Chapter 43: Natural Disaster, Asuna
"Now that the cast is all here, let’s begin the Slayer Meeting."
Over five hundred Phantasm Girls had gathered in a bowl-shaped arena, a structure reminiscent of the long-lost Colosseum I had only ever seen in records.
"There are so many...!"
"It might be easier to count the girls who are actually registered," one remarked.
"I could take them all."
(Nod, nod)
"You two are a dangerous pair."
"We should start with a discussion!!"
"Confirmed."
Even without being told, the difference in their presence was obvious. Those individuals... they were the ones!
"Let me introduce the ones you call S-class, our peak combat forces. Though most of them aren't here right now."
She pointed to the girls with green, blue, and purple hair in turn.
"First, the Green: the Protector, 'Saculus Green, the Crowd-Hater.'"
"Nice to meet you, you filthy pollutants. Breathe that stinking air near me again and I'll kill you."
"Next, the Blue: the Anger, 'Hypnos Blue, the Sleep-Maniac.'"
"Zzzzzzzz..."
"And the Purple: the Balancer, 'Themis of the Lilt'—"
"Why are you here?"
I blinked. A girl holding a massive scythe swung it toward Esil.
"E—"
I wouldn't make it in time—
"How violent."
(Nod)
However, there was no way a Demonic Knight would let that slide. The scythe was intercepted by a gun barrel drawn in an instant, forcing the purple-haired girl to stumble back.
"Hoh... for Violet to lose her composure like that, White must have been quite the handful."
"So she’s the one!"
"My master..."
Yellow spoke up, seemingly identifying the intruder as a target.
"Struggling against someone like me? I suppose the S-class Slayers aren't as prestigious as they say."
"Shut up. This is all A37’s fault. What exactly is that monster?"
"Oh, you don't know? She’s a mass-produced model."
"No. She’s something that could be called a natural disaster. Something far more singular, possessing the purest soul—"
"You’re misbehaving a bit too much, brat."
".....!"
It seemed Rouge held significant authority even within this gathering.
"Now, today’s agenda concerns that white-haired girl... specifically the new comrade inside her, 'White Chrono.' Personally, I want to welcome her as an ally and make her the cornerstone of our plan. I won't be taking any objections, Violet."
".....!"
"And here to formally challenge that is the man who traveled all this way: Commander Kazuto Amane. Come on, let's have a round of applause—"
Silence.
"Whew. Well, that’s fine. So? You want to know how to restore her memory?"
"Yeah."
"It’s true that such descriptions exist within the lost technology we manage. But you get it, right? Information is power; it’s a weapon. I can’t exactly hand over the trigger to something that could end a war by itself."
"I understand."
"You’re crazy. Fine, let’s set the conditions—straight east of here, there’s an abandoned research facility and factory. Suppress it and hand it over to us."
"Is that all?"
If we could clear it, it seemed like it would be more certain for an S-class to go personally, but...
"To be honest, it’s just a pain. It’s like buying common but high-volume materials from other players in an MMO. Besides..."
She paused for a moment before continuing.
"I don't actually think you guys can clear it."
"Before we start the raid... there’s something I need to give to Esil."
I pulled a sword about the length of a dagger from the bag I had been carrying.
"Is that...?"
"The Cleshuze? The legendary one?"
"Indeed! The Heaven-Severing Spirit Sword, Cleshuze!"
"No one has ever been able to activate it. But if it’s Esil..."
Handing it over here was a gamble. No matter how much Esil wouldn't turn against us, I was essentially handing over a visible bomb.
But if we died here, none of it would matter.
"Confirmed... Cleshuze, activate."
A beautiful blade should have extended from the tip, which looked like it had been snapped off—!
"It's not coming out."
"I guess it really has to be Asuna."
Sigh... shake it off. Alright, let's go.
"Operation start!"
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.