehow? I mean, there’s no way an ability like that would come without a price, right? I don’t know what the consequence is, but it would explain why Shun seems to be in so much pain. So don’t blame that on us, Kanata.”
That last part is directed at Ooshima, who’s still gamely holding up a broken sword.
Ooshima’s eyes are full of confusion, yet there’s also the glimmer of someone trying to assess the situation, desperately looking for a way out of this mess.
But I don’t have time to worry about that right now.
I’m breaking out in a cold sweat over here.
In a way, isn’t it kinda my fault that Yamada went down?
Like, if he used Mercy and then fell over in pain, that’s gotta mean his Taboo maxed out, yeah?
The cost of using Mercy is the Taboo skill leveling up.
That in itself wouldn’t cause any pain…unless it maxed out Taboo.
I experienced that for myself, and let me tell you, I still remember how nauseous I felt whether I want to or not.
Yeah. It’s no wonder he passed out.
That being said, I happen to know that there was a certain mastermind who deliberately dropped dead bodies in front of Yamada to make him raise his Taboo level.
Oops! It was me!
Yep, it’s my fault that Yamada’s Taboo skill maxed out!
Mr. Oni might have given him the final push, but the fact is that I’m the one who set him up for it.
Yikes, I’m in no position to be accusing Vampy…
“Still, Kanata, aren’t you freaking out too much over Shun just passing out?”
While I’m mulling over how to hide this little fact, Mr. Oni conveniently changes the subject.
“Shun is still alive. He’s not dead. And this is a battlefield, where death occurs at a moment’s notice. So why are you getting into such a panic over someone fainting a little? Don’t tell me you’re standing here without being prepared to die, or to lose someone?”
A crackling aura of intimidation surges out from Mr. Oni.
It’s so intense that the imperial and elf armies fighting nearby freeze in their tracks.
Poor Ooshima takes the brunt of it to the face, resulting in a whole lot of shaking and sweat.
Seriously, it’s like someone dumped a bucket of water over the kid, to the point where I’m amazed Ooshima is still standing at all.
“If you’re seriously here with such a half-assed level of resolve, I’m disappointed in you. You don’t know the truth, you’re not prepared to find out, and yet you still waltz in here convinced that you’re the heroes? It’s so stupid it goes past funny to the point of being infuriating. I would hate to think that my former friend is such an idiot now.”
Mr. Oni makes an uncharacteristic show of disgust as he insults his old friend.
He’s glossing over his anger with sheer intimidation, but something about it seems false.
Well, I’m sure he has a lot of mixed feelings since they used to be best friends and all.
As for his unlucky target, Ooshima is just barely conscious from the onslaught of Mr. Oni’s intimidation.
“Kanata. This is your first and only warning. Put down your weapons and surrender. Otherwise, I’m going to cut you down, whether we were friends or not. That’s what real resolve looks like.”
I seriously doubt he intends to do that, but Mr. Oni puts all the force of his intimidation behind the declaration.
That ends up being the final straw.
Ooshima’s legs give way, sending the poor kid slumping to the ground.
I guess sometimes your instincts get ahead of your reason and decide to surrender for you, especially when it’s already so obvious how much stronger your enemy is.
Everybody’s got limits, y’know?
I wonder if the despair Ooshima feels now is similar to how I felt the first time I ran into Araba.
The kind of opponent where you can tell by their presence alone that you don’t stand a chance, that the difference between you is just too insurmountable…
Anyway, Ooshima loses the will to fight and retires from battle.
Yamada, the half-elf, Tagawa, and Kushitani are all down for the count, too.
That just leaves Ms. Oka, Shinohara, and a bonus Hyrince.
“Hey, Wakaba, I thought you were dead.”
One of those survivors, Shinohara, starts talking to me through Telepathy.
From what I’ve gathered, Ms. Oka thought I was dead this whole time.
D told me that Ms. Oka got a unique skill that told her the current state of all the reincarnations, and apparently it said that Wakaba Hiiro was dead.
I’m guessing it’s because I turned into a god and got removed from the system, probably…
Like, the system couldn’t find me anymore, so for the sake of convenience it just displays that I’m dead.
Well…the real Wakaba Hiiro, aka D, never actually got reincarnated into this world in the first place, and her stand-in (me) isn’t dead, which means Ms. Oka’s information is full of holes at this point…
Since Ms. Oka’s eyes are focused on an empty patch of air, I’m guessing she’s checking that unique skill right now.
“…Are you really Wakaba?”
“Yes.”
The real answer is no, but explaining that would take ages, and even the Demon Lord doesn’t know about the real relationship between D and me.
It’s easier just to say yes for now.
“But…”
“Your skill can’t detect me as I am now, Ms. Oka.”
“What?!”
Ms. Oka looks super surprised.
So do Vampy and Mr. Oni, although it’s obviously because they’re watching me hold a proper conversation…
L-look, I can talk to people a little bit if I really try!
UGH!
“I would love to rekindle our relationship and explain all manner of things, but I believe we are both quite preoccupied at the moment. Let us discuss things another time.”
I’m going to have to shut down this conversation for now, even if it is a little rude.
It’s not because I can’t bear to talk for another second, okay?
It’s just that a teeeeny little problem has cropped up elsewhere.
The kind that I’m gonna have to run over and deal with personally.
So I’ll leave this in the capable hands of Vam… Haha, nope, let’s go with Mr. Oni.
“Tell the imperial army and demon army to retreat.”
“Retreat?” Mr. Oni blinks in confusion at my command. “What about the elves?”
“Focus on retreating.”
I would prefer to wipe out the elves completely, but there’s no time for that right now.
As for Yamada and the gang, I’ll let Hyrince take care of that.
I open my eyes for just a moment and give him a meaningful look.
That should convey what I want to say, or at least, I sure hope so…
Basically, I’d like him to convince Ms. Oka and Shinohara to gather the others up and retreat.
Because I’m not sure if I can guarantee that this area will be safe for much longer.
“…All right. Be careful, Ms. White.”
“Hey, wait a minute. I can still fight, you know.”
Vampy looks indignant, but unfortunately, the next stage of this battle while be tough even for her.
She could probably take on a single mega-robot on her own relatively unharmed, but something even worse has just shown up.
I have no time to stand around and convince her, so I’ll just hope that Mr. Oni is up to the task.
For now, I teleport away.
As soon as I arrive at my destination, I feel the very air shaking.
That would be the aftershocks from the most intense battle of the many currently taking place all over the elf village.
On one side is the queen, one of the world’s strongest monsters, commanding the taratect troops.
On the other is the elves’ ultimate weapon.
Yep, they’ve finally busted it out.
A weapon that makes even the mega-robots I fought before look like a child’s playthings.
The mega-robots were more powerful than even a top-class dragon, but it’s obvious at a glance that this thing is even stronger.
The first thing I see when I arrive is the taratect troops getting utterly decimated.
From the smallest spiders that I once started out as, to the bigger spiders that are the grown version of those, to the even bigger spiders that have grown and evolved further—they’re all getting equally crushed without a chance to fight back.
That even includes the queen.
Their enemy is floating in the air.
If I were to describe it in a word or two, I would use sea urchin.
It’s a sphere around thirty feet in diameter.
With countless spikes sticking out of it.
Yep. It’s a sea urchin.
A giant, metal sea urchin.
I don’t know how to react to its physical appearance, but its power is nothing to laugh about.
Every one of its spikes is a gun barrel, carpet-bombing the entire area.
There’s nowhere to run.
A hail of bullets rains down everywhere, scorching the ground into a blackened wasteland.
The forest is being blown away, and so are the taratect troops.
Even the queen can’t escape, the bullets riddling her body with holes.
At her giant size, she’s an easy target for the bombing.
Normally the queen can dodge enemy attacks with her surprising speed, but I guess that won’t work when the bullets are covering far too wide of a range to escape.
The queen taratect is still no slouch, though.
Maintaining the pride of royalty even under fire, she’s still gathering energy in the self-contradictory form of black light in her mouth.
A breath attack.
The full power of a strongest-class monster unleashed in energy form.
A dense black beam flies toward the sea urchin floating in the air.
The beam of light blows away the bullets fired by the sea urchin, surging toward the source to obliterate it and reach all the way to space.
I could easily imagine that happening, it was so powerful.
If it hits, the queen’s full-powered attack boasts enough destructive power to blow away even an entire mountain and change the very landscape.
Surely it would be strong enough to destroy a thirty-foot-wide lump of metal without a trace.
And yet, the sea urchin is intact.
The breath attack definitely hit.
It didn’t even attempt to dodge.
Almost as if to say that it didn’t need to.
The barrier around the sea urchin erased the queen’s breath attack.
Not just blocked—erased.
It wiped out that entire powerful attack, as if it had never been there in the first place.
The mega-robots were equipped with anti-technique barriers, too.
But this one seems to be considerably higher power.
I’m sure the queen’s breath attack could have pierced the mega-robots’ barrier.
Even if it couldn’t destroy them in one blow, it would have at least done considerable damage.
But it didn’t put a scratch on this sea urchin.
If her breath attack doesn’t work on it, there’s nothing the queen can do.
Long-distance attacks get blocked by the sea urchin’s barrier.
That just leaves pure physical attacks, but the nonstop rain of bullets makes that impossible.
The queen tries to use Spatial Maneuvering to get up into the air, but she’s pinned down to the ground by bullets, unable to take a single step.
Each bullet whittles away at her body, and the next one strikes before she can regenerate.
The queen, who’s just as powerful as Mother was, is getting beaten down without a chance to fight back.
What a terrifying weapon Potimas has developed.
Am I crazy, or could a single one of these things take over the entire world?
Though I assume it would be difficult to get enough ammo, or energy for it to run, or something.
That being said, it doesn’t seem to be running low on bullets at all.
There must be a spatial expansion or something inside, with the bullets being stored in another dimension.
Otherwise this wouldn’t make any sense.
Wait, this is no time to stand around casually observing the thing.
At this rate, the queen is going to go down.
Guess I’d better step in before that happens and shoot down the sea urchin myself!
All right, fire a meteor bullet!
The meteor bullet lands a direct hit on the sea urchin!
It’s so loud it practically ruptures my eardrums, to the point where I’d even call it more of a shock wave than a sound.
Part 5 of 8