Deep within the abyss. All around were intertwined tree roots like snakes. A dark space from which black ether ceaselessly surged. In this bleak underground area, there were four people dressed in robes of different colors.
The place where four 'priests' were gathered. It was the otherworldly space where the priests of <Ratatosk>, who served [The Dragon Crouched in the Depths], hid and dwelled until the moment of [Fate].
The Green Man. The Silver Woman. The Brown Twins.
Among them, the man in the green robe, resting his chin on his scaly hand, chuckled softly. His face was covered with all sorts of tattoos.
The Green Man laughed, his upper body shaking.
"Ha-ha-ha... This is just hilarious. Grafvolud, that old man... Believed some prophecy uttered by a strange guy 1500 years ago. And as soon as he went out, he died. Ha-ha-ha... Thanks to that, a thug like me became the leader. Ha-ha-ha... This is crazy."
The Green Man laughed again, finding it all absurd.
Originally, the first to leave this place should have been the second strongest here, the Green Man. But their leader and commander, determined to verify the 'prophecy', went out first and died.
Until the moment of [Fate], they could only leave this place one at a time. The Green Man, who left through the suddenly vacated 'passage', later received the news.
The Green Man found it so funny he couldn't contain himself.
"Ha-ha... That old man, with his cowardly personality, didn't just sit still and die... He must have babbled something as usual, thinking he had won, and then suddenly died... Ah, ha-ha... Imagining it is killing me, ha-ha-ha..."
Muttering filled with curses towards their former leader, [Priest of Corrosion] Grafvolud, who died absurdly. But the Twin Priests listened with somewhat uncomfortable expressions.
One of the twins, a boy in a brown robe, spoke.
"Enough of that, Ofnir. Instead of cursing him for dying, we should be making plans now. Like breaking through those inferior races guarding the World Tree." "Oh, are you uncomfortable because he was your adoptive father since you were bugs? Sorry, sorry... Ha-ha-ha. But isn't it funny that he died so absurdly after always acting so serious? 'The Yggdrasil Guardians will change the world~ Keek~!!'... Ha-ha-ha...!" "You bastard...!"
As the Green Man mocked the phrase often said by the [Priest of Corrosion], The twin sister, who had been quietly listening, also reacted with a growl.
"You crazy bastard, just babbling whatever you want with that mouth of yours..." "Oh―? Were you so scared of me 2000 years ago that you trembled just from me stomping my foot, and now the twins have grown up? Ha-ha!" "You bastard...! Today you'll...!" "Today? Today what? If you're confident, go ahead and try!! Ha-ha!!" "Rrrr...!"
Gooo―
The Green Man and the twins all exuded black ether like waves. Their horns and tails slowly grew, creating an overwhelming presence.
On the brink of a fight. Ready to revert to their true forms and battle right there in the abyss. A clear sound pierced through the moment.
Ting― Ting―
Hearing that sound, the three priests hesitated and stopped their fight.
The weakest among them. Yet the one with the most terrifying power, the Silver Woman's voice.
"Stop. Meaningless." "...Tch." "..." "Ha..."
Ting― Ting―
The Silver Woman, eyes closed, tapped a large, clear glass orb. The cool energy that emanated from it swept over the priests and flowed into the abyss.
As the atmosphere calmed down, The Silver Woman, still with her eyes closed, turned towards the Green Man and spoke.
"[Conflict], Ofnir. Here, sacred space. Conflict, blasphemy." "...Tch. Fine, fine." "[Conflict], Ofnir. What plan?" "Heh... You're asking something obvious. There's only one thing for the Priest of Conflict to do."
The Green Man murmured with a malicious smile.
"Stir up everything, make everyone fight... and throw in the worst move. That's the destiny of [Conflict]." "[Conflict], Ofnir. Ready?" "Ha-ha... The drug is already working. I’ve unleashed the power of the ancient beast gods on the inferior races who don't even know who they serve anymore." "Respect, current chief priest, [Conflict]." "Then shut up and watch."
The Silver Woman nodded at his words. And the Green Man slowly exited that space, muttering to himself.
"I will follow my destiny as [Conflict], rather than some prophecy from an unnamed bug. That’s what I received from the great Dragon. I'll use the power the old man told me to save for the end, without hesitation."
The Green Man vowed so.
'The ones who killed the old man, [Crimson Trajectory], [Azure Thunder Spear]... I’ll need to distract them first.'
Accepting the black ether that slowly wrapped around him as he left the space. The Green Man looked up at the ceiling of the abyss.
There lay the remnants of the great Dragon, now unreachable... And a man who called himself a 'prophet' 1500 years ago, slept there. He sacrilegiously slept in the same place as the Dragon.
『I know the future.』 『I will tell you the information that will lead to the destiny of awakening the Dragon.』 『And I will grant you the power of the two beast gods, equal to the Dragon.』 『In exchange... until the moment the Dragon awakens in 1500 years, entomb me in the abyss.』
"..."
[Priest of Conflict], Ofnir. Recalling the arrogant tone of that prophet, he exited the abyss.
In his hand was the rune left by the beast god, equal in power to the [Dragon Crouched in the Depths]...
＊
Early morning. Alvit locked the gate of <Central Prism Academy>. Kara and Maya oiled the hinges, allowing the school gate to close smoothly. Then she turned around and shouted to us.
"Shall we depart now?" "Yes~☆ Let's go right away~♪" "From now on, don't wander alone, and stick with me!" "Yes, yes~♪ And we're heading to the base where Bell and Sigrun are anyway☆ Don't worry~ It'll be fine~♪" "..."
Alvit didn’t respond to that. She just squeezed my hand once. Through the calluses, the warm warmth of the girl's kindness was conveyed.
Click―
The crimson longsword hanging at her waist made a sound, asserting its presence. Even in the school city, there were few students who used such high-quality equipment.
Crimson blade. Delicate patterns. Luxurious matte finish. It was quite an impressive weapon.
'In the game, it was just an image file, but seeing it in reality, it’s really cool. Should I ask Alvit to pass it on to me when she switches to her exclusive legendary weapon later...?'
Both the Red Hare and the Blue Dragon Crescent Blade had changed hands several times. Good weapons are environmentally friendly because many warriors use them in turn.
'Though I don't plan to obsess over specific weapon types for now...'
I was still learning to wield all types of weapons. It would be enough to use the high-grade ones my juniors were using later. Thinking that, I looked at the hand Alvit was holding.
'...My hand is starting to sweat.'
Fortunately, Alvit let go before it got too sweaty. She turned around and checked the readiness of Rota and Kara.
"Rota, are you ready?" "Anytime." "Kara?" "Of course, I'm perfect."
Both lifted their crimson capes and banner spears. Seeing that, Alvit nodded and also looked at Freya.
"Are you ready, Senior Freya? Didn't forget anything? Is your uniform mended well?" "Uh, apart from the wand and the uniform, I burned everything... And, well, no matter how much, I... I'm not so helpless to need worrying from a first-year..." "Eeh~ You burned your <Public Vana Dormitory> train tickets too―☆ It's not something a stray cat who borrows Maya's regular train pass should say☆" "Ugh... T-That's... Huu..."
Freya sighed and spoke with a gloomy expression.
"I-I called the school... T-They didn't answer. All my train tickets are burned... So, there's no choice but... to go via <Mimir Industrial High School>..." "A group train trip~☆ Yes♪ It's very exciting and romantic~☆" "Senior, isn't calling it a trip a bit... It's quite a serious matter..."
Rota cautiously raised her hand and objected to my words.
'Well, even if it’s... Oh right, no racial thoughts in front of Rota... Think good thoughts...'
Silently correcting a bad habit, I responded calmly to her objection.
"Then are we going for a conquest~♪ A dungeon conquest by cute girls~!! Huhu♡" "...Let's just call it a trip."
So we prepared to head to the ether train station early in the morning.
'Actually, when I heard the broadcast, I wanted to rush out like during the <Scarlet Academy> incident, but... If a sudden situation occurs again, it would be serious.'
The more urgent, the more you need to go slowly. We decided to rest enough for one night and go with proper equipment.
Alvit cheerfully announced the start of our journey.
"Then, let's go!" "Oh~☆ Let’s go help our cute little friend Bell, who might be in trouble♪ If nothing happens, we’ll enjoy tea and snacks like last time~☆ Isn’t that what the tickets for girls' exchanges are for~☆" "Really, I didn't think we’d use them so effectively."
Kara smiled wryly and took out the regular pass to <Mimir Industrial High School> that Bell had given her.
After the commotion at <Scarlet Academy>, the regular passes from Bell were very useful. Even when I was sick and resting at the school, the juniors often went to <Mimir Industrial High School> to gather supplies.
'Sometimes when we visited the base, Bell would come out and serve us snacks and tea.'
To help our friend, And to stop the Eastern Alliance's maneuvers that followed the original story for some reason.
'With <Aesir Girls’ High School>, <Scarlet Academy>, and <Mimir Industrial High School> maintaining a strong alliance now... The actions of the Eastern Alliance following the original are strange.'
In the original, the northeast of the school city was their stronghold, but now it’s just banging their heads on the ground.
"..."
I could feel the influence of the changed <Ratatosk> there. So we decided to use the regular passes to head to the base of <Mimir Industrial High School>.
Down the hill from <Central Prism Academy>, We met a tall girl waiting for us. Maya had parked a truck at the bottom of the hill.
Having had breakfast first, Maya spoke to us.
"Oh, are you leaving." "Maya!" "Maya Senior!"
Freya slightly... very slightly nodded to Maya.
"T-The ticket... I-I'll repay you double when everything is over." "Do that." "Ugh..."
Maya didn’t care about such things.
'Her cool demeanor... No matter how many times I see it, I can’t get used to it...'
But because of that, I could somehow trust her.
'The one who makes my heart race the most is Hilde... but the one I feel most comfortable with is Maya.'
Without guilt, duty, or mission... not bound by anything. She was the friend I felt most free with in the school city.
I extended a fist bump to her and said.
"I'll be back~☆" "Where to...? You’re supposed to go to your school." "Ha-ha~☆ Is that so~♪ Maya said she’d take the Facility Engineering Department kids, right?" "Yeah, I told them to scatter. I should gather them."
Maya tapped the truck. She probably planned to go around and pick up the Facility Engineering Department members.
"..." "..."
Maya suddenly spoke to me.
"[Spiral]... Clara." "Yeah?" "Are you happy?" "Of course~☆" "Good."
Thud
Maya lightly tapped my shoulder and got into the truck. With the heavy engine sound, the truck spewed heat and disappeared down the road.
'Happiness... Maya always asks that when it feels like we'll be apart for a long time.'
What was she worried about... for me?
"..."
We watched her for a while, then headed to the ether train station. Taking out our regular passes, we boarded the fastest train to <Mimir Industrial High School>.
'This is the smoothest journey I've ever started.'
I felt excited about the smooth trip.
＊
"Stop right there! You lowlifes! This train is now under the control of the aristocratic faction of <Public Vana Dormitory>!"
Damn it... I really didn’t want to call them vermin...