Chapter 1 - The Final Piece
The self-governing dominion had previously seized prodigy inventor Ringo Oohoshi’s off-road truck, but the High School Prodigies had it back now, and their group loaded into it and left Yamato’s capital, Azuchi, in search of the Seven Luminaries’ origin and the elf village with deep ties to it.
The truck’s passengers included all the High School Prodigies, except Masato Sanada, and Yamato’s new samurai general, Shura, who traveled with them as a bodyguard.
The order for her to go along had come from Yamato’s new empress, Kaguya. Yamato owed the High School Prodigies a debt for helping liberate the country, so Kaguya insisted they be kept safe. However, that was only a pretense. Kaguya couldn’t come because she and her war council were busy preparing for the battle to maintain sovereignty, so she wanted Shura to go in her stead to investigate why the Prodigies had come to this world and the evil dragon’s identity.
Tsukasa had already told Kaguya and Shura that he and the other Prodigies weren’t angels but humans who’d been summoned from another world by an unknown entity. Kaguya and Shura had every right to that knowledge, considering the huge number of lives they were responsible for and the potential threat. Plus, the Prodigies had no particular reason to hide anything from them. They welcomed Shura with open arms and headed for the elf village together.
On their way there…
“Urrrrrgh…”
…one of the High School Prodigies, the magician Prince Akatsuki, groaned.
Shinobu Sarutobi gave him a concerned look. “What’s wrong, Akatsuki? Feeling carsick?”
“Well, there’s that, too,” Akatsuki said, looking decidedly pale. “But I mostly just haven’t been able to sleep. When I try, all the stuff I saw in the war keeps flashing through my head…”
The clash between Mayoi’s dominion army and Kaguya’s resistance forces had concluded only several days ago. Akatsuki had seen a lot he wished he could forget when he’d stood on the front lines.
People were cut down by katanas, while others were beaten to death by clubs. Akatsuki saw warriors pulverized under the weight of others charging over them.
He never had to think about anything so horrific in his peaceful life in Japan. Akatsuki was still a sensitive teenager, and seeing those horrors left heavy wounds on his psyche that drove him to exhaustion.
Between that and the carsickness, his body was reaching its breaking point.
“Are you all right? I’d be happy to prescribe you some antianxiety meds or something to help you sleep,” Keine Kanzaki offered from the seat behind Akatsuki’s.
“Thanks, but no thanks. If I slept, I’d just end up having nightmares…”
“That’s rough, buddy,” Shinobu said.
“Oh yeah, actually, that reminds me. Shinobu, what the hell?!”
“Huh? Little ol’ me? What’d I do?”
Shinobu gave her head an adorable tilt to the side as though to say, “Who, me?”
“You seriously forgot?!” Akatsuki shouted indignantly. “You gave me those pills and were like, ‘My family’s passed down the secret recipe for these steelskin pills for generations. They’ll make your skin hard enough to repel arrows.’ And it was all a load of bull! You had me scared out of my mind!”
Akatsuki had been shaking in his boots right before he and Shinobu joined up with Tsukasa and the rebel army for the assault on Azuchi Castle. So Shinobu had fed him a story to get him motivated to fight. Akatsuki had believed her to the point of standing in the line of fire, an act that proved deeply harrowing. When Akatsuki thought back on it, he grew furious with the Prodigy journalist.
Unfortunately, Akatsuki was so ridiculously adorable that he didn’t come across as scary in the slightest, and as a result, Shinobu was entirely unrepentant. “Oho, you wound me. I wasn’t lying, you know—that is what my family told me when they taught me the recipe. I mean, I’ve never actually tried them, but still.”
“Maybe you could’ve mentioned that before you talked them up! Ugh, just remembering it is making me scared…”
“Nya-ha-ha. Sorry, sorry. To make it up to you, starting tonight, I’ll sleep with you until you’re tired enough to snooze like a baby. ”
“What?! Hey, g-g-g-g-g-girls shouldn’t say stuff like that!”
“Hmmmm? ‘Stuff like that’? I was just talking about lying in bed together and reading aloud until you dozed off. What did youuuu think I was talking about?”
“~~~~~~!”
Shinobu smirked, grinning as smugly as the Cheshire Cat.
When Akatsuki realized she was messing with him, he teared up and cried to Tsukasa, who was sitting in the seat ahead of the magician’s. “Wahhh! Tsukasaaaa, Shinobu’s being a bully!”
“Shinobu, don’t poke fun at Akatsuki. Unlike Merchant, he’s not used to that kind of teasing.”
Shinobu stuck her tongue out a little at Tsukasa’s admonishment. “Fiiiine.” Not a moment later, she said, “Buuut,” and her impish smile returned. “If you do wanna do ‘stuff like that,’ Akatsuki, then I’d be down. You were pretty cool back there. You’ve got this girl head over heels. ”
“Hweh?! Wh-wh-what do you…?”
“He was pretty cool.”
“You too, Tsukasa?!”
Akatsuki’s eyes went wide over his ally’s sudden betrayal.
However, Tsukasa wasn’t joking…
“He gallantly arrived in our moment of need with the moon at his back, then distracted and neutralized an entire enemy watchtower. Between that and the smoke bombs he used to plunge the hostile infantry into disarray, he provided us with a huge amount of support. What’s more, he did so while fighting through his fear and not letting it show. It’s no wonder they call him Japan’s pride of the entertainment world.”
“Wh-wh-wh—?”
“Without you, our plan to storm the castle would have undoubtedly failed. You really are an incredible man,” Tsukasa concluded.
“Oh, absolutely. You were so dashing back there, Akatsuki!” Lyrule agreed.
“Th…thanks…Akatsuki…,” Ringo stammered.
“I, uh… ~~~~~~~~”
…and he wasn’t alone. Lyrule and Ringo had also accompanied the rebel army, and when they piled on the praise and gratitude, Akatsuki’s cheeks—which were normally as white and smooth as the driven snow—turned bright red.
He was accustomed to adulation for his illusions, but praise for who he was as a person was different. For a moment, he was struck speechless by the unfamiliar embarrassment.
“O-oh, hey, uh, Keine! Now that I think about it, there are still a bunch of injured people in Yamato. Are you sure it’s all right for you to come with us?”
Akatsuki desperately shifted the topic and his gaze over to Keine in an attempt to escape.
Shinobu grinned. “What, feeling a little self-conscious?”
“Yeah! Yeah, I am! That’s why I’m trying to change the subject!”
Keine gave the magician an understanding smile. “That’s a fair question. You’re certainly right that there are still many wounded, but now that I’ve gone through and stabilized all those in need of urgent care, I can entrust the rest to the Yamato physicians.”
“But back in the Gustav domain, it took way longer to treat everyone.”
“There, the underlying issue was the patients’ poor physical conditions. By and large, their bodies lacked the strength to heal. They required constant bedside attendance. In contrast, the people of Yamato are generally hale and fully nourished. With their wounds properly sterilized and bandaged, the majority of the wounded will recover on their own. Nobody is going to die on account of my absence.”
“Oh, I see,” Akatsuki replied. “Well, that’s good to hear… I’m sick of people having to die.”
“You treated them quickly. You have our thanks.” The quiet yet firm words of gratitude came from the young byuma woman sitting in the rearmost seat—the bodyguard and escort, Yamato’s Samurai General Shura. “To win back our independence, we’ll need the strength to stand up to the empire again. Your aid in getting our soldiers fighting fit has been a huge help.”
“As a doctor, I would prefer that no combat took place at all, but…I recognize that the only way that can happen is if Yamato presents a military large enough to make the empire think twice about carrying out their invasion. It’s a sad situation, but it is reality.”
“I also put Bearabbit in charge of repairing and reinforcing your frontline defenses,” Tsukasa added. “By the time Grandmaster Neuro finds out that he’s lost Yamato, gets his lords together, and deploys his army, Bearabbit will have things well fortified.”
If Yamato put on a big-enough display of force, it might dissuade Freyjagard from reclaiming the nation. After all, it had barely managed to control Yamato the first time around. Neuro was one thing, but the Freyjagard lords probably weren’t too excited about another invasion.
Tsukasa went on, saying, “If you manage to get Freyjagard to the negotiating table, we’re prepared to use our position as the Seven Luminaries who preach equality for all to censure the empire for condoning Mayoi’s unjust governance and to assist Yamato in securing its independence diplomatically.”
“Ever since our war of reclamation, we seem to find ourselves in your debt repeatedly. As Yamato’s samurai general, I offer you our gratitude. Thank you, truly.”
Shura bowed gratefully …
…but when she raised her head, her expression was gloomy.
“And I’m sorry. After all you’ve done for us…we’ve yet to return the favor. I wish we could have provided Aoi with a better blade…” Shura turned to the seat beside hers and glanced at the weapon Aoi carried.
The sword’s name was Mikazuki, and its sheath was lapis lazuli blue with delicate gold filigree. Aoi had required a new blade to replace Hoozukimaru, and Kaguya had gifted Mikazuki to her as thanks for her part in the war. Mikazuki was a fine weapon, but there was a good reason why Shura gazed at it so apologetically. Unlike Byakuran and Hoozukimaru, Mikazuki lacked the strength to withstand the full range of Aoi’s techniques.
“There is little sense pining over that which does not exist,” Aoi replied. “Besides, while Mikazuki may be inferior to Byakuran and Hoozukimaru, it is still a magnificent blade in its own right. Even if it cannot endure my full power, wielding eighty percent of my strength will still allow me to fight comfortably, that it will.”
To Aoi, there was no need for Shura to look so sorry. She understood that the Yamato government had given her the greatest endowment it could. At the moment, Mikazuki was the mightiest sword in all of Yamato. It was a blade that, by all rights, should have belonged to the samurai general, yet it was given to Aoi instead. Aoi felt bad seeing Shura look so dejected over the gift.
As a matter of fact…
“I, too, am sorry for relinquishing something akin to one of your national treasures to Shishi.”
…Aoi felt she ought to be the one apologizing. During the fighting, she gave the sword Shura lent her to their foe Shishi.
Shura shook her head. “Byakuran wanted to return to him. I know that better than anyone. There’s no need for remorse. Actually…I’m grateful.”
There was a hint of pity in her expression, but it was accompanied by a definite tenderness. Shura had once snapped, “No talking about him,” and refused to mention Shishi, but she was a different person now.
Learning the truth about Yamato during Kaguya and Tsukasa’s tea party had shaken her so badly that she’d fled from the room. However, she ultimately came to terms with what being Yamato’s samurai general meant, just as Kaguya expected. In the process, her feelings about her father changed, too.
“I have nothing to offer in return, but I intend to make up for it by working hard to keep you all safe.”
“Thank you, Shura,” Tsukasa replied. “I feel better knowing you have our backs.”
Then it was time.
“We’re…here,” Ringo said from the driver’s seat, and the truck stopped.
When the group disembarked, they found a spread of dense, verdant trees in front of them that stretched as far as the eye could see. Adel’s journal had spoken of a forest that concealed the elf village, and this was it.
Lyrule took a deep breath as she stepped off the truck. “It smells so naturey,” she said in surprise.
The air there had a different quality than Elm’s woods. It was more vibrant and intense. It was probably because of how many of the trees there were broad-leaved. Between them and the dense undergrowth, the forest was like a green void. They couldn’t even see thirty feet in.
The primeval vista, untouched by the hands of civilization, was enough to give Akatsuki some pause. “W-wait, we’re supposed to go in there on foot?”
Tsukasa nodded. “We certainly aren’t getting the truck any farther.”
“It’s pretty darn overgrown in there,” Shinobu noted. “You sure you know where we’re going, Tsukes?”
“Adel’s journal gives a rough idea of the village’s whereabouts. Using that knowledge, we scanned Ringo’s satellite photos until we tracked down the exact spot.” The settlement was originally a secret, sequestered from the outside world, making it difficult to locate, even by orbital camera, but Tsukasa and the others had eventually succeeded. “I already logged the village into our GPS, so we don’t have to worry about getting lost. If we head in now, we should arrive by tomorrow evening.”
If Tsukasa could declare that with such confidence, then there was little room for doubt. Akatsuki believed in Tsukasa, but his expression remained skeptical. “I mean, even if we don’t get lost…we’ll still end up covered in bugbites, right? I don’t like the sound of that one bit.”
“The problem is that you’re wearing shorts, Akatsuki, m’lord. Shall we lather you with mud before we go in?” Aoi offered.
“Mud?! I don’t want to get all dirtied up; that sounds filthy!”
“Covering yourself in mud will protect against bugbites and sunburn, though,” Lyrule explained.
“Wait, really?”
Aoi nodded. “Indeed. Back when I fought in the jungles of Southeast Asia, we all did battle drenched head to toe in mud. Carrying around bug spray would have increased our loads, and the higher air temperatures may well have made the cans explode. But mud doubles as camouflage, you see. It protects you from foes and beasts alike, that it does.”
“I mean, I guess… But it’s still mud…”
“I have insect repellent made from peppermint oil. Do you want some?”
“Whoa, Shura, you’re a lifesaver! Thanks!” Akatsuki replied.
“Yo, hook up your girl Shinobu, too. Mud would mess with my makeup something nasty. Ringo, you want in on this party?”
“Y…yes, please!”
Peppermint essential oil drove off bugs, and with how often Yamato soldiers had to do battle in their nation’s mountain forests, they never left home without the stuff. Everyone shared Shura’s supply and dabbed it on their exposed skin.
Once they were about finished…
“Are we ready, then?”
…Tsukasa addressed the group.
After everyone gave the okay…
“All right. Then I’ll take point.”
…he took the lead and guided the group through the thickets and into the deep, dark forest.
Ahead stood the elf village, and hopefully the Prodigies would uncover the world’s secrets there.
At the same time, there was a small hubbub over in the Republic of Elm.
The thing was, some Seven Luminaries angels—Shinobu and Co.—had stormed an Elm detention facility to bust out Shura and Kaguya. The angels were supposed to be on Elm’s side, yet they’d committed an egregious crime.
Now the national assembly had to decide what to do about it.
However, it really was just a small hubbub, and that was because, in their heart of hearts, the people of Elm always knew the angels would eventually leave them. This day was bound to come, and by actually attacking Elm, the angels gave Elm the option to cut ties with them. They didn’t want to get in the way of Elm’s independence.
Assembly Speaker Juno thought it was very like them to make such a move, but at the same time, she felt their concern was unnecessary. Since the election, Elm was determined to walk on its own two feet. The angels shouldn’t have worried. The Freyjagard Empire’s governance of Yamato was inhumane, and Elm hadn’t condemned it out of a desire to suck up to Tsukasa and the other Prodigies. The assembly had mulled over and discussed it, and in the end, they made a choice they believed was their nation’s will. At this point, having the angels offer an easy out for Elm to distance itself from them didn’t change much. Elm’s national assembly was going to act with unified resolve and do whatever felt necessary.
News was that the empire’s civil war had ended, and Neuro ul Levias had emerged victorious on behalf of the existing regime. It wouldn’t be long before Freyjagard reacted to Elm’s decision. The fledgling democracy had made it clear that it would stand by the ideology of equality for all, and now it was time to see what the largest autocracy in the world had to say about that.
Depending on how it all shook out, there was a good chance that Elm’s relationship with Freyjagard would sour.
If so, Elm had to ensure the safety of the imperial exchange students. There were basic humanitarian reasons to do so, of course, but allowing students specifically invited into the country to get hurt would stain Elm’s reputation. Thus, the national assembly elected to take preventive measures and moved the exchange students to a heavily defended state guesthouse.
For all the supposed outward benevolence, this was a strictly political move. The students in question found the measures stifling. Considering the restrictions on when they were allowed to go outside, it was hard to blame them for feeling like they were under house arrest.
Presently, Elch was visiting the state guesthouse’s lounge in his capacity as a state bureaucrat and apologizing to Nio Harvey and Cranberry Diva, two of the imperial exchange students, about the current state of affairs.
“I’m really sorry about all the hassle. We doubt that anyone would actually come after you guys just because you’re from the empire, but we can’t afford to take any chances.”
Nio was well versed in matters of state, and he responded to Elch’s apology with understanding. “Oh, don’t think anything of it. We appreciate the Elm government’s concern.”
However, there was a hint of gloom in his polite smile. Cranberry was sitting beside him, and her expression was sullen as well.
Such reactions were entirely reasonable.
Studying abroad kept Nio and Cranberry out of direct danger, but their homeland was still going through unprecedented turmoil.
“From what we’ve heard, the Bluebloods were wiped out. Are…are your families okay?” Elch inquired after drinking some black tea.
The two students nodded.
“My family should be fine,” Cranberry said. “Those Blueblood fuddy-duddies were all stuck in the past—no eye for progress. We Divas never got along with them in the first place.”
“And I come from a line of knights all loyal to Emperor Lindworm, so we’ve never had any ties to the Bluebloods, either,” Nio added.
“Oh, that’s good to hear,” Elch replied.
Had their families sided with the Bluebloods and fallen out of the current regime’s favor, Elm would have to shelter the students until they could return home safely. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. And it was comforting to know that the two students hadn’t lost their families while away from home.
Elch breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, even if Elm and the empire come to blows, we’ll still make sure you get back home to your families safely, so you don’t need to worry about anything on that front.”
The comment earned a grim smile out of Nio. “That’s good to hear, though I do hope it doesn’t come to that. I still have a lot I’d like to learn from Elm.”
“Yeah, me too,” Cranberry agreed. “Say, Nio, do you really think the empire would start a war while we’re still here?” There was no joy in her expression.
Nio sank into thought. “Hmm… That’s a good question. Honestly, it’s hard to say what Freyjagard will do. Things are probably still muddled in the wake of the insurrection.”
“B-but we nobles couldn’t even control Yamato in the first place. Won’t everyone see this as a golden opportunity to give it up and be free of the responsibility?”
“There are definitely going to be people who view the situation that way, yes. The problem is, will the imperial nobles’ pride allow them to take that option?”
“Yeah, you’ve got a point,” Elch agreed. “The empire just lost all its northern territories. If they lose Yamato and the massive chunk of land it represents to the east on top of that, the first thing the emperor does when he returns from his New World expedition could be to chop Grandmaster Neuro’s head off. The land may not be that valuable, but they can’t just relinquish it completely…”
“And also…,” Nio added, “I don’t have any idea why the Four Grandmasters act as they do.”
“Huh?” Elch replied.
“What do you mean?” Cranberry asked.
“To put it bluntly, we knew there was no value in occupying Yamato since before the war. Emperor Lindworm only invaded on the insistence of the grandmasters.”
In other words, Yamato could be incredibly valuable in a secret way.
If so, there was no way the empire would back down. If worse came to worst, the situation could devolve into an all-out war.
With the Bluebloods defeated, Neuro held all the authority, and he was one of the grandmasters who’d pushed for seizing Yamato initially.
When they realized that, the mood in the room sank like a rock.
Nah, c’mon.
Elch shook his head. He couldn’t let things get depressing. “Hey, look, there’s no sense in worrying ourselves sick over stuff we have no way of knowing. More importantly, is there anything you two need to make your stay easier? The Elm government’s not trying to obstruct your education or anything. If there’s stuff you need to keep learning, then by all means, let me know. I’ll do what I can to get it for you.”
“I appreciate the concern,” Nio replied. “Personally speaking, I have free access to the library, and the government officials and other people are helping me with my surveys, so I’m all set.”
“What do you mean, ‘surveys’?”
“I’m trying to trace back the contents, processes, and outcomes of all the provisional government’s policies so I can aggregate them and come up with my own interpretation of Mr. Tsukasa’s ideology when he devised them. The more I work, the more I’m reminded of how nations really are formed from the connections among their citizens.”
“But Freyjagard’s an autocracy, right? Doesn’t that make it pretty different from Elm, what with how everything feeds back to the emperor and all?”
“Oh, not at all. All governance systems require many people to keep everything in working order. Look at the present situation: His Grace put Grandmaster Neuro in charge of running the country while he’s off on his expedition.”
Nio posited that there were tons of things to be learned.
“Mr. Tsukasa made a lot of decisions that looked rash but ultimately bore fruit—chief among them being his revolution against the Freyjagard Empire. The more I study his actions, the more I believe that he views the causal relationships between governments and people differently than most others. We tend to operate off vague impressions, hopes, predictions, and personal rules of thumb, but his actions seem rooted in something deeper. After all, Mr. Tsukasa isn’t the kind of person to risk other people’s lives without a firm, logical reason.”
“I mean, he’s probably just that sure of his and the other angels’ skills. With a team like that, who wouldn’t be?”
“I don’t think that’s right.”
“Huh?”
“Mr. Tsukasa wasn’t confident at all. It was only over a short period, but I worked closely enough with him to discern that much. He had no self-confidence whatsoever and stewed over his decisions more than anyone I’ve ever seen. He agonized… But at the end of it all, he was still willing to take the initiative on all sorts of bold moves, and he made sure that they succeeded. My hypothesis is that he wasn’t relying on luck or experience. Rather, he processes political phenomena through models that are almost mathematical in nature.”
“…?”
“If you take political happenings as the aggregate of a series of strategic interactions among individuals and organizations all acting in their own self-interest, then devise a method to model those interactions mathematically, you can simulate the future without any sort of special talent or magic. Such a capability would be a huge boon to His Grace’s government.”
“That sounds…cool?”
“Oh-ho-ho! Nio is putting in some fine work, but I won’t be bested that easily,” Cranberry declared. “After inspecting and assembling the blueprints for the angels’ generators and machines so many times, I’ve got them packed into my brain backward and forward! Now it doesn’t matter if I return to Freyjagard! I can re-create those designs whenever I want! Once I join the imperial workshops, I’ll have Freyjagard modernized in a flash!”
“Dang, that is impressive.”
“And that’s not all! Once Freyjagard is ready, I’ll set up a special laboratory specifically for Panjandrum research! We’ll start with the winch Panjandrum I made to storm that fortress, then build Flying Panjandrums with wings on their wheels that’ll let them float. Next will come reinforced armored Panjandrums with even more smashing power and, someday, even remote Panjandrums controlled via electronic waves! Fighting wars in person will become a thing of the past and viewed as an act of barbarity! You heard me! The Panjandrum will bring world peace! Do you get it?! You get it; I see it in your eyes!”
“I’m sorry. I really don’t get it.”
The only thing Elch understood was that the imperial workshops would have his condolences if Cranberry got them researching those crazy things.
Still, though…
Setting aside that last bit of nonsense, it was clear that these two had passion to spare, and they’d turn it into results.
Honestly, should I be worried?
Elch had initially planned on giving them a pep talk, but now he didn’t even want to. The fact of the matter was, when these two helped usher in a new era for Freyjagard, Elch and his fellows would end up as direct competitors.
“It sounds like when you two get back to the empire, you’re gonna make Freyjagard more formidable than ever. Guess I can’t afford to slack off, either.”
Upon feeling the total weight of their enthusiasm, Elch focused up as well.
Then an interruption arrived.
“Vice Minister, you need to hear this! W-we’ve got trouble!”
The lounge door flew open, and a byuma staff member charged in.
“What’s going on? You look like you just saw a ghost.”
It had to be something big for the staffer to barge in without knocking, so Elch prioritized the situation over scolding the man for rudeness.
The staffer replied with his face ashen…
“W-we just received word from the Freyjagard Empire. Grandmaster Neuro ul Levias has issued a formal reply to our resolution of condemnation, and…”
…whispering in Elch’s ear so as not to be heard by the two exchange students.
When Elch heard the news…
“Wh-WHAT?!?!”
…his face turned as pale as the staffer’s.
A full day had passed since the Prodigies entered the forest in search of the elf village.
As they progressed through the woods, the scenery changed. Perhaps it was something in the soil, but the trees were getting taller. Many were easily thirty or forty feet high.
“Whoa,” Shinobu cooed. “Check it out, Lyrule. Their leaves form a dome that covers up the whole sky. How cool is that?”
“Oh, you’re right. Elm Village sits deep in the mountains, but I’ve never seen trees so gigantic. My guess is that their growth is tied to the huge number of spirits in the area.”
“Is that right?”
Lyrule responded to Keine’s question with a nod, then strained her long ears for the spirit voices that only she could hear. “This is the first time I’ve ever felt so many gathered in the same place. And they’re…they’re all so happy.”
As Tsukasa listened to the conversation, he double-checked their location on his smartphone. The rows of trees towering before them bore a striking resemblance to the sketches Adel had made of the area around the village, and according to Tsukasa’s GPS, they were practically in spitting distance of their destination. He looked up and carefully scanned around to make sure he didn’t miss anything as they walked.
After carrying on like that for a little while…
“Bingo.”
…he spotted something unnatural. Sitting between the massive timbers was a series of wooden posts and a stone wall. The entire thing was overgrown with ivy.
They were fences designed to keep out wild animals. And if there were fences, then at some point, someone must have been there to build them.
When the party got closer, they saw the ruins of what had been buildings dotting the area beyond. Now there was no doubt.
“This is the elf village described in the journal.”
After spending an entire day traveling deep into the forest, the group had finally reached its destination.
However…
“So this… This is where my mother and father used to live…”
“At long last, we’re here. But…”
…not a single one of them cheered to celebrate their accomplishment.
“I wasn’t expecting this place to look so demolished… It’s like there was a big fire or something.”
Akatsuki had a point. The majority of the settlement had been incinerated, rather than slowly weathered and weakened by rot. It almost felt like a modern-art exhibition.
Keine tilted her head in confusion. “Did they set fire to the village when they abandoned it, I wonder?”
“Nah, that’s not it,” Shinobu replied. She pointed at the charred ruins with a grim look on her face. “Look, the ivy hasn’t climbed very high up the burned sections yet, even though the fences surrounding the village are absolutely covered in the stuff.”
“A keen observation,” Aoi remarked.
“And if you look closer…see here?”
Shinobu dug two of her nails into the remains of what was previously the facade of a house, then scraped them across its surface.
When she did, something fine and threadlike came free, then crumbled to pieces.
“Burned ivy?”
Shinobu nodded at Akatsuki. “That’s right. This place was covered in vines when it was burned. All the green stuff on the ruined sections is relatively fresh. The fire happened within the last two or three years.”
In other words…
“You’re saying that the elves didn’t set the village aflame when they left for the New World more than a decade ago, and that it occurred more recently?” Tsukasa asked.
“Exactly,” Shinobu replied. “And it was done on purpose. Otherwise, it would have spread beyond the village.”
Tsukasa agreed with the assessment. He gazed up at the canopy of leaves covering the sky. Little rain ever made it down there, so if the fire had started naturally, it would have spread to the woods around the settlement. The entire region would have been swallowed in the blaze. Examining the ruins suggested the fire was contained to the houses.
In short, somebody had come to this abandoned village and manually controlled the scope of the burn. And there was only one group of people who would have done that.
“This was the work of the evil dragon’s followers, then.”
Lyrule had inherited the evil dragon’s seal, and the elf-village heads had referred to enemies seeking to hunt her down and release their master. The only question was, who exactly were these foes?
Tsukasa already had a pretty good idea of the culprits.
There was one group that fit the bill.
One group aggressively invaded Yamato when there was little economic gain from doing so.
One group was currently in the New World as though in pursuit of the elves.
“…”
However, all of that was conjecture based on circumstantial evidence. Tsukasa didn’t have any hard facts.
Getting proof was part of why he and the others were here.
“Looking at all this, I dunno if the sacred tree is still standing,” Shinobu remarked.
“According to the journal, the tree the elves treated as Yggdra lies deep within the village. We should investigate for ourselves,” Tsukasa said.
Everyone moved more quickly than they had before.
They walked through the burned-out village, pressing farther into the ruined place. Eventually, the group passed the last of the buildings save for the fences, leaving them with nothing to guide their way except for stones underfoot.
The group carried on like that for about ten minutes. Then they arrived.
“What am I looking at?!”
“Whoa…”
A wide clearing about three hundred feet in diameter began at the end of the stone path, and at its center stood a mind-bogglingly enormous tree. It was surely twice as tall as the rest of the timbers, and its trunk had to be thirty feet thick, if not more. Naturally, a huge number of branches stretched from the trunk, and the leaves made up the three-hundred-foot forest clearing’s entire canopy. There was so much green above that no sunlight could pierce through. Yet the glade was shockingly bright somehow. The earth and plants seemed to radiate a faint glow.
Tsukasa and the others realized that this place operated under rules beyond anything they understood.
“Is that…Yggdra’s tree?”
A few gasped in astonishment.
However, none craned their neck to look up at the tree’s peak.
No, it was the fantastical figure at the massive thing’s base that commanded their attention.
Down at the base of the trunk were roots coiled around a giant limestone-white creature. The tree itself sat atop the quadrupedal entity’s back. The creature, lying on the ground as though in repose, was unmistakable.
“Tsukes, that’s, uh… That’s a dragon, right?” Shinobu murmured.
Sure enough, the trapped animal bore a striking resemblance to the dragons of Earth legend.
“It seems…mummified,” Shura remarked.
“It appears to be a good deal larger than the domesticated sort, that it does,” Aoi noted.
“Look closer—you can see that it’s been stabbed and shot with arrows,” Tsukasa said.
“Is that…what killed it?” Ringo asked.
“I don’t think so,” Keine replied. “Just eyeballing it, I highly doubt the dragon sustained those injuries while alive. Someone attacked it after it was mummified.”
Akatsuki gulped. “J-just tell me it’s not gonna pull a jump scare and start moving around!”
The journal had referred to this glade as a sanctuary, but only the village leaders were permitted to enter. Adel knew only that the place was a big clearing with a holy tree. Gazing at the sight in person was awe striking. Everyone looked around with trepidation, save for one exception.
Huh…
Lyrule didn’t feel any fear when she stared at the strange creature. As a matter of fact, it filled her with a sense of relief, as though she’d spotted torchlight amid a freezing blizzard.
“Lyrule?”
“…”
She found herself being drawn toward that feeling.
No, that wasn’t quite it.
She was being called.
The voice was quieter than the spirits’, but Lyrule could tell it was addressing her.
She followed the weak words and approached the dragon corpse.
“Lyrule, wait!” Tsukasa cried in alarm.
“It’s okay,” she replied; then she reached out.
Her fingers traced the tree roots, stopping upon the dragon’s nose.
Boom. Jade-green light flew from the creature’s body, accompanied by a surge of air.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Wh-wh-what’s going on?!”
“Lyrule?!”
The torrent of light engulfed Lyrule, and although Tsukasa and the others tried to rush to her, they couldn’t see a thing. The sheer volume of radiance blasted all color and contours from the world. Yet for how completely blinding it was, it wasn’t painful to look at.
What in the world was going on?
As Shura and the Prodigies stood baffled, the glow subsided, and the world returned.
And there, right in the middle of it all, was Lyrule.
The wind had blasted her clothes to smithereens, and she hovered in the air stark naked save for the gentle light wreathing her.
“You did well, Lyrule. Thank you for guiding them all the way here.”
Lyrule’s lips moved, and words came forth.
However…
“That’s not Lyrule…”
As Keine pointed out, she wasn’t speaking in Lyrule’s youthful voice but with the timbre of an older adult woman.
Tsukasa recognized this tone.
“We meet again, Tsukasa.”
Lyrule had been facing away from them, and she slowly turned around. And when her eyes came into view, Tsukasa saw that they glowed with the same light they had once before.
“So I was right, then. You were the one who contacted me back at Castle Findolph.”
Lyrule—or rather, the entity borrowing her body—nodded.
Then…
“I imagine you’ve already figured it out by now, but allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Yggdra. The Seven Luminaries adherents worshipped me as a god…and I’m the one who called you to this world to be the Seven Heroes.”
…she revealed her identity.
Yggdra was known as the Seven Luminaries’ deity, and legends placed her in stark opposition to the evil dragon.
Upon seeing her manifested through Lyrule…
“Whoa, I can’t believe we’re talking to an actual god.”
“I figured this is where she’d be, if she existed at all, but still…”
…the Prodigies voiced their wonder.
Yggdra responded…
“You’ve come a long way and overcome so many trials to get here.”
…by sweeping her gaze across the group and giving them a smile of utmost relief.
Oh, thank goodness.
Yggdra’s battle with the evil dragon a thousand years ago had reduced the continent to ash, and she’d offered her life to form the literal foundation for its renewal. In her present reduced state, it had taken everything she had to call in a group of mighty people from one of the few nearby planets. Her own world was far more distant, and she could no longer call allies from home as she had a thousand years ago.
Yggdra had wondered whether this new group she summoned would be capable of standing against her foes.
The odds were undoubtedly grim.
And while the new Seven Heroes lacked the magic of Yggdra and her kin, they each possessed preeminent skills they’d used to brush aside every obstacle. Now they were here at last.
These champions might really be able to thwart her foes’ ambitions.
There was still hope for this world.
Tears of relief began forming in Lyrule’s—Yggdra’s—eyes.
“I take it, then, that you’ve been watching us somehow,” Tsukasa remarked.
“Indeed. I’ve been following you this whole time, observing through the dragon’s eyes.”
“You know, if you’d bothered to hold a proper conversation with us instead of spectating, we could have learned our reason for being here without traveling to the depths of this forest.”
“…I am sorry about that. I didn’t realize how weak I’d grown. After summoning you all and imbuing you with a charm of shared languages, I found myself spent. I sincerely apologize for leaving you adrift in this world without a proper explanation.”
Lyrule’s lineage had strong ties to Yggdra, so the deity had tried to use her as an intermediary to communicate with the Prodigies, but she’d been too distant to give anything more than a brief message obscured by static.
But despite so little to go on…
“Armed with nothing except a few legends and incomplete messages, you managed to find your way to me all the same. Now that you’re here, I can converse with you just fine, even in my reduced state. Finally, I can tell you everything. I can explain why I have brought you…”
Tsukasa closed his eyes for a moment in evident contemplation…
“All right, let’s hear it. The whole truth with nothing held back.”
…then snapped them back open.
His heterochromatic irises shone with clear resolve.
Yggdra nodded…
“Of course. It’s a fairly long story, but I’ll make sure not to leave anything out.”
“Oh, then never mind. If it’s going to be long, we can just skip it.”
“Thank you for understanding. It all started about a thousand years ago, when we— Wait, what did you just say?”
…but as soon as she began her tale, Tsukasa cut her off.
“I’m sorry, WHAT?!”
“You, um, you’re saying…that you won’t hear me out?!”
Yggdra seemed utterly flustered. That wasn’t the answer she’d been expecting at all.
Tsukasa responded…
“Yeah, I think we can skip it.”
…by repeating himself.
He was being serious. But the thing was…
“I—I, um, I would rather you didn’t, though…”
…they weren’t going to get anywhere like this.
Yggdra was at a complete loss.
“I’m not saying we can’t talk. There are plenty of questions we’re keen on asking you. But there’s something you need to do first.”
With that, Tsukasa took off his jacket and offered it to Yggdra.
“Put on some clothes. That body isn’t yours.”
It was a valid statement. When Yggdra had first possessed Lyrule, the force of the act had immodestly blown away Lyrule’s outfit. It was unclear whether or not Lyrule was conscious of what was happening, but regardless, this was an embarrassing situation for a young woman.
Basically, Tsukasa was calling Yggdra out for her inconsideration of Lyrule.
“O-oh dear, I’m so sorry. I accidentally misadjusted my power a bit…”
Yggdra, having been thoroughly rebuked, hurriedly put an arm through one sleeve.
However, she was unused to operating human bodies, and the sleeve got caught. She wasn’t having much luck getting the jacket on.
Tsukasa watched her struggle with a cold gaze. “…We’ve gotten our hands on a fair bit of information throughout our journey here, and based on that knowledge, we’ve developed general conjectures about how this world operates, the events that led to the current situation, and what the evil dragon is.”
“Oh. Y-you have?”
“Yes. Instead of having you explain from the ground up, I’d prefer to check our answers. After all, if my theories are true, then there’s little time remaining.”
Rather than waiting for Yggdra’s response, Tsukasa dived into his exposition and laid it all out, as though in a hurry.
“After being unceremoniously dumped into this world, we had a few points of reference to work off to grasp our predicament. We theorized three rules governing this world based on Winona’s story, our incomplete conversation with you, and the scattered knowledge of the Seven Luminaries we found across the continent.
“Rule 1: There existed some sort of threat to the world referred to as the evil dragon.
“Rule 2: There existed some sort of entity that opposed the evil dragon.
“Rule 3: There existed a group known as the Seven Heroes affiliated with the opposer that was called in from somewhere beyond.
“Everything you told us just now settled any doubts we might have had about rules two and three.
“Rule two refers to you, Yggdra, and three refers to the seven of us.
“Once you fill in those two, the first rule becomes obvious enough. After all, there just so happens to be a major power pursuing the elves, as it says in Adel’s journal. The evil dragon and its followers…
“…are none other than Blue Grandmaster Neuro ul Levias and the rest of the Lindworm dynasty.”
“…!”
Yggdra’s eyes went wide at Tsukasa’s conclusion, and she gasped. Shock was written all across her face.
Tsukasa’s hypothesis had hit the nail directly on the head.
Seeing Yggdra’s expression was enough to assure Tsukasa he was correct, and he continued. “We’ve gathered information from the Seven Luminaries legends, the continent’s recorded history, and Adel’s journal. Based on that knowledge, I posit that the grand global affair went roughly like this: Approximately a thousand years ago, the world battled a threat that later came to be known as the evil dragon.
“If we consider that Neuro was telling the truth when he said he came from another world, we can assume that the evil dragon and its followers invaded from a planet separate from this one and Earth. One with highly developed magic.
“At that point, you and the elves joined forces and succeeded in putting down the incursion and sealing away the attackers. With that, the battle became nothing more than a legend from the distant past. However, Neuro and his cohorts were reincarnated as people from this world and now work to destroy the seal.
“That was why they made those overt acts of aggression against the economically insignificant nation of Yamato. They dispatched troops against the Freyjagard lords’ wishes, yet when they won the region, they turned around and lazily subcontracted it as a self-governing dominion. The whole war seems illogical, but if Neuro and his contemporaries are the entities from rule one, it makes sense. They invaded Yamato in search of the elves who guarded the seal, but thanks to your warning, they had already left the continent for the New World.
“When Neuro and his allies arrived at the empty village, they discovered what happened and shifted Freyjagard’s goal to pursue the elves. The New World expedition isn’t to gather slaves or secure new territory; it’s to catch the elves.
“Now, the elves saw the whole chase coming, so they entrusted the child bearing the seal, Lyrule, to Adel, and the empire’s expedition fell for their diversion hook, line, and sinker. But I digress. The issue is that the elves’ ploy won’t work forever. The Lindworm administration invaded Yamato and the New World with extreme prejudice, and sooner or later, they will find their quarry. And while we have no way of knowing the elves’ current situation, it’s only a matter of time before their deception is exposed.
“And knowing that…you took action. You used Lyrule, just as you did at the feudal lord’s castle and as you are now. Through her, you called people strong enough to oppose Neuro and his forces. And you ended up with seven earthlings.”
Tsukasa paused briefly for effect…
“Now, that’s my rough understanding of the events. Was there anything I got wrong?”
…then locked eyes with Yggdra.
Yggdra replied…
“N-no, not at all. You nailed it! That’s exactly what happened! All of it!”
…by shaking her head.
Her voice rang with excitement. She was amazed.
Not only had Tsukasa identified the evil dragon and its followers, but he’d also deduced the major happenings with such accuracy that Yggdra couldn’t find anything meaningful to correct. Her allies were proving themselves to be dependable indeed.
When Yggdra’s eyes lit up with joy, Tsukasa’s expression darkened. “So I was right, then? That’s unfortunate. I hoped I wasn’t.”
The events he’d described would seriously impact things in the future. Tsukasa had worried this was the case and wished to be wrong.
However, now that he knew he was correct, he understood there was no time to waste lamenting his misfortune. “Then there’s one more thing we need to ask you.”
He stared pointedly at Yggdra and asked the most important question of all.
“Can you get us to our endgame?”
“I’m sorry, your…endgame?”
Tsukasa nodded. “I assume it goes without saying, but our first and foremost objective in this world is to find a way for the seven of us to return to Earth. Neuro has already offered that to us. Cooperating with him is one way to reach our endgame. If you want us to give that up, I assert you are obligated to offer another route to our goal. You called us here to be pawns in your campaign against Neuro. If we do that for you, will you return us to our original world?”
When Tsukasa finished his question, the whole lead-up to it finally clicked for Yggdra. It was a perfectly reasonable ask.
Naturally, the fact that Yggdra had called them there meant she could send them back, so she gave him a big nod…
“Yes, of course! I promise!”
“I don’t believe you.”
…and Tsukasa immediately rejected her assertion.
“What?!”
He completely shut her down.
Yggdra found herself at a loss. She returned Tsukasa’s stare with a questioning look, noticing the frigidity in Tsukasa’s heterochromatic eyes. The emotion there bordered on outright hostility.
Tsukasa believed he had a perfectly acceptable reason for feeling that way, though.
“Why should I trust you? After all, you nearly killed us once.”
“Oh…”
“If not for the people of Elm, each of us would’ve perished in an alien world. There’s no reason to trust the entity who put us in that position.”
“I—I, um…”
Yggdra didn’t know what to say to that. It was true that the Prodigies had been injured because of her flawed summoning, and that was something she could never take back. She had fought hard to keep them alive during the crash, but knowing they wouldn’t have crashed if she hadn’t summoned them weakened that excuse.
“What’s more, you just told us you’ve grown weak. That was the whole reason you couldn’t properly get in contact with us, right? I don’t pretend to understand magic particularly well, but I have to assume that bridging the gap between worlds is more difficult than simply talking to someone far away. So I have to ask: In your current state, are you capable of returning us safely to our original world? I’d rather not get sent back just to find myself drowning in the middle of the Pacific.”
Yggdra had already jeopardized the Prodigies’ lives once, so Tsukasa had little faith in her abilities. He was the Prodigies’ representative; his duty was to keep them all safe. Unless Yggdra offered some assurance, he couldn’t justify relying on her.
And so…
“Do you have anything to allay my concerns? People have called you a god.”
…he posed his inquiry again, more firmly than before.
Tsukasa wanted hard evidence that he could trust her.
But when he made his demand…
“…”
…Yggdra had no reply.
She’d been sincere when she promised to send the Prodigies home. There was a way to guarantee their safe return to Earth, but the method was single use. She couldn’t afford to pull out her trump card now.
Unfortunately, her remaining power was insufficient to convince the Prodigies. She had given herself up to restore the continent, and as a result, she lacked the strength to even converse with others unless they came to the tree.
Yggdra couldn’t solve this with a show of ability.
So what else could she do to win her champions’ confidence? Yggdra thought it over…but failed. Nothing came to mind, not one solitary reason they should believe in her.
However, that was to be expected…
“You’re right to be suspicious of me. I’ve done plenty to you all, of course, but fundamentally…I’m not the sort of being people trust. I lack the right.”
“…?”
…and it gave Yggdra an idea.
One element about the Seven Luminaries went unrecorded, Yggdra’s identity. If she told these people, they’d lose all confidence in her. Exposing that final truth would only end poorly for her. The Seven Heroes might refuse to cooperate at all.
Despite that, or perhaps even because of it…
If I have nothing to offer, then at the very least, I ought not to hold anything back.
If someone so untrustworthy desired help, the only thing to give was total honesty.
So, having made up her mind…
“Here’s the truth. The elves called me a god, but I’m not anything so admirable.
“The evil dragon was a powerful mage called Father. He is from another world with highly developed magic and created a series of homunculi. Neuro is one of them…and so am I.”
…she told the Prodigies of herself.
“““……!”””
Yggdra’s admission came as a surprise to everyone. Shock and wariness colored their features.
The air was so tense you could cut it with a knife.
However, Yggdra was prepared for that, so she continued her confession undeterred. “More than a thousand years ago, our creator, Father, was shunned for his preeminent magical ability and keen mind. He was branded a heretic and exiled from his original world.”
As Neuro explained, science nearly ruined his and Yggdra’s home world. From there, magic rose in prominence and achieved widespread use and adoption across their society.
The planet’s history left its populace terrified of anything that might lead to major upheaval. And that fear manifested as persecution toward anyone with the skills capable of bringing about innovation. In Father’s case, he was shunned from the world.
“That sent Father into a mad rage, and he came to this planet with me, Neuro…and three other homunculi. He swore revenge against the world that had rejected him, and it was here that he planned to create the military assets to carry out his vengeance.”
Father required the ability to create soldiers of incredible strength—magic that would evolve his homunculi into beings on par with deities.
To make that a reality, Yggdra and the others took their existing research on forced evolution magic and used this new planet to master the craft. The endemic inhabitants became their test subjects.
They carried out inhumane experiments, the likes of which were unheard of on their homeworld. Yggdra spared the Prodigies no detail about the many casualties that came from those efforts. The scars of their world were still visible across the globe in the form of people with animal traits—byuma.
And that wasn’t all.
Yggdra looked over at Shura, who’d been hanging back at the rear of the group. “…You hail from Yamato, correct?”
“…Who, me?” Shura asked.
“I owe you an apology. The tragedy that befell Yamato three years ago wouldn’t have transpired if not for our research.”
“What…do you mean?”
“Originally, we used the land of Yamato as a custodial facility for our flawed prototypes…the invalids whose minds broke when we forced their bodies to evolve. We held them in Yamato for later use as foot soldiers in our war of revenge.
“Their broken minds left them prone to random acts of violence, so to manage them efficiently, we injected them with special magic factors. Those would be what you call ‘spirits.’ Using a spell called Administrative Authority allowed us to seize direct control of that group through those magic factors… I trust you understand what I’m getting at.”
Shura gasped. “So you mean…Princess Mayoi’s brainwashing was…”
“Precisely.” Yggdra nodded. “She was using Administrative Authority.”
Following the war one thousand years ago, Yggdra had given the elves access to Administrative Authority and the bell used to spread its power. In so doing, the elves could offer the experiment victims better treatment.
Yggdra described the fantastic efforts of the elves. They cared diligently for those so thoroughly wronged. After generations of intermixing with the naturally magically gifted and magic-resistant elves, the descendants of the test victims regained their sanity. Once they’d recovered enough, they founded their own nation on what was previously their cage.
“As more generations passed and elven heritage became scarcer, their magic waned, and knowledge of Administrative Authority and the bell was lost… Until a certain few who knew about those things were reborn in the modern era.”
Yggdra was referring to Neuro and the other grandmasters—her old allies.
By taking advantage of those forgotten factors, they carried out a swift invasion of Yamato.
The dead of Yamato returned to the soil, spreading their magic factor until it became ingrained in the fabric of the nation as its “native spirits.” Eventually, it took root in nearly the entire population, a consequence beyond what Yggdra had ever imagined. It spelled doom for Yamato.
“I’m truly, truly sorry.”
“…”
Yggdra hung her head, yet she still spied Shura’s tight fists. She clenched her fingers so powerfully that it restricted their blood flow.
Yggdra accepted that rage as justified. If she and her ilk had never existed, Yamato’s tragedies would never have occurred. No amount of apologizing would right this.
“I am in no way deserving of being called a god. My kind have invited calamity in both the past and the present. After I began to doubt our mission, I informed our home world of Father’s scheme and fought against him. And when this continent perished from the battle, I sacrificed my body to nourish it. That was my attempt at atonement… I confess a desire for forgiveness motivated me.”
Apologizing to get the people you’d irreparably harmed to absolve you was an act of base narcissism. It succeeded in making only the wrongdoer feel better. And that was all Yggdra had done. At first.
“But not anymore.”
Yggdra lifted her head.
No longer was her expression one of remorseful weakness. The eyes upon her carried everything from caution to scorn to outright hatred, but she faced them with dignity.
“I’ve spent a long time—a thousand years—existing alongside this world and watching its people go about their lives.
“They stood atop the ashes and ruins of this broken land, tilled the wasteland, erected houses, and built villages.
“I saw people helping others, groups coming together to aid individuals.
“My kin and I were built to be powerful, and these creatures’ strengths paled compared to ours. But they came together and lived more resolutely than we ever could have dreamed.
“There were atrocities committed across their history, of course. Deeds so vulgar as to make you look away. Not everything I witnessed was beautiful. Yet even amid such adversity, the people carried themselves gallantly. As I bore witness, I felt a desire building.
“I wished to protect them.
“I wanted to safeguard the chain of lives that went unbroken for so long and everything else I observed here. Not for atonement this time, no, but for the sake of a warmer, larger emotion. One that I lack the words to describe!”
Yggdra was willing to do anything to achieve that end. Laboring for it made her feel capable of anything.
And so…
“Presently, I’m not strong enough to stop the imminent threat.
“I poured most of my power into this land’s foundations. My remaining strength is but a sliver.
“You traveled to my side after I put you in danger and left you adrift in a foreign world, yet I have nothing to offer in exchange for your trust. In this borrowed body, I can’t even lower my own head to demonstrate my sincerity.
“I have nothing. No might, no natural form, and no time. But still, my desire to protect this world’s people is genuine! Please, you have to believe me! I implore you to lend me your strength and help me accomplish what I’m not strong enough to do on my own!”
To make her plea, Yggdra laid everything bare.
Instead of bowing with her borrowed body or trying to trick Tsukasa and the others by lying about her powers, she voiced her raw feelings.
It didn’t benefit her to do so, and she had no proof of her claims. Tsukasa had asked her to give him something he could trust, and she’d failed.
However…
“H-hey, Tsukasa!”
…words were a vessel that carried emotions. And those spoken from the heart had the power to touch others.
“Look, I, uh…I think we can trust this god lady.”
The first one to speak up was Akatsuki—the most cowardly boy of them all.
“I mean, she did put us in a pretty rough spot, a really rough spot. And our lives would’ve been way easier if she hadn’t, but… The way I see it, there are times when you don’t have a choice but to ask for help, even if you know it’s going to make the other person’s life complicated.”
And that was even truer when you were the only one capable of even asking for aid.
“Yggdra wanted to protect people but knew she was weak and understood she couldn’t do anything alone. Still, she really wanted to help… That seems like a good reason to bring us here, don’t you think?”
And when Akatsuki finished…
“Tsu…kasa…I think…that if…we have to choose…between the two endgames…then I’d like…to trust Yggdra…”
…Ringo followed after him.
“Oh?” Tsukasa replied.
“After all…Neuro might…not…have been lying, but…”
Ringo thought back to how Neuro had acted during the peace talk in Astarte.
The emperor had entrusted Neuro with governing the empire, yet he’d agreed to arguably terrible terms for Freyjagard. He’d surrendered with a pleased grin. His acceptance was a great boon to Elm, but the behavior rubbed Ringo the wrong way.
The genius inventor had spent ages watching someone work himself to the bone to protect the rights and interests of his people. Neuro was different from Tsukasa, however. He wasn’t the sort to lift a finger for others. Tsukasa’s keen insight determined that Neuro had been truthful when he claimed he could send the Prodigies home, and although Ringo believed him…
“I’d still be scared…to put my life in the hands…of someone who only cares about himself.”
Next was Aoi. “I concur with Akatsuki and Ringo, that I do.” She closed her eyes as though recalling something. “Those in great need are often those least able to offer recompense. Yet theirs are the pleas that chivalry calls on us to answer.”
Beneath her eyelids, she saw the war-torn regions she’d marched across as a prodigy swordmaster.
People who had nothing were the ones who needed the most help. Aoi understood that better than most. They had nothing to give in return but thanks, and that was precisely why they needed saving.
From there…
“The bottom line is, if Lyrule is that important for Neuro’s goal or whatever, then negotiating with him isn’t a realistic option for us.”
“He and his allies want to destroy the seal she carries. The journal described the process as ‘tearing her soul to shreds,’ which doesn’t sound pleasant. Knowing that, it’s hard to imagine us working together.”
…Shinobu and Keine expressed their de facto support for Yggdra as well.
According to Yggdra’s story, Neuro threatened Lyrule’s safety, so allying with him was out of the question.
Shinobu shot Tsukasa a biting look. “However, you already knew all that, didn’t you? You asked Yggdra those mean questions to give her a chance to win us over.”
“…”
“C’mon, Tsukes, give us some credit. None of us wants to go home if it means sacrificing Lyrule or this world’s people to do it.”
That was an issue they’d settled back when Masato left.
“Besides,” Shinobu continued, “if the whole get-Yggdra-to-send-us-home plan turns out to be a bust, we can always find another way to get back once we’ve saved Lyrule and the rest of the world. I’ll find us that way home if I have to turn over the entire continent to do it. And if even that doesn’t work out, ol’ Ringo here can build us a boat that can sail across worlds!”
“Y-yeah. I’ll see…what I can do!” Ringo agreed.
Aoi nodded. “And in the meantime, I shall keep you all safe, that I shall.”
“And I intend to ensure that no matter what circumstances befall us, our health will remain in tip-top shape,” Keine added.
“And I, uh…I can cheer you all on! Yeah!” Akatsuki said.
All of them felt the same as Shinobu.
There was a wicked plot brewing, and the Prodigies had no intention of leaving without thwarting it first, especially not with Lyrule’s life on the line. That was never an option.
Five gazes fell on Tsukasa, each pair of eyes burning with resolve, kindness, and drive.
Tsukasa took them all in…
“Well, okay then.”
…and smiled for the first time since arriving at the great tree.
He faced Yggdra once more…
“Yggdra, I believe in you as well. If you’ve earned the trust of both my steadfast allies and a millennium’s worth of elves, then that’s good enough for me.”
…and offered his hand.
At the sight…
“Thank you…”
…Yggdra cried joyous tears.
After they exchanged a hard, firm handshake, Tsukasa turned to his friends. “This journey of ours has felt like a wild goose chase for the longest time, but now we have our final objective. We’re going to crush the Freyjagard Empire and the Lindworm administration’s ambitions, save Lyrule and the world, and, once we’re finished, use Yggdra’s power to return to Earth. This will be an all-or-nothing scenario—and I’ll be counting on each one of you more than ever.”
The others nodded in answer. Their eyes gleamed, and they understood what they needed to do.
That moment marked the quiet beginning of the High School Prodigies’ final battle.
“Okay, so we’ve decided that our big goal is to stop Neuro and his buddies at any cost, but now that we’ve got our mission, I’d like to get more concrete details on the situation.”
Now that they’d decided to work with Yggdra, Shinobu made a recommendation.
“We know now that Neuro and the other grandmasters are trying to revive your dad, the so-called evil dragon, but what are they planning on doing to Lyrule to achieve that? Our tactics depend on their exact strategy.”
“That’s a good point,” Yggdra replied. “Right now, Father’s soul is locked away with the cycle of reincarnation that revolves around this world. The seal has been passed down and inherited by elves for generations, and now it resides within this body, etched onto Lyrule’s soul. By killing her, they can break the seal, and Father will be reborn. I’m certain that’s their goal. Now, as far as what form the reincarnation will take, it appears that the grandmasters intend to use Emperor Lindworm von Freyjagard as Father’s vessel.”
“Wait, the emperor’s body?” Akatsuki asked.
“That’s right. Father’s magic—his raw life energy—is so powerful that putting his soul into an average body would be like cramming an ocean in a wineglass. It wouldn’t take long at all for it to break. That is why the grandmasters haven’t been able to make their move for the past thousand years.
“Sometimes, though, the world produces a prodigy whose abilities outstrip their era, just as my old world produced Father. And Lindworm von Freyjagard is one such exception. His magic transcends even the elves’. Between that and his mighty body, he’s the only person who could possibly serve as a vessel for Father.”
“But…what’ll happen to the emperor if they pull it off?”
Yggdra’s expression darkened at Akatsuki’s inquiry. “Two souls can’t coexist in a single body for any prolonged period. When Father is revived, the emperor’s persona will quickly be overwritten and cease to exist.”
“Really? They’d do that to their own emperor?”
“Have the grandmasters no loyalty as retainers?” Aoi asked.
“They…believe themselves to be superior to the people of this world.”
Yggdra surmised that her kin probably thought of this world’s people as little more than lab rats.
Tsukasa posed a question. “I know that Emperor Lindworm’s been using the Four Grandmasters—this ‘Father’ character’s minions—since before he took the throne, and it was supposedly their counsel that led him to invade Yamato, but… Based on his behavior, it would appear that he doesn’t know they intend to use him as a vessel.”
“No. Or at least, probably not. If he did, I doubt he’d go along with their plan to invade Yamato or depart for the New World.”
Tsukasa nodded. “In that case, telling Emperor Lindworm the truth is one option we could explore.”
Keine voiced her agreement. “Broadly speaking, there are three options we can select from. We can make sure Lyrule stays safe, defeat Neuro and the other grandmasters, or render the vessel unusable. Any one should suffice.”
“B-but…!” Then, unexpectedly, Ringo offered her doubts. “When the grandmasters…fought Yggdra…all those years ago…they destroyed…the whole continent…right? Will we really…be able…to beat them?”
According to the legend of the Seven Heroes, the villains reduced the entire continent to a wasteland. Ringo’s fears were entirely reasonable. However…
“I wouldn’t fret about that.”
…Yggdra wasn’t worried.
“Now that they’ve reincarnated, the grandmasters are nothing more than normal humans. Their original forms evolved to supernatural levels like my corpse here, but those bodies have been lost.”
The grandmasters had knowledge yet lacked sufficiently powerful forms to take full advantage of it.
“The magic they know is beyond anything this world has discovered, so they’re certainly a force to be reckoned with, but it’s nothing your scientific and military capabilities won’t be able to overcome.”
“R-really?! Oh, that’s such a huge rel—”
“But…”
“There’s a but?!”
Before Akatsuki could get too comfortable, Yggdra cut him off, wearing a serious look. “There’s one thing you need to watch out for: the Philosopher’s Stones.”
“The…Philosopher’s Stones, you say?”
“Tsu…kasa…is she talking…about…?”
Keine and Ringo looked questioningly at Tsukasa, who nodded. “I suspect so.”
Yggdra’s descriptor was a bit melodramatic, but Ringo and Keine both had a pretty good idea of what objects she referred to.
“Are you alluding to the black crystals we found embedded in Elm’s Lord of the Woods, Gustav, and the Yamato wolf Shiro?” Tsukasa asked.
Keine and Ringo had extracted a sample of the strange mineral from Gustav’s chest, and when they used it on a rat, the crystal forced its body tissue to mutate. Whatever that stuff was, it didn’t exist back on Earth.
Yggdra bobbed her head in the affirmative. “I am. Philosopher’s Stones are coagulated bits of blood and flesh that fell from Father during our war a thousand years ago. To exact revenge on our home world, we intended to use this planet as a place to evolve into more powerful organisms. We modified cells, transplanted genes from other capable entities… That is how I obtained the body you see back there.” She gestured at the mummified dragon behind her. “Once our bodies transformed, they became incredibly powerful down to the cellular level. We learned to induce that evolution in other beings by injecting them with our blood or transplanting our tissue. The process is capable of giving them incredible magical and physical abilities. It can even restore dead soil to its former glory.”
“So you’re saying that if Neuro took that flesh and strengthened himself with it like he did Gustav…”
“Exactly. That would be a dangerous situation indeed. However, using Father’s cells to force evolution places a tremendous burden on the subject. Without an iron will or a hardy body like an elf’s, the subject will succumb to the strain and crumble. And now that the grandmasters are mere humans, the cells would affect them as they would anyone else. I doubt they’d willingly take that risk.”
Tsukasa was reminded of the results when they applied the stone to the rat. The animal entered a state of heightened excitement, then died from elevated blood pressure, practically rupturing from the inside. It was hard to imagine anyone willingly accepting something like that into their body unless they truly had no other choice.
“So however we decide to thwart the grandmasters, we have to ensure it doesn’t involve backing them into a corner. That isn’t going to be easy.”
With that being the case, doing something about Emperor Lindworm was starting to seem like the most enticing play available.
However, there was another issue that needed to be dealt with first.
“No matter what steps we take against the grandmasters, our primary course of action will always be the same.”
“You mean…”
“You’re talking about Massy, right?” Shinobu asked.
Tsukasa nodded. “That’s right. Merchant chose to join Neuro, and we need to tell him what the grandmasters are plotting. Once he learns that Neuro’s scheme involves killing Lyrule, he’ll never stand for it.”
There was no reason to stay on Neuro’s good side anymore. Tsukasa pulled out his smartphone. Before things got underway, he needed to figure out how to link up with Masato. Unfortunately…
“His phone’s off.”
“Did it run out of battery?” Akatsuki asked.
“He brought a charger with him, so I doubt it,” Tsukasa said. “He might be sleeping or in the middle of something. Or…he might not be interested in keeping in contact.”
“B-but why not?!”
“It’s not surprising. The whole reason Merchant split from us was to maintain a strong relationship with Neuro. He won’t chat us up while working into Neuro’s good graces. Doing so would jeopardize what he’s after, and I can’t blame him for playing it safe. I’ll send him a text and see how he—”
Just as Tsukasa was explaining things to Akatsuki and booting up his messaging app, he was interrupted.
“SCREEEEEE!!!!”
A shrill cry shook the sky above.
“Wh-what’s with the cawing?!”
Everyone looked up in surprise, spotting a bird swooping toward them through a small gap in the overhead foliage.
“Is that…an eagle?”
When Shura spotted the animal—a white-shouldered eagle—she let out a shocked cry. “Foremost?!”
“A friend of yours?” Keine asked.
“We use eagles to pass messages while undercover. Foremost is the swiftest of all and only to be used in emergencies!”
Shura extended her arm, and the bird perched atop it, wrapping its thick talons firmly around her slender arm. There was a letter tied to one of its legs.
Shura unrolled it, scanned the contents…
“ !!!!”
…and gasped.
The message had come straight from Kaguya…
“The Freyjagard Army is massing troops on Yamato’s border…one hundred and fifty thousand of them!”
…and described the empire’s retaliation against Yamato.
Akatsuki’s eyes bugged out at Shura’s news. “A—a—a hundred and fifty thousand?! Isn’t that, like, way more than they’ve sent at us before?!”
Shinobu gave Tsukasa a look. “Tsukes, a hundred and fifty thousand sounds a whole lot like—”
“I’m aware. I don’t know how many died during the insurrection, but in all likelihood… With Freyjagard’s big campaign going on, the odds are good that’s every soldier the empire can muster.”
Freyjagard had likely even rounded up soldiers who typically spent their time defending border checkpoints and guarding villages. Now that the empire had rooted out all internal dissidents, it could afford to pull audacious stunts like this.
“There are already around thirty thousand troops standing in battle formation at our old imperial border. They say that they’re being dispatched to put down the rebel movement that threatens the self-governing dominion’s rights and the empire’s interests…” Shura hesitated for a moment. “Apparently, Grandmaster Neuro ul Levias also claims…that you all are the ‘ringleaders’ and that if we turn you over, Freyjagard will consider the issue resolved and recognize Yamato’s sovereignty.”
Tsukasa sighed heavily. “Then my bad hunch was on the mark.” This was why he’d told Yggdra they didn’t have much time. “Neuro’s figured out we made contact with Yggdra.”
During the meeting with the Yamato dominion leadership, Jade had explained that Neuro ordered him not to rock the boat. Back then, Neuro had hoped he could get by without letting the Prodigies discover anything in Yamato he didn’t want them to. That was why the dominion government had been so oddly cooperative initially.
However, Neuro wasn’t going to get what he wanted.
Now that he suspected the Prodigies knew his objective—killing Lyrule—he pulled out all the stops and went on the attack.
“Reclaiming the dominion is merely a pretext that allowed him to mobilize that army. Neuro’s true goal is to stick us with the blame for the dominion government’s downfall so he can get rid of us,” Tsukasa said.
“Don’t worry,” Shura replied. “Yamato won’t sell you out.”
“I appreciate that.”
Shura was right; Kaguya wasn’t going to hand them over.
Tsukasa didn’t hope that she wouldn’t. Rather, he knew she had to refuse.
It was obvious after some consideration. The bitter taste of imperial rule still lingered on every tongue in Yamato. None of Kaguya’s subjects would believe any honeyed words from Freyjagard.
If anything, Kaguya would likely side with the Prodigies and fight the empire. Yamato was always going to cross blades with Freyjagard if it genuinely wished to maintain independence. It was best to do so while they had a powerful ally in the Prodigies.
There was little chance of Yamato turning against Tsukasa and the others for the moment. And that being the case, they were in little danger. It was Masato, who was right by Neuro’s side, whose well-being was in jeopardy. There was no telling when or how Neuro might use him as a hostage, so the other Prodigies needed to reunite with him quickly.
Unfortunately, Neuro was now entirely hostile, so any attempt to contact Masato could put him in danger. Phone calls were out of the question for the time being, and messaging could be perilous, depending on the situation.
That left only one option.
“Shinobu.”
Tsukasa turned his attention to the master ninja journalist. That was all she needed to understand. She nodded. “Yup, I read you. You want me to sneak into the empire, then bring Massy and Roo out with me, yeah?”
“Can you do it?”
“I’m gonna be real with you. I can’t offer you my usual guarantees. The bad guys know exactly how badly we want Massy out of there, and there’s a good chance they’ll have him under heavy guard.”
“Then I shall accompany you,” Aoi declared. “Conflict such as this is my specialty, that it is.”
However, Shinobu shot her down. “Nah, that’s not an option.”
“Why not, may I ask?”
“They’ve marshaled a huge force, which means they’re planning on more than making a threat. The grandmaster is acting under the assumption that we know what he’s after. He’s not gonna wait long. If Yamato doesn’t immediately give us up, he’ll come charging across the border. When that happens, we’ll need you here in Yamato. There’s no way for you to protect everyone, but if I go alone, then at least the five of you will be safe, even if things go south on my side. That’s why you want me to do this solo, right, Tsukes?”
Shinobu looked over at Tsukasa, hoping he would back her up.
“You’re correct about why Aoi needs to stay behind, but not about why I chose you for the job.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I picked you because I’m confident that Shinobu Sarutobi, prodigy journalist, can overcome this challenge without help. In fact, I’m certain that you’re the only person in the world capable of the feat.”
Tsukasa wasn’t trying to feed Shinobu’s ego. He was speaking from the heart. No matter how impossible a task seemed, Tsukasa never doubted that she and the other Prodigies would succeed.
Never.
Tsukasa knew that he was an ordinary man who had no choice but to plan for every eventuality, and he couldn’t place that sort of wholehearted faith in himself. But he could put it in them. Each of them possessed an incredible talent that exceeded the bounds of traditional sense.
Knowing that she had Tsukasa’s complete trust…
“Heh-heh. I guess you do know me pretty well, then! There’s not a place in the world that I can’t infiltrate. You can sit back and leave it to your unstoppable girl!”
…Shinobu threw out her ample chest with pride.
It wasn’t empty bravado.
“I had a feeling things might come to this… Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but still, I laid some groundwork back when I was in the empire as a fake exchange student. Don’t you worry. I’ll get Massy and Roo out. So promise me this…”
Shinobu’s eyes moved to each person assembled in the glade, her expression serious.
“When I bring ’em back, I want all of you there for the welcoming party.”
She demanded they all survive.
There was really only one response.
“Of course.”
With that, the Prodigies set their sights on their new endgame.
Most of them would remain in Yamato to confront the massive imperial army, while Shinobu snuck into the enemy stronghold alone to find Masato.
Each had their mission, and they were the best people for the jobs.
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