Chapter 133 : How to Overcome Greed (2)

August 6

[Notification from Elysion Observatory, evacuation of all civilians from nearby areas has been confirmed.]

“How is the deployment situation at locations where signs of rifts are appearing in each region?”

[Small combat teams led by born or awakened 2-star magical girls have been dispersed and deployed.]

“Understood. Please monitor the situation of the trial rifts, and handle urgent situations occurring in each region through combat team coordination as much as possible.”

[Understood. Please return safely.]

Silence fell as the radio transmission from the operator magical girl giving orders while grasping all situations ended from the observatory monitoring all battlefields in Elysion’s kaleidoscope.

Southern Siberia in central Russia.

This place, where small puddles of water were gathering in the grassland visible between the green coniferous forests, had a temperature just over 20 degrees Celsius, unlike the sweltering August heat of East Asia.

Though the damp wind from the vegetation filling the view and the sunlight falling overhead without a single shade were a bit unpleasant, I was somewhat relieved as it wasn’t as hot as the August heat I had expected.

To guard against the magical girls of [Plague] who absorb starlight, all ordinary magical girls were pushed back. We decided to concentrate firepower in conjunction with magical girls of fully bloomed 3-star or higher who could endure for a long time even in front of [Plague]. So preparations reminiscent of war like in the first and second trials were not necessary.

‘As all the magical girls with the best combat power have come here. The defense of other regions must rely on the coordination of all magical girls and the miracles of Elysion, but.’

Kang Dorim, the magical girl of [Cyberbrain] with almost no direct combat ability, was appointed as interim commander, and was made to distribute avatars to all points where small rifts were expected to occur to command. The divine doll Galatea was deployed at key points of each battle to prepare for the worst possible situations.

‘Bringing ordinary magical girls and just setting them up would only increase meaningless sacrifices…’

With a small elite group of the strongest magical girls, we quickly break through the starlight plundering and fake magical girls imitating girls from a destroyed fate, and defeat the demons escaping from the trial rifts in one breath.

Hecate, the magical girl of [Revelation]

Yuki, the magical girl of [Love]

Ichika, the magical girl of [Freedom]

Sumire, the magical girl of [Protection]

Hana, the magical girl of [Swiftness]

Himari, the magical girl of [Nursing]

A bold number bringing all the central figures except [Death] and [Cyberbrain] who will support from the rear.

Originally, the strategy for the third trial should be to save civilians from the giant boar advancing endlessly from Russia to southern China, together with numerous magical girls.

‘…It’s changed.’

Through the experience of dealing with [Plague] and the sea serpent that disappeared between rifts, I concluded that the more ordinary magical girls gather on this battlefield, the more completely the balance of offense and defense would collapse.

‘Magical girls have now come to trust each other and become strong enough to help protect each other.’

I believe in them who can now have hearts preparing for tomorrow rather than despairing at the fate of destruction.

While thinking that, I tried to shake off any worries in my heart.

Swoosh

The summer wind laden with moisture from the damp coniferous forest shook my hair, and Yuki approached from the group silently preparing their battle stances in the silence.

“I don’t see any mosquitoes.”

“Mosquitoes?”

“Yeah, I had a hard time with mosquitoes on the way to [Death]… another Alisa’s domain before. In the end, I just took short naps while wrapping myself in flame starlight and burned them all away.”

Looking back, I saw a girl dyed in brilliant white like her name.

Her hair, dress, and even the flames burning in her eyes had turned white.

A magical girl burning completely dazzling white flames beyond the red-burning [Flame] and [Resurrection].

Fully Bloomed 3-star Magical Girl of [Love]

Yuki

Yuki’s magical girl outfit had changed to look similar to mine for some reason.

Though completely different in appearance, a mystical atmosphere imbued with white and warm energy.

Is it because she was influenced by the goddess of [Beginning] just like me?

‘Or maybe me…’

Poke

Yuki brought her finger to my face with a gentle smile.

Her warm, slender finger tickled my cheek, and beyond it I could feel the energy of white-burning flames. Not as fiercely burning as before, but a stronger flame that burns quietly and brilliantly without leaving a single regret…

Complete combustion.

‘Come to think of it, fire has been treated as sacred since ancient times… because it exists so naturally by our side. And because it gives warmth and hope.’

Though [Resurrection] is commonly thought of first as a miracle used by gods. Perhaps [Love] that naturally stays by one’s side like a quietly burning flame is actually closer to a truly divine fate.

A fate that burns so quietly and calmly because it is so enormous.

‘Even if I’m biased because she’s my favorite, I can’t help but feel that aliases like [Flame] and [Love] are closer to a goddess’s fate than [Hope], no matter how I look at it.’

Calmness.

Quietness.

Warmth.

Small, but therefore equal to the world… and walking together with humans.

As I was thinking that, some divinity fitting for Yuki seemed to flash by in the goddess’s vision, but.

It wasn’t certain yet.

Even so, because of Yuki’s reassuring appearance, my worries disappeared and a small sense of awe began to take root in my heart.

From around that time, I also started to feel embarrassed by this appearance.

I could hear Ichika, Sumire, and Himari glancing over from afar and saying something about Yuki’s actions of poking my cheek since earlier.

-Is that… right?

-Well… we can’t… do that.

-…Because… we are.

-Heh.

I couldn’t hear clearly what they were saying, but it felt somehow ticklish and strange.

“…”

I thought she would just touch briefly and remove her hand, but Yuki remained still with the same smiling face.

“Um… what are you doing?”

“A trick to keep you from worrying too much.”

“Worrying?”

“Hikari, you’re worried about the other magical girls, aren’t you?”

“…”

“It’s okay. I, who have seen destruction and returned, will guarantee it. Hikari, you’ve done your best.”

“…Is that so?”

“I’ll be by your side. As much as you were by my side. As much as you listened to my story while turning the pages.”

“…Thank you.”

And so, on that quiet morning, in front of the coniferous forest of Siberia.

We waited for the magical girls of [Plague] to cross over to this world.

* * *

Sing of wrath, O goddess of greed.

The wrath of the eldest daughter of the most ancient goddess, who called herself darkness.

“The time… has come…!”

“Raise the stairs of darkness.”

“Those who sing of the countless girls’ pain.”

“Raise the altar of darkness.”

“Devour the weak goddesses who curse everything for their worthless return.”

What flows down her pale face are tears of longing.

Tears of longing that she yearns for more than anyone, though she has never experienced it.

What she grasps in both hands is a scale that devours everything.

Evidence of a fate that must suffer unreasonably, born unreasonably.

The delusions left behind by countless girls from the destroyed world.

The army of greed that put on those delusions was gathered around Erebos.

“We desire a miracle.”

Erebos, with four huge black stars on her back under the swirling flow of chaos, was raising her hands to create a miracle.

What gathered in the hands of the girl fluttering her black dress was the power of the world allowed by the stars.

What flows under the feet of girls imitating the dead is chaos.

The girls carefully placed chaos, the substance closest to the most fundamental constituent of the world, on the scales. The fragments of chaos that should have scattered futilely as soon as they were touched by hand accepted the touch of the army of greed and changed into the form they wanted to create.

“Let’s make a miracle, a miracle where we can be happy in this unreasonable world.”

What they construct are stairs.

Countless stairs that can reach the throne of nothingness beyond the distant sky.

“Memories of the dead wandering in forgotten time under the dragon of destruction, unable to return to the flow of stars even after death.”

Guuuung—!!

To harvest the starlight enjoyed by those living outside of chaos on the surface of the star. The first thing they chose was the theft of divinity.

The inherent divinity flowing from the fourth star is not enough.

The power of the foolish three goddesses who are still thinking of sprinkling curses to weaken the will of humanity while waiting for the time of trial when the boundaries of space and time become blurred. We will completely plunder the power of the weak goddesses who ruled the era that has already passed.

“The era we will live in… is the era of greed…!!”

Erebos prepared to activate thousands of stairs and black miracles through the rift that would soon open. When this rift opens, they will advance towards the three goddesses sitting helplessly on the throne of nothingness.

All souls living in this world will be dyed with the starlight of chaos and greed, their memories and lives will be plundered, and the infinitely multiplying army will finally gain its own identity.

Just as plague does not exist in a world where all humans are sick.

If all humans become the army of greed, there will be no difference between them and humanity.