Chapter 385 - The White Journey Unburdened, Part Nine
"—Can I give you my thoughts?"
"No, you may not…!"
Atop the now-motionless vermilion creature, I offered a hand to the collapsed Sora, only to be instantly shot down with a firm "Don't say anything."
Unfortunate, but I suppose it's fine. I can tell from her bright red face as she looks at me that my unspoken praise of 'That was super cool, Sora-san, you were amazing!' has gotten through.
Any effect my earlier plan of making the rounds to prevent unnecessary tension before the battle had, has now likely been completely blown away.
At the very least, the members who were present here have probably realized the rather serious fact that my partner is even more dangerous than I am.
—In any case,
This was the fifth vermilion clone I had defeated by crossing the 'Boundary'… and according to what Ashe, whom I ran into at the fourth one, said, this should be the tenth and final one.
"Which means… something else is about to happen. You okay?"
"I'm not, okay, but… I can still keep going…!"
Shaking off her deep fatigue, Sora quickly took my hand and stood up, clenching her fists as if to steel herself.
Super cute. I want to pat her head—the fact that such thoughts are popping into my head suggests that I, too, am suffering from considerable mental exhaustion.
Nevertheless, the third phase of the White Throne suppression battle was now complete. Naturally, the raid members who had survived began to gather in this place.
"—Nineteen people. Should we consider that a lot, or a little… hmm."
And what became clear was the number of dropouts.
The [General Commander], who had come to my side, muttered as he looked around at the assembled members—
"It's better to think of it as a little. Both in terms of fact and for morale."
The voice that followed belonged to the sole exception among the group, all of whom were weary to varying degrees. The prim-faced princess, showing no signs of fatigue or negative emotion.
"Thanks to the guys who put their bodies on the line, you could say we rankers were able to reach the next stage at full strength. Considering it was a completely blind, forced improvisation…"
"We might be able to consider this the best possible outcome," added Auerin and Fuji-san, the two from the South who had followed behind her.
"Though it was INCREDIBLY exhausting!!"
Lux, popping her head out from behind them, continued with an expression of both utter exhaustion and boundless energy that no ordinary human could replicate.
I'm glad to see you're so energetic. Now stay right there, okay?
My partner is tired too. If you come bounding over here with that energy, I won't hesitate to perform a catch-and-release.
—And so,
"…Um, Hinase-san, I'm really sorry. That deadpan stare is effective against me in more ways than one, so please spare me."
The older sister was currently giving me the side-eye for abandoning my 'escort' duty as Irori had requested and rushing to my partner's side.
"Oh, I'm just kidding. I don't mind at all, not one bit."
"Even if you say that with a completely straight face…"
I know she's joking about that too, but unless she shows me her usual mischievous smile, I can't quite relax—
Ah, that's the one. Thank you so much…!
"You seem pretty relaxed, don't you?"
"Ah, haha…"
And so it went. A pair of observers watched this extremely pathetic clan member heave a sigh of relief upon receiving a soft smile.
The sight of the petite Sora and Tetra standing side-by-side, chatting amicably (?), had a uniquely soothing effect.
I know I'm in no position to judge, but it's heartwarming to see my friends deepening their bonds. If it helps, they're welcome to use me as a topic of conversation as much as they like.
"—Haru."
"You hold on to it for now. We don't know what's coming next or for how long."
"…Alright. I owe you one."
"You don't. Don't worry about it."
When Irori made a show of returning [Samidorizuki] with a solemn face, I made a point to respond in a light tone, indicating he should continue to borrow it. I knew that for certain reasons he hadn't been able to prepare a spare sword himself, and the fact that he hadn't said anything meant he had been able to use it without issue.
In that case, there was nothing more to be said. I can declare with confidence that my master, upon learning I had been able to help Irori, would not scold me but would surely praise me instead—
…So, about that?
"…Isn't this taking a while?"
"A break time, perhaps…?"
Goldow followed up on Tetra's quiet question, stroking his chin.
Some time had passed since the last vermilion clone had stopped moving. Aside from the murmuring of the players regrouping, a silence continued to hang over the 'Boundary'.
Our party, which had been completely out of MP, had already been resupplied by Tetra and was fully recovered. Even if another separation gimmick were to activate, we were at least in a state where we could fight back… but,
As Goldow said, perhaps we were being granted a brief respite.
Just as someone was about to question the several-minute-long lull—it happened.
"—Above."
The martial artist, who had been standing silently by the [General Commander]'s side as usual, muttered quietly while looking straight up. Hearing his voice, everyone followed his gaze—
"""—"""
The moment everyone fell silent, the field began to transform once more.
Cracks ran silently through the pure white walls that had separated the 'Boundary', and with an almost unnatural silence, they shattered and dissolved into the air.
And so, the reconnected battlefield regained its view of the original large basin—but no one could tear their eyes away from the hole that had opened in the canopy covering the vast space.
""…What the hell is that, a gate to hell?""
The coincidentally matching words belonged to me and Goldow. However, not a single person objected to the line we both uttered.
The massive vortex that had opened in the center of the sky above was on such a ridiculous scale that it was impossible to even guess its size from a distance.
It felt as though I could hear a roaring sound as the swirling clouds changed color, from white to vermilion, and from vermilion to red, the closer they got to the center of the hole—
And in the center of the vortex, I saw something.
What the torn fragments of red cloud formed was too ambiguous to be called a 'figure'.
However, its distinctive form—
"…Hey."
"This is a little strange, isn't it…?"
"Is that…"
"How in the world did that happen…?"
Murmurs of doubt escaped from everyone, directed at no one in particular.
Those who had faced it directly, of course, but even those who had only ever seen its form in videos—all of them, without exception, asked why.
That pillar was the color of red.
If one were to compare it to a living creature, it took the form of a magnificent great stag with two beautiful horns.
What was drawn using the clouds was a massive head, far removed from the body it had originally… had in the past. But that alone was enough for recognition.
At the tips of its twin horns—the pair of eyes modeled above its head—that majestic form was impossible to forget once seen, even through a video.
"—Red Circle… Rierta, Helia."
The one who spoke its name was the [Sword Queen] who had once taken its head.
Ashe stared straight back at the giant head of the Red Circle, which looked down from the heavens with its two pairs of eyes upon the small creatures crawling on the earth. She was about to open her mouth again… when in the next instant.
"—!"
At my waist, the crimson scarlet weapon trembled as if trying to tell me something.
The red stag, flashing in the sky far above, shed a droplet from its eyes.
The red droplet, a small particle like a tear—swelled to a massive size as it fell.
"Is this bad…?!"
"Hey, you've got to be kid—!"
"—ALL UNITS, EVACUATE!"
Before the [General Commander]'s order was even finished, every player had turned on their heels and fled for their lives. Behind them, the droplet fell…
And carved another deep, crimson hole in the center of the large basin.
Alright, things have successfully spun out of control. The players in the story are just as confused as you are, so please enjoy the 'what the heck is going on???' live feeling.
With that said, see you tomorrow.