novelVolume 4, Prologue
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Volume 4, Prologue
Part 1
The jet black mist swallowing Tokyo life sphere.
Inside it the labyrinth of the ~Great Old One~ Eihort was spreading.
Dampt air that clung to the skin was drifting, it was a labyrinth with stones covered in most.
The path that was only lighted up by will-o'-the-wisp burning on the bone white candlestand had troops possessing white wings on their back marching on it.
Stealing the body of the allied army force's troops under the flag of ~Five Great Leaders~, this was the army of angels.
Their number was actually more than 140, 000.
But, their march wasn't going smoothly.
The complexity of the labyrinth distorted in the fourth dimension. The length of that labyrinth. And then most of all――
"GYAAAAAAAA!"
"Shit-, these guys, from where...... !"
{Kiikii, kii!}
{GEGEGEee――――――!!!!}
"GUAAAAAA–!"
――The attack from the monsters crawling the darkness of the labyrinth was obstructing their march.
Someone was pierced by a harpoon from a monster that looked like a frog with slimy tentacles in its head, someone else was gouged by the talon of humanoid monster without head flying in the air with bat wings, someone else was swallowed by swarm of malformed monstrous bug which looked like a cross of flea and spider where the victim was turned into skeleton.
They were the evil underlings that The ~Evil God User~ Kamishiro Homura summoned this labyrinth with his last strength.
The angels were receiving an attack by several tens of thousands underlings at an open space in the shape of a gigantic dome inside the labyrinth.
Their strength was beyond the angels' power due to their incomplete manifestation by stealing human body.
The death throes echoing inside widely closed space made the angels displayed scared expressions.
However,
"Really, what are you all doing so slowly like this."
"But"
There were two people coming out to the front by pushing aside the angels that were scared of the darkness of the labyrinth.
As expected from the ~Archangel~ who stole the flesh of ~S-Rank Magician~ Wan Tairon and Sir James Weasley, their status was just different.
They stood in the front line and swung the artifact ~Fangtian Huaji~ and ~Excalibur~,
They faced the swarm of underlings that were approaching as a black tsunami and mowed them down.
{ { {――――――――—-!?!?!?} } }
Instantly the spirit force of the ~Archangel~ that was turned into flying slash tore off the swarm of several tens of thousands underlings in a single line without leaving a single one behind, changing their shape into unsightly lump of meat.
One of the two Archangel.
Raphael who stole the body of Tairon, roughly stomped on the youngling of Eihort that was a malformed monstrous bug which survived because of its smallness, while hurrying on the other angels.
"Now, advance forward quickly. Our destination is still quite far seee."
Not a single one of the angels objected to that voice and resumed marching while parting through the corpses.
And then the open space ended after advancing for a while, they came to see four doors that were large castle gates.
It was the fork in the labyrinth.
If it went well then one among the four was the correct path.
If it went bad there was also a development where not a single one was the correct path.
Eihort's labyrinth was that kind of place.
Howeverit was meaningless in front of the ~Archangel~ Michael who was manifested in a shape that was extremely near perfect.
In the previous battle, by taking in Onjouji Shiori who shared his flesh and blood, he recovered back his strength that was extremely near complete. By having that searching ability, he was able to advance without getting lost until the Tokyo life sphere which was moved in the deepest area of the labyrinth.
That was why Gabriel who stole the flesh of Sir James turned around and asked.
"Michael. Which path we should choose ahead of this fork?"
However――, there was no reply back.
In exchange,
"Michael-sama!?"
The bewildered voices of the angels resounded inside the labyrinth.
When they looked, the youth possessing golden wings, the ~Archangel~ Michael was on his knee.
"Ah ah. What's wrongg?"
When Raphael asked, Michael answered with globes of sweat on his forehead.
"...... It seems that the battle with that detestable traitor exhaust me more than I imagined. My body cannot move as I wished it for."
"Ah ah."
"Well, although that body is specially made, it's just an incomplete flesh body after all. It can't be helped."
"I guesss."
Raphael returned his agreement to Gabriel's words and he pondered for a while.
And then he handed down his decision.
"Then Michael, you rest for a while. I and Gabriel will conquer this labyrinth. Though it will take a little more time without Michael's searching ability."
"Don't mind it. Things like slight delay is just a tiny problem. Michael still has the role to use the soul of human for building the paradise in this land after this. Right now you shouldn't force yourself pointlessly. It still won't be too late for Michael to arrive even after I and Raphael make the magicians that will hinder the ceremony stay obedient."
Michael returned a nod to the thinking of those two.
"I'll leave it all to you then, my brothers."
"Leave it to us.
"Then let's split into two groups. Now that the traitor has died, there is no opponent that we have to face with all of us."
Like that the army of angel split into Raphael army and Gabriel army and marched aiming for the deepest part of the labyrinth without break.
On the other hand, Michael that was left alone sat down on a large stone brick rolling at the side of the road,
"............"
He directed his awareness inside his body.
Indeed, it was a fact that Michael was exhausted from his battle with Homura just now.
But there was something that stole his concentration even more than that.
That was the emotion of sorrow overflowing from inside his chest which felt like it would even tear apart his body.
{Homura...... , Homuraa............ -}
That was something which was endlessly overflowing from Onjouji Shiori who Michael took into his body.
Right now the heart of Shiori who lost her beloved man right in front of her eyes, further more she was the cause of that, was submerging in grief.
And then that emotion of anguish was also flowing into Michael who possessed the same body.
Tears were spilling down from Michael's eyes in large drops.
Sobbing was welling up from his throat.
For Michael, this was truly an emotion so unpleasant to the limit.
The traitor that while being a human that should be protected by god, turned his back to the god and colluded with evil existence.
This him was shedding tears for such a person.
It was an act that made him felt nauseated.
The very act of mourning the death of such person, was a repulsive deep sin.
However――
"Even so, surely you will be forgiven by our father."
Michael put his hand on his aching chest and declared that.
Correct. Even the sin of this Shiori would be rinsed by changing this land into a paradise that saved the people.
That was the promised salvation.
Especially for Shiori who was greatly contributing to his manifestation, she had that privilege.
She had the privilege to be rewarded by witnessing with her own eyes the moment of salvation.
That was why Michael didn't digest and take in Shiori's soul who was discharging extremely unpleasant to him.
He gently smiled and pardoned all the girl's sin.
"Rest assured. I will support you until that moment come."
It was a kindness like a parent that soothed his own child who was crying in grief.
It came from his heart, for Shiori's sake.
At there...... existed the gap that couldn't possibly be filled between human and angel to reach anything like mutual understanding.
Part 2
On the other hand, Tokyo life sphere that was swallowed by black mist was under the sky of underworld.
Under the sky that was covered by iridescent cloud shining mysteriously.
Wasteland spreading without end.
The area from the third defensive line that lost its protective wall until the townscape at the inner part was left alone carelessly in the middle of those.
The space including the life sphere was transported into this place, the deepest part of Eihort's labyrinth by Homura's sorcery.
And then, there was a silhouette walking on the wasteland, aiming for that city.
That person whose body was wrapped in red Magi's Jacket that resembled the outfit of cowgirl, ...... was the ~Grim Bullet~ Hoshikawa Sumika who should have died after meeting the betrayal of the ~White Knight~ in the previous fight and had her neck lopped off.
Before the girl was heading to the battle, she received the life stock――~Voodoo Doll~ handed to her by ~The Crawling Chaos~, due to that she only lost one life.
Like that Sumika who then woke up started walking in her attempt to return to the city so she could confirm the situation.
Judging from this situation, it was clear that something extremely bad had happened to the ~Evil God User~ who she respected but...... , even so Sumika's fighting spirit didn't decline.
She didn't suffer heartache appropriate for a girl her age.
Because the girl had the self-awareness.
She was an S-rank magician. One of the people who was the guardian of mankind.
Then, there was no way she could keep sleeping forever in this kind of place.
She had to return back to the people who she ought to protect even for a second faster.
――Correct, she was walking forward with strong will.
Hoowever,
"Haa, ...... ha, -...... !"
Her step was heavy.
The color of fatigue was thick on her expression.
She barely preserved her life, but for Sumika who had crushed the strongest battle strength of the ~Holy Path Church~ which was the ~Special Missionary~ essentially by herself, she was already at the end of her exhaustion.
And then――
"a"
Her leg caught a small protrusion on the dry surface and she collapsed without even bracing herself.
Sumika immediately filled her four limbs with strength and tried to stand, even so it was like she couldn't find her strength.
No, far from that, she felt so heavy that she couldn't even open her eyelids with her own strength.
Even if her heart didn't wither, the limit of her body had come.
(Kuh...... )
How pathetic.
Even after having been thoroughly protected by Homura until now, but now she couldn't even fight for the sake of the so important world that Homura had staked his life to protect.
Even though that it was their duty now that he wasn't here.
――In this kind of state, just what was she talking, about standing equal with him.
She couldn't stand equal with Homura.
The voice of that Great Old One telling her that flashed in her mind, tear was going to come out from self-loathing.
But, at that kind of time.
"I'm glad....... So you manage to survive......"
"――――!"
A voice came to Sumika who collapsed on the ground.
Under this ominous sky.
Warm and kind, together with a light that was like sunny spot.
Sumika looked up at the owner of the voice from the gap of her eyelids that even now were going to close.
And then,
"Yo, you, are...... -"
Looking at that person extending a hand to herself who collapsed on the ground, Sumika's eyes opened wide from great shock.
Translator's Notes and References
| ← Ch. 22 | Ch. 24 → |