Arc 9 - Chapter 41: 'Tell the Usurper'

Chapter 9: 'Light of the Nameless Star'
Chapter 9-41: 'Tell the Usurper'

――God, Buddha, Odo Lagna. I vow never to drink alcohol in my lifetime.

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"It's an all-out war. It's okay to lose miserably."

At the moment Petra declared this in the mountains where Al had disappeared, the tension swelled and burst. In an instant, the remnants of Al's group, who had heightened their vigilance at Petra's appearance—'Divine Dragon' Volcanica, 'Gluttony' Roy Alphard, and Heinkel—moved simultaneously. However, their actions were completely uncoordinated and scattered.

"――――"

Seeing this, Petra initiated her first strategy—no, the first strategy was the Flash Remnade that used Rem's presence to distract Al, so this was the second arrow in her quiver. The plan was to break apart Al's formidable group, turning them into a disorganized rabble.

"First, isolate Al and shock the remaining members. Then—"

'On your mark, get set, go! Everyone starts doing their own thing!'

In front of Petra and Imaginary Subaru, the 'Dragon', the Sin Archbishop, and Heinkel all acted based on their individual judgments. The strategy was to disperse their choices as much as possible by deploying all available forces from the start. Of course, there was a significant risk of being wiped out by the 'Divine Dragon', but—

"Probably, the way Al got the 'Divine Dragon' on his side is the same as mine."

Petra speculated about the betrayal of the renowned 'Divine Dragon' Volcanica. She had gathered information from Emilia about Volcanica's state at the top of the Watchtower and understood that the 'Dragon' had become senile over the long years. Petra, through personal experience, knew better than anyone how to forcibly fill the blank parts of consciousness with 'something'.

Just as Petra had housed Natsuki Subaru as part of her consciousness through the 'Book of the Dead', it was highly likely that Volcanica had also housed an entity cooperative with Al. This entity shared a strong purpose with Al, deciding to turn against the world together. Petra bet on this—the shared vow of 'Non-killing' between Al and Volcanica.

'――hck!'

The first to make a move was the 'Divine Dragon', swiftly acting with its massive body. The 'Dragon's' mighty jaws opened, releasing a breath that was not a destructive light returning everything to nothingness, but a mist of pure water created using the dragon's vast mana. This mist engulfed Petra and the mixed royal selection army 'Aldebasters', drenching all of them.

For a moment, confusion arose as the purpose of the 'Divine Dragon' was unclear, but the doubt was soon resolved.

"――――"

The sound of the air creaking hit their eardrums, hindering their reflexive movements. Looking, they saw a thin layer of frost forming on their wet bodies, and Petra and the others were instantly frozen—

"――Ul Goa"

In an instant, the forest, which had begun to be shrouded in white, was overtaken by a bright red flame. This forcefully countered the freezing effect of the dense mist targeted by the 'Divine Dragon', melting the ice immediately and drying the wet bodies in an instant. The one who did this stood at the center of the group, raising a finger, and with a single chant, thwarted the 'Divine Dragon's' aim—a character with the worst personality but the kingdom's most exceptional magician—Roswaal L. Mathers.

Needless to say, the higher the level of magic, the more delicate control it requires. Responding with Ul-class magic, which is not something just anyone can use easily, and then unfreezing everyone present, drying their clothes, and not causing burns is truly a divine feat. Even the ancient 'Divine Dragon' Volcanica was astonished by Roswaal L. Mathers, who accomplished this in one breath. There—

"What you should be focusing on is this. Pay attention."

The quiet and polite voice carried an unimaginable impact. Clind, who leaped up with a light step, powerfully kicked the side of the motionless 'Dragon' with his long leg. The power of that kick was comparable to Garfiel's cannonball-like strength, causing the 'Dragon' to lose its balance, touch the ground, and raise a cloud of dust.

The 'Divine Dragon's' initial move was directly suppressed by the combination of Roswaal and Clind. Meanwhile, breaking through the dust cloud was the 'Gluttony' Sin Archbishop baring his fangs—

"Haha! Lining up such delicious heads, this is already love, isn't it?"

Roy Alphard, drooling as he jumped into the battle line, unlike the 'Divine Dragon' who tried to stop all the Aldebasters, clearly targeted one person and leaped at them. Despite the wild motive of appetite, Roy approached his prey with an unusually refined agility. The target of 'Gluttony's' malicious tongue was the pink-haired maid standing among the group—

"—Ram."

As his outstretched hand touched something invisible, he prepared for his meal. As Roy called her name and grinned, Ram's frozen expression met his gaze, and in the next moment, the Sin Archbishop ostentatiously licked the palm that had touched her. The authority of 'Gluttony' activated, and a new tragedy was about to sprout—but it didn't.

"Ugh."

Roy, wide-eyed, covered his mouth as if feeling nauseous from the backlash of the failed 'Devour.' In front of the slowed Roy, Ram elegantly spun around,

"Fool."

Ram's knee shot up and struck the Sin Archbishop's jaw with a vivid impact.

"Damn, damn, damn! To come this far...!"

While the 'Divine Dragon' and 'Gluttony' each chose to attack with different targets, Heinkel's choice was different. Unlike the 'Dragon's' cold breath or the Sin Archbishop's 'Malice,' Heinkel, wielding his drawn sword to keep the front in check, jumped backward instead of forward. He seemed to hope that someone other than himself would change the course of the battle.

However—

"It won't go that conveniently, Master."
"Master, I've always wanted to do this."

There, the twin sisters who had been lurking in the trees since the 'Compression' descended. Flam and Grasis—the twins serving the Astrea Family—ironically delivered a kick from front and back, sandwiching the back and torso of the man who was the head of the family they served.

"Guh...!"

The kicks from the sisters, who had mastered 'Flow Method,' produced an explosive sound unimaginable from the small girls. With a shock that seemed to squeeze out his organs, Heinkel, rolling his eyes, let out a dying groan. The three simultaneous clashes that occurred almost at the same time were as intended, with the initial advantage.

And then, adding to that—

'—Game change.'

The sound of Imaginary Subaru's finger snap, audible only to Petra, rang out loudly. With that signal, the battle situation changed.

—Further 'Compression' divided Al's group even more.

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—Petra Leyte recognized the terror of Al's group more strongly than the results themselves.

Since the betrayal at the Pleiades Watchtower, Al has allied with the 'Divine Dragon' Volcanica, evaded Reinhard and Felt's camp, and successfully orchestrated the jailbreak of the 'Gluttony' Sin Archbishop in the royal capital. Throughout these developments, the roles played by Al's accomplices have been significant, but the greatest threat remains Al himself.

Al's extraordinary fate-manipulating power—his ability to draw desired outcomes—was revealed, and Petra found herself more convinced than ever. This understanding stemmed from the truth about Natsuki Subaru, which she learned from the 'Book of the Dead.'

"Al also has the Leap ability... If so, I'm the one who understands how dangerous that is the most. Unlike me, who lacks combat skills, Al can fight on his own, making him a superior version of me."

"...But Subaru, you're really reliable with Beatrice-chan by your side. Plus, your cunning and cleverness are on par with Otto-san."

"But the original me is captured with Beatrice, and those skills aren't something strong people boast about..."

Imaginary Subaru expressed his lack of confidence, but even setting aside her feelings and biases, Petra didn't think Subaru was inferior to Al or a lesser version of him. On this matter, she also heard an intriguing analysis from Old Man Rom, who suspected Al's power might not be true time-leaping.

—The theory was that Al's time leap might only allow for short-term do-overs.

"If he had the same power as Subaru, he could have avoided conflict with Lady Felt and Old Man Rom in the first place."

"But don't be overconfident. It's possible that the restart point just happened to be a situation where he couldn't avoid Felt and the others. Even I couldn't completely stop Petelgeuse from attacking Emilia-tan and the others."

"I thought you almost completely stopped him—"

Petra stopped herself, considering 'Subaru's' feelings. If 'Subaru' had perfectly contained the 'Sloth' Sin Archbishop who attacked the Roswaal mansion and Arlam village, the tragedies of Rem and Crusch wouldn't have occurred. Petra believed Subaru did his best, but he thought otherwise. This tied into Natsuki Subaru's painfully low self-esteem, which was incredibly frustrating for Petra.

"Let's put that aside for now... It's not just Al who's formidable; we're also up against the cooperating 'Divine Dragon,' the ninja maid, the Sin Archbishop, and Heinkel."

"What a formidable group. A 'Dragon,' a ninja, a Sin Archbishop, and Reinhard's father, who is no ordinary man."

"No comment on Heinkel."

Petra put a finger to her lips in an X to refuse to comment on Heinkel, who she briefly encountered in the Volakia Empire. He deliberately distanced himself, leaving little connection with Petra. Only Garfiel interacted with him somewhat, but knowing Heinkel's current state would likely depress Garfiel. Imagining a dejected Garfiel stirred Petra's anger towards Heinkel. The Emilia camp is united in anger against anyone who harms their own.

"Hmm... I need to calm down. Garfiel's feelings need to be resolved by Garfiel himself, otherwise it doesn't mean anything, and we have to pave the way for that."

"Even if you say 'pave the way,' where do we even start...?"

"Yeah, that's true. It's confusing, isn't it? But—"

Seeing the perplexed expression of 'Subaru,' Petra mischievously smiled and turned around. Following Petra's movement, 'Subaru' also looked in that direction. There, Natsuki Subaru, who tends to shoulder burdens alone, was repeatedly stumbling, falling, and failing, yet showing results, surrounded by everyone who was there for him.

"――――"

"Certainly, I think Al and the others are very formidable, and if we did things normally, we wouldn't stand a chance. But, we're not exactly normal either, are we?"

Winking with one eye, Petra, with one of her cutest expressions ever, smiled at the astonished profile of Imaginary Subaru and said that. And so, with her extraordinary and reliable companions, they devised a plan—

—With Otto Suwen's signal, the battle commenced.

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—God, Buddha, Odo Lagna. I vow never to write a letter in my lifetime.

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—The authority brought by the 'Melancholy' Witch Factor, 'Compression,' is by no means omnipotent.

The phenomena triggered by 'Compression' are merely compressions of feasible events—such as shortening the travel time within a movable range, which is a representative feature. Conversely, it means that 'Compression' cannot realize events that are impossible even with time.

Therefore, even in the division of Aldebaran's group, after initially ejecting Aldebaran from the battlefield, further dividing the remaining group was not easy. If the opponent is wary of 'Compression,' the difficulty of applying the authority increases dramatically. Moreover, if the opponent is a 'Divine Dragon' or a Sin Archbishop, just taking them out is an arduous task. The weakness of 'Compression' is that its applicable range narrows drastically unless it is activated on a consenting or unsuspecting opponent.

The Royal Selection Mixed Army 'Aldebasters' overcame this weakness with a series of ingenious strategies.

They unsettled Heinkel with their numbers, exploited Volcanica's adherence to 'Non-killing,' and turned away Roy Alphard's 'Gluttony' as he was engrossed in a feast. None of these were guaranteed to succeed until executed. —However, no strategy in this world offers a hundred percent certainty. What exists is the effort to get as close to a hundred percent as possible and the belief that one has done their utmost. The spirit of those who can water the seed of that possibility is—

"Oh, how delightful it is. Remarkable."

Nodding as he said this, Clind landed on the ground and faced 'Divine Dragon' Volcanica. Volcanica, supporting its unsteady body with one hand, met Clind's gaze head-on. In the narrowed golden eyes of the 'Dragon,' a clear will could be sensed. As Petra speculated, a different consciousness resides within the dragon shell of the 'Divine Dragon.'

"――――"

The attacks from Clind had little effect on Volcanica, who was glaring at them. It might have succeeded in surprising him, but it was far from a decisive blow. Nevertheless, the initial ambush had achieved its purpose. In the battlefield facing the 'Divine Dragon's' dragon shell, only two from the 'Aldebasters' stood against the usurper—Clind and Roswaal L. Mathers.

"...The same method used to blow away the Origin, huh?"

Using his hand on the ground to lift his body, the 'Divine Dragon' murmured in a low, heavy voice. The 'Dragon' surveyed the surroundings with his golden eyes, noticing that they had been moved from the mountains to a distant plain. The activation of 'compression' had successfully isolated the troublesome opponent. However—

"Clind, was it? I thought it was unlikely, but... it seems you're indeed the owner of the 'Melancholy' Witch Factor."

"—. Where did you get that information? Question."

"I learned it from an all-knowing acquaintance. Though, it was mixed in with some idle talk, so I didn't remember it until now."

The 'Divine Dragon' shrugged with a human-like gesture, pondering over the mention of 'Melancholy' and being identified as the owner of the Witch Factor. If the usurper could extract knowledge from the dragon shell, it wouldn't be surprising for him to know this. However, if that were the case, his actions so far seemed somewhat inconsistent. If one were to make sense of it, it would mean the usurper couldn't fully handle the dragon shell but had been informed about Clind'a circumstances by someone else—

"When you two understand each other like that, it makes me feel left out."

"Master..."

"You are a meticulous person, but if you go too far, you might be considered neurotic. How the opponent gained their knowledge isn't the issue. The fact is, the strategy is working."

"A strategy, huh."

As Roswaal admonished Clind, the usurper spread his wings wide. This alone stirred up a gust of wind, causing Clind and the others' hair to flutter.

"It's not my place to say, but separating me from Roy, the old man, and your allies might have been a mistake, don't you think?"

"Oh? That's an interesting opinion. Care to elaborate?"

"You know it. Having more people in range makes it easier for me to shrink back and act. With this body and overflowing power, it's not easy to hold back."

"I see, that's understandable. If the aim is to create a situation where you can't perform at your best, then that's exactly what should be done... but—"

"—Unfortunately, that condition applies to us as well. Equal footing."

"What did you say?"

The usurper, who had implicitly told them not to prepare an environment where he could rampage freely, narrowed his eyes at Clind'a words, then quickly widened them. Surrounding the 'Divine Dragon' were countless colorful lights floating without gaps.

At first glance, they seemed like a gathering of faint, elegant spirits materializing in a mana pool, but anyone with some knowledge of magic could sense that each faint light was a massive mana cluster—a terrifyingly powerful, grand magic in the making. Of course, the source was none other than the strongest magician in history—

"Please don't praise me like that, will you? For someone who knows my teacher to rate me so highly would be a terribly painful mistake."

Roswaal, as if reading his inner thoughts, said that if he were to unleash his full potential, allies around him would only get in the way. And that is—

"—The same goes for me. Affirmative."

Saying this, Clind removed the monocle from his left eye with his raised hand. In that instant, the air subtly vibrated, and what was faint began to gradually expand, with a cracking sound echoing through the space, causing the earth to start trembling.

It wasn't a special monocle. What was needed was a shift in consciousness, a step towards returning to the self he had sealed away in the past. By not taking that step, Clind had continued to force himself to remain an observer.

Pointed out by a girl with a shining soul, Clind felt ashamed of his own melancholy and gloom. Having received the final push, he could no longer remain standing still. Therefore—

'...Hey, hey.'

With the sound of creaking bones, two black horns protruded from Clind'a head, crowned with blue hair. These were neither the horns of the Oni tribe nor those possessed by magical beasts. The only species in this world that bore such black horns was believed to be extinct—Dragonkin.

A species that had dwindled to the point of being thought extinct—Dragonkin. The next generation of powerful 'Dragons,' a new species that chose to shed their dragon shells and take human form. Clind was also one of these Dragonkin, a being with special significance to the world. Because—

'Finally, I understand the strange sensation. —You are, of this body’s...'

"Any more words would be boorish. Unnecessary."

The usurper tried to continue speaking, but Clind directly interrupted those words. No one else had more right than Clind to silence the usurper. The dragon shell stolen by the usurper, no one was more fitting than its original owner.

"—Apprentice of the 'Witch,' Roswaal L. Mathers."

'—'Divine Dragon' Volcanica.'

Roswaal, levitating with great magic, declared his name while standing firm on the ground. In response, the usurper brazenly called himself the same. Following that custom, how long had it been since he placed himself on the stage? Thinking this, Clind too, clad in purple lightning, declared his name.

"—Dragonkin of the 'Divine Dragon,' Clind."

In that moment, the two connected to the 'Divine Dragon' began to move, and the magic deployed unleashed its power. With a cataclysmic impact and destruction as the trigger, the battle of those who knew four hundred years began.