PRELUDE TO THE FINALE
A World, Transformed
In her endless sea of consciousness, Sylphy heard a voice.
“Miss…—fy…! Drink…this…!”
The words were fragmented. By the voice’s tone, Sylphy could tell it was her friend. Ginny must have been trying to save her. Was the thing being poured into her mouth the potion Ard had supplied them before the battle?
Sylphy managed to hold onto her consciousness as she gulped down the liquid. When she did, the injuries from her battle with the Frenzied King of Dragons healed in an instant. The paralyzing pain had disappeared, and she no longer felt on the verge of fainting.
Ard’s potions always work like a charm. But…it seems like even he couldn’t make a potion with no side effects.
Not that she blamed him. Potions were a medicine that forcibly rejuvenated the target body and forced its wounds to heal. Its side effects could be severe, depending on the injuries that needed to be treated. Curing something minor might cause fatigue, but for someone as fatally injured as Sylphy, the toll of healing her body was indescribable.
I’m so sleepy. I think this is all I can do. I’ll leave the rest to Ard. I think I’ll take a nice, long nap…
He would definitely save Ireena and Ginny. Sylphy quickly gave in to slumber, certain of this.
How long have I been out? Sylphy felt a peculiar rocking and came to her senses.
Something solid was shaking her petite body. She thought it might be Ireena, Ginny, or maybe Ard and—
“Nnnn. Just a little longer. Let me sleep,” she murmured with a frown.
“Graghhh…”
Oh. That didn’t sound human. In fact, it wasn’t human at all.
Spine tingling, Sylphy forced herself to open her eyes. What greeted her…was shocking.
She should have been passed out in the ruins of the castle in the capital of Asylas…but for whatever reason, she was in a forest.
Dense trees and foliage. The constant hum of bugs and beasts. And…the one who woke her up wasn’t Ireena, Ginny, Ard, or even Olivia.
It was some form of bipedal dragon so large you had to look up at it. A gaia dragon, to be exact.
She stared at its huge face.
“Umm, thanks for waking me up. Well, I’m kinda in a hurry, so I really gotta—”
“Graaaaaah!” The dragon opened its gaping maw and attacked, ready to make a meal out of her. Sylphy leaped backward and dodged the talons that came swooping down on her. After confirming she was still equipped with Demise-Argis, she gave a mighty shout.
“Sheesh! It’s dragons galore today, huh!” Not showing her giant adversary a shred of fear, she readied her weapon. “I’ve got no clue what’s going on, but I might as well take you down! Take this, you giant lizard!”
Sylphy unleashed her holy blade on it and defeated her foe in one strike… Or she would have liked to, anyway.
“…Huh?” Sylphy had put all her magic into drawing out the sword’s power. But it was now silent as the grave. “Hey, um, Demise? What’re you doing? Give us a flashy light beam or something. Helloooo?”
She continued to pump magic into it, but the Holy Sword didn’t even make a peep.
“Maybe some sort of problem popped up because of my showdown with Elzard?”
In that case, it was a bit of an inconvenience, but she could still fight with her own magic skills. Sylphy tried to cast an attack spell.
However…
“…Huh?”
Nothing happened. No spells materialized.
“Umm…” The situation made Sylphy break out in a cold sweat. “I think dragons and people can be friends. So eating me would be—”
“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!” The dragon charged at her without a second thought. Sylphy turned around and ran as fast as her legs would carry her.
“Agh! Come on! What’s happening?!”
In the middle of the vast forest, the Raging Champion’s solitary game of survival was just getting started.
Ireena had punched the feared King of Dragons, hard. A smile had formed on Ginny’s lips when she’d witnessed it, and although Ireena wasn’t there to hear it, she showered her friend with accolades.
“Hee-hee. I knew you could do it. Otherwise, I would have been so disappointed.”
Ireena was an important friend, a rival in love…and Ginny’s inspiration. Ginny felt her own consciousness growing dim.
“It’s a miracle…I made it…this far…”
After Elzard tore through her stomach, Ginny had taken the emergency potion from Ard. This had helped her escape death, but…its side effects, paired with anemia, had rendered her almost immobile. Ginny had endured it as she raced to Ireena’s side, but there was no immediate danger any longer. She threw herself on the ground and closed her eyes.
Ginny assumed that by the time she came to, everything would surely been resolved, and fell into a deep slumber.
She sensed something was off the moment she awoke.
Something quite soft pressed against her cheek. Ginny knew she should have been lying on broken cobblestones… Perhaps the townspeople had brought her to a clinic?
No, that wasn’t it. The scent and texture on her cheek told her it wasn’t a pillow or bed.
It was earth. She was lying on the ground.
She opened her eyes in confusion. “Where am I…?”
At the very least, she knew this wasn’t the capital of Asylas. The scene that greeted her was an unfamiliar plain. Dense fog wafted by, and she could only see the immediate vicinity.
Ginny stood out on the eerie plain. “…Waiting here won’t do me any good.”
She didn’t understand what was going on, but it was best to keep moving for now. Ginny cautiously set out and continued to make progress without dropping her guard for an instant.
Just then, some sort of silhouette appeared in the thick fog.
“Is this…a totem pole?” Ginny wasn’t really sure what it was supposed to be and placed her hand to her chin as she looked at the peculiar figures. “Come to think of it, Miss Ireena did say there were totem poles in her village,” she murmured to herself.
The details of their previous conversation matched the features of the object before her.
In that case, could this be Ard’s hometown?
“Ah, but their village hardly ever has fog. Besides, why have I been sent someplace else anyway…?”
She had no idea. The situation was a complete mystery to her, and she was starting to grow tired of this unsettling reality.
Just then, she spied something moving through the mist. “Could it be a villager?”
Perfect. If I can just know where I am, it will ease my mind.
Ginny cut through the fog and approached what looked to be villagers—
Then, her eyes grew wide.
“Th-this is…” she squeaked as she stared at the beings before her.
A terrible sight played out before her in the unfamiliar village.
When the white box opened and the glittering golden light blinded me, I had immediately fallen into unconsciousness—
“…—ey! Wa—…! …—d! …Wake up, Ard!”
I heard a familiar voice and felt weightless, almost. I came to.
“Hmm?! Are you awake?!”
I opened my eyes and saw an elf boy. Elrado.
I took in my surroundings. …I was in a classroom at the Academy.
Did Alvarto send me here? But why?
…His motives bothered me, but there was something else that was more important.
“Hey, Ard. You wouldn’t happen to know what’s going on, would you?” Elrado asked as he peered at me. His question had everything to do with the strangeness of this room. “What’s up with this fog?”
Dense mist filled the classroom…both inside and out.
“It just suddenly showed up, then all of a sudden, you were here.”
I took another look around as I listened to Elrado.
…The students attending summer school and teachers running it were staring at me. They all looked uneasy. …Honestly, I didn’t have time to be worrying about them. Ireena was kidnapped, and I couldn’t find it in myself to say anything.
“I see. Something real bad must have happened, huh?” Elrado interpreted from my silence. He put his hand on my shoulder. “No need to explain. Just think about what you gotta do.”
“What I have to do…?”
That was obvious. I had to save Ireena. Nothing else was my problem.
“Looks like you’ve found the answer. Okay then, hurry up and go take care of bu—” Elrado began to say with a smile. “Urgh…?!” His expression suddenly contorted with pain.
It wasn’t just Elrado. Everyone in the classroom was in unbelievable agony.
“A-Ard…!”
“M-my body feels weird…!”
“Help…!”
Their wails that rang across the room created a scene too terrible to describe.
“Ggh-gah-ah.”
Elrado and the other students began to transform.
“Guh-geh-gah.”
“Gwagh-gah-gah.”
“Geh-geh-geh.”
They emitted strange sounds as their bodies pulsated.
“What’s happening…?!” My eyes widened at the abnormal sight.
People were changing into monsters. Some grew tentacles. Other became chimeras. Others still became monsters beyond all description.
And then there was Elrado.
“Guh-geh-guh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh!”
He became a repulsive, pig-like beast.
…This had to be Alvarto’s doing. That box was the cause of all this.
“Did you bring me here just so I could watch my friends turn into monsters…?!”
At that moment, I understood with absolute clarity that he was doing all this to make me hate him.
“…Fine. I’ll keep my promise to you.”
Not only had he abducted my dearest friend, he’d turned his fangs on those who wanted to build a bright future with me. My mercy only went so far.
I would defeat Alvarto and take back my friend.
I looked upon my transformed friends. “Before I save Ireena, I better fix everyone first.”
It was most likely the work of some sort of magic. I could use my unique skill of analysis to develop a spell that would turn them back to normal. A simple feat, really.
“Just a moment. I’ll analyze the magic now and—” I said to Elrado, but then I started to feel uneasy. “…What’s the meaning of this?”
I tried to use my analysis, but something wasn’t right.
My special skills wouldn’t activate. And that wasn’t all. The magic from my body was dissipating. This had to be—
“Alvarto! You cretin! So you’ve taken my friends and my magic, too…!”
The most I could do was grit my teeth. This was the worst-case scenario.
Kingsglaive. The capital of the Laville Empire of Sorcery.
Finished with her official business, Olivia vel Vine decided to return to this nostalgic town. Her old colleague, Verda al-Hazard, walked alongside her.
“Damn, I can’t believe you made me waste all that time running around gathering ingredients. If this device ends up being stupid, I’ll kill you.”
“Gweh-heh-heh-heh! No worries on that front! We’re totally gonna need this someday soon!” Verda replied.
The golden-haired girl was dressed in her trademark white outfit. The scholar-genius never stayed in one place for long, but for whatever reason, she had made Kingsglaive her home base and had been fervently developing an enchanted item. This was part of the reason she had contacted Olivia.
“…Can’t you give me a better idea of exactly what kind of thing you’re making?”
Naturally, Olivia had her concerns.
Verda remained evasive until this moment, and Olivia assumed she would keep up her innocent act, but the scholar defied her expectations.
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. If my guess is correct, it should be starting pretty soon. If I’m gonna give you the lowdown, I guess I should do it now,” she said with a surprisingly serious expression.
Verda was about to explain the details of the device when—Olivia felt oddly cold. It was some sort of omen before disaster.
Something strange sprung up around the main street the two were walking down. Thick fog mushroomed without any warning and stretched across the entire area. Soon after that, they watched as all the citizens became to writhe miserably and—
“Gah-gah-gah.”
“Gee-eh eh.”
“Guh-guh-geh-geh.”
They transformed, making bizarre noises—an odd and horrifying spectacle.
Olivia and Verda, however, were famed Heavenly Kings. It would take more than something like this to throw them off.
“Hmph. Is this the event what you prepared your machine for?”
“Bingooo, Livvy! It might help us beat Al at his own game!
“…‘Al’? You don’t mean…”
“Yup, our former colleague.”
Olivia was able to get the general gist of what was going on.
So this horror show was Alvarto’s doing.
Everything that had happened up until that point, including the messy war, was probably because he was pulling the strings behind the scenes. All so he could fight an all-out battle with Ard Meteor…that is, the Demon Lord Varvatos.
“Verda. Did you know this would happen?”
“Wellll, not really. I didn’t know when or how it would unfold. I just knew something was coming and guessed it might be today or tomorrow.”
Even as everyone around them changed into monsters, Verda had a silly grin on her face as she went on. “Al contacted me a few days ago, y’know. Well, we talked about all sorts of stuff, but at the end, he said this to me: ‘Why don’t you join me in a fun little battle with our master?’”
“…And how did you answer?”
“If I joined up with Al, he’d have three Heavenly Kings on his side. That’d leave Var with only you, Livvy. Doesn’t sound very fair, does it? That’s why I told him I’d stick with Var, and he flashed me a big smile. It seems like he wants to go at it with me, too.”
Verda cackled at his crazed lust for battle. As she did, the citizens continued to transform into beasts.
“They may look grotesque, but as to whether they still possess human will…” Olivia said, staring at the horde of monsters before them.
The people-turned-monsters spotted the two and immediately let out mighty shrieks.
“Graaaaaaaaaaaah!”
It was clear they no longer had any grip on themselves. The swarm raced toward them with every intent to kill.
“Tch. What a damn pain.” Unsheathing her sword, Olivia prepared to take on the approaching monsters. She was known as the world’s greatest swordsmaster. Her skills were godlike. Even in the face of such things, she could take care of the mob in the blink of an eye.
Not a single life was lost, however. Each one was struck with the back of the sword. Although they had been turned into monsters, they could probably be returned to their original forms at some point.
With the help of the scholar-genius with self-proclaimed divine intellect, that is.
“…Honestly. To think a time would ever come when we’d need your help to win a fight,” Olivia grumbled with a sigh as she looked at Verda.
“Gah?! Hey!” the scholar yelled. “Um, dearest customers of this establishment! We have a no-touching policy here!”
Sweating all over and looking frantic, Verda dodged the attacks of the monsters. Olivia stared at her questioningly.
“What the hell are you doing? Just counterattack.”
“I can’t even if I want to! My magic’s been sealed!”
“…What was that?”
As soon as Olivia heard this, it hit her. The magic coursing through her body was gone. Was this another one of Alvarto’s schemes?
Nevertheless, she wasn’t perturbed in the least. After all, she wasn’t really one for magic.
She’d always been that way. She didn’t have a knack for it and instead chose to hone her swordsmanship and the physical abilities unique to her as a therianthrope. Olivia had never cast even a single spell in battle. Thus, a situation like this where all magic was cut off meant nothing to her. However…
“Verda. This is pretty hard on people like you who specialize in magic, huh?”
“Yeah! Totally! So hurry up and help me out! I’m begging ya!” the scholar-genius cried out, her voice ragged. She was having a rough time, that was for sure.
With a sigh, Olivia closed in on the enemy in an instant and took care of each one.
“You okay?”
“Hah…hah…! Y-yeah, thank you…!”
All the monsters in the immediate area were now down for the count.
However…the population of Kingsglaive was over ten thousand. If they all became monsters…
“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!”
Obviously, it meant there were a stream of reinforcements.
“We don’t have time to deal with every single one. Let’s run for it, Verda.”
“What? I dunno, I’m not exactly the most athletic person. Give me a piggyback ride, Livvy,” Verda demanded, sinking down to the ground as if exhausted from all her recent dodging.
“…Tch. You better start working out when all this is over. Got it?”
“Roger that! I’ll concoct the perfect drug.”
Relying on science instead of physical ability was a very Verda-like idea.
Olivia picked her up and raced through the foggy town; their destination was the research lab that Verda had made her base of operations.
“We have to hurry up and finish that device, right?”
“Yup. We’ll definitely need it if we wanna win,” Verda replied casually.
Olivia asked her next question in the calmest of tones. “…What are our chances of winning?”
“Good question. Honestly, we’re in a worst-case scenario here. Way worse than I hypothesized. I’m pretty sure our odds are somewhere in the single-digit range. Even if Var goes all out, it won’t change anything.”
Olivia sniffed. “Single digits, huh? So that means—”
“Uh-huh. That’s basically as good as a hundred percent.”
All that mattered was that it wasn’t zero percent. As long as that was the case, they could keep increasing their chances of victory. After all, that was how they had won the war several thousand years before. And that sparked confidence in these two. Verda grinned as she clung to Olivia’s back.
“The game’s just getting started.”
The capital of the Asylas Federation, Hearl-Si-Pearl.
The city, known for its townscape full of atmospheric wooden buildings, was now a nightmarish scene rampant with monsters. A foggy, fiendish paradise.
In the heart of the city, the castle that fell to Elzard’s destruction was beautifully restored…and was now his stronghold.
“A single man waiting in an empty castle surrounded by an inhuman mob. Heh. The very image of the Demon Lord from our fairy tales. Wouldn’t you agree, Lizer Bellphoenix?”
In the massive audience hall, Alvarto sat on the throne with his legs crossed as the old general stood before him.
Lizer gave a tiny nod and voiced his opinion on the situation. “Our utopia has essentially been realized. The people’s minds are now under the control of the Strange Cube, and you and I have joined forces against a common enemy—the Demon Lord. Everything is going according to plan.”
The Strange Cube. A device that could be activated with the soul of an Evil God and used to alter reality. It had been left behind by one such Evil God—the man who was Alvarto’s former master, the Champion Lydia’s father, Ireena’s ancestor, and Varvatos’s lifelong rival. And Alvarto had used this terrible mechanism to change the world. On the surface, it looked like they were creating the paradise Lizer hoped for.
Alvarto was more than happy to praise the details of their plan. “Half of the continent will be teeming with monsters and covered in fog. The other half will be a society for humans where the sun shines. The people can join hands and spend their days free of discrimination and prejudice. However, peace gives rise to boredom, and boredom turns to madness. So we need to give them some form of adrenaline to prevent everyone from going mad. That role will be played by the monster army and me—Alvarto the Demon Lord.”
The core of humanity would never change, even if they completely overhauled their way of thinking. Knowing this, Lizer intended to unite the people by pitting them up against a common enemy. That was his way of realizing his utopia. An enemy would reinforce the bonds between humans and keep his dream alive.
“We will first use this continent as a model and monitor how circumstances fare,” Lizer started. “After we make the necessary adjustments, the fruit of our labors—”
“—will spread from the continent to the entire world.”
“Indeed. And when that time comes, you shall aid me once more.”
Lizer wouldn’t take no for an answer.
A lovely smile crept on Alvarto’s lips as he looked upon the old man’s tight expression.
“I promise to fulfill your every desire. After all, that’s the pact we’ve had since the very beginning. However, Sir Lizer, I don’t work for free. You know what that means, don’t you?”
“…Yes. As terrifying as that fact may be,” Lizer replied, nodding.
In his eyes, his utopia was ninety percent complete. Which meant he wasn’t finished.
A few factors were to blame for this, one of which was Ard Meteor.
It was entirely possible to erase the likes of him with the Strange Cube, yet Alvarto decided that he was not going to do so—all to have his ultimate battle and…end his own life in the best way possible.
Because Lizer was aware of this, he could only let out a slow exhale.
“…I already agreed to the terms, you know. We talked about how the rebels might be annoying, but it’s not like they’re immune to being killed by us. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes. In fact, we should go on a campaign to wipe them out. You know, be more proactive about it. Their magic is sealed right now, yet we can unleash ours in full force. It might be a completely one-sided battle, but we should give them a taste of real hell.”
Lizer knew he didn’t mean any of that.
Alvarto was waiting—waiting for the moment when Ard and his friends would overcome the trials Lizer set up them and come running to him.
“…I shall uphold our pact, but I do not think your ideal scenario will come to pass,” Lizer stated.
And with that, he returned to his own stronghold.
As if to fill the void, Kalmia appeared beside Alvarto.
“Ah, you’re back. So my trusty sidekick, what has become of that Frenzied King of Dragons?”
“…I’ve determined it’s impossible to locate her in a short amount of time.”
“Really now?” Alvarto’s handsome features broke into a jubilant smile. “What do you think will happen? Will she ingratiate herself to us? Act indifferent? Or maybe…”
“She might do something unexpected. It is not entirely impossible.”
At Kalmia’s reply, Alvarto looked up with a spellbound expression.
“Another touch of drama to our final battle, then. Marvelous. Ah, this will be a delight,” he murmured with a tone of self-satisfaction.
He remained lost in his fantasy world for some time before continuing.
“This is all thanks to that girl.”
As he said this, Alvarto and Kalmia teleported to another location—a spacious guest room.
On a luxurious, canopied bed at the very center… a beautiful elven girl—Ireena—lay prone.
“Ah, Fräulein. I wonder what dreams you are having right now? A terrible nightmare where your own existence is overrun? Or a dream where your friends rush to their own suffering? …Either way, I need a bit more time before I can make your dreams a reality.”
Alvarto gently stroked Ireena’s silver hair with a bewitching smile.
“In the meantime—I shall have you listen to the story of my life, if you can call it that. I’m afraid it isn’t very interesting, but it may provide you enough amusement to stave off your boredom.”
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