After absorbing the remnants of the blessing, Freya spoke quickly, as if witnessing something bizarre.
“Flying like an arrow… smashing armor with your head… stealing the enemy’s heart and consuming it… Are you a barbarian from the legends? Like those from the [Three Heroes] era… A barbarian from ancient times standing before me.”
“Ugh―♪ Saying it like that diminishes my awesomeness☆”
I took her words as a joke, thinking about the keyword [Three Heroes] she mentioned.
‘[Three Heroes]… In the game’s lore, it’s tied to the awakening of juniors, but it’s treated like a myth here. Few people truly know the history.’
Ancient [Three Heroes]. A party of a hero, a knight, and a mage. A group worshipped by the beastfolk, including the [Golden Witch].
‘That's about all that's known…’
As I pondered, Freya, hearing my nonchalant response, spoke even faster, explaining how barbaric and absurd my actions were.
“What’s so great about that! It was pure barbarism…! Who absorbs the remnants of blessings that flowed out of the dungeon gate like that? Do you pick up and eat anything that falls on the ground too…?! And how…?! How can you absorb such remnants…?!”
“Hmph―☆”
The more she spoke, the faster she got. Freya’s unnaturally detailed explanation seemed somewhat cute to me.
‘Is she worried about me? No need to worry…’
Yet, it was a pleasant thought. Real girls’ talk blooms in the midst of battle. I confidently responded, reflecting her concern.
“Oh, who knew there could be such a cute barbarian―☆ People must have been so happy in ancient times―♪”
“Shut up… A barbarian who steals ether isn’t cute…”
Freya sighed deeply, continuing.
“Absorbing enemy ether or blessings like that isn’t normal… Don’t do it anymore…”
“…”
“It’s not just about feeling bad… It’s abnormal… Different from others… Being special isn’t good… Even if it’s a genuine talent… It means walking a thorny path…”
“…”
“Like the foolish Frau who used ancient powers, you too… Why aren’t you afraid of misusing unconventional powers… Aren’t you afraid of the power of destiny…?”
Drooping her purple cat ears. Freya’s worried tone. Her words made me recall a recent memory.
‘It feels like the original Clara… Urd somehow helped me absorb the blessings.’
Urd’s bright smile without malice. The fleeting smile that passed through my mind didn’t seem coincidental. Blessings that should’ve dispersed, glittering like dandelion seeds, were being absorbed.
Absorbing faint blessings from countless shattered automatons.
‘With this… I can fight wisely without recklessly firing ether storms like before.’
My ether was now about 30% full. A sufficient amount if I used it cleverly. It was a divine blessing.
‘As Freya said… This miraculous help shouldn’t have been possible.’
But to Freya, it felt like a heavy meal given to slaves of destiny, before undertaking harsh labor.
“…”
I approached Freya, tapping her shoulder. She looked at me with bewildered eyes, ears twitching.
‘So, this is why she walked a path unmatched to her power in the original story.’
Her brilliant talent. The heavy shackle of her shining destiny. Knowing its weight, Freya seemed to want to run away, urging me to avoid it.
I spoke to her.
“It’s okay☆ I won’t end here―☆”
“What’s that supposed to mean.”
“Your destiny won’t end meaninglessly either♪”
“What’s your basis for that?”
“None☆ Let’s just believe that we won’t end up like that―♪ It’s too sad to shrink back from things that haven’t even happened yet―☆”
“Hoo. Lucky fools. Always positive…”
Freya shook her head. I made another silent vow.
‘I won’t fall.’
The end of the spiral is the heart. Though it may wind, it won’t lose or break. No matter our destiny, I believe it won’t end in vain.
‘For now, let’s just think that way.’
I patted Freya’s shoulder again, speaking with confidence.
“Anyway! Only good things happened today―☆ Your awesome magic turned the Eastern Alliance upside down♪ I’m full of energy from absorbing blessings―☆ Yes☆ Wonderful―♡”
“Ah… Your words are really draining…”
Freya coldly brushed off my hand. But her awkwardly twitching purple cat ears showed she was slightly moved.
A brief silence followed.
“...” “...”
Then Freya moved.
Striding quickly, Freya swiftly hopped onto my back, signaling with her foot as if I were a horse.
Tap!
“Go, rogue. If you insist you’re fine… I’ll use you more.”
“...”
“We must have reached the transport vehicles by now. Let’s reunite with the orange ears and head straight to the Golden Street.”
“Yes―☆”
“Let’s stop Frau and those foolish bastards.”
“For the peace and safety of the academy city―☆”
I raised my hand, resolved. Freya looked at me with disdain, speaking bluntly.
“This is… just a power struggle between <Aesir Girls High School> and <Public Bana Boarding School>… I’m just stopping the foolish Frau and settling a grudge…”
“Yes―☆”
I chuckled at her bluntness.
‘That’s one way to see it… Being close to Hilde, I empathized with <Aesir Girls High School>…’
Freya tapped my side again.
‘Am I really just her steed now…’
Despite my friendly demeanor, she treated me like a loyal horse.
“Off we go~☆ Hold tight―♪”
“And…”
“Hmm?”
“One last piece of advice, even a fool can understand.”
“…”
“Never define your reason for living in one word.”
“...?”
I turned back at her sudden words. Freya, on my back, had a serious expression.
“If you ever think, ‘I live for this’… it will become an inescapable [Destiny]… Though I doubt you’d listen…”
“Okay―☆ I’ll keep it in mind―♪”
Freya remained silent, pointing forward. I ran ahead with her on my back.
“…”
Even as we moved forward, Her words lingered in my mind.
‘Not sure what exactly it means… but I’ll remember it.’
The sound of cannon fire and lights flashed by. We had caused enough chaos, but countless outposts were still aiming at our position using [Spindle of Eternity].
Dashing through the red-lit sky, Running back the way we came.
Tap tap tap tap tap―!
-What’s that?! -[Spindle of Eternity]!! Shoot it!! -Damn, too fast to hit―!! -Damn―!!
As before, I ran over dark elf students’ shoulders or dodged attacks easily. The quick movement seemed to confuse their judgment.
“What―?”
A sharp voice echoed in the darkness.
A beastman aristocrat girl, left alone at an outpost, shouted angrily. She held a communicator to her fox ears, receiving a report.
She scolded the reporter with a sharp voice.
“[Spindle of Eternity] moved 1 kilometer in a minute―?! Nonsense! These ignorant fools! Stop saying weird things and surround the last sighting! A mage can’t run that fast…!”
Tap!
I jumped, creating an ether platform in the air. Even from the sky, the fox-eared girl’s sharp voice was clear. Focusing all my senses, I felt much more comfortable now that some ether was recovered.
‘Are they in such a rush they missed the report that I’m carrying the stray cat?’
But this was an opportunity. I decided to charge at the fox-eared aristocrat girl, who seemed to be the area’s commander, still unaware of the exact situation.
'Blame your ignorance, girl!! Like Cao Cao, entangled by ships in the Battle of Red Cliffs!!'
The ether in my legs was the southeast wind blowing at Red Cliffs. There was no mercy in this miraculous wind.
‘The ether blessings you sent will be well-used by this Zhuge Liang.’
Seeing my action, Freya sighed softly, seemingly predicting something.
“Again?”
“Yes☆ Again―☆”
“Pink pony…”
“Red pony sounds better―☆”
“Isn’t that [Red Trail]…?”
She protected herself with purple ether. Confidently, I extended my leg in mid-air.
An outstretched leg. A full-force flying kick. Ether stirred faintly.
Swoooosh――!
A faint red ether trail. The opponent still wasn’t looking up. I aimed a flying kick at the fox-eared girl from the air.
“Take this―♪”
“What nonsense…! Huh?”
Twitch.
The fox ears twitched. The aristocrat student looked up.
“Gasp…?!”
“Pink☆Love☆Kick―☆”
Her face turned to shock, but she couldn’t react in time.
Boom――!
The impact sent the aristocrat student flying. This area’s command would now be in chaos.
‘But why is this place so poorly guarded?’
As I was about to leave, I heard the sound of an ether vehicle we planned to seize.
Vroom― Vroom― Vroooom――!!
A massive vehicle with a heavy exhaust note.
A black vehicle, seemingly from <Svart Industrial High School>. Three dark elf students chased it on ether bikes.
Dark elves on bikes shouted, pounding on the vehicle’s driver’s seat.
Bang bang bang!
-Who are you!! Why are you betraying us, beastman―?! -Get out of our vehicle?! -Damn―! Get out!! Our pride’s at stake!!
A brief, tense chase ensued.
Ziiing―
The vehicle’s window rolled down, and a familiar voice chanted a spell. Unlike the mechanical chants of the beastmen, it sounded like a melody.
[Why bring a dagger? Eat an apple instead.] [Why wield a longsword? It’s cold; use it as a poker.] [Why lift a greatsword? Your back’s bad; use it as a mirror.]
A golden wand emerged from the window, aiming between the bikes. Funny weapons with cat designs poured out.
Clatter―!
Red weapons spilled from the window. They looked like toy hammers or party items, blunt and funny but created quickly.
Dozens of weapons scattered in an instant. The bikes, entangled, wobbled and fell.
“Ahhh!” “What is this?!”
Screech―! Thud―!
The overturned bikes disappeared into the darkness, and the black vehicle approached us slowly.
We laughed, seeing the driver through the window.
“Wow―♪” “Amazing… Adapting to a new chant style so quickly…”
“Our child is indeed very smart☆”
Twitching orange cat ears. Lota, sitting in the driver’s seat, grasped the wheel with her small hands. Honking playfully, she boasted to us.
Honk! Honk!
“Hehe, the seniors’ flashy antics made this area poorly guarded! So I blew them away with my new spell!”