The wolf sprinted toward Golden Street in an instant. Before Rota and Astrid could even think about chasing it, disaster struck.
Suddenly, the entire academy city began to shake.
Rumble…!
Astrid could only gape as the once-solid ground split apart, transforming into a chasm-like valley.
“The ground is collapsing—?!” “What on earth…?” “We can’t stay here… We need to go up!” “Go up?! Where to?!” “No ti to explain!!”
Astrid quickly grabbed Rota’s hand and lifted her into the air, leading her into the yellow mist.
Whoosh—!
The two of them flew upward, barely escaping the collapsing ground below.
“Hold on tight to —!” “Hngh…?!”
Rota let out a small, trembling cry as she clung to Astrid’s hand, terrified by the sudden ascent of over 20 ters into the air.
Her stomach felt tight, and cold sweat trickled down her neck. For so reason, this was more terrifying than sitting in an airship hundreds of ters above the ground.
Rumble…!
The ground below them crumbled away as if it were an illusion.
Beneath the place where they had lived without a second thought, there was an endless abyss that now stared back at them. If she lost her grip on Astrid’s hand, it felt like she would be swallowed by the darkness.
But what was even more frightening…
Rumble…!
“…This can’t be.”
…was the sight of the academy city collapsing.
The ground was literally shattering, and the sky was falling.
As the familiar landscape flipped upside down, a scene reminiscent of the apocalypse unfolded. The black curtain and boundary slowly crept toward Golden Street.
The ground crumbled again, producing a low, rumbling sound.
It felt like soone was hamring on her eardrums.
Rumble…!
“Ugh?!”
Rota clutched the orange cat ears on her head with one hand, trying to block out the low, piercing noise that threatened to tear through her eardrums.
Rumble…!
But no matter how hard she tried to block it, The noise that made her head throb couldn’t be stopped. Countless screams pierced into her mind.
-No, no!! Please stop!! -Aaaah—!! -Hehe… Happiness… it’s here. -No, no, no, no, no… -It’s the end, the end…
At tis like this, having more sensitive hearing than others was a curse. No matter how tightly she closed her eyes, she couldn’t escape the horrifying reality.
‘I just want to run away…’
She wanted to hide in a quiet room, cover herself with a blanket, and block her ears, so she could feel at peace.
‘Where is everyone…’
Shiver…
From the beginning, most beastn were cowards. Their heightened senses and specialized magical perception were all developed to escape danger more efficiently.
That innate beastman instinct was whispering to her, ‘Run away.’
But…
The faces of her friends.
-Rota, you’re brave—☆ -I knew it from the start. -You’ve always been there to support us.
The promise she made with the golden cat.
-If it’s you… you can continue the ‘story’…
Freya’s praise.
-To, to study magic, what you need is pure stubbornness… and it seems you already have that.
All of these things held her back from fleeing reality.
‘No… I can’t run away.’
Rota bit her lip and opened her eyes. As she faced the chaotic scene full of screams and confusion, she began to think about what she could do.
At that mont, the blood began to return to her pale hands, and the strength that had clung to her by instinct now had a purpose.
“Astrid-senpai! Please take us to the northwest of Golden Street!” “The northwest… you an the ?” “Yes! Freya-senpai should be there!”
If they headed there, she might find a way to overco this situation.
Reason and instinct. Both pointed her in the sa direction.
“…” She reassured herself by feeling the familiar touch of the magic book she always kept close.
The smooth, plain cover with no title. Once it contained the magic of the greatest witch, but now it was filled with her own magic.
She felt the familiar texture of the book in her hand.
‘I can’t just keep preparing and waiting forever.’
She sensed that the ti had co to unleash everything she had experienced up until now. She had to move forward in the direction she believed was right.
‘The path I need to take is…’
Grip—
Astrid, holding Rota’s hand, could feel her resolve imdiately.
“…” This small underclassman was finding sothing she could do even as everyone else was panicking in fear. Even if she could escape without anyone noticing, she didn’t hesitate to push forward.
And Astrid liked people like that very much.
“…O~ hohoho!!”
So she moved even faster, blocking Rota’s ears with mist to drown out the echoing voices following them.
- was established by beastman nobles from the … -It was the first institution built by the forces that first occupied the area around the World Tree…
Forbidden knowledge. But ultimately, it was knowledge about the world they lived in. It just happened to violate the ‘order’ of the academy city and the World Tree.
“…” Astrid looked at them with a bitter expression.
“All of this, just to be cast out of the world?”
To forget the outside world, So we can remain pure? Or to keep us from straying from the path of fate?
What exactly is the age of order…?
“…” Astrid passed by the lingering spirits, shielding Rota’s ears with the mist.
Between the collapsing buildings, Eir rode her bike and took off. Then she jumped.
Whoosh!
She kicked off the bike and lunged into the air. The sword she held high was ablaze with radiant fire. Eir’s eyes were locked onto the wounded wolf.
“Grrr…!” “Burn!! [Levantine]—!!”
Eir swung the sword she had raised high.
The blade, engulfed in flas, began spinning in the air, drawing a circular path like the wheel of a chariot. The rotation speed increased rapidly, becoming as fast as a whirlwind.
Whirr— Whirr— Whirr—
The wheel, spitting out white flas, Heated the air around it to a scorching degree.
“Now!! Just die already—!!”
Eir shouted as she hurled the massive wheel of flas.
Rumble—!!
Like the legendary chariot that pulled the sun across the sky, A brilliant light trail blazed toward the wolf.
The black, oily ground. The countless collapsing buildings releasing thick, choking smoke. The silver moth priest who had lost its strength and lay lifeless in the distance.
In this mont, everything was engulfed in white.
Fwoosh—!!
The wolf began to burn in the white flas. The fire entered its maw filled with fangs, burning its insides and fur as it consud it from within.
Crackle Crackle
『—!!』
The last desperate struggle of the [Twin Priestess] Moin was now beyond screaming. The wolf’s mouth rely gaped as it tried to press forward.
『—!!』
For one last… One last victim…! With these fangs, to inflict as much pain as possible…!!
Thud!
The wolf, half-burned and with its bones exposed, staggered forward. Determined to claim one more life, it continued its agonizing march.
The enormous, half-lted shadow of the wolf swayed back and forth amidst the street filled with screams and chaos.
『—!!』
Moin, roaring in rage from within the wolf, Was witnessed by Eir who looked up to the sky.
“[Flash]—!! It’s still alive!! We need to finish it off!!”
After her shout echoed, The scarlet trail, which had been darting through the dim sky… Alvitr, who had been confronting the [Priestess of Dreams] Svafnir with her glowing wings, suddenly descended.
“This ends now—!!”
From the sky to the ground, A crimson line slashed straight down.
Flash!
A battle cry echoed in between.
“[Blinding Barrage]—!!”
Then the sound arrived, later than the explosion. The explosion of the holy sword that burned everything, including the wolf.
A light so intense, It felt like it would burn the eyes.
And then the explosion.
Boom—!!!
The wolf’s jaws gaped open within the light. As the exploding brilliance slowly tore through it, the wolf lost its form entirely.
『Ah… Ugh…!』
Moin, the dragonkin girl raging within the wolf.
She weakly reached out a hand.
In the explosion that slowly devoured the wolf deity’s body, she muttered vacantly. She no longer had the will to live.
“O…ppa.”
Her brother, who fought alongside her in rage.
Whistle…
Their leader, who died so helplessly.
“A…ppa.”
Whistle…
The end of over 2,000 years… Was just a horrifying pain that burned through her body.
But still. But still… they had succeeded.
With the help of forr enemies, They awakened the dragon that slumbered in the deepest abyss.
“…”
The girl prayed through the pain.
‘Our black dragon.’
It is too difficult to live within the battles determined by the World Tree. It is too painful to survive by stealing soone else’s Aether. Please, lead us… the dragonkin who have lost their intelligence and turned into chaotic creatures… to a peaceful and complete death.
Take us to a place where, Bound by fate no more, We will no longer revive as mindless creatures in the darkness…
“...Please.”
As the final prayer of the priestess ended, The light exploded into a dazzling brilliance.
Boom—!!
A cloud of dust rose, blinding their sight. Countless debris and buildings were toppled over by the force, endlessly collapsing.
Even though they had defeated the last remaining priestess, Alvitr and Eir could only stand silently, watching the academy city crumble. The surroundings were ablaze.
“...” “...”
Even now, The situation was far from over.
Eir rubbed her temples, muttering in a low voice, her face showing exhaustion.
“Damn… What is all of this?”
“...”
Those who fought alongside them had either been swallowed by the echoing voices or dragged into the black abyss. The screams that had filled the air were now gradually subsiding.
The eerie silence slowly enveloped the street, broken only by the sound of several footsteps approaching.
Tap, tap, tap—!
Alvitr and Eir turned to see the mbers of the … Bell, Sieglinde, and Erda.
Bell, scorched and covered in soot, hurriedly spoke.
“Guys!! How did the fight go?! What the hell is happening?! Does Erda-senpai know what’s going on? Where’s the boss—?!”
Erda calmly assessed the situation, stopping Bell from panicking.
“It seems things have been settled here. You both did well. All the confird priestesses of have been eliminated.”
“…I wonder if that even matters.”
Alvitr gazed at the collapsing academy city with a gloomy expression.
She had declared so confidently before Clara that she would protect everything… but in the end, was she too late?
“...”
Erda, unaffected by Alvitr’s despair, continued speaking calmly.
“I regret to inform you, but the president, Brynhildr, witnessed an abnormal phenonon and asked to bring you all to her.”
“An abnormal phenonon?” “With the academy city falling apart, and the dinsions splitting, what could be worse than this?”
Erda responded calmly to Eir’s cynical remark.
“Yes, near the World Tree… in the southern region, a ‘dragon’ has been detected. All available personnel are heading there now.”
“...” “...”
Eir clutched her face with both hands and muttered.
“Damn…”
As they were having a al, Frida-senpai suddenly spoke.
“Let’s go… to the beach?”
Nina-senpai, who was in the middle of wrapping her rice in seaweed, widened her eyes in surprise.
“Mmph… B-beach?” “Nina-nee, swallow first before you speak—☆” “Oh… sorry. Hehe.”
Selma-senpai, who was sitting across from them, asked the question.
“The beach… do you an Incheon? Why Incheon all of a sudden?”
“Umm… Just because?”
Frida-senpai shyly adjusted her glasses as she fumbled with her words.
“I just… feel like going on a trip.”
“You’re not planning to go there and finalize your decision to join the military after failing art school, are you?”
“It’s not that! And I haven’t failed yet!”
“‘Yet’ as in, it’s an inevitable future, huh?”
As Selma-senpai’s relentless banter continued, the dining table beca lively with chatter.
“...”
I fiddled with my chopsticks and mumbled.
“The beach…”
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