episode_0032

Under the dark sky, the campus of “Scarlet Academy” is vaguely visible between the numerous flame walls rising all over the city. The buildings revealed by the sparkling bright red flames were crude and rough.

A place where the souls of warriors and the city burning with flames can be seen in the background.

This was the city center in the middle of the Scarlet Academy site.

In the distance, people’s screams and battle cries can be vaguely heard.

“What the hell is this… ?!”

“[Golden Witch] Using a magic circle from a previous era… ?!”

We were suddenly called here and were confused.

Slowly-

Traces of clearing the erosion dungeon gate.

We were standing with black crystal pieces containing countless ethers.

“… !”

I felt like my heart was frozen in this sudden situation.

‘I can’t see Sigrun and here. Then, among the dungeon raiders, it was activated to target only us and Eir?’

no way… That can’t be…

I checked the surroundings again for signs.

There was no sign of anyone other than the captured Eir and our party.

Several students patrolling the city center collapsed due to the black ether fog spreading around them. And the culprit, spouting black ether, was right in front of him.

I sighed as I looked at ‘that guy’ who suddenly appeared.

Excluding [The Dragon Crouching in the Abyss], the last executive in the main story with the most powerful powers. [Priest of Erosion] was waiting for us in the middle of the northern slums.

“… ”

“… ”

“… ”

“… ”

We froze when we saw the [Priest of Erosion].

What the [Priest of Erosion] is holding onto is the northern powerhouse [Yanghong’s Trail]. And the ominous energy emitted by the [Priest of Erosion] is something I have never seen before.

‘Why did [Priest of Erosion] appear on the scene in the first place?’

There is absolutely no connection between cause and effect.

He must have just woken up in this era.

[Priest of Erosion] was never the type to do things carelessly out of ignorance.

‘There was also a setting to be cautious about bosses that could only be dealt with by gathering fully trained characters.’

has recently awakened from the seal of the distant past.

I couldn’t imagine why they were moving so quickly.

‘At this point, they are already looking into [the fate of the three heroes]… !’

But [Priest of Erosion] appeared before us at this moment.

The black-robed monster, [Priest of Erosion], was holding Eir with his massive, rough hands filled with black ether.

Gooo!

Quad Deuk

With an eerie sound, black ether burrows into Eir’s neck like a spider web. However, Eir’s eyes were wide open and his fighting spirit was burning.

Eir was trying to resist by emitting bright red etheric flames from his entire body. However, perhaps because he broke through the event dungeon alone, he was unable to produce proper output due to extreme exhaustion.

“Keuheuk… ! Grrr!!”

Eir’s defiance was meaningless.

The [Priest of Erosion] muttered in a cave-like voice, observing the color of ether with vertically torn yellow pupils.

“It’s surprising. I never thought that in the era when we truly awaken, an ether with a [fate of purification] will be born. If I hadn’t known, there would have been a really big setback. And I never thought they would come together until [The Fate of the Three Heroes].”

“… !”

A hint of gap.

[Priest of Erosion] was trying to figure something out.

Due to a sense of crisis, I reflexively moved out of the way of the priest.

“Hmm… ”

[Priest of Erosion] slowly turned his head and looked this way. The torn vertical pupils look at Albit, Lotta, and Kara. They froze even more, weighed down by the power in those eyes.

“… Inferior species females with brown, orange and blue hair. It’s really amazing. Was that really a prophecy?”

[Priest of Erosion] nodded his head in satisfaction. Every movement of the over 5 meter tall lizard-headed giant was filled with sinisterness.

“It’s really just what ‘he’ said 1500 years ago… It went very well. Because I didn’t waste time looking into the [fate] in the ether.”

I got goosebumps when I heard that muttering.

‘Why does know about and the fate of the Five Colors first…? ?! Who exactly does ‘he’ refer to? ?!’

They already knew the ‘knowledge’ that was only revealed at the end of the original work.

“Phew… !”

I was out of breath from confusion.

An unpleasant cold sweat runs down my back, giving off the scent of despair.

‘Someone 1500 years ago… I already told you the original story… ?’

1500 years ago.

From some past in this world beyond my reach.

The distortion of the original work, which I was not aware of, had already begun.

It is a distortion that began in the distant past that cannot be helped even if it now wears the mask of ‘Clara’ and pursues it claiming to be a [Faded Spiral].

already knew everything and was making moves.

“… ”

No matter what mask I have.

Despair for things that cannot be undone.

I instantly felt it and felt like I was going out of my mind.

‘Then, what should I do to help my seniors…? What should I do to make this world that came from a game… ‘

It remained in a corner of my heart.

I felt like I was hearing the taunts of a selfish, sickly man from my past life.

-Look, there was no problem even if you lived your own life.

‘no… !’

That moment.

Eir struggled, emitting scarlet flames.

Paaa!!

Like a candle about to go out, it was burning hotly and struggling to escape its large grasp. And while moving his arms with difficulty, he tries to catch the sword he dropped on the floor.

“Kkeup… !! Haaa… no?

Shuuu-

However, the scarlet flame is slowly extinguished due to restraint.

The hand reaching out to grab the sword only waved in the air pitifully.

“Grurg… ! Crunch… !”

“… ”

Eir’s voice rang low, like a wounded animal.

Although she was tiny, leaking from her crushed neck, she was still looking straight into the eyes of her captor.

“Muk, kill… weekend… !”

[Priest of Erosion] said with a laugh.

“Hehe, that’s a funny story. The believers may be able to win, but that’s impossible. But if a little more time had passed, it might have been possible.”

Paaa!!

Black mist spews out from the four dragon wings that extend behind his back. That alone causes the surrounding air to shake, absorbing the ether of those standing there.

Gooo――!!

Black fog spreads out in all directions, slowly creating twisted cracks in the air. A familiar crying sound was heard from within the crack that was splitting like a honeycomb.

Quoaaa!!

Quoaaa!!

Several adult chaos insects, the boss that had been so cruelly defeated in the dungeon, were coming down from the air. It was wailing, trampling on numerous buildings with its gigantic body.

With the collapse of the erosion dungeon, the once quiet city center falls into chaos again.

Cuuu!!

Chaos begins with a huge landing sound.

Quoaaa!!

Quoaaa!!

– Stop them from going wild!!

-Evacuate people!!

-Burn your life until the end!!

The sound of numerous buildings collapsing can be heard around you.

The sound of students desperately trying to fight adult chaos insects.

And what stands in the middle of it all is enormous despair.

The fog that arose from the giant wings of despair made hope disappear from everyone’s hearts. While taking away the ether of countless people, he was simultaneously increasing his own power.

The black wings…

Even the moonlight is blocked.

Gooo――

In the black fog.

Belle, who had exerted all her strength, fell to the floor with a pale face.

“This is… It’s impossible… ”

dump-

Albit and Kara had been sitting down and trembling since a while ago.

“Ugh… ! Fight… But… !”

“It’s impossible… That… ”

Lotta, who was on my back, was holding my neck with his cold hands. Those slender hands were constantly trembling and vomiting out despair.

Dadadadada…

I heard Lothar’s chin tremble with fear. Her precious dreams, life, time… I felt confident that all of that would disappear right here and now.

“… ”

I 100% feel like I’m going to die.

In despair without an answer.

I looked up at the sky in vain.

The situation is such that the contents of the original work cannot be referenced even to the slightest bit.

‘That’s just me… ‘You can’t win.’

If you keep fighting like this, you will die.

Even if [Pink Spiral] uses 100% of its power…

‘In the first place, I tried to go with the flow of the original story by putting on a mask to prepare for the second half when I would be powerless… ‘

‘I’ don’t have enough strength to deal with the enemies in the second half alone.

Because of ‘my’ terrible constitution, I cannot benefit from late-stage weapon aptitude.

In the story, ‘I’, who cannot chase [fate], cannot defeat the [dragon crouching in the abyss].

So, wasn’t he trying to raise his juniors like the original work?

Because these children had the [fate] to go further than me, who had increased their strength through expedient means.

‘But before I even raise my juniors, the boss in the second half suddenly appears like this… ?’

I’m devastated…

And the things that pass through my head.

How did they deal with each other in the original?

What pattern did it appear in the original work?

What knowledge is there in the original work that can be referenced?

“… ”

It’s useless.

Everything has already changed.

The inside of my head turns white.

‘In the first place… ‘Why did I try to follow the original?’

The very first decision.

Senior Frida’s last smile appears in a corner of my mind.

The day I truly realized that this world originated from games.

『It’s not your fault, Clara.』

‘Frida senior… ‘

Solving the secrets of this world.

To protect this city I love.

To see again the seniors who loved me.

To do that, you have to follow the answer sheet in this world… !

“… ”

Another passing question.

What is the correct answer?

The original work was so twisted and broken?

… It wasn’t.

But there was definitely a path I wanted to follow.

『Become a senior who can leave beautiful memories and lessons to someone.』

A spiral, not a straight line.

Continuation, not arrival.

The lines that connect and connect are infinite.

Exciting!!

When I suddenly look back.

There was no right answer in this world.

But it wasn’t lost.

I always had a heart that told me where the road was leading.

[I was not the character ‘Clara’ in the game.]

“… !”

[I am a girl who loves Academy City.]

[I am a wanderer who wandered after fighting.]

[I am a stranger who was changed by the love of my seniors.]

[I am a man who has strayed from the path of his heart, chasing a non-existent answer key.]

And what do I want to become?

Exciting!!

‘The spiral path… Go back. But in the end, they all come together towards one point.’

When I became aware of that, my heart started pounding.

‘The important thing is… ‘Not the right answer, but the sincerity of what you want to achieve.’

I can see the path of the heart.