I pushed my way up through the black storm.
In the eye of that storm, my enemy awaited.
Swinging its giant green blades like a mantis, it sent out gales of wind.
“Winds of [Conflict]──!!”
Whoosh──!!
Under the ashen sky, the ferocious sea of tempest raged.
A wave composed of countless blades came crashing down.
The green dragon attacked me, becoming nothing more than a single torrent.
‘Since the waves are fierce, I shall become a rock.’
I gripped the golden spear tightly and planted my feet firmly. With the energy of the golden ether protecting me like armor, I had nothing to fear.
The deafening noise numbed my ears.
The black winds, sharp enough to slice with a mere graze.
Yet, I held the golden spear high, merely enduring and thrusting.
Thrust.
A spear exists to pierce.
A rock against the pouring waves.
The lingering echo of the black killing intent.
Standing firm as a rock, I cleaved through the waves.
The golden gleam of the spear’s blade cut through the pouring wind.
I became a boulder, parting the black winds.
The black currents split as they brushed past the rock.
The sound of air bursting against my ears.
The pounding of my eardrums as if they were drums.
Shaaah──!!
The massive winds, tens of meters in size, split apart, unleashing the echoes of destruction.
The clouds scattered, shattered by that fearsome impact.
Through the scattered clouds, the sunlight shone faintly.
The light separated the golden cats and the giant serpent.
The golden light guided our path.
A fleeting remnant of the evening glow.
The light then illuminated Hilde and Freya, who were fending off attacks from behind me. Clearing out the clones with a massive spear and intercepting the black weapons shot from the sky.
“Haaah──!!”
Wielding the golden weapon, I was clearing a path for everyone to advance. Discovering countless intricacies, I pressed forward, constantly switching weapons.
Forward.
I move forward, only forward.
The trajectory carved by the dagger exploded, rippling.
Golden ether shone where the longsword had swept.
Enemies shattered and scattered where the greatsword struck down.
“Graaah!!”
“Not yet, it’s not over yet…!!”
Boom─!!
I lifted the greatsword that had struck the ground and spun in a grand arc.
A graceful yet intense curve, like a ballerina’s motion in mid-air.
"[Blue Sweet Macaron]──!!"
The [Wave] of golden ether adorned the air.
The sword dance carried the essence of the rotation I had repeated countless times.
The rotation of the [Spiral].
Transform the world.
And crush the enemies.
A white flash.
Golden wave.
Numerous lights annihilated the enemies.
Boom──!!
And we advanced towards the light.
A place where countless colors mingled and exploded.
There, a single faint light of hope was shining.
The light of tomorrow, longed for by the girls in my memories, was shining.
Yet, Ophnir summoned a wall of wind once again, emitting black ether like a dark barrier.
Those winds dispersed the glowing clouds once more.
“Winds──!!”
“Unleash everything!!”
“Annihilate them──!!”
[The fate of conflict is decided here──!!]
A desperate resolve.
Ophnir's main body flailed its arms frantically, and the numerous clones, taking the form of giants, exploded black ether from their bodies to summon the winds.
Countless weapons poured down from the sky.
They rained like a deluge amidst the densely packed black winds.
Each clone possessed combat strength equal to that of a follower.
Black weapons, as if fired by hundreds of mages.
Together, they created a massive catastrophe.
Boom──!!!
A tidal wave of black ether surged towards us.
We had no choice but to endure the colossal wave.
The storm-tossed sea. A forceful wave capable of overturning a small boat relying on a flickering candle.
All of it seemed to be coming to erase us from this world. Clang! Clang! Clang!
The metallic sound that deafened my ears.
Freya, following at the back, was relentlessly unleashing purple weapons, yet they were gradually weakening amidst the torrent of black ether.
Even under the golden light,
The wave of purple weapons began to falter.
The boundary guarded by the purple weapons receded backward.
“Damn…! This, this damned…! There, there are so many of them…!”
Freya stumbled, unable to keep pace with our advance toward Ophnir.
Her face had turned completely pale, and she gritted her teeth, following us fueled by sheer determination.
But then…
Rumble──!!!
The ground on which we fought… the head of the [Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle] began to shake, eventually moving violently like an earthquake, making it difficult to maintain balance.
The ‘serpent’ was gradually regaining its dominance, even amidst the golden bombardment.
‘We’re so close…!’
We teetered precariously on the trembling ground.
Even holding our positions amidst the unrelenting attacks proved challenging.
“…?!”
“…What?!”
“Argh?!”
Suddenly, a sound came from the side.
The golden cats, which had become my weapons, were crying incessantly beside me. Their golden ears folded sorrowfully, sending urgent signals.
-Aeooong…!
-Aeoong…
“…Rota?”
Beyond the ‘fairy tale magic’ echoing from the ‘Sage’s Room,’ Rota’s restless emotions were conveyed.
And the voice of the [Golden Witch] was heard.
Her tone remained calm, yet the content was shocking.
『I think I’ll disappear soon… So I’ll prepare a big one… Can I ask for some time? If it continues like this, my ether will completely vanish, and I won't be able to provide support any longer.』
“…?!”
『Unless either the 'serpent' or the [Priest of Discord] is stopped, they will charge toward the World Tree.』
“Already…?!”
『The moment their power of the abyss touches the World Tree… the seal on the strongest beast god… the ‘dragon’ will begin to unravel bit by bit.』
“…!”
We quickly turned around.
There, the World Tree had drawn completely near.
The branches and trunk, which had stretched grandly below the horizon, had suddenly unfolded like a white wall behind us.
『Now, there really is no time.』
“…”
Finally, the golden cats' bombardment ceased.
Rumble──!!!
The ‘serpent's’ head shook violently once more.
We clung to the swaying ground, holding on as it rocked up and down.
“Kyaaah?!”
“Huh…!”
“Oh no…!”
Amidst everything moving so frantically,
Ophnir extended his blade-like hands desperately towards the World Tree.
The green dragon spoke in a voice as if roaring.
“At last…! At last, at last!! Finally──!! It's right there!! Right in front!! Move, remains of the beast god!! Use every ounce of strength to free my god sealed beneath the World Tree──!!!”
Whirr──!!
The ‘serpent’ lifted its head and began to rush toward the World Tree.
Its height seemed as if it would pierce the sky, and the luminous branches of the World Tree could be seen far below.
High in the sky, brushing past even the clouds.
We barely held our ground, with our weapons planted in the ground.
"…"
Suddenly,
Freya awkwardly stood up from the ground.
She looked down below with a determined expression.
"…"
Hilde and I stared at her with surprised eyes.
“[Wheel]…?”
“Stray cat…?”
Freya looked at us with a faint smile.
Somehow, that smile contained emotions beyond mere relief.
“Really… how long do you intend to keep calling me that way? My name isn’t ‘Purple Wheel,’ ‘Sage of Ignorance,’ or ‘Leader of the Explorers’… It’s just Freya.”
Freya spoke once more.
“I am… Freya. Not someone swayed by [Destiny]… just… Freya who loves magic.”
Why was it?
The moment I heard that declaration,
I felt as if Freya had stepped closer ‘toward us.’
Beyond the boundaries of the world.
Beyond the form of [Destiny].
Reaching the realm of white.
The end of defining oneself through [Innate Ether].
The extreme growth of letting go of oneself.
A realm only Hilde and I had reached.
I felt like she was approaching there.
‘No way…!’
With that instinct, I called out to Freya.
Hilde also seemed to sense something unusual about Freya.
“Fr, Freya…!”
“Freya, could it be…!”
“…This, this is preparation for moving forward.”
“…What?”
“I’m trying to find something more important than [Destiny]. So watch closely and follow along… you, you crazy yuri maniacs…!”
After those words, Freya boldly leaped below without hesitation.
-Aeooong──!!
In sync with the purple ether flowing from her, the golden cat carriage approached.
And as if she had always been the owner of the cat carriage, she naturally boarded.
Leap─!
Freya soared through the sky aboard the golden carriage.
The sage who boarded the carriage finally embarked on a journey to pave a new path beyond [Destiny].
She flew around the black serpent, beginning to gather the golden aura.
Buzz──!!
The [Wheel of Eternity] shone more brilliantly than ever before. It slowly spun, absorbing the golden ether scattered throughout the area.
Golden threads intertwined.
Rota's dreams intertwined.
Weaving purple weapons.
The endless weapons woven from golden threads formed a massive stake like the paw of a giant cat.
Freya raised her wand high.
She was wearing an incomparably refreshing smile.
“This is a farewell to old worries…!!”
Whirr──!!
Tens of thousands of daggers.
Thousands of longswords.
Hundreds of greatswords.
Purple spears and bows.
“This is a farewell to old fears…!!”
Whirr──!!
Freya awakened her [Innate Ether] and the countless spells she had gathered daily.
As they combined into one, they formed a massive shape resembling a cat’s paw, larger than a building.
And aiming at the head of the ‘serpent’ that lifted its head,
She targeted the massive purple cat paw.
Rumble…!!
The cat paw made of countless purple weapons aimed sharply at the serpent's nape.
“This is my resolve for tomorrow──!!”
Freya etched purple ether into the sky and shouted with all her might.
“[Wheel of Eternity]!! Fire all shots──!!!”
Thump──!!!
With a shock that shook the earth,
Along with the sound of wind being sliced,
Accompanied by the exhilarated cry of a young girl,
The massive purple cat paw shot towards the serpent's head.
Boom──!!!
The purple cat’s punch pierced through the air.
The [Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle], once floating high in the sky battling the golden cats, had its head turned sideways. Its mouth, which seemed ready to devour the World Tree, opened wide.
“───!!”
Impact.
The serpent looked up at the sky, screaming.
The remnant of a past that was nothing but a corpse twisted its body.
“───!!”
“Guh…?!”
Even Ophnir staggered, losing his balance.
“───!!”
The serpent writhed, opening its mouth wide, screaming.
The faint wave felt beyond that.
Thump──!!
Inside the serpent's head.
The last resonance left in the remains of the beast god.
I instinctively realized that I must attack there.
"…!"
"…!"
From afar, Freya shouted toward us.
“Go──!!!”
Hilde and I locked eyes.
And simultaneously, we smiled broadly.
We charged toward the serpent's open mouth together.
Whoosh!
A chilling wind resistance and a sense of buoyancy from our toes.
Endless darkness.
A descending tunnel.
The power of the abyss felt.
We plummeted toward the serpent’s mouth.
Whoosh──!!
However, amidst that darkness, Ophnir’s voice, filled with anger, could be heard.
He hurriedly flapped his wings from afar, chasing after us.
Numerous clones exchanged cries of rage.
[No──!!!]
[Conflict cannot end here──!!!]
[Wind!! Wind of Conflict!! Shatter everything!!]
[Shatter it all!!]
[Everything will disappear within [Conflict]!!]
[Disappear─!!!]
A massive form closing in within the darkness.
Countless clones emerging from the shadows.
The giant black wind threatening us.
Everything was engulfed in the pitch-black void, indistinguishable.
Rumble──!!
“[Grimnir]─!!”
No matter how much Hilde thundered,
Releasing dozens of lightning strikes.
“[Blue Sweet Macaron]─!!”
No matter how much I spread the [Wave],
Unleashing numerous secret techniques with my weapon.
The turbulent waves blowing from the endless darkness devoured everything.
Despair that we might not be able to protect it.
Anxiety that everything might be thwarted.
The black wave carried such emotions, slowly engulfing us.
“Hilde…!”
“Lara…!”
『You’ve endured well. Now… let’s end it.』
Shine──!!
At that moment.
The golden flowers engraved on my neck glowed.
Inside the dark serpent’s mouth, countless shapes of paintings were etched.
The mural inside the dark cave where the beast people once lived.
The mural was golden, containing the dreams and memories of countless students.
Numerous ‘dreams’ and ‘fairy tales’ were heard from the golden ether.
The story inside the cave.
The story of the world outside.
The story of battles and wars.
Finally, the story of overcoming fear.
The story of getting lost, captivated by gold.
And the story of Freya, who despaired over [Destiny].
The story of Rota, who, encouraged by her sister, set out to find her way.
The story of love and dreams that the [Golden Witch] wanted to convey.
Finally… all memories gathered here became a golden mural.
Mountains, fields, skies, birds, animals, and flowers were shining.
Numerous stories shining in golden light, going beyond mere magical forms, began to shine as a new law.
Countless stories separated in the grand timeline shone.
Receiving the memory of one girl, they finally became a fairy tale connecting people's hearts.
“───!!”
“Argh!!”
The power of darkness… the ‘serpent’ and Ophnir, belonging to the ‘abyss,’ writhed in agony under that light.
But for us, the hearts contained in countless fairy tales and the golden ether became the link connecting our hearts.
All these stories were connected into one, passing on to our turn.
Thump─!
The hearts of Hilde and I connected.
Our hearts and sights connected, becoming the clue to the next realm.
Hearts connected, drawing a trajectory beyond [Destiny].
"…!"
"…!"
We held hands.
Held together in our grasp was Hilde’s lance.
We aimed the giant lance, exuding blue and white ether, forward.
Even if countless aids converged,
What we could reach at this moment was only the [Blue and White Thunder Spear].
We had run to become the protagonists of this story.
The tale of the ancient beast god emerging from the long darkness.
The conclusion would end as a fairy tale of a shining thunderbolt.
A fairy tale driving away the dark serpent.
A story standing at the center of [Destiny].
The legend of the golden mural and two girls.
At this moment, the center of the universe hung on our fingertips.
Along with the resounding thunder,
Gold and blue-white danced and blazed.
We unleashed the name of the weapon containing such [Destiny].
“Pierce through, [Gungnir]─!!”
Endless lightning.
Dazzling flash.
The thunder resounding in the sky of the academy city extinguished the darkness that tried to swallow the World Tree.
Thus…
We became legends.