Chapter 628 — Arc 9, Chapter 40 – “Flash Remnade”

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――Having fallen victim to Roy Alphard of Gluttony, Otto Suwen was forcefully removed from the battlefield.

As one blessed with the Divine Protection of the Soul of Language, the man who had accumulated its highest level of mastery in history had done exactly as he had proclaimed; humiliating Aldebaran’s group, the enemies of the world, and inflicting great suffering upon them.

That was why the conclusion of his lonesome battle was brought about by a ruthless imprisonment that left no opening for counterattacks, leaving him completely helpless.

His words were sealed, his actions were sealed, his tricks were sealed, his wits were sealed; every weapon in his arsenal was sealed away, and finally, even the Memories that defined who he was were stolen away, thus was how Otto Suwen was utterly defeated.

When Aldebaran’s group resolved to seal him away with such overwhelming force that gave no time to plan a countermeasure, even Otto found himself powerless, unable to resist.

Because it was impossible to predict exactly when and where his opponents would launch a counterattack, he was unable to construct a trap zone using his signature Divine Protection.

And so, there was absolutely nothing Otto Suwen could have done upon being attacked―― his last resort merely being a “desperate struggle” in the event of an assault.

――He had simply left instructions for the Zodda bugs to fly off en masse so that his location would have been revealed in the event he was defeated.

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???: [Al knew Rem before they met in the Empire… before Gluttony even ate her Memories. There’s no doubt about it.]

That was when the Imaginary Subaru voiced his opinion, while they were in the midst of planning a surprise attack.

With his arms and legs crossed as he sat in midair, Subaru’s stern face caused Petra to recall the events inside Subaru’s memories, in the Royal Capital where Al and Rem had crossed paths.

That was when Subaru made a major blunder at the castle and was desperately trying to make up for it.

Although Petra did feel that Subaru’s reckless behavior back then was quite bad, she did not feel completely disillusioned towards him. However, Subaru himself remembered it as an utterly humiliating experience that made him squirm just thinking about it. In fact, everyone who was there must have looked down on Subaru’s reckless behavior, so the only person who would not feel disillusioned by his actions, if Petra were excluded, would be Rem, who had been blindly devoted to him as far back as then.

Be that as it may, Subaru, unable to escape the cycle of negative emotions, had visited Priscilla’s mansion in search of a way to save Emilia, who was being attacked by the Witch Cult.

There, Subaru received an incredibly harsh and cold response from Priscilla, but the crucial connection between Al and Rem was revealed right there as he was being expelled from the mansion.

He did not know the specific reason, however――,

“Subaru”: [Al mistakenly called Rem by Ram’s name and was extremely shocked by that fact. When I asked Rem about it, she said she had never met him before.]

Petra: [So Al-san knew about the two of them beforehand? Perhaps he researched the rival camps for the Royal Selection… or something like that?]

“Subaru”: [So you’re saying Al could have been in charge of the Priscilla Camp’s countermeasures against the other Royal Selection camps? I don’t think that’s impossible, but it doesn’t really matter. The important thing is that Al knew Rem. In other words――]

Petra: [Just like with all of us, when Al-san sees Rem-neesama, his Memories should get all mixed up.]

“Subaru”: [Exactly. ――I would call it a Flash Remnade.”]

With a silent snap of his fingers, Subaru winked, and Petra gave him a thumbs up.

To be honest, Petra was reluctant to treat Rem like a flash grenade, but she and the others had already confirmed that there was no way to counteract the effects of Memories returning.

As seen with Petra and the Subaru within her, or Ram, the deeper the relationship and attachment, the greater the impact, but even the slightest opening was still an opening.

All that was left was to take advantage of that opening――,

Petra: [Let’s show Al-san. ――Just how angry we are.]

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――Let us here give an explanation for the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Roy Alphard.

His nature bearing the disposition of Bizarre Eating, wielding the birther of myriads of tragedies, the Authority of Gluttony, Roy had completely incapacitated Otto Suwen, tormentor of the Aldebaran Party. His Eclipsing had not only incapacitated Otto, but chewed and digested his twenty-two-year-old walk of life, assimilating his joys, his angers, his sorrows, the culmination of all that which was his, into a heterogeneous blend, which was eaten up in one breath from atop the platter.

Ringing his throat, upon finishing the incorporeal meal, Roy tasted the life of Otto Suwen, commanding a greater precision and degree of freshness than a deep read of a Book of the Dead, tasting an adequate breadth of alternating joys and sorrows for it, having overcome so-so trials and tribulations, with somewhat rich seasoning and flavor, he bestowed to it an evaluation of two stars.

By evaluating what was eaten this way, it felt as though he had fallen heir to the spirit of Gourmet belonging to his sibling who had already lost his life, Ley Batenkaitos, but setting that aside, to eat one’s Memories meant it was possible to know that being’s way of thinking and philosophy, and to its extreme, while in the midst of battle, even learn the orders of things that were planned, what had been schemed and plotted.

Therefore, originally, despite the aftertaste of triumph and sense of accomplishments felt after Otto’s defeat, sensing the ambush planned for the subsequent instant should have been a simple and spontaneous task to accomplish.

However, it did not transpire so. ――Because Otto had not shared plans with his comrades about what tangible actions they would take after he had been incapacitated.

Merely, Otto Suwen had solemnly believed.

Should he just extend a signal for the moment he would comprehensibly be incapacitated, his comrades would not let it go to waste.

Because he, devoid of plans or anything such, bet everything on just powerful bonds――,

???: [――It is a pleasure to meet you, Aldebaran-sama.]

Unmistakably, it had happened in the blink of an eye.

A closing, and opening of the eyes. At the presence of the blue-haired girl who had interloped in that instant, while a matter of course for Aldebaran, neither Yae, nor Roy, nor even “Aldebaran” could react.

An outsider who was not supposed to be there, had suddenly appeared without warning.

That alone was enough to pry an instant from veteran soldiers, but in this scene, the one onto which that had been most lethal, was Aldebaran, for whom it did not end with a mere instant.

Aldebaran: [――――]

Yae naturally had no acquaintance with her, Roy was exempt due to it being his own Authority, and “Aldebaran”, while sharing in his Memories, possessed a fundamentally different soul; thus it was a phenomenon that did not occur for any of them.

Stimulating the black-stained Memories etched into his soul, alongside the sensation of something that had been removed being forced back into his brain, Aldebaran’s consciousness went white.

Regardless of who had defined it as such, it was a flash grenade of Memories.

???: [――Al-sama!]

A shrill, frantic voice called to him, and hands that reached out from beyond his white-stained vision grabbed hold of him. However, that did not save Aldebaran from his predicament.

Aldebaran: [――――]

The legs that ought to have been firmly planted on the ground hurtled through the air, and as Aldebaran basked in a ferocious wind, he lost his sense of up, down, left, and right, and realized his body had begun revolving.

Unable to control his body, still lording overhead was the blue sky wherein shone the glaring sun―― as that radiance scorched his black eyes, Aldebaran realized something.

――Through some means, he had been teleported straight into the sky, thrown outside of his Territory.

Aldebaran: [――Hk! Expand Territory, Matrix Redefinition.]

Reestablishing the Territory that had been forcibly severed, Aldebaran grit his teeth.

Forced to go along with the opponent’s plans, he had been driven to update his Matrix. ――No longer could he return to before the surprise attack a moment prior.

But, if he lagged behind in his decision to update it, Aldebaran would have been defeated with nothing he could do in return.

Aldebaran’s Authority was invincible, but that was entirely within the set bounds of his established Territory. Were he to perish outside of those bounds, he would be the same as the many lives who were not afforded any second chances.

Aldebaran: [――――]

Digesting the circumstances he had been placed in, Aldebaran’s consciousness concentrated on reality.

Given that he had been forced to update his Matrix, to Aldebaran, everything from here on out would be both a treasure and a calamity, a tailwind and a headwind, a virtue and an evil.

Aldebaran: [Sky…!!]

The roaring hum of the wind, the violent sense of suspension that seemed to strike his body; the fact that he was falling from such a high altitude despite having no memory of being sent up there, meant that the due procedures had been omitted.

For a moment, what flashed through Aldebaran’s mind was the Authority of the strongest Witch, but that could not be it. ――If the opponent had truly been that Witch, the phenomenon that occurred would have differed. He would not have been thrown out into open air like this, and above all, Aldebaran would have been killed a hundred times over before he could even blink.

Hence, he could eliminate that possibility from the multitude of worst-case scenarios.

As he narrowed down the possibilities, he gathered his surrounding situation in parallel. At present, if there were any irregularities nearby Aldebaran as he was being jostled by the wind, that would be――,

???: [――Al-sama.]

Tightly grabbing onto Aldebaran’s single arm and clinging on, was Yae.

Just before he had been thrown out into the sky, she had pounced on Aldebaran just as he had frozen up from having eaten the flashbang of Memories, and thus had been sent up from the forest to the sky along with him.

Whether he ought to count that as a blessing or a curse, Aldebaran mentally separated the things he could and could not do now that Yae was here, and decided on the first action to take.

That was――,

Yae: [I’ll steady our posture! Al-sama, don’t part from me――]

Aldebaran: [Obugh.]

Simultaneous to Yae embracing him and attempting to form some sort of countermeasure against falling, Aldebaran unwrapped the drug package within his mouth, and gulped down the poison.

He could tell that Yae had widened her crimson eyes, and was looking at him with an expression of surprise. But, given that he had already ended up taking a lethal dose, there was no helping it.

Yae: [I’ll ask later.]

Blood frothed at the corners of his mouth, and tasting rusted iron as that mercilessly defiled the inside of his helmet, Aldebaran’s consciousness was crushed by the wind――,

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Aldebaran: [――Hk.]

It was something he had known would happen, but reality seemed to follow up by greeting him with the howling wind.

When he opened his shut eyelids, ever present there was the odious radiance of the sun―― as it glared down at him intently, Aldebaran grasped that he was surrounded by several hundreds of meters of sky.

Aldebaran: [You’ve gotta be kidding me.]

Warping, instantaneous travel, teleport. ――No matter how one chose to express it, the result was the same; in the sense of manipulating physical space, that which fell in the realm of Yin Magic was a hyper spell that necessitated all sorts of conditions be met.

If one carefully constructed the technique and erected a field wherein it was etched, it would be possible to create a limited warp connected by two doors through that field. Or probably even without advanced preparations, if a caster could simply visualize the coordinates of a destination, and constructed the technique to send their target there with the preparedness to fully expend their own Gate, they might have been able to issue just a one-way ticket.

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Ultimately, the phenomenon that had sent Aldebaran and Yae into the sky was at an impossible level of difficulty even if technically achievable through magic, which meant that some other form of foul play was involved.

Not once had he gotten word of a Divine Protection that could physically interfere with others to such an extent.

Of course, like in the case of Reinhard, Divine Protections thought to be trivial could be implemented in an unusual way, and there were also those who would end up tailoring them into dreadful weapons of war, but――,

Aldebaran: [――This is different. But, if it’s an Authority…]

As far as Aldebaran knew, the existing Authorities of Wrath, Gluttony, and Lust belonged to the Sin Archbishops, while Sloth and Greed were both in the possession of Natsuki Subaru.

Excluding Aldebaran’s Authority, which ought to be classified as all manners of unenumerated, supernumerary, and appropriated, the leftover possibilities were Pride, as well as Vanagloria and Tristitia. ――The last two were supposed to be unusable by anyone, so the only candidate remaining was Pride.

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Aldebaran: [Pride has come? Sprung up? Gotten involved? ――Nah, that ain’t what matters here.]

Be it someone Aldebaran knew who had been chosen as Pride, or be it someone he did not know who had gotten involved as Pride, that which he ought to focus on was the possibility that he had made an enemy of an Authority holder.

Save for Natsuki Subaru and Reinhard, the only variables that could pose a threat to Aldebaran were unmistakably those who held Authorities―― none other than those destroyers of concepts, permitted to bend the very rules of the world, trampling upon them as they pleased.

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Aldebaran: [――Alright, settled down.]

Are you finally done panicking after being forced to go along with your enemy’s plans? Feeling as if he heard those words voiced by the roaring wind, Aldebaran gave his reply.

In order to be able to do so, Aldebaran had sorted out the situation in his head.

Of course, the actual circumstances of being thrown out into the sky, the regret he had about Yae having come along with him, and the sensation of his consciousness being whited-out by the resurgence of Memories, in reality, none of that had changed.

But, that was a cheap price to pay if he did not die for real. Such was Aldebaran’s life.

In exchange for that dirt-cheap price, he could easily afford to let his head, body, and mind take a breather.

???: [――Al-sama.]

Yae grabbed onto Aldebaran’s single arm, and seeing her tied-up hair violently fluttering like a dog’s tail in good spirits, Aldebaran advanced his thoughts onto the next phase.

With both himself and Yae alive, they would need to land on the ground.

For that purpose――,

Yae: [I’ll steady our posture! Al-sama, don’t part from me――]

Aldebaran: [Nah, that’s my line.]

As Yae enthusiastically tried to initiate her own measures after being thrown high into the sky, Aldebaran hindered her by forcibly pulling her into his own chest. Because he had used his right arm to do so, he rapidly forged the usual stone prosthetic arm, and rose it aloft―― that instant, a vehement impact struck his prosthetic arm from above, adding speed to their free fall.

Heavily reverberating across the artificial arm, was a blow from a dreadful and fiendish lump of iron. Mixing in with the tremendous voice of the wind, it was a threat present at the end of the clangoring chains, dancing like a writhing snake.

Contrary to its name, it was a spiked iron ball with a form molded to send people into an eternal sleep――,

???: [――Prepare yourselves!]

On the opposite side of the iron ball that had smashed into him, descending was a blue-haired girl who appeared to carry the sun on her back. Having greatly diminished Aldebaran’s advantage, the opponent who had shot up the signal for the commencement of the battle―― Rem bellowed.

Slowly protruding from her forehead was a single horn. It was a sign that she was of the Oni Clan, proof that she was a member of the race created to decisively purge this world of all traces of the Witch.

But even more than that, now that he had recalled her existence, it took on a different significance to Aldebaran.

That was――,

Aldebaran: [To begin with, you’re not even supposed to be alive, Lil’ Miss Rem!!]

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Leaping into the air with hardened resolve, the hem of her maid uniform fluttering behind her, Rem gripped the handle of the Morningstar tightly in her hand as she glared down at Al and his maid below.

――Up until this point, the surprise attack had gone perfectly according to plan.

By exposing Al to the sight of Rem, they robbed him of his ability to make decisions, rendering him frozen, and in that instant they utilized Compression in order to abduct him. This not only separated Al from his allies, but also trapped him in a position where he was prevented from moving right away―― allowing for him to be successfully dragged out into the sky, a matter on which everyone had readily agreed.

When it came to the crucial timing of the aforementioned attack, Otto, who had been pursuing the Al Troupe while engaging them in guerilla warfare, had prepared a message to be delivered in the event that he was defeated; a precaution that proved invaluable.

That signal marked the defeat of the formidable Otto at the hands of the Al Troupe, and thus was tantamount to the moment in which their tension would ease, even if only slightly.

Rem: [Priscilla-san was one who showed me utmost kindness. As someone who cared deeply for that Priscilla-san, I cannot stand by and overlook Al-san’s outrageous actions any longer.]

When objections had been raised about Rem going to confront Al directly, Rem had chosen those words in order to express her own wishes.

Ultimately, while that was merely a matter of the mindset that formed the foundation of her resolve, it was also undoubtedly a display of Rem’s true feelings, and the core of her unwavering motivation in facing this battle.

Of course, right beside that core was the presence of Subaru, who had been captured by Al. Rather, he might have actually been the core. ――No, Priscilla-san was also the core after all, so there would just need to be two cores. She would have to apologize to Beatrice-sama later.

In any case, that determination of hers settled the matter of Rem’s participation in the unit that would confront Al head-on.

Strategically speaking, there was no particular vision of Rem being particularly useful on any other battlefronts, but even aside from the initial disruption of Memories, there was more than enough of a possibility for Rem to be super effective against Al.

The specifics of that possibility were precisely――,

Aldebaran: [To begin with, you’re not even supposed to be alive, Lil’ Miss Rem!!]

The moment the iron ball smashed down from the high skies, Al blocked the firm impact with a prosthetic arm forged of rock, shouting angrily as he caught sight of Rem.

Despite being buffeted by the roaring winds, Rem heard those words with clarity, thus convincing her of that which Petra had told her about the possible relationship between Rem and Al that she was not aware of.

Rem: [Although, Rem can’t remember any such interactions between Al-san and her incompetent self…]

She had also checked with Ram, but it seemed that her only contact with Al was limited to one time in the Royal Capital before the Royal Selection officially began. It seemed they had not had a conversation memorable enough to leave an impression, and even what they had talked about remained ambiguous.

Likely, the point of contact between the sisters and Al was one-sided, perceived only by the other party.

But――,

Rem: [That manner of speaking is truly hurtful! When we were attacked by Arakiya-san in Guaral, the ones who had saved us were you, Al-san, and――]

Pausing there, however, Rem firmly swallowed all her hesitations, and,

Rem: [――Priscilla-san, is that not right!?]

Deliberately bringing up Priscilla’s name, Rem had attempted to agitate Al.

For resorting to the worst, most underhanded tactics she could think of, Rem despised herself. However, thinking it necessary in order to put a stop to Al’s outrageous behavior, she steeled her body and heart as an Oni and fixed her stern gaze on him.

Aldebaran: [――――]

In response to Rem’s provocation, Al did not raise his voice, instead choosing to maintain silence.

Within his jet-black iron helmet, Al’s expression remained hidden behind his visor, the light dwelling in his eyes was unknown. Even the amount of pain Rem’s words just now had inflicted upon him, everything remained unknown to her.

Rem: [――Here it comes!]

However, Rem did not wait for Al’s reaction, resuming her onslaught without granting him any time to rest.

Rem had already set her priorities. From the beginning, when compared to Ram, who displayed talent and genius a cut above the rest of all other beings in this world, Rem was clumsy, mediocre, and inferior in every way.

If Rem desired something beyond the reach of the average person, then she would just have to carefully select the best possible means for that end.

For the time being, Rem excelled at ignoring lower priorities in order to focus on her higher ones.

Rem: [Huma!]

Alongside the incantation, Mana interfered with the world, invoking the unreal phenomenon known as magic.

Unlike Emilia’s Huma, which manipulated heat and condensed moisture in the atmosphere to create ice, Rem specialized in the type of Huma that created water from nothing using magic, outputting that water as materialized ice from the outset.

Neither Huma was necessarily superior to the other, but the Emilia-type Huma, which utilized the moisture in the air, required less Mana and possessed the advantage of remaining in place after serving its purpose, allowing for it to be reused. On the other hand, the Rem-type Huma required more Mana because it created water from nothing, and after being used, it would return to Mana and leave no trace.

Based on that explanation alone, the Emilia-type Huma might seem to have the overwhelming superiority. However, the Rem-type Huma had its own powerful advantages.

This was due to the fact that it could create ice at any desired location and in any desired shape, regardless of the amount of moisture in the air or the quality of the water――,

Rem: [――HAAAHHHH!!]

Kicking off the ice platform she had created in midair, Rem ferociously lunged toward Al and his companion.

By manifesting a Huma that was anchored in place, Rem created an impromptu platform capable of withstanding even her full-powered kicks. The power of the Morningstar, unleashed after gaining a momentary boost from the platform, was beyond comparison to that which only utilized the force generated by gyrating her body.

The iron ball spun violently as it hurtled toward Al, sparing no quarter.

Capable of easily crushing a human body upon direct impact, it was as if it was responding to the affection Subaru had shown by polishing it every day, closing in toward Al from Rem’s hand with delight, closer, and closer, and closer――,

???: [As if I’d let you.]

At the moment of impact, the loving iron ball was halted by countless threads.

Upon closer inspection, that was the work of the crimson shinobi held in Al’s arm, twisting her body to glare at Rem―― she was a thread user without peer, subservient to Al.

The shinobi, embraced from behind by Al, weaved the threads she had extended from both hands into a net to softly catch the iron ball like a cushion.

Her skills were impressive, but that was not what caught Rem’s attention.

In the first place, the plan behind this surprise attack was to completely isolate Al from his allies by throwing him out into the sky. For her to have intervened there, something was wrong with her. ――No, it was mistaken to think that there was something wrong with her. Rem was well aware of why she had been able to do it.

Despite everyone else having been completely stunned by Rem’s sudden appearance, the shinobi retained enough leeway for herself to reach her hands out, and channel it into practical action.

As for what had allowed her to do so――,

Rem: [――That would be, love!]

Aldebaran: [Wrong!!]

Shinobi: [You’re wrong!!]

In response to Rem’s confident outcry, Al and the shinobi shouted back almost simultaneously.

Taking advantage of that opening, Rem forcefully pulled back the Morningstar that was about to be taken from her and retrieved the iron ball from the shinobi, who was reluctant to lose her balance. In preparation for her next attack, Rem created multiple new footholds, shot herself off them, and rapidly descended in pursuit of the two.

However――,

Shinobi: [It’s scary when someone catches up to you, but when stretched too far, even a lead can become a shortcoming, y’know?]

As composure returned to the previously tense expression of the shinobi, she flashed a sweet smile as she shot out a thread. And the target of that thread, had been the foothold of ice that Rem had created midair.

Having been suddenly thrown out into the sky, Al and his shinobi had had no choice but to enter a freefall, but by anchoring onto the footholds created by Rem, they would be able to stabilize themselves.

From what she had heard, the shinobi’s skills far exceeded Rem’s own. If the opponent were able to compensate for the disadvantage she had been given, the gap in strength that ought to have been somewhat closed would be reopened in no time.

Rem: [Indeed, of this I am aware. I am full of shortcomings, after all.]

That was why Rem would not allow her opponents to compensate for their disadvantages.

Shinobi: [――Hk!]

Hearing Rem’s reply―― no, feeling the sensation she had just grasped vanishing like mist, the shinobi’s expression once again lost its composure.

The foothold of ice she had attempted to use as an anchor point vanished as if it were a dream or an illusion. Of course, neither was it a dream, nor an illusion. It was Mana. Rem had simply returned it to being Mana at will.

Despite both being Huma, this was the main difference between the Emilia-type, which once frozen, stayed frozen, and the Rem-type, which froze only when desired and was easy to tidy up.

Rem: [Simply put, Rem’s version is more offensive.]

Right before Rem’s eyes, the shinobi lost the target upon which she was exerting strength, thus breaking her stance.

Holding onto the shinobi, Al was caught up in that as well, almost losing his balance, but he managed to reinforce the exterior of his cracked prosthetic arm, consecutively blocking a flurry of iron ball attacks unleashed by Rem, two, three times.

Thereupon――,

???: [――Hiyah!!]

――Rising obliquely upwards from below, Emilia’s long leg mercilessly slammed into Al’s defenseless back with toes armored in a boot of ice.

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――The division of the Aldebaran Troupe.

Against a group rebelling against the world to an extent that rivalled the Witch Cult, even surpassing it in terms of instantaneous velocity, that was a prerequisite that they absolutely could not afford to mess up.

The surprise tactic performed in order to meet that condition, had gone about ninety percent as planned. The ten percent miscalculation―― how the presence of the shinobi who had chosen to go along with them would come into play, was something that wounded the plan as an uncertain variable, but overly worrying about it would just be all the more harmful.

Each of them would fulfill their own part to the utmost.

After all, without that sort of faith and resolve, the stratagem to stop the Aldebaran Troupe would not bear any fruit.

???: [――Tru~ly, everyone’s got the sort of look in their eyes that one can’t help but tremble, you kno~w.]

Pronouncing so whilst dangling his languidly hanging arms to and fro, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Roy Alphard, exhibited a sadistic smile as he surveyed his surroundings.

In his environs were shadows that appeared in succession as though substituting Aldebaran and the others immediately after they were hurled―― astood there were warriors assembled to defeat the Aldebaran Troupe.

All of them cast gazes that stood their ground against the Sin Archbishop, to which Roy unwittingly licked his lips.

Roy: [How nice, so nice, perhaps it is nice. But you know, to gather in such large numbers, the combat power required for taking care of us might get rounded up altogether in one fell swoop, isn’t it?]

???: [――Hah. Likewise for you, how about showing some lovableness by cowering in fright a bit more? That is, if you do not wish to meet death the same way as your sibling, who perished at the Tower of sand.]

???: [On top of tha~t, do you people even have Witchbeast-chans in your strike zone, hmm~? If not the~n… you can think of me, as you people’s natural enemy~.]

Amidst the warriors, the shadow clutching her own elbows and the shadow combing down her three-strand braid responded so. Even in the face of their unmistakable hostility, Roy was unable to conceal a smile trembling in premonition of a banquet.

???: [Th-this isn’t a joke… can’t you all see the Divine Dragon here!? You know how much damage it did to the Royal Capital… there’s no chance that you can win this!]

Contrary to the elated Roy, Heinkel’s voice trembled with a face deathly pale.

As per his words, he stood right by the feet of the Divine Dragon while relying on its intimidation, and in response to the hostility that stared him down, he fervently raised his voice with a loathsome expression.

That figure ought to have been called “a man who borrowed the might of Dragons”, but Heinkel’s point was in fact not mistaken. The Divine Dragon possessed absolute power; if one were to stand in its way without a plan, what awaited them was a curtain’s close of merciless annihilation.

???: [Tho’, that’s only if ya ain’t got a plan.]

Heinkel: [――Hk, the old giant.]

???: [This old giant’s seen the Demi-Human War. Never again will I give mercy ta those barin’ their fangs against me. ――I’ll be havin’ ya return Felt.]

Before Heinkel as his breathing choked up and he averted his gaze, the giant stroked his bald head and declared such. At the giant’s proclamation, Heinkel’s cheeks tensed up, but, there was another figure that began to stir.

And that, was none other than the Dragon he had singled out earlier.

Dragon: [I dunno if I should be saying this, but it makes me damn nervous that we’ve been pushed to this extent. I’m keenly feeling what it means to make an enemy of the world.]

Despite being a Dragon of such dignified appearance, it placed its hand on its head in a strangely human-like gesture.

While giving off a sense of presence such that the majority of those who lived in the Dragon Kingdom would prostrate themselves just by laying eyes upon it, the way it conducted itself made it seem like an entirely different thing.

At the very least, in the eyes of those who knew the real Divine Dragon, the sense of something being amiss was palpable.

???: [But then again, unlike the dignitaries of the Kingdom, I’m in no such panic about the image of the Divine Dragon crumbling, or of its brand value pluuumetting~. ――Onlyyy~, I wonder about the one next to me? Wouldn’t you have quite a few reservaaations~?]

???: [No, Master, you needn’t worry. Groundless fear. It would be laughable for me to pile words onto a past that I have already shed. Feeble.]

Looking down on those who showed no fear before the dragonhusk that did not align with its own mind or stature, “Aldebaran” narrowed its golden eyes.

Among those standing in their way, attention began to converge on a small silhouette slowly stepping forward. Naturally, Roy and Heinkel also shifted their attention to that silhouette.

It was unclear how that individual had come to stand in that position, but strangely enough, they understood without the need for words to tell them. ――That girl represented the will of everyone present.

At the center of everyone’s attention, the girl―― Petra Leyte thrust her finger up towards the heavens, and spoke.

Petra: [――It’s all-out war. Be dolls and let yourselves get thoroughly defeated, alright?]

So she declared.