——Oh gods, oh Buddhas, oh Od Laguna. I vow to never drink alcohol for the rest of my life.
△▼△▼△▼△ "——This is an all-out war. Just sit there and take your beating like good little losers, okay?"
The moment Petra declared this in the mountains where Al had vanished, tension swelled and detonated in an instant.
In that instant, Al's remaining allies — who had been on guard since Petra and the others' appearance — the Divine Dragon
However, there was zero coordination among the three of them — every one acting completely on their own.
"————"
Seeing them move, Petra launched her first stratagem — no, her first stratagem was Flash Lemnade, which had diverted Al's attention with
It was a strategy to take the formidable Al allies — each one a threat not to be underestimated — and break them apart in midair into a disorganized mob.
"First, we cut Al out of the picture and scare the remaining ones witless. Then——"
"Ready, set, go — and everyone starts doing their own thing!"
As Petra and Imaginary Subaru's voices rang out together before them, the Dragon, the Archbishop of Sin, and Heinkel all moved according to their own individual judgment.
This was a full-force mobilization from the opening move, designed to scatter their choices as widely as possible.
Of course, this strategy carried the enormous risk of being wiped out by the Divine Dragon in one fell swoop — but…
"——I think the way Al got the Divine Dragon on his side was the same as mine."
Petra theorized that the Divine Dragon Volcanica's betrayal worked this way.
She had heard from
Just as Petra had housed a portion of
Petra was betting on this — on the shared vow of "non-killing" between Al and Volcanica.
"————!!"
The first to act was the Divine Dragon, whose massive form moved with startling agility.
The Dragon's colossal jaws opened, and the breath unleashed was not the annihilation light that returns all to nothing — but rather, a mist of pure water conjured using the Dragon's vast reserves of mana. It swallowed Petra and the rest of the allied force, the Aldeba-Stars, in one go, drenching every last one of them.
For a moment, confusion arose as Petra and the others couldn't discern the Divine Dragon's aim — but that doubt was quickly dispelled.
"————"
The sound of air compressing struck their eardrums, and their instinctive defensive movements were inhibited. Looking at themselves, a thin layer of frost was settling on their wet bodies, and in the blink of an eye, they were being encased in ice — when, "——Ul Goa."
In that instant, crimson flames blanketed back over the forest that had begun to turn white with frost.
It was a forceful counter — an expansion of flame so vast it filled the entire field of vision, overwhelming the freezing effect the Divine Dragon had intended with its dense mist, instantly melting the ice and even drying their drenched bodies in a single breath — without so much as burning them.
The one who accomplished this was standing at the center of the group, finger raised, having blocked the Divine Dragon's assault with a single incantation — the world's greatest mage, whose personality was the worst but whose skill was unmatched in the kingdom: Roswaal L. Maes.
Needless to say, the higher the tier of magic, the more exquisite the control required.
To respond instantly with a spell at the Ul tier, while simultaneously undoing the freeze on everyone present, drying their clothes, and avoiding so much as a burn — this was nothing short of divine craftsmanship.
Even the ancient Divine Dragon was astonished that Roswaal had pulled this off in a single breath.
And then — "You should be focusing on me instead. Devote yourself."
That quiet, proper voice carried an impact beyond imagination.
Krinkend, who had leaped up with a light spring, delivered a devastating kick to the Dragon's side with his long legs. The power behind that kick was nothing short of cannonball-like, rivaling even Garfiel's, and it sent the Dragon staggering, its claws gouging into the ground as dust clouds rose.
The Divine Dragon's opening gambit had been thoroughly suppressed by the Roswaal-Krinkend combination.
Meanwhile, bursting through that dust cloud with bared fangs was the Archbishop of Gluttony, Roy — "Haaah! Look at all the delicious morsels lined up here — this has gotta be love, right!"
Drooling with anticipation, Roy threw himself into the ranks — but unlike the Divine Dragon, who had tried to stop all of them, Roy fixated on a single target and lunged in a single leap.
Despite the primal motivation of hunger, Roy approached his prey with an uncannily refined agility. The target of the Gluttony Archbishop's malevolent tongue was the peach-haired maid standing within the group — "——
An outstretched hand touched something invisible, arranging the preparations for a meal.
The Archbishop grinned as he called her name, and Ram — called by name, her expression frozen — locked eyes with him. In the next instant, the Archbishop ostentatiously licked the palm that had touched her.
The Authority of Gluttony was about to activate, and with it, a new tragedy was about to sprout — but it didn't.
"Ugh."
Eyes bulging, Roy clamped a hand over his mouth as though struck by nausea from the backlash of a misfired Eclipse. As Roy stumbled forward, Ram pirouetted with elegant grace — "You fool."
Ram's rising knee struck the Archbishop's chin in a devastating uppercut.
"Crap crap crap! After coming all this way…!"
The Divine Dragon and the Archbishop of Gluttony — both chose to attack, though their targets differed. The last remaining member, Heinkel, made a different choice.
Unlike the Dragon's cold breath or the Archbishop's malevolent hunger, Heinkel drew his sword to feint a frontal assault — then leaped backward. He intended to create distance and wait for someone else to change the tide of battle.
However — "It won't be that convenient, Lord Heinkel."
"My lord, I've actually wanted to do this for quite some time."
Descending from where they had been lurking in the trees since the moment of "Compression" were twin sisters.
Flam and Gracis — the twins who served the Astrea household — delivered a pincer kick from front and back to the back and torso of — ironically — the very master they served.
"Gueh…!"
The kicks, honed through the Flow Method, produced a sound like an explosion that defied the twins' small frames.
Heinkel's eyes rolled back as he let out a deathly groan from the shock that felt like his organs were being squeezed out. — Three simultaneous collisions, all unfolding at once, and the initial advantage was exactly as planned.
All that remained was to add to it — "——Game change."
The finger-snap of Imaginary Subaru, audible only to Petra, rang out triumphantly. At that signal, the tide of battle shifted.
——A further "Compression" had split apart and torn away Al's allies.
△▼△▼△▼△ ——
Since the betrayal at the
Up to this point, the roles played by Al's various accomplices had each been significant, but the greatest threat remained Al himself.
When she was told the truth behind Al's extraordinary power to manipulate fate — the power to draw desired outcomes toward himself — Petra felt a profound sense of understanding beyond anything she had experienced before.
This was, of course, because of the truth about Natsuki Subaru that she had learned by reading the Book of the Dead.
"If that Al guy is also a Leap user… then I understand better than anyone how dangerous that is. And unlike me with my crappy personal combat ability, Al is the type who can actually fight on his own — so basically, I'm dealing with a straight-up upgraded version of me."
"…Subaru is really reliable when he's with
"But the original me is stuck in captivity with Beatrice, and tricks and cunning aren't exactly the kind of skills you brag about when you're a strong fighter…"
Imaginary Subaru spoke without much confidence, but even setting aside romantic feelings and sympathy for the underdog, Petra refused to believe that Subaru was inferior to Al — let alone an inferior version.
On this topic, she had also heard an interesting analysis from Old Man
——The theory was that Al's time leaping was limited to short-range resets.
"If he really had the exact same power as Subaru, he should have been able to avoid running into Felt and Old Man Rom in the first place, right?"
"But don't get overconfident about that. There's a perfectly good chance that the restart point just happened to be at a moment where he couldn't avoid them. Even I couldn't completely stop Petelgeuse from attacking Emilia and the others."
"You mostly had him sealed, though —"
She caught herself from finishing the thought, considering Imaginary Subaru's feelings, and fell silent.
As Petra had said, if "Subaru" had perfectly sealed away the Archbishop of Sloth who attacked Roswaal's mansion and
Subaru had done everything he could. That was Petra's assessment — but the man himself felt differently.
It was almost painful how low Natsuki Subaru's self-evaluation was, and for Petra, that was incredibly frustrating — but — "For now, let's put that aside… We're up against not only that ridiculous Al, but also the Divine Dragon who's cooperating with him, that ninja maid, the Archbishop of Sin, and Heinkel."
"Let me reiterate — what a ridiculous lineup. A Dragon, a ninja, an Archbishop of Sin, and Reinhard's dad — who's literally that Reinhard's father, so he's no pushover."
"No comment on Heinkel."
Petra pressed a finger to her lips in an X-shape when Imaginary Subaru made a conflicted face, refusing to answer.
She had traveled alongside Heinkel for only a brief time in the
The one person who had cared even slightly was Garfiel — and knowing the Heinkel of today would surely crush Garfiel's spirits. Imagining that dejected Garfiel only stirred Petra's boiling anger toward Heinkel.
Emilia's faction was the type that united as one in fury against anyone who hurt their own.
"Haa… I need to calm down. Garf's feelings are something Garf has to resolve himself, and all we can do is pave the path for him."
"A path, huh? But where do we even start with that…"
"Yeah, it's tough. But —"
Seeing Imaginary Subaru looking dejected, Petra flashed a mischievous smile and turned around. Drawn by her movement, Imaginary Subaru looked in the same direction.
There stood everyone who had stumbled and fallen, made mistakes over and over — but had shown results and were here because of it, just as the Natsuki Subaru who tended to shoulder everything alone had made possible.
"————"
"Sure, Al and his crew are really tough, and honestly, we'd be completely outmatched if we fought them head-on. — But you know, we're not exactly normal either, are we?"
Petra winked with one eye shut, making arguably the cutest face she had ever produced in her entire life, and smiled at the wide-eyed Imaginary Subaru's profile as she said it.
And so, having devised a strategy with unreliable-yet-dependable companions who were anything but normal — ——They began the battle, triggered by
△▼△▼△▼△ ——Oh gods, oh Buddhas, oh Od Laguna. I vow to never write a letter for the rest of my life.
△▼△▼△▼△ ——The Authority granted by the
The phenomenon caused by Compression was, at its core, the compression of feasible events — most notably, shortening travel time to within a movable range.
In other words, events that were impossible even given time could not be made to happen through Compression.
Therefore, splitting Al Debaran's faction apart — first by tossing Al out of the combat zone, then further dividing the remaining members — was no easy feat.
If the enemy was on guard against Compression, the difficulty of applying the Authority's effect skyrocketed. And when those enemies included the Divine Dragon and an Archbishop of Sin, simply luring them away was an almost impossible task.
Compression's weakness was that its applicability was extremely narrow unless directed at an opponent who either consented to its effects or was completely off guard.
The Aldeba-Stars overcame this weakness through a rapid succession of desperate gambits.
They exploited their numerical advantage to rattle Heinkel, rode the psychology of Volcanica — who was bound by the vow of "non-killing" — and turned away Roy Alphard's Gluttony with a feast he couldn't resist.
None of these were strategies that offered any certainty of success until they were executed. — But no strategy in this world comes with a hundred percent guarantee.
All that exists is the effort to bring that certainty as close to one hundred as possible, and the faith that you've maximized it.
The spirit of those who water the seed of possibility — "Ah, how delightful indeed. I'm in awe."
With that nod, Krinkend landed on the ground and fixed his gaze directly ahead — on the Divine Dragon Volcanica.
Volcanica, propping up its disrupted posture with one leg, met Krinkend's stare head-on. The narrowed golden eyes of the Dragon clearly bore the buds of conscious will.
Just as Petra had theorized, another consciousness had taken residence within the Divine Dragon's shell.
"————"
Volcanica, glaring in Krinkend's direction, was — as one would expect — barely affected by Krinkend's earlier attack. It had succeeded in startling the Dragon, perhaps, but it was far from a blow that could press the enemy.
Still, the objective of the initial ambush had been achieved. — In a combat zone face-to-face with the Divine Dragon's shell, only two from the Aldeba-Stars stood to confront the Usurper.
Only Krinkend and Roswaal L. Maes.
"……Same method as when you blew away the origin, huh."
Propping himself up with one hand on the ground, the Divine Dragon spoke in a low, heavy voice.
The Dragon surveyed the surroundings with its golden eyes and noticed that they had been transported from the mountain forest where they had been moments ago to a wide-open plain at considerable distance.
The activation of Compression was proof that the troublesome separation of opponents had been successful.
However — "You're Krinkend, right? I kinda figured, but… you're definitely the holder of the Witch Factor of Melancholy, no mistake."
"——Where did you obtain that information? A question."
"I learned it from an all-knowing deity among my acquaintances. That said, it was buried in a bunch of tall tales, so I couldn't remember it until just now."
The Divine Dragon shrugged its shoulders in a startlingly human gesture, and the fact that the word "Melancholy" had come from its mouth — along with being identified as a Witch Factor holder — gave Krinkend pause.
If the Usurper could draw out knowledge from the Dragon shell as well, then knowing this would raise no questions. But if that was the case, the Usurper's words and actions up to this point didn't quite add up.
To make both scenarios fit logically: the Usurper hadn't fully mastered the Dragon shell, but had been told about Krinkend's circumstances by someone else. But — "When the two of you get all buddy-buddy like that, it makes the rest of us feel left out, you know~"
"Master…"
"You're a talented person capable of meticulous work, but taken too far, it becomes the sort of thing people call neurotic. How the other side obtained their knowledge isn't the issue here, is it~? The strategy is sound, after all."
"A strategy, huh…"
When Roswaal admonished Krinkend, the Usurper spread the wings on its back wide. That alone was enough to whip up a gust of wind, blowing Krinkend's hair back.
"I'm not one to talk, but wasn't it a mistake to separate me from my allies — Roy, your old man, and those others — and from the ones on your side?"
"Oh my? Now that's an interesting opinion. Care to elaborate~?"
"You know what I mean. The more targets in range, the higher the odds I can hold back without anyone noticing. This body and the overflowing power I've got — going easy isn't exactly easy for me."
"I see, I follow. If the goal is to prevent you from performing at full capacity, then that's exactly the right move, I'd sa— —y, however…"
"——Unfortunately, that same condition applies to our side as well. A fair match."
"Huh?"
The Usurper of the Dragon shell had just hinted that it didn't want an environment where it could run wild unchecked — but upon hearing Krinkend's words, the Usurper narrowed its eyes, and then immediately widened them.
Surrounding the Divine Dragon, lights of every color rose in seamless succession.
At first glance, they resembled a gathering of minor spirits manifesting at a mana spring — delicate and beautiful. But anyone with sufficient knowledge of magic would sense that each faint light was a mass of immense mana — the shimmering of devastating, grand-scale magic.
The source of all this was, needless to say, the strongest mage in recorded history — "Please don't praise me like that~ Being evaluated so by you, who knew my teacher, would be a terribly, terribly painful mistake~"
With a glance, as though reading their inner thoughts, Roswaal addressed them. If he was going to unleash his full power, the allies around him would only be in the way.
And that was — "——I share the same sentiment. Agreed."
As he spoke, Krinkend raised his hand and removed the monocle from his left eye.
In that instant, the air vibrated faintly, that faintness gradually expanded, and little by little — accompanied by the sound of space cracking — the earth began to tremble.
It wasn't a special monocle, per se.
What was needed was a shift in consciousness — a single step back toward the self he had sealed away in the past. — By refusing to take that step, Krinkend had forced himself to remain a mere observer.
When that melancholy and depression had been pointed out by a girl with a shining soul, Krinkend had felt shame.
After receiving that final push, there was no longer any way he could continue standing still.
And so — "……Here we go."
With the sound of bones creaking, two black horns protruded from the head topped with Krinkend's blue hair. They were neither the horns of the oni race nor those of a magical beast. — The species that grew black horns like these existed as only one in this world.
A race so diminished in number they were believed to be extinct — the dragon people.
The next generation of the powerful Dragon, who had shed their dragon shells and chosen to take on humanoid form. Krinkend was one of these dragon people — a being of special significance to the world.
Because — "I finally figured out what that strange sensation was. — You're the one who's in this body—"
"Further words would be indelicate. Unnecessary."
When the Usurper tried to continue speaking, Krinkend shut it down head-on.
No one else in the world had more right to silence the Usurper than Krinkend. No one was more fitting than the original owner of the Dragon shell the Usurper had stolen.
"——'Disciple of the Witch,' Roswaal L. Maes."
"——'The Divine Dragon,' Volcanica."
With the grand magic arrayed above and his feet planted firmly on the earth, Roswaal announced his name. In kind, the Usurper also brazenly declared its own.
Following this custom of announcing oneself — how long had it been since Krinkend had placed himself upon a stage? — As he thought this, Krinkend, wreathed in violet lightning, declared his name as well.
"——Dragon person of the Divine Dragon, Krinkend."
In that instant, the two beings connected to the Divine Dragon moved, and the deployed magic unleashed its full power.
With an impact and destruction reminiscent of cataclysm itself as the prelude, the battle of those who had witnessed four hundred years began.