A jumbled vision.
Jinsukkun and I are flying at full speed, about to collide.
To be precise, just before the impact…
Booom—!!
“Hngh?!” “Ugh?!”
Ah. It hurts like hell.
…
…
…
“…?!”
A shock is soon felt on my back.
I’ve crashed into the trunk of the World Tree, which is like a towering skyscraper.
I passed out from the pain, only to wake up from the pain again.
Thud—!
“Grrk?!”
My vision spins. Once more, there’s an impact on the back of my head.
I wish I could just pass out…
Bang—!
“Gehk…!”
…But no such luck!
My head is ringing—like a loud, dull hum.
In an instant, the strength in my hands fades, and I begin to fall forward.
By now, I’ve drifted far away from the Prophet.
“Hngh—ugh?!”
With a groan like a heroine from an erotic game, I plummet pathetically like a wretched pink airhead. The wounds on my limbs, inflicted by the wolf’s fangs, burst open, and blood starts to flow.
‘It’s, it’s okay… I’m a strong pink airhead…!’
I tried to psych myself up, but it really hurt like hell.
Out of all the enemies I’ve faced so far, the sheer physical force of falling from hundreds of kilometers per hour in midair is causing me the most pain.
‘Earth… is my worst enemy…!’
I wonder if I’ll ever become a pink airhead who can defeat the Earth one day?
Oh, right. This isn’t Earth☆
The pain is making me confused.
‘Please, I hope that bastard is in pain too.’
As I prayed for that, I heard a faint scream in the distance, like air escaping.
“Kuhhk…?!”
I barely managed to turn my head in that direction.
I could see the Prophet plummeting like a boomerang.
Booom—!
The Prophet’s face slammed into something, spinning wildly, and his face got torn up as if it had been ground against a steel plate. It regenerated quickly, but it seemed the pain was still there.
‘Ah, thank goodness.’
The world was fairly just, after all.
Considering we fell from a height equivalent to a light aircraft, it was remarkable that we were still relatively intact. But it was enough to scare the life out of us.
Before long, we physically reached the base of the World Tree. The roots, softly glowing white, were drawing closer and closer.
‘I might die here—☆’
Splat—!
…
…
…
I blacked out again.
“…” “…” In pink airhead vision, I saw that bastard also seemed to have fainted for a while. He was sprawled over a large root like laundry hung out to dry.
“…” “…” I needed to get up, but I couldn’t. It felt like I had become one with the ground.
We lay there like some pathetic jobless slobs, holding our breath, trying not to make our presence known as our parents leave for work. My whole body felt like a melted jelly monster.
“…” “…” I had clearly protected my body with ether halfway through, but it felt like I’d been beaten to a pulp with a baseball bat. I wanted to live the rest of my life as one with the ground, in a state of harmony.
‘But still, I’ll take the initiative…!’
I barely managed to draw up ether and force myself to stand.
“Grrr…!”
Rainbow-colored sparks erupted from my body, bringing a warm sensation. They were forcing my creaking joints to move.
Vrrrrooom—!
My uniform had been torn to shreds, revealing the stigma on the back of my neck. Maybe because I overdid it, blood was seeping out, making me look like a plum tree.
Drip—
Even though it wasn’t that time of the month, the blood loss was making me dizzy.
Was the stigma some kind of magical day DLC for a saintess?
“…” With the pain, my consciousness began to drift far away.
“…” Right now, I felt like I could choose the pain of “that day” over the pain of getting kicked in the balls. But I decided to endure.
‘I’m a pink airhead with a sense of equality…!’
That’s why I needed to eat iron-rich foods on a regular basis. And because I was a healthy pink airhead, I never neglected to eat meat.
That’s how I was able to hold on.
“Hoo…!”
Anyway, I clenched my lips and endured the pain.
“Ngh…!”
I barely managed to stand, like a baby taking its first steps.
Okay. Take a deep breath.
‘Kill…!’
And when I lifted my head, I saw him, far away, pointing a finger at me.
He had already fully recovered with his regenerative power.
He looked surprised, seeing me persistently chasing after him like this.
“No way, not Brunhilde, but you…?!”
“…?!”
Oh, busted.
The Prophet, with his face oozing black ether, muttered as he placed one hand on the root of the World Tree.
「Law Creation: If the person before me does not belong to this universe, they are to be expelled.」
“Damn…?!”
And then the air around me began to shake and press in on me.
Come on. Stop using cheat codes, you bastard—☆
Booom—!!
“…” “…” But nothing happened.
As someone deemed female by the World Tree, I was already Clara.
The Prophet muttered with a somewhat relieved expression.
“Yeah… That’s right… This will do…”
“…?”
I didn’t understand what he meant, but I took a step forward.
With [Bifrost] unable to activate, I had no choice but to drag my body that felt as heavy as lead.
Even as I approached, the Prophet continued to mutter compulsively. He now ignored me as if I were just an NPC.
One step. Another step. I tried to approach as quickly as possible.
“Even if it means hindering, I swore to save all those who belong to this universe. Brunhilde, who belongs to another universe, cannot be saved due to the laws, but this will do…”
I extended my fist and rushed towards him.
“Not a chance—!”
“…” Just before my fist could reach him, the Prophet smiled at me.
“…Live happily ever after, Clara. The World Tree’s oppression is now over.”
「Law Creation: Everyone living on this land returns to where they originally belonged. …To where the ether’s power weakens.」
At that moment. The ground collapsed.
[Unnamed Hawk] was flapping its soft wings, flying, but it was unsteadily shaken by the energy rising from below.
“Damn…!”
He shouted as he looked back.
“[Rider], hold on tight. The wind isn’t good!”
But Clara and Helena, who were riding on its back, didn’t respond.
“…” “…” Helena remained calm. Clara was utterly confused.
Though they had contrasting emotions, they both decided to keep their mouths shut.
“…” “…” Clara’s eyes were darting around as she tried to grasp the situation.
‘How did this happen…’
In the midst of chaotic clashes with the Chaos Bugs, Clara, with Helena’s help, was heading toward Golden Street, but suddenly, the ground beneath them collapsed.
The ground she never doubted would be there suddenly vanished.
It was Helena who caught Clara as she plummeted, and it was [Unnamed Hawk] that carried them back up into the air.
Clara, now on the back of [Unnamed Hawk], looked down at what used to be the academy city. Even now, it was shattering.
“This… This is…”
The World Tree, which had soared high above the flat, circular land, the white buildings surrounding it, and the countless students… Everything that made up the academy city was crumbling.
It looked as if the academy city was sinking into a black bubble-filled swamp.
No… To be precise, it was splitting apart .
Instinctively, Clara knew the world was returning to its “original form.”
Crack— Crack—
Black energy collided endlessly with the ether within all things. Everything that had been on one piece of land was turning into a translucent shape.
The once-circular academy city was splitting into nine separate paths, impossible to reach.
‘This… This chaotic form is the “original form”…?’
It felt like realizing that the four chairs in a room were all just reflections from one chair.
“…Uhh.”
The scene was so surreal that she couldn’t speak. But what came to her mind first, amidst her hazy thoughts, was the faces of her friends.
‘What about Comrade Senior…? What about Lota and Alvit…?’
The things she had taken for granted, that she could touch and feel until now, were disappearing into the dimension they originally belonged to. She worried about what situation they might be in.
She heard a voice in the distance.
Echoes moving around between them. Those who once existed on this land but can no longer be.
She heard the whispering voices of ghosts in the form of girls.
-This is bad. Everyone is getting trapped in the dimension they belong to. <Mimir Industrial High School> is going to return to the territory of the <Fjörgin Republic>.
‘The dimension I… belong to?’
Clara suddenly recalled that she had lived in a country called <Fjörgin Republic>.
A land of iron where hot liquor flowed into everyone’s cups, and cold snow fell.
Her father, the Dwarf artisans’ village was in the Black Mountains.
“Oh…”
Why was she only remembering this now?
It was a nation of giants, where the sound of hammering iron always echoed. She had lost her parents in the civil war of the Republic and was adopted by lower-class Dwarf artisans…
Oh. What does this have to do with “school life”?
‘I’m not a noble or a warlord…’
Then why am I remembering this?
“Uhh…”
Helena’s voice, muffled inside her black armor, reverberated.
“Get a hold of yourself. Don’t listen to the voices of those who do not exist. The World Tree will resent you. You’ll be cast out from the ether’s realm.”
“…” “Did you already hear it?”
Clara was still gripping the pole tightly in a daze.
Because she played a more crucial role in the fate determined by the World Tree than others, she was recalling more “forbidden” knowledge.
She remembered the tales her father read to her as a child.
‘[The Rebel Rider]… The rebel rider, Sthrúd. The girl who once led the giants of the now-vanished mountains and overthrew the false beast gods and the wicked emperor…’
Wait a minute.
‘Am I… allowed to remember this…?’
Oh. This is. Knowledge that isn’t allowed…
Her mouth hung open. At the same time, a voice echoed in her head.
A different voice from before… One more familiar.
『This is knowledge you don’t need to know.』 『It is still the era of order.』 『Einherjar of the academy city, forget.』
Forget. Forget. Forget.
I am a Valkyrie, bound by Valhalla’s duties, Singing of endless fate.
Disconnected from the outside world, I journey beyond the ether.
Blessed by ether, Living a “happy school life” in Valhalla…
School life…?
‘Why school life…? We are supposed to fight endlessly before the World Tree…?’
Well… The previous [Saintess] dared to change the laws, Turning [War] into [School Life]?
“Rider? Get a grip?!” “Stop thinking. Shhh… Focus on breathing.”
Because of that, she was punished, with even her records being erased?
“Uhh…”
Clara’s pupils trembled violently.
This is bad. This knowledge is forbidden.
Urgent voices called out from around her.
“Rider?! Get a grip—!! You cannot disappear!!” “Shhh… Do not lose your mind. No matter how great your fate is, you’ll lose your existence.”
Even so, forbidden knowledge was entering her mind.
The feel of the pole was vivid, And memories from long ago resurfaced.
‘Dwarves and giants are actually…’
Clara, still in a daze, was now bleeding from her nose.
Drip—
“…” Helena, watching her, offered a piece of advice.
“You might bite your tongue, so be careful.” “Huh… What?”
Helena, with a gloved hand, gave Clara a light knock on the head.
Thunk—!
“Guhhk…?!”
Clara scrunched her face and teared up.
And with that unfamiliar sensation, all the voices disappeared.
“Are you back to your senses, Rider?!” “…Comrade Chick?” “Tweet! Since you seem to have come to your senses, let me inform you! We’re currently precariously flying in a place where dimensions are collapsing!”
Only areas blocked by the black energy and turned translucent could be seen, including the Golden Street.
After circling around like this, [Unnamed Hawk] was desperately flapping its wings, heading somewhere.
Clara, still clutching her aching head, muttered.
“…<Central Prism Academy>.”
Dodging the swirling black energy below the hill, Students and Dwarves were climbing up the hill.