NOVEL NEXT Chapter 115 - What Can Be Seen Beyond the Fog★ (3)
A place filled with ominous fog.
Hundreds of flagpoles were stuck in like tombstones.
Wind carrying damp air swept by every few minutes. Within it wafted a faint smell of blood.
Whoosh—
But the flagpoles didn’t collapse in the wind. Though clearly made of wood, the flagpoles that appeared here across vast time were still sturdy.
And they all looked similar.
To the point where one couldn’t distinguish which was the weapon of the Three Heroes.
“…”
“…”
Kara examined the flagpoles Rota had brought from various places in the foggy plains. [Nameless Hawk] was keeping watch beside her.
Even Rota had withdrawn to patrol to help Kara concentrate. So the two maintained a heavy silence.
“…”
“…”
Even trying to identify them by the patterns from the book… it was too difficult to distinguish the hundreds of patterns engraved on the flagpole handles one by one.
So to try a different approach, she was sitting with all the flagpoles she had collected so far stuck in like tombstones.
Sitting with her arms folded, Kara, who had been trying to gauge which was the flagpole used by [Rider of Rebellion], opened her mouth.
“By the way, what kind of people were the Hero and the Rider?”
“Peep… I’m sorry, but I don’t know much either…”
“You don’t have to give accurate or sharp insights. Just tell me anything, even if it’s trivial. After all, you know more about them than I do in this situation, right?”
[Nameless Hawk] nodded with difficulty.
“Peep… That’s right.”
“Then tell me.”
Kara closed her eyes while tying her long hair back. The hair fluttering in the wind had been bothering her for a while.
“Honestly, I don’t really believe the talk about me inheriting the fate of [Rider of Rebellion]… or that all three of us were born with the fate of heroes. We’re not such grand figures.”
“…”
“Everything we’ve achieved so far has been done with the cooperation of seniors and students. To be blunt, we just got lucky. I’m just a youngster with a bit of a rebellious streak.”
“…”
“So no matter how much I try to imagine the true nature of the two heroes who raised and led countless warriors, I can’t. As far as I know…”
Kara recalled the story her adoptive father – a dwarf craftsman from a shabby village – had told her just before going to sleep.
A story she heard along with the sensation of being tucked in with hands smelling of shoe polish. It always began with words made up for her, the giant-mixed adopted child.
-Once upon a time, in an age when dwarves and giants lived as one…
There were two righteous and generous girls.
Both girls could wield special powers, and they helped people by defeating numerous monsters.
And they received wonderful weapons from the races they helped.
[Hero of Flash] wielded a shining sword.
And saved the fairies living under trees and humans.
[Rider of Rebellion] raised a flag high.
And led the steel giants living in the mountains.
The two heroes saved the land that would later become the academy city and disappeared simultaneously one day. At the same time, all the steel giants vanished as well.
They must have ascended on the same day, since they were as close as sisters. People could only guess that much.
Hearing that story, [Nameless Hawk] made a bitter expression.
“…Ascension. In a way, that’s right. It was a noble sacrifice, offering their bodies to leave fate for future generations and defeat the beast gods… In a way, you could say they became gods from humans.”
“Are you saying the monsters from fairy tales were beast gods?”
“Peep… Originally this world was ruled by beasts born from the chaos connected to the World Tree’s roots. Among them, a few particularly powerful ones were called beast gods.”
And the wolf, snake, and dragon were the ones who remained at the end and established the most powerful forces. They used their authorities to shape the world.
[Nameless Hawk] muttered with distant eyes.
“Chaos inevitably arose in that process. Countless people suffered. I, who advocated ‘order’, was the weakest so…”
Kara waved her large palm with her eyes closed.
“Anyway, you’re saying they met the Three Heroes and Saintess and received help. And somehow the academy city was founded through the sacrifice of the Three Heroes and Saintess.”
“…”
“What I want to know is… I want to hear about the other two people, not [Golden Witch] who you met even fragments of.”
“Peep…”
Girls who couldn’t even leave their names.
Just leaving the title of hero behind.
The girl called Hero was truly righteous and at the same time free. And the girl who had the fate of Rider…
“Was an idiot.”
“…”
“Peep, the saying that she thought others couldn’t see her if she covered her own eyes… is still shocking, I can’t forget it.”
“…”
“Besides that, she’d say she’d push the earth away by doing a handstand. She’d say she’d drink oil like the steel giants even though she was made of flesh. Anyway, she did all kinds of eccentric things.”
“…”
The fate of [Rider]…
Is it really good after all?
That thought flashed by for a moment.
“But because the distinction between others and herself was blurry, everyone welcomed and cherished her. When food appeared, she always shared it with others, and when others received unjust orders or tyranny, she stepped up as if it were her own problem.”
“…”
“Peep… That’s all this one can tell you. It’s truly pathetic. If I returned to my main body, I could recall more from the memories of battle.”
“…”
Hearing those words, she sat and thought for a long time.
Until the wind passed by here several times from beyond.
Whoosh—
“…”
Finally, Kara stood up.
“I understand.”
She reached out and picked up one of the hundreds of flagpoles.
And declared as she set it down:
“I found it. The flagpole.”
“R-Really?! Peep?!”
[Nameless Hawk] waddled over and examined the flagpole closely. Seeing that, Kara laughed heartily.
“Even if you look, the pattern will be different from the records.”
“…Peep?”
“In my view… I don’t think such an idiot would have carefully checked her pattern and carried around a dedicated one.”
“What…?”
“I think she probably just picked up and used whatever flagpoles were commonly lying around back then… The differences were so minor that everyone mistook them for the same object, don’t you think?”
Kara said while looking at the flagpole she was holding:
“What was recorded was probably just the object she was holding right before she died. Well, we’ll know if we give it a swing, won’t we?”
You never know.
The ancient steel giants that suddenly disappeared might appear…
Muttering that, she tied on the flag she had kept in her chest and raised it.
Yah.
Come out, steel giants.
She swung the flagpole that looked like a shabby tree branch.
Flutter—
The flag flutters in the damp wind.
But only silence hung over the foggy plains.
“…”
“N-No matter how you look at it, that’s not it, right? Peep.”
After all that reasoning, she gets cold water thrown on her.
It seemed wrong, even making the meaningful lines look foolish.
So Kara shouted to cover her embarrassment.
“Then please try to recall something! Didn’t you say you were a god?! It seems like goddess Urd was more helpful!”
“Peep— Even so…”
Kara activated her ether skill out of frustration. Following Urd’s advice, it was a changed activation method.
“[Revolutionary Comrade]—!”
Then a dwarf-shaped robot emerged from the empty ground. It rose up, extending long arms from a short torso.
Click—!
But it looked different from the previous [Revolutionary Comrade]. It was a dwarf-shaped robot… with a round head and square body.
Kara vented her frustration by tapping the robot with the flagpole, feeling impatient.
Tap!
Tap!
“Look here! Following the goddess’s advice like this, I can summon summoning robots without catalysts now, can’t I? This is the kind of advice I’m asking for!”
“Peep… Even if you say that…”
Peepeep deflated.
It lowered its plump head and drooped its wings.
“…”
Seeing that, Kara felt sorry for scolding it too harshly in her momentary frustration. After all, they were gradually becoming family at
“Ahem… Ah, well. I’m sorry for yelling.”
“…Peep, no. This one is sorry for being of no help, reviving in such an incomplete form.”
“Anyway, instead of staying here like this, we should go see Comrade Rota or Senior Comrade. Wouldn’t our thoughts clear up if we put our heads together?”
“Peep! I agree.”
So the two set off.
[Nameless Hawk] suddenly paused and looked at the [Revolutionary Comrade] Kara had summoned. In the dim light, it felt like a dwarf was standing there blankly.
“But that… is it okay to leave it like that?”
“Ah, well. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t cost materials anymore… It’s just a summon in the form of a dwarf comrade.”
“Peep— I see. You truly cherish the dwarf race. To think you’d make a doll so similar in shape… even though the races look so different.”
Hearing those words, she suddenly recalled his adoptive father’s warm words.
-Once upon a time, in an age when dwarves and giants lived as one…
That feeling still remained in her memories.
Kara grinned and said:
“Isn’t the heart what’s important? With a heart, even if made of iron, it’s a person, and without a heart, even if made of flesh, it’s an empty doll. It’s easier to distinguish that way.”
“I see… Peep! That’s a good story, somehow hearing it gives me strength. I feel like I could soar through the sky now.”
“Haha, didn’t you say the beast god of ‘order’ could only fly after gathering all the weapons of the [Three Heroes]?”
“Peep! That’s right… I guess I got carried away because it’s a heartwarming story! Haha! Peeeep—!”
Kara and Peepeep walked off to find their companions beyond the fog. Soon, only the sound of wind could be heard here.
Whoosh—
A place with countless flagpoles stuck in the dim plains. A dwarf-like summon was standing there blankly.
A very small shadow formed beneath it.
It was a tiny shadow that just resembled a dwarf’s form.
Woong…
The shadow sparkled navy blue and expanded ever so slightly.
But the change ended in an instant. And in the silence that returned, only one person confirmed that appearance.
* * *
Oh.
Bingo.
While patrolling the foggy plains in a different direction from Astrid, monitoring the academy city with [Find Pink Pink Vision☆].
I smacked my forehead seeing Kara’s solution.
A true change in perspective.
Not finding the Rider’s flagpole.
But inferring the psychology of the Rider who uses the flagpole.
‘To think the answer was just any random one… I didn’t think of that idea…’
In the game it came out like some chosen staff, so I thought it could only be obtained by pure luck.
‘Urd spoke so meaningfully too, I thought it was really a pure luck test.’
Come to think of it, Urd was also ultimately ‘Clara from the original story’.
In other words, she knows about the same parts as me.
Birds of a feather flocking together made the prejudice even stronger.
‘Is this what they call confirmation bias?’
My shoulders slumped in dismay.
…
No.
There’s reason to think positively.
I’ve gathered all the hidden pieces now.
I’ve finally collected all the weapons of the [Three Heroes].
Who am I?
‘Possessor who monopolized the hidden pieces—☆’
Anyway, I’ve gathered all the armaments of the [Three Heroes]—☆
To boast to this world.
I spread my arms wide and confidently shout:
“Ta-da—☆”
“…?”
Astrid tilted her head. She had been repeatedly clashing with Helina and isolating echoes, and was now patrolling with us.
“…What is it?”
Astrid looked around, but all that was visible in the fog were still the remains of followers and chaos insects that had popped out.
“…Wh-What show is starting?”
“It’s not a show, it’s a funeral—☆”
“Eh…?”
“I’m joking—☆”
“D-Don’t make such scary jokes…”
Then Rota walking beside us turns to look too. But pink airhead eccentricities were nothing new, so she soon nodded and brought up something else.
“Senior, it looks like those followers over there will be cleaned up now.”
Her eyes glowing orange. She swings her wand in the air with a whoosh.
[Evening memories, warm campfire, eyes slowly closing.]
And screams of
-Aaaagh—!!
-Aaaaargh—!!
Crunch—!
And a huge explosion sound.
Orange light flashes beyond the fog.
“Ooh—☆”
The scene that appeared before [Find Pink Pink Vision☆] was truly a red carpet…☆
Our cat is a bit scary—♪
‘In game terms… is this the level right before a real promotion?’
The girl who was miserably driven out of her school was now wielding the strongest magic, pioneering a new path.
Astrid saw that and said contentedly:
“Oh~ Hohoho! The history of the academy city is flowing too! It is a blessing to see future powerhouses appear!”
It was while we were immersed in such deep emotion.
The ground shook.
Rumble—
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
And the howl of a wolf echoed beyond the fog.
As if wailing mournfully along with a person.
That kind of howl.
『I will surely avenge you.』
* * *
-This world is not one…
-Ether is not order…
Countless echoes were reverberating. Voices flowing from afterimages in the form of students.
If you listen to those voices, you receive the hatred of the World Tree.
“…”
Helina in black armor raised her greatsword and cut them down.
Slash—!!
They scattered like fog and disappeared somewhere.
But an afterimage passing by Helina whispered sadly in her ear.
-Death is not the end either.
“…Hiss.”
As she was about to cut down even that voice and drive it away.
The ground was rumbling.
Rumble—
And black energy flowed out from the cracks.
Helina saw that energy and muttered:
“…Dragon.”
The King of the Dead was awakening.