Chapter 629 — Arc 9, Chapter 41 – “Apprise the Usurper”

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――God, Buddha, Od Lagna. For as long as I live, I hereby vow to never imbibe.

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

Indeed, the moment Petra issued her declaration in the mountains from which Al had disappeared, palpable tension immediately began to swell, and then burst asunder.

That instant, the residual members of the Al Troupe who had been on guard from the sudden appearance of Petra and the rest―― the Divine Dragon Volcanica, Roy Alphard of Gluttony, and Heinkel, all sprang into motion.

However, there existed not a shred of coordination between the three, with each of them acting independently.

Petra: [――――]

Upon witnessing them all begin to move, Petra’s first stratagem―― nay, the first stratagem had been the Flash Remnade, prying away Aldebaran’s consciousness using the presence of Rem, so this stratagem would serve as the second arrow.

It was a stratagem to cause the Al Troupe, composed of individuals who were each formidable opponents, to break apart into a disorderly crowd.

Petra: [Taking Al-san out of the picture right at the onset, and then utterly disorienting the remaining combatants. With that――]

???: [With a “ready, go!”, everyone will start acting on their own!]

As the Imaginary Subaru’s voice completed Petra’s sentence, the Dragon, the Sin Archbishop, and Heinkel all conformed to their own individual senses of judgment.

In order to disarray their options as much as possible, they mobilized the bulk of their forces right at the outset.

Of course, this stratagem also came with a large risk that the Divine Dragon would dispose of all of them in one fell swoop, but――,

Petra: [――Likely, the method Al-san used to enlist the Divine Dragon, was the same one used for me.]

Such was Petra’s conjecture on the betrayal of the highly esteemed Divine Dragon Volcanica.

Regarding the state of the Volcanica perched at the top of the Watchtower, from what Petra had heard from Emilia, she understood that the Dragon had grown senile after many long years. ――The method of forcibly cramming “something” into the void of that consciousness, was something Petra understood better than anyone from her own experience.

Just as Petra housed Natsuki Subaru in part of her consciousness upon reading the Book of the Dead, there was a high chance that Volcanica now housed an existence cooperative to Al. And, that existence shared quite firmly in Al’s objective, deciding to make an enemy of the world alongside him.

There did Petra stake her gamble. ――On a vow of “no-killing”, shared between Al and Volcanica.

Volcanica: [――Haahraan!!]

At the outset, the one to execute the first strike was the Divine Dragon, maneuvering its enormous body with agility.

The Dragon’s mighty maw gaped wide open, and it unleashed a breath that shone with a light of destruction, reducing all to naught―― such was not the case; instead, unleashed was a mist of fresh water manifested from the Dragon’s vast Mana. Starting with Petra, it engulfed the Royal Selection Combined Forces, the “Aldebusters”, in one fell swoop, moistening all of their bodies.

For a moment, confusion stirred due to uncertainty of the Divine Dragon’s aim, but those doubts were quickly dispelled.

Petra: [――――]

The sound of the atmosphere creaking struck upon their eardrums, and they were hindered from readying themselves immediately. Upon looking, Petra and the rest glimpsed that their moistened bodies had begun to glitter with frost, and that they were about to be flash-frozen――,

???: [――Ul Goa.]

Within an instant, the forest, upon which a white fog was adrift, was overturned by a blazing red conflagration.

The freezing via dense mist that the Divine Dragon had aimed for was suppressed by the power of a swelling flame that seemed to enshroud the entirety of the visible surroundings, instantly thawing the glaciation and even drying the moistened bodies in the blink of an eye.

The one who accomplished that feat stood at the center of the formation with a finger raised, having obstructed the Divine Dragon’s aim with a single incantation; and while his personality was just the worst, his skills were that of the greatest Magician in the Kingdom―― Roswaal L. Mathers.

Needless to say, the higher the level of magic, the more delicate control it required.

On top of having immediately responded with magic of the Ul-tier, which by no means was easily usable by anyone, the glaciation of all present had been utterly annulled, even going so far as to dry their clothes whilst leaving not a single burn; it truly was a divine feat.

That Roswaal achieved such feats within a single breath left even the Divine Dragon, having lived since times of yore, utterly aghast.

Thereupon――,

???: [That which you ought to focus on is this. Concentration.]

The quiet and courteous voice was accompanied by an unimaginable impact.

With a light step forward, Clind had soared up, delivering with his long leg a tremendous kick to the side of the Dragon’s maw, as the latter had come to a standstill. As for the might of that kick, it was something that could hold its own against even Garfiel’s kicks, which carried might akin to a cannonball; with its stance broken, the Dragon’s arms hit the ground, causing a cloud of dust to rise.

The Divine Dragon’s first move was thus directly inhibited by the Roswaal-Clind combo.

On the other side, bolting out as if to tear through that cloud of dust was the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, fangs bared――,

Roy: [Hahaa~! For you to line up such a delicious looking assortment of heads, at this point, this is just love-!]

Plunging towards the front lines with vigor that spilled his drool, Roy, unlike the Divine Dragon who had attempted to stop all of the Aldebusters, swiftly pounced at a singular, clearly-defined target.

Complying to the ferine instinct known as appetite, Roy closed in on his prey with bizarrely refined precision. And the one set as the target for Gluttony’s foul tongue, was the pink-haired maid standing amidst the formation――,

Roy: [――Ram.]

Touching upon something undetectable to the eyes, the outreached hand set the table for the meal.

Calling out that name, Roy grinned from ear to ear, and called out by that name, Ram’s congealed expression crossed gazes with him; the subsequent instant, the Sin Archbishop gave an ostentatious lick to the palm that had touched her.

The Authority of Gluttony was invoked, and there did a new tragedy burgeon―― naught.

Roy: [Blergh.]

Eyes wide open, Roy clutched his mouth at the recoil from his misfired Eclipsing, a nauseating sensation akin to vomiting. Before Roy, as his steps began to falter, Ram twirled her body in splendor,

Ram: [Truly a fool.]

Ram’s knee shot upwards, casting a vivid strike up into the Sin Archbishop’s jaw.

Heinkel: [Shit shit shit! After coming this far…!]

The Divine Dragon and Gluttony; compared to those two, who, while differing in their respective aims, had chosen to fight, Heinkel, as the last man standing, selected an alternate path.

Having opted for a path unique to that of the Dragon’s chilly breath or the Sin Archbishop’s Bizarre Eating, Heinkel wielded his unsheathed sword to keep everything in front of him at bay, leaping not forwards, but backwards. Gaining distance in such a manner, he was most likely hoping for someone other than himself to change the tide of the battle.

However――,

???: [Nothing so convenient will come to pass, Honorable Family Head.]

???: [Honorable Family Head, in truth, I have always wanted to do this.]

Thereupon descended the twin sisters, having waited in ambush atop the trees since directly after the activation of Compression.

Flam and Grassis―― they were twins who served the Astrea Family, but ironically, the one whose torso they slammed their kicks into from both the front and behind happened to be the man who was the very family head of the House that they served.

Heinkel: [Goeghh… hk.]

The kicks from the sisters who had mastered the Flow Method gave rise to an explosive roar unthinkable for girls of such petite build.

At the impact that seemed like it would crush his organs, deathly cries of pain arose from Heinkel’s throat as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. ――With these three avenues of impacts all occurring almost simultaneously, their strong start had unfolded exactly as planned.

And, in addition to that――,

“Subaru”: [――Now here’s the game changer.]

The Imaginary Subaru snapped his fingers, and though only Petra was able to hear it, it rang out loudly. With that as a cue, an alteration was birthed in the battle situation.

――Another division by way of Compression, fractured the Al Troupe even more.

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――Petra Leyte was more keenly aware of the Al Troupe’s terrifying nature than the results would suggest.

After his betrayal at the Pleiades Watchtower, Al had enlisted the Divine Dragon as an ally, evaded Reinhard and Felt’s forces, and successfully broke the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony out of prison in the Royal Capital.

While Al’s accomplices had played significant roles in the events that had unfolded so far, the greatest threat remained Al himself.

Upon learning the true nature of Al’s extraordinary power over fate―― the power to bring about the results he desired, Petra felt a sense of understanding that was beyond words.

That was because she had learned the truth about Natsuki Subaru from reading his Book of the Dead.

“Subaru”: [Al also has the ability to leap… If that’s the case, then I know better than anyone how dangerous he is. What’s more, unlike me, with my pathetic fighting skills, Al is the type who can hold his own in a fight, so simply put, it’s like fighting a better version of myself.]

Petra: […Subaru, you’re really dependable when you’re with Beatrice-chan, too. And when it comes to tricks and cunning, you’re every bit as good as Otto-san.]

“Subaru”: [But the original me was captured alongside Beatrice, as for tricks and cunning, they really aren’t the kind of skills that strong people brag about…]

The Imaginary Subaru spoke with a lack of confidence, but even putting aside her feelings of love or bias, Petra did not think that Subaru was inferior to Al, let alone a lesser version of him.

Regarding that, she had also heard some interesting speculation from Rom-jii, who had deduced that Al’s Authority was most likely a time leap.

――The suggestion was that Al’s time leap was more likely something that went back a short amount of time.

Petra: [If he really possessed the same power as Subaru, he could have avoided encountering Felt-sama and Rom-san before they had a chance to confront him.]

“Subaru”: [But don’t be too confident about that. It’s entirely possible that his restart point just happened to be a spot where he couldn’t avoid Felt and the others. Even I wasn’t able to completely stop Petelgeuse from attacking Emilia and the others.]

Petra: [I think that was pretty much a shutout――]

Just as she was about to say more, Petra considered “Subaru’s“ feelings and stopped herself.

Petra was going to say that if Subaru had perfectly defeated the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, who attacked the Roswaal Mansion and Arlam Village, the tragedies that befell Rem and Crusch would have been avoided.

Subaru did everything in his power. Petra recognized this, but Subaru himself felt differently.

Sadly, this led to Natsuki Subaru’s low self-evaluation, which Petra found extremely frustrating, but――,

Petra: [Setting that aside for now… It’s not just the ridiculous Al-san, but also the Divine Dragon, that shinobi maid, a Sin Archbishop, and even Heinkel-san, all working with him.]

“Subaru”: [What an unbelievable members list. The Dragon, a ninja, a Sin Archbishop, Reinhard’s dad, that’s right, that Reinhard’s dad. This isn’t going to be easy.]

Petra: [As for Heinkel-san, no comment.]

When “Subaru” made a concerned expression, Petra crossed her fingers over her lips in the shape of an X to indicate that she would not provide an answer.

Heinkel had briefly joined forces with them in the Vollachian Empire, but he deliberately kept his distance from others, so Petra had virtually no contact with him.

The only person who cared about Heinkel, even if only a little, was Garfiel, but if he knew what had happened to Heinkel now, he would be devastated. Thinking about how devastated Garfiel would be, Petra could feel her anger toward Heinkel welling up inside her.

The Emilia Camp was united in their anger toward anyone who hurt their loved ones.

Petra: [Phew… I need to stay calm. It doesn’t matter what Garf-san feels unless he resolves it himself, and we need to make sure that the path is open for him.]

“Subaru”: [You say path, but where do we start…]

Petra: [Yeah, you’re right. It’s not an easy decision. But――]

Seeing “Subaru” at a loss, Petra smiled mischievously and turned around. Following Petra’s movement, “Subaru” also looked in that direction.

There stood the figures of everyone here, demonstrating the results that had been achieved by Natsuki Subaru, a man who often took everything upon himself, stumbling over and over through repeated failures.

“Subaru”: [――――]

Petra: [Sure, I think Al-san and his group are really tough, and if we tried to fight them normally, we wouldn’t stand a chance. ――But we’re not exactly normal either, are we?]

Winking, Petra made one of the cutest faces she had ever made and smiled at the striking figure of Imaginary Subaru as she spoke.

And so, together with these not-so-normal but reliable companions, they devised a plan――,

――At Otto Suwen’s signal, the battle began.

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――God, Buddha, Od Lagna. For as long as I live, I hereby vow to never pen a missive.

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――The Authority brought about by the Witch Factor of Tristitia, Compression, was by no means all-powerful.

The phenomenon induced by Compression was ultimately just the compaction of events that could be feasibly achieved―― condensing the traversal time within a traversable range; such a thing served as a good example.

To put it another way, events that were impossible to achieve regardless of the time spent could not be realized through Compression.

Henceforth, even when it came to the division of the Aldebaran Troupe, after first throwing Aldebaran out from the battlefield, further dividing the group that remained had been no easy feat.

If the opponent was cautious of Compression, then the difficulty of applying the Authority’s effects would rapidly increase. Not to mention, against such foes as the Divine Dragon and a Sin Archbishop, even just taking them away was a herculean undertaking.

Unless it was used on a person who consented to its effects, or a person who was caught off guard, the possible applications of Compression were extremely narrow; such was its weakness.

That weakness was surmounted by the rapid fire of outlandish stratagems devised by the Royal Selection Combined Forces, the “Aldebusters”.

Overwhelming Heinkel with numbers, taking advantage of Volcanica’s mindset that adhered to “no-killing”, and refusing service to Roy Alphard’s Gluttony as he was in delirium over a feast.

All of which, before their execution, had been outlandish stratagems of uncertain success. ――But, the likes of stratagems guaranteeing one-hundred percent certainty, existed not in this world.

What did exist, however, were the efforts necessary to approach that one-hundred percent, and the hearts that believed in them to the utmost.

Those who watered the sprouting seedlings of such possibilities, their spirits were――,

???: [Ah, how delightful. Admiration.]

Nodding so, Clind landed on the dirt, training his gaze upon the Divine Dragon Volcanica to his fore.

Its stance broken, Volcanica supported itself with a single arm, receiving Clind’s gaze head on. Within the narrowed golden eyes of the Dragon, the bud of a clearly defined will could indeed be perceived.

As Petra had surmised, a separate consciousness was being housed in the Divine Dragon’s dragonhusk.

Volcanica: [――――]

Naturally, as Volcanica glared at Clind, his attack from a moment prior had been ineffective for the most part. It had been enough to succeed in catching it off guard, but it was a far cry from driving the opponent into a corner.

Even so, the objective of the initial surprise attack had been achieved. ――In the theater of war where the dragonhusk of the Divine Dragon was being confronted, those facing off against the usurper numbered a mere two members of the Aldebusters.

The only ones remaining were Clind, and Roswaal L. Mathers.

Volcanica: […I guess it’s the same technique that sent Origin away.]

Lifting its body with a hand planted on the ground, the Divine Dragon muttered in a low, solemn voice.

As the Dragon surveyed its surroundings with its golden eyes, it ascertained that they were removed from the mountains in which they had just previously occupied, having been moved to a far away open plain.

With a teleportation invoked via Compression, it was proof the troublesome opponent had been successfully isolated.

However――,

Volcanica: [Clind, was it? I’d thought there was no way, but… it seems like there’s no doubt that you’re the one who holds the Witch Factor of Tristitia.]

Clind: [――. Where did you obtain that information? Inquiry.]

Volcanica: [I’m acquainted with an all-knowing great deity who taught me. Regardless, it was only something slipped in amidst all their blabbering, so I couldn’t even remember it until just now.]

As the Divine Dragon shrugged its shoulders in an extremely human-like gesture, from its mouth came the term “Tristitia”, and an identification of the Witch Factor’s holder; faced with that, Clind pondered its words.

If the usurper was capable of extracting information from the dragonhusk, then there would have been no doubt about it knowing such a thing. But, if that were truly the case, then its conduct until this point would have been a tad incoherent.

In order for it to make logical sense on both fronts, it would mean that while the usurper had yet to attain full mastery over handling the dragonhusk, it had somehow heard about Clind’s circumstances from someone else, but――,

Roswaal: [When it’s just the two of you coming to a mutual understanding, I end up feeling quite left ouuut~.]

Clind: [Master…]

Roswaal: [You are a talented individual capable of performing meticulous work, but if you go too far, you will be considered highly strung. How they obtained this knowledge isn’t the proooblem~. In fact, the stratagem has come together, after all.]

Volcanica: [Stratagem, huh?]

As Roswaal remonished Clind, the usurper grandly unfurled the wings upon its back. The mere act of that kicking up a gust, Clind and Roswaal basked in the wind as it swept through their hair.

Volcanica: [Might not be my place to say this, but regardless of my allies like Roy and the old man, isn’t it a blunder for you guys to have separated from your own comrades back there?]

Roswaal: [Hoh? Well isn’t that a rather fascinating vieeewpoint~. May I ask you to elaborate?]

Volcanica: [You should already know. When there are more people in my line of fire, there’d be a higher chance of easily getting me to curl up. With this body and overflowing power, it ain’t easy to hold back.]

Roswaal: [I see, I can understand that line of thought. If we had wished to aim for a situation in which you were unable to demonstrate your capabilities at full performance, then that’s exactly what we ought to have done, buuut~…]

Clind: [――Unfortunately, that is a condition that applies to us as well. Equivalent.]

Volcanica: [What?]

The usurper of the dragonhusk had implied that they should not have prepared an environment in which it could run amok, but at Clind’s comment, it narrowed its eyes, and then proceeded to immediately widen its eyes.

As if to encircle the Divine Dragon, multicolored lights were afloat with no gaps between them.

At a glance, they appeared faint and colorful like a gathering of Micro Spirits, materializing in a pool of Mana, but anyone with a certain extent of magic knowledge would be able to tell that each and every one of these pale lights was a cluster of immense Mana―― flickers of great magic, housing dreadful power.

Of course, their origin went without saying, the strongest Magician without peer throughout history――,

Roswaal: [Please don’t praise me like that, yes? For you to evaluate myself as such despite knowing Teacher, is an indiscretion that terribly pains my heart, aaafter~ all.]

Seemingly having read his innermost thoughts at a glance, if Roswaal were to demonstrate his true ability at maximum firepower, any surrounding allies would serve only as a hindrance.

And thus――,

Clind: [――The same goes for me. Assent.]

As he spoke, Clind raised up his hand, removing the monocle over his left eye.

That instant, the atmosphere faintly tremored, that which was faint gradually magnifying, little by little, until it crackled through the space, and the earth began to roar.

A special monocle, it was not.

What was necessary was a shift in mindset, a step of resolve to return to the self he had sealed away in the past. ――By never taking that step, Clind had forced himself to remain as a bystander.

With that melancholy and despondency called out by the girl who harbored a shining soul, Clind felt ashamed of himself.

Having received that one final push, no longer could he remain halted in his tracks.

Ergo――,

Volcanica: […Oi oi.]

With a sound of bones creaking, protruding from Clind’s cranium, crowned by blue hair, were two black horns. Neither were those horns proof of belonging to the Oni Clan, nor were they the horns possessed by Witchbeasts. ――Not being either of those things, instead a race that grew horns of such deep blackness, in this world, there existed only one.

Existences reduced to so few in number that they were thought to have been extinct―― the dragonkin.

As the neon genesis of the almighty Dragons, they were a new race that had elected to shed their dragonhusks in favor of assuming the form of man. Clind, too, was one such dragonkin, but also a being who bore a special meaning to this world.

That was because――,

Volcanica: [Finally, I’ve identified the source of this strange feeling. ――So you’re, this body’s…]

Clind: [Any further words would be tactless. Superfluous.]

The usurper still attempted to exhaust further words, so Clind cut it off directly.

No matter who it might have been, there existed nobody who held a greater right to silence the usurper than Clind. None were more worthy than the original owner of that dragonhusk, now purloined by the usurper.

Roswaal: [――The Witch’s Disciple, Roswaal L. Mathers.]

Volcanica: [――Divine Dragon, Volcanica.]

Sending powerful magic adrift, Roswaal gave his name with his feet planted on the ground. Meeting that with due procedure, the usurper shamelessly proclaimed itself as such.

Just how long had it been since he had followed that courtesy, and placed himself atop the stage? ――With such thoughts in mind, as purple lightning surged around his body, Clind too gave his introduction.

Clind: [――Dragonkin of the Divine Dragon, Clind.]

That instant, the two who bore ties to the Divine Dragon leaped into action, and the magic that had been deployed unleashed its true might.

Thus, with a crash and destruction reminiscent of a natural cataclysm serving as the impetus, the battle between those who knew four-hundred years, commenced.