Chapter 7: Makoto Takatsuki Defies Destruction
“L-Lady Olga...can you continue?” the commentator asked hesitantly.
She simply shook her head with unfocused eyes.
Well, Balamung’s attack that she was so proud of did nothing, and she just got sent flying... She’d need to be pretty mentally hardy to continue, but it seemed like she couldn’t. In addition, her sword was bent miserably on the floor... Would it be fixed before we fought the demon lords?
“V-Very well! The winner of this exhib—or rather, this duel—is Aya Saaaasaaakiii!”
The stands roared, cheering her on. I’d honestly been worried that there might be a riot because of Olga’s loss, but the crowd was all too happy to celebrate.
Strength really was everything to them. In some ways, it was easy to understand.
“Well done!” Lucy cheered.
“I won, Lu!” Sasa replied as they high-fived.
Princess Sophia was still gobsmacked. Furiae was just fussing over Twi. Wasn’t she worried at all? She seemed to notice my look because she peered back with half-lidded eyes.
“I saw a vision of this happening,” Furiae stated.
“Ah, right.” Well, that made sense. We should probably get going though. As I turned to say so, Furiae suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
“Wait, my knight. Something is strange.”
“Strange? What?” I asked, looking around.
Olga had ground the arena to powder, so the staff was cleaning it up. The medal and induction ceremonies were usually carried out on the ring, but with the current lack of usable space, they’d announced that it would happen in the castle at a later date. The spectators were all chatting as they headed home. Some of them were on their way to a party. Nothing about the scene seemed strange, and everything felt peaceful.
“What’s up, Fuu?” Sasa asked.
“Come on, Princess Sophia,” Lucy said. “Let’s go home.”
“Seriously, Princess, what’s—”
Furiae cut me off. “Damn, I was wrong! We need to run!” The rest of us exchanged glances before looking back at her.
It was probably about two in the afternoon. The air was still hot and the sun beat down upon us blindingly. No clouds marred the sky—it was blue as far as the eye could see. I was about to ask her what was wrong again when suddenly, the area darkened.
“Oh, clouds?” Lucy asked, looking up. I did the same.
Above us was a black figure. The sun had been blocked by something massive.
“What’s that?!”
“Not a cloud.”
“A rock?”
“Don’t be an idiot! There aren’t rocks that big.”
Everyone here had noticed it at roughly the same time.
Something had just appeared in the sky.
“Makoto! It’s falling this way!” Lucy shouted, bringing me back to earth.
“What is it?!” I asked.
“I don’t know! It just appeared out of nowhere!”
Yeah, it definitely hadn’t been there a second ago. Somehow, this massive stone...rock...thing had appeared above us.
It’s still pretty far away... And it’s pretty damn big...
If I had to guess, I’d say it was probably a few kilometers in diameter. Truthfully, it was more like an island falling from the sky than just a rock.
Makoto! Furiae’s right, run!
Noah? What’s happening?
Mako! You need to run before we explain! The daemon followers...
Eir’s usual easygoing nature was nowhere to be found in her voice. Moving away was obviously the best plan now. I met the geezer guardian knight’s eyes, and we started moving with Princess Sophia in between us.
Then...
“Know fear, vermin,” echoed an amplified voice through the Colosseum. It wasn’t the commentator from earlier. This voice was more cloying.
“Look!” Sasa pointed.
Where the commentator had been, there was now a man wearing a black robe. He held an amplifier in his hand. Everyone around him, including the original commentator, had fled.
The knights need to get him!
“Who are you?!” shouted one of the knights as they surrounded the man. I looked closer and saw that the yell had come from the Herald Knight who’d guided us that morning.
The black-robed man’s lips twisted in a grin. “I am called Isaac. I am our great leader Iblis’s son, the archbishop of the Snake Sect!”
Oh, that was a familiar name.
“Him again? He doesn’t know when to quit,” Lucy complained.
“That’s the guy who controlled the suicide bombers in Highland, right?” Sasa asked.
“Yeah. He apparently did a lot in Springrogue too...” This guy was a hard worker... Though we could do without hardworking terrorists.
“Seize him!”
There go the knights...
“R-Release me!” Isaac yelled, overcome by their numbers.
What is he even trying to do?
“It is too late! The comet above your heads is the fruit of our summoning spell that took the lives of hundreds of slaves! We changed the route of a passing comet—it is now aiming for Great Keith! In only a few hours, Gamelan will be wiped from the face of the planet!”
He continued yelling even as they bound him in thick ropes.
That’s some claim. His plan was to drop a comet on the capital? Was that even possible?
As proof that I’d not misheard him, the spectators—who had been mostly relaxed—all started to yell and stampede. Yells of anger and fear filled the air, along with the wails of children. It was chaos.
“Get the citizens out of the city!” General Talisker commanded with a yell. “Summon all mages from the castle! I don’t care if they’re on-duty!”
Behind him, I could see some royal-looking people evacuating.
“Hero! What are we doing?!” the guardian knight asked, giving me a panicked look.
“You need to take Princess Sophia...and my friends... Get out of the city.”
“Very well! And...what of you?” His affirmation was firm, but his subsequent question was filled with worry.
“There’s something bothering me,” I answered. “I need to go talk to the general. I’ll catch up.”
“What are you saying?!” Furiae snapped. “My knight, we all need to run!”
Princess Sophia also protested my plan. “Hero Makoto?! This is not the time...”
“I’ll be fine. See you later.”
We didn’t have time for a Q&A, so—I pushed them toward the guardian knight so they could evacuate. Great Keith’s knights would probably prioritize guiding a foreign princess and her retinue, so they should be fine.
Now Fujiyan’s the only one I have to worry about...
The chaos in the Colosseum was still showing no sign of abating. If anything, it was spreading to the rest of the city. The massive hunk of rock above us was slowly hurtling closer. Fujiyan should have noticed that something was off. I’ll bet he immediately set about gathering information and acting. I’d just have to believe he’d make it out.
Once I saw the geezer moving away, I started heading to where the general had gone.
“What’s bothering you, Takatsuki?”
“You’re really not going to run?”
Sasa and Lucy were peering at me from either side.
Wait.
“Why haven’t you two run?!” I’d hoped that the two of them would have gone with the knights.
“Well, you stayed behind.”
“If you’re here, then we will be too.”
“Guys...” I groaned. The two of them certainly had nerves of steel.
“Plus, if it comes down to the wire, I’ll pick you both up and run away!” Sasa cheered. “You can count on me!”
“Yeah...that probably is a good idea.” Considering her strength, we’d be out of the city in seconds. We’d tried something similar once before, and she’d been ridiculously fast. It’d also been terrifying though, like a roller coaster without any of the safety features.
Lucy chuckled. “You think too narrowly, Aya! After all, my mother’s hellish training has allowed me to use Teleport!”
“What, really?!” I asked.
“Wow!”
That was a nice miscalculation to make. With Teleport, we could be out of here instantly. But then, I hummed mentally. I’d known Lucy for a long time now. If she’d really mastered it, she would be wearing a much more smug look on her face. She would be boasting too.
“So, just making sure... How long does the Teleport chant take?” I asked.
There was a long pause.
“About ten minutes?” she answered.
Yeah, figures. “And what’s your success rate?”
There was another long pause.
“A-About...one-in-ten.”
“Lu...”
Sasa and Lucy both looked depressed.
“Well, that’s about what I thought it would be,” I said, resigned. “Get started on the chant now, but we’ll go with having Sasa carry us out as Plan A.”
Sasa pumped her fist. “You can count on me!”
Lucy indeed started chanting, but she had a surly look on her face. By comparison, her mother could just pop on over to neighboring countries without a chant at all—she was a monster like that. Lucy’d probably manage the same thing...eventually. Then again, Rosalie was over two hundred, so that might be far in the future.
Suddenly, a shout of “Fire!” broke through my thoughts. I looked up and saw several beams of light converging on the rock. It seemed that the mages of Great Keith were firing attacks at the comet.
“They’re not hitting, are they?” Sasa asked.
“Doesn’t look like their spells can reach it,” Lucy replied.
“The two of you have such good eyes...” They could see the actual trajectory of the spells. I was using Clairvoyance, but everything was still too far away for me to make out.
Why were the girls in our party so strong?
Suddenly, the Herald Knight approached us. “Oh, Lady Aya, Sir Makoto of Roses?”
“This is pretty bad,” I said.
“It is. To think that this was their plan. A swarm of monsters, even tens of thousands strong... We could have withstood them. There are no prior examples of such a spell though...”
“The comet was a new idea for them too. Do we have any defenses?” Even though I’d asked, I figured the long-range magical bombardment we’d seen was probably the best defense we had...and it wasn’t doing much.
“No, unfortunately. We have tried much, but nothing has been effective... So please, evacuate.”
“Can I talk to General Talisker?” I asked.
“To the general? But...”
Was it my status? I was the Hero of Roses, but maybe that wasn’t enough to enable me to meet with the man in charge during an emergency. I really wanted to warn him first...
“Very well, Sir Hero. This way.” The Herald Knight had been conflicted, but he eventually chose to lead the way.
We walked to an area of the Colosseum that had been turned into something like a command post. There was a group taking command of the evacuation. Another suggested strategies against the falling comet. Yet another was informing the citizens who hadn’t yet realized what was going on. There was even a group treating people who’d been injured in the chaos.
In the middle of all of them was General Talisker. He was listening to each squad’s reports with a severe look on his face. I could see Olga next to him, her head bowed. Was she okay?
The Herald Knight approached him and whispered into his ear. He looked taken aback for a moment when he looked our way, but he didn’t ignore our presence—he soon came over to us.
“My apologies that the birth of a new hero has been marred with such an event...” he said. “However, I do not have time to chat now. We will do what we can, so you should all evacuate. Lady Aya Sasaki, you have only attained the right to become a hero of Great Keith—there is no need for you to remain here.”
The nearby knights were already getting ready to guide us out. They were shuttling foreigners out quickly, and that was the way things normally would have gone down.
Suddenly, some words drifted into my field of view.
Will you save Great Keith in its hour of need, putting them in your debt?
▶ Yes
No
Uh, that’s a bit harsh. You’ve been kinda rude recently, RPG Player. Well...it likely represents my feelings.
Wait, did that mean I was rude? No, no way...probably.
Reaaaally? Noah interrupted.
I...was getting off track. Quickly, I turned to face the man in charge.
“General, can I try something against that thing in the sky?” I asked, pointing at the comet.
He paused for a moment. “You have a method of diverting it?”
As he listened to my plan, the general’s eyes grew sharper.
◇ General Talisker’s Perspective ◇
The Snake Sect was dropping a comet on the capital. It was the greatest threat to the city in its history.
We underestimated them.
Gamelan had been ready for whatever enemies came our way, no matter how many monsters they threw at us. But, we had never dreamed of an attack like this.
The royalty and nobility were all evacuating via teleportation. I figured they should soon arrive at a safe location. There were tens of thousands of other people that called Gamelan home, though. Those with extra mobility or people who could use magic would probably leave the city shortly, but what of those who could only travel on foot?
I felt my teeth grind at the thought of how many deaths we would be facing.
“There must be some option. Gather all mages at high rank or above! We’ll try blasting it from the sky!”
My tone was harsh, even though I hadn’t intended it to be.
“We are! The king, ultra, and high-rank mages are all engaged with it now!”
“To what end?”
“We cannot tell.”
As should be expected. I could see no differences either.
“What of our weapons?” I asked. “We have siege arms and such to wipe out monsters.”
“The comet is still out of range... We are making them ready to fire, but it needs to get closer first.”
There would be no point to that. Even if we broke it apart just above the town, the debris itself would wipe us out. While I was racking my brain, a subordinate came up to me.
“General. The Hero of Roses is here. He wishes to speak to you.”
“What?”
I looked behind him to see the slender youth looking curiously at my men working.
The Hero of Roses, Makoto Takatsuki. Out of all the otherworlders that had arrived with the Hero of Light, he had the lowest value. This information had been reported to us, and I had checked his abilities. His stats were pitiful, and his skills were average. He was not someone who could stand against the resurrected Iblis. He had been left behind. No country had thought they needed him, and so none had taken him.
Then, a little over a year later, his name had come up as the State-Authorized Hero of Roses. Very few people had been interested in him at that point. After all, we’d considered him to be a weak hero, nothing special.
Then, he had beaten the Hero of Lightning, Gerald of Highland, in a duel. He had dealt with the monsters attacking their capital. He had defeated the ancient dragon attacking Roses, and finally, defeated a demon lord in Springrogue.
The Hero of Roses from a thousand years ago had been no real help against Iblis. There were rumors that Eir was favoring Makoto Takatsuki to purge that stain on her name.
His fame was now on a similar level to the reincarnation of the Hero of Light, Sir Sakurai.
Unamused by this, my foolish daughter and her childhood friend had colluded to mess with him. Olga, Sól’s hero, had made a show of her power. Dahlia, Sól’s priestess, had used the church to spread rumors about him. I had told them to stop, but they hadn’t listened. Olga had eventually been crushed by his companion. Relations with Roses were going to be fraught. This wasn’t the time for those considerations though.
I approached the Hero of Roses and met his gaze, bidding him talk.
“General, can I try something against that thing in the sky?” he asked casually. He looked abnormally calm among the stressed men and women trying to deal with the crisis.
It was just like someone with Calm Mind, but was that all? How could he be so relaxed?
“You have a method?” I asked eventually.
“You could call it a trade secret,” he replied meaningfully. “There is a spell I want to try.”
So he had some plan, but wouldn’t share the plan itself. Well, a hero’s techniques were state secrets, not something to blab to all and sundry.
Suddenly, the Snake Sect member—who’d named himself Archbishop Isaac—yelled out, “Ha! You fool! It cannot be stopped!” Questioning him had revealed nothing. In fact, the person physically in our custody wasn’t even Isaac—it was just a zealot, a mere puppet whose body was controlled by the archbishop. While he had been silent until now, Makoto Takatsuki’s arrival had loosened his tongue.
“That comet is not some construct of magic!” Isaac continued. “We warped the path of a comet with a century-long orbit using summoning magic! It used the lives of hundreds of slaves! And it’ll need hundreds more over several hours to set it back! The comet will fall before then! You will never manage it! This is the end! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
The man laughed crazedly. It was hardly so amusing.
“Silence him,” I ordered. My men bound his mouth with rope.
“Cheers. He’s a noisy one,” the hero commented with a tired look on his face.
“Why’d he explain, Lu? Was he bored?”
“Just warped in the head. I mean, he hides behind puppets. I bet his face is disgusting!”
The women of his party were rather harsh toward the man.
“You seem like you might have a chance... Perhaps Lady Aya’s power? The skill she brought to bear against my daughter?” I guessed.
The strength she had displayed was horrifying. It had put Olga silently into second place with a single hit.
“Unfortunately she is exhausted from the earlier battle—” the hero replied languidly.
“What?! I’m fine!”
“Hey!” he yelled, hurriedly covering her mouth.
“Mph!”
She certainly didn’t look exhausted. There was probably a reason he didn’t want her fighting. Perhaps some cost to her skill.
“Sasa! Just rest!”
“Come over here, Aya.” The redheaded elf pulled her to the side. I was hardly going to force her to do anything either.
“So, you have another method?” I asked the hero.
“An idea at least.” He looked confident and relaxed. At this point, I had no other choice but to let him try.
“I shall leave it to you,” I said before calling the Herald Knight over again. “Take him where he needs to go.”
The Herald Knight should be able to offer some assistance to the hero...in addition to gathering information. After all, he had been a State-Authorized Hero himself.
“I shall guide you to the mages,” said the knight. “This way.”
The hero, the redheaded mage, and the victorious warrior all followed. The hero’s two companions seemed uneasy, but he just looked like he was off for a stroll.
The reports were right... The Hero of Roses often put himself in dangerous situations. All the reports from my subordinates supported that.
“The Hero of Roses is a reckless man.”
“According to the adventurers, he took on an ancient dragon with a dagger.”
“He personally fought the demon lord in Springrogue. He cannot be sane.”
Those were the various opinions of my men after their investigations.
Makoto Takatsuki lacked a sense of danger. Ordinarily, a hero’s strength meant that they would be heavily protected against a demon lord. And yet, the Hero of Roses threw himself into the flames of battle.
Just like the legendary Abel the Savior.
The ancient hero Abel had gone to the demon continent with four people. According to legend, he had wanted to prevent any losses, so he’d tried to face Iblis alone. The first Grandsage, Anna the Holy Mother, and Johnnie the Spellbow had convinced him to let them join.
Nowadays, a few fighting against a demon lord was unthinkable. Even Olga had several hundred people in a squad—high-rank warriors and mages—when fighting. That was our strongest team, and the one we were sending for the Northern Front Plan.
I looked once again at the hero and his two companions walking away. The massive rock in the sky was casting a vast shadow over the city. Thus far, we had no way to break the deadlock.
I am counting on you, Hero who saved Roses and Springrogue.
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
“We are here,” the Herald Knight said eventually.
He’d guided us to the highest level of the Colosseum. Here, there were mages lined up. Some shot magic at the falling comet and some used magic tools and such.
“That place will work,” I said, moving toward the least-populated area. I didn’t want to catch anyone in this.
“What are you planning?” Lucy readied her staff, nervously glancing up at the sky.
Right, I needed to explain things to my friends.
“Lucy, what is the thing above our heads?” I asked, pointing.
“What? I mean, just look at it! It’s a massive meteorite!”
“No, it’s not. It’s not a meteorite—it’s a comet.”
There was a moment of silent confusion. “What’s the difference?” she asked.
We didn’t have time to waste, so I just got right to it.
“Essentially—”
“Oh, I know!” Sasa interrupted. “It’s made out of ice and dust! So you can do something with your water magic!”
“Truly?! You can deal with that?!” The Herald Knight leaned in close, his words urgent.
“W-Well, I won’t know unless I try.”
My water magic proficiency was over 250 at this point, an amount that baffled even the Grandsage.
“I-Incredible!”
The Herald Knight was really impressed...especially considering I hadn’t started yet.
No time like the present.
I rolled up my sleeve and tried to use water magic on the comet, only to be interrupted again. This time, it was Noah.
It’s not happening, Makoto.
Why?
It’s covered in ice, but it’s rock at its core. That comet is hundreds of meters in diameter. Your water magic isn’t enough against it.
Oh, right... They had rock cores, didn’t they? I wasn’t exactly up to date on astronomy.
That isn’t all, Mako.
Oh, Eir. It’s been a while.
She giggled. It has. But listen: that comet was summoned from space, so it’s from outside of your world. It’ll be harder to affect than normal ice. Controlling a comet of that size will require ridiculous amounts of mana. Her voice held a touch of sorrow.
Well, nothing went according to plan.
“Takatsuki?”
“Makoto?”
“Hero...is something the matter?”
All three of them were looking worriedly at me because I’d just stopped suddenly.
“It’s fine, don’t worry.” I’d honestly expected things to be at least this difficult. Noah, it’s time for my plan, I thought. I’m finally using it.
You’re serious, aren’t you...
Mako, please. Rethink this.
Those responses from the goddesses weren’t exactly encouraging, but was there another way?
Silence. Guess they had no other ideas.
Right, then let’s get going.
“M-Makoto...the comet’s getting close. I’m ready with Teleport,” Lucy informed me.
Sasa piped up too. “Takatsuki...if it comes to it, I’m grabbing you both and running.”
Both of them seemed really worried.
“Well, just watch.”
I rolled my right sleeve all the way up. Then, I used Transform on my right arm. It...was hard to control. The area around my arm felt like it was blurring. At the same time, my arm started to glow blue.
“Makoto...” Lucy murmured. “What are you doing?”
“That’s Transform, right?” asked Sasa.
“Yup,” I confirmed. “A partial one, just on my arm.”
I set Calm Mind to 100% and focused.
If I lost concentration for a second, I’d pass out. I could hear something snapping around my ears. I knew it was the mana coming off of me, and I shuddered.
Right Hand of the Elemental.
This was a spell I’d named myself—not something you’d find in any spellbooks. It transformed my arm into that of an elemental. However, elementals were part of nature. The small elementals I usually saw had no individuality. One was all. Water elementals essentially made up the water in this world, and that’s why they had unlimited mana. Noah had taught me that before.
Gradually, my arm morphed into blue light. It wasn’t flesh and blood, but something connected to all the water in the world, a fragment of infinite mana.
Now that I thought about it, I’d used river water to defeat the first monster I’d encountered in this world, a goblin.
In Labyrinthos, I’d used the water elementals to fight the blight dragons.
In Roses, I’d used Princess Sophia’s mana to defeat the blight giant.
In Highland, it had been Undyne.
In Macallan, I’d used Synchro with Lucy and used the fire elementals.
I’d borrowed power from everyone and managed so far.
But...I wanted to win on my own merits. The Grandsage had given me the hint. Becoming stronger...meant giving up on my humanity.
“Right, I can’t stay a human and get stronger!” I quickly realized I’d spoken aloud. “I just need to become an elemental!” I said to Sasa and Lucy, a firm look on my face.
More silence, from Sasa, Lucy, and the Herald Knight. Noah and Eir too.
Why? It was kinda awkward. Well, whatever.
Here goes nothing.
I raised my right hand and focused on the mana. My hand blurred, not stabilizing. I felt like I was sinking into mud, and my arm was aching.
What?
My vision was wavering. Was I...mana-drunk?
A flash of lightning and a peal of thunder shook the air. I looked up, and the previously open sky was covered in thick clouds. They were growing darker and darker.
“Makoto...did you do this?”
“Takatsuki, you changed the weather...”
I heard Lucy and Sasa, but all of my focus was on controlling the mana in my arm, so I couldn’t respond.
Something fell on my cheek. Water? Suddenly, it was like a bucket had been overturned. Rain fell torrentially.
Sasa and Lucy yelped.
“Hero! Look!”
I followed his gaze. There were hundreds of water dragons swimming through the sky. It was like they were climbing the waterfall of rain.
Water dragons... Was that me?
My magic was running wild. I couldn’t stop it.
Calm Mind. I stopped thinking and just focused.
It...wasn’t working though. Weird...
Suddenly, I thought back to the conversation I’d had a few days ago with Noah and Eir.
◇ Several Days Ago in a Dream ◇
“I want to use Transform to change into an elemental. Can I?”
I stared at Noah and Eir, waiting for a response to my idea. There was a loooong pause. Then, in flat unison and with mouths agape, they asked, “What?”
“Do you have a brain in there?!” Noah demanded, whacking me around the head.
“You really are an idiot, aren’t you? Are you trying to kill yourself?”
It wasn’t like Eir to get that harsh.
I scratched my head. “Hm. I guess not...?”
The Crimson Witch had used that Elemental Unity thing, but my stats meant I couldn’t do the same. So I’d figured, Why not just become an elemental wholesale?
I’d really thought it was a good idea.
“Definitely not. You sound just like those guys who go after power at all costs, you know? Besides, you’d need around level 300 mast...” Eir trailed off midsentence as she received a look from Noah. “What?”
“Unfortunately, he’ll be hitting that pretty soon,” Noah explained to Eir.
“No way. Seriously?!” Her mouth was open again.
“So that means...?” I could do it, right?
“I said no!” shouted Eir. “There are heaps of people who’ve tried it for power and failed. You’ll die, Mako! Then Sophie will cry! No! Not happening!”
Eir’s position against it didn’t falter in the slightest. Noah looked conflicted as she stood with her arms crossed.
I stared at my goddess’s face.
“Makoto, if you ever try it, have Calm Mind completely active,” she said quietly, arms still folded.
“Noah?!” Eir demanded reproachfully.
“You mean...have it at 100%?” At the Water Temple, I’d learned that mental stabilization skills like Calm Mind and Serenity could, at max, be 99%. Was 100% even possible?
“Humans are incomplete existences—they rage, weep, and cheer, unable to control their emotions. That’s why a 99% maximum for that kind of skill is right. It’s part of the ideals of the Sacred Deities’ religions. Publicly, at least,” Noah murmured.
“You...shouldn’t say that,” Eir complained with a sour look.
“Is it possible?” I asked her.
“It’s...possible,” Eir answered unhappily before turning to my goddess. “Are you sure about this, Noah? You know people can lose their emotions if they overuse those skills.”
“They can. But if he tries to Transform into an elemental without being able to control those emotions, it’ll be a disaster.”
“Well, you’re right about that...”
The two of them exchanged worried looks.
“Got it. I’ll focus on Calm Mind first then,” I assured them.
“I’d really prefer you didn’t try at all,” Eir griped.
“Give it up, Eir,” said Noah. “He won’t listen.”
“He’s your believer, isn’t he? You always get the crazies.”
“Shut it. All yours are weaklings.”
“That’s fine. I’m a pacifist. It’s not a problem.” Eir pouted as the two began arguing over their believers.
Either way, that was praise...right?
“It was not,” they retorted in unison.
How sad.
“Makoto. Don’t do it unless there’s no choice. You’ll probably fail.”
“Or just don’t attempt it at all...”
That was the warning I’d received from the goddesses.
◇
My arm wouldn’t stop aching. The weather was getting worse and worse. Rain pelted against me, and many water dragons were rampaging through the sky.
I can’t...control it at all...
I’d managed to reign in my Water Magic until now, but this time...it wouldn’t listen. Noah and Eir were right. Was it beyond me? Fine. I at least needed to make sure I didn’t cause issues for everyone else.
Listen to me, damn it! I yelled mentally.
But I noticed too late—Calm Mind had slipped from 100%. Before I knew it, I was swallowed by darkness.
Uh...
What...?
I looked left and right.
Nothing. I couldn’t see anything at all. My surroundings were completely black.
I peered up. There! A small light. It was wavering like the surface of a pool, sparkling with light.
Can’t...move... Drowning...
I couldn’t even shift a finger. The light above me was gradually getting smaller, farther away.
I was falling.
If things kept going like this, I’d be in trouble... I had to do something, but...
I couldn’t muster any urgency. It didn’t matter. I sank deeper and deeper, unable to move.
Was this...it...?
“Damn it! What are you playing at, Makoto?”
Someone had grabbed hold of my right hand.
What?
I couldn’t even speak, but I was suddenly on the surface, yanked back to the light. My vision went white, and then I was back in the Colosseum, right at the top.
It was weird though. I couldn’t hear anything—not the mages firing spells at the comet, and not the people screaming as their running feet pounded against the floor.
I then noticed that the countless drops of rain were suspended in midair. Everything was just as I remembered it, but static...like time had stopped.
“You messed up big time,” said a familiar voice from my side.
I glanced over. Flowing silver hair and deep-blue eyes—skin that practically shone. The woman at my side was literally an otherworldly beauty.
I shouldn’t have been able to see her outside of my dreams...
“N-Noah?” I stuttered. She was supposed to be in the Seafloor Temple.
Hurry up! exclaimed Eir’s panicked voice in my head. I can only keep this up for so long!
“I know, I know.” Noah chuckled. “How long has it been since I’ve stood up here like this?”
The air seemed to shake in response to her voice.
“Um...how are you here?” I asked, unable to follow.
“I asked Eir for help, but I can only be here for a hundredth of a second. I’m warping the space around us to slow down time. We don’t have long.”
“R-Right...?” That was a big claim. She was controlling time?
“Come on, Makoto. You should do something about that, shouldn’t you?” she pointed.
“U-Urk...”
The comet was close... This huge mass, bigger than a castle, was right on top of us, nearly ready to drop on our heads. Give it a few dozen seconds and this whole area would be a pancake.
“Can’t you?” I asked.
“I can’t. Gods can’t directly interfere with people’s fate. It’s divine law.”
I felt like I’d heard that before...
“We don’t have time, so I’ll keep the lecture short.”
She touched my arm softly. The spot she touched felt almost boiling with heat. An odd shudder ran through my entire body.
“Ready, Makoto?” her gorgeous voice caressed my ears. “If you’re going to do this, you need to give up on controlling it. Just imagine what you want. Gently request it. Like, hmm...”
She put a hand to her chin, then seemed to think of something.
“Clear.”
Instantly, the thick cloud above us vanished, and the sun shone again. In less than a second, the weather had done a complete one-eighty. The air and the ground and everything else seemed to shiver in happiness. It was like she’d charmed the world itself...
“So?” Noah asked.
“I-I don’t know what to say.” I fell silent as I looked at her smile.
I hadn’t understood anything... She hadn’t needed an incantation or a magic circle. Nothing. Her will had just...happened. Just as she’d wished.
It was a miracle of the gods...
Noah! I can’t hold it! shouted Eir.
“That’s it?” she whined. “Fine. Good luck, Makoto.”
“R-Right,” I replied.
Noah immediately vanished in a flash of light. The flow of time began once more—previously suspended drops of pounding rain collided against me, along with harsh sunlight from a now clear sky.
“Makoto!”
“Takatsuki!”
Lucy and Sasa’s voices shook. We didn’t have long until the comet’s impact.
“It’s okay now,” I told them. Then, I peered back up at the comet.
I hadn’t understood Noah’s magic. Humans probably couldn’t. Shouldn’t, even. But I had now experienced it. Up close and personal.
I pushed my shining blue arm forward and spoke in the elemental language.
“××××××× (Water elementals...)”
Elementals were nature itself. Turning into one meant no longer being human.
I’d offer my arm up.
The comet was like a wall in front of me, and I could hear screaming all around. I manipulated RPG Player, changing my viewpoint to be as far overhead as possible. From this vantage, I could see the whole capital. My body looked like a miniature model.
The comet was falling toward the city. I stared at it detachedly from the heavens.
Let’s do this.
“××××××××××× (I need your help, elementals.)” I called to them softly, like when I’d first used elemental magic.
“××××××× (Oh? You again?)”
Out of nowhere, a gorgeous woman with blue skin appeared next to me.
Undyne! I hadn’t seen her since Highland.
“××××××× (Do you need something?)”
“I want to do something about that,” I replied, pointing to the comet. “Are you able to manage it?”
“I am,” she replied carelessly before murmuring something. A spell...
Water Magic (Saint Rank): Frostbane.
Suddenly, the capital was enveloped in a massive barrier spell. The comet—a small mountain’s worth of ice—was immediately blocked. People who’d been crawling around below like ants just stopped—both in their own tracks and in their screaming.
The comet hurtling through the air impacted the barrier, then slowly slipped down the side, falling next to the capital. The moment it hit, the ground shook. However, that was the only damage done. A comet so large that it would’ve wiped out the country had landed...and caused no harm at all.
Great Keith was saved.
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