Chapter 27
I raised both hands.
The sphere captured within the aether began spinning faster, turning a deep gray.
Hello, Peregion.
A small god long forgotten and shriveled. A black lump of metal hidden beneath a white pebble—an untempered, pitch-dark iron.
Come here.
The core of power caught in the threads was pulled from Peregion and rolled into my hands.
I held the sphere carefully. It looked solid and heavy, but in my palm it felt as light and fragile as an egg.
I looked down at it.
It felt like I had become a colossal being. Like I had to take care of something very small and fragile.
Come here, Peregion.
If you stay with me, there’ll be no bothersome talk of conquering the world or destroying it. No other gods to make you sulk, either.
Submit.
I could feel it now—I could regulate the power within me. The force writhing inside surged outward and tightly wrapped around Peregion’s core.
I felt like a god.
It was… strangely, intensely exhilarating.
I felt like I could do anything for this ecstasy.
If this was originally Elpini’s power, then did Elpini also possess strong aether?
If so, then Elpini might have been someone capable of standing against Irix.
Then why was there no story about Elpini?
Did they do nothing despite having this much power? Or have I simply not seen it yet?
The sphere spinning in my palm came to a stop. The black boy-giant’s body in front of me vanished. The sphere too grew faint inside the nest of aether, then soon disappeared completely.
Where did it go…?
Next, it felt like I was waking from sleep. The hazy surroundings sharpened.
I was inside the train. It was tilted and in chaos. With a screech—skreee—the train shook in the wind, slid violently, and then caught on the railway bridge with a thunderous crash.
Thud—
The impact jolted my body hard. I felt dizzy.
Now a massive number of corrupted beasts were rushing toward me.
A chill ran down my spine. The moment I felt that cold fear, something seemed to shoot out from my body.
A moment later, a black hole formed ahead of me and rapidly expanded.
From within it, as if bursting out like a black bird, a giant leapt forth. A boy-giant with a pitch-black body.
Peregion.
I reached out my hand. Blue threads appeared again along it—Aether. The threads connected to the black boy’s body.
What did Irix say again?
Right—
Absolute command.
Destroy my enemies.
Thud—
With that short, powerful sound, the beasts were crushed and smashed apart.
With one swing of the boy’s massive hammer, the beasts were flattened and pulped all at once.
Startled by the blow, other birds swarmed in and covered the train.
Bang, bang—they slammed into it wildly. The already tilted train was shoved rapidly by their force. I slid with it and slammed hard into the train wall. It hurt like hell.
Skreeee—
Through the torn wall, I could see the pitch-black canyon floor below. The wind howled fiercely.
Then my arm was seized by a firm hand.
“Irix?”
It was Irix. He grabbed my body and caught hold of an iron bar on the opposite side—part of the train’s structure. Bbaemi clamped onto the back of my neck and flapped desperately.
Irix laughed and said,
“As expected, senior Bbaemi.”
You’re laughing at a time like this? But somehow I laughed too.
“Yeah. At this rate, I guess I’ll have to make it mine.”
“Good choice. It likes you that much—you should like it back.”
That ominous sound came again.
Flap—flap—
I looked up.
The sky, once soaked blue in the moonlight, was instantly stained black.
More corrupted birds had arrived. Even more than before. They clung to the train with wet slaps. With a violent roar, the train was shoved aside.
And then—
Crash—
At last, the train fell off the bridge. The connected cars dropped one after another. My body lifted into the air.
“Senior!”
Irix pulled me tightly into his arms. His hard shoulders and arms squeezed me. Even knowing we were about to fall like this, I foolishly hoped a miracle might happen.
Is this the end—
It’s a fantasy world. Isn’t there some way?
Then it happened.
A blinding white light exploded from behind Irix’s back.
The burst of light spread in all directions—fast, vast enough to cover the sky.
What is that?
It stretched out and undulated…
It looked like wings.
Wings made of light.
The light covered the sky. The falling train was caught by those wings and halted. Our falling bodies stopped too.
A clear, distinct voice rang out.
[My wings, my herald.]
The wings of light grew denser. It was too bright to keep my eyes open. My face was covered in that light.
[Mandatariel.]
The wings exploded and pushed the train upward. A massive weight that had been plummeting was now slowly being lifted. The swarm of beasts shoved the train down, but the wings’ power was stronger. The train rose higher and higher. The beasts flapped violently, pushing at it. They even pecked at the wings holding the train.
[Absolute command.]
A firm, oppressive voice echoed.
If what I had been earlier was a breeze, this was a massive storm.
An overwhelming gale—one against which resistance was meaningless.
[To you, the destiny of perfect annihilation.]
In an instant, the birds turned white.
The enormous swarm of beasts that had seemed ready to cover the world burned white in a single moment.
The wings of light exploded and lashed out in all directions. Along the tangled streaks of light, the beasts burned and vanished.
It was like a superheated bomb detonating and annihilating the enemy at once.
The wings that burned the enemies wrapped around the train and pushed it upward.
Then—
Screech—thud—
The train settled back onto the bridge.
My feet, which had been suspended in midair, touched the ground. A cool sense of relief washed over me as the tension drained away.
I looked ahead.
Because of the backlight, I couldn’t see anything, but I could clearly feel the strong grip holding both my arms.
I looked at him, covered in that glare, and asked,
“Is it you?”
The one who had been in the train.
The one who called me here and sat me down.
The only one who knew this world’s fate together with me.
He pulled my arms, then lowered his head and rested his forehead against my shoulder. The light extending from his back swayed. It really did look like wings of light sprouting from him.
When he raised his head, I saw his eyes.
They were… a deep sunset color.
Seeing those eyes reminded me of Irix’s eyes when he stood on the summoning circle.
Similar, yet different.
That Irix’s eyes had been close to blood-red, fierce and violent.
These eyes had more gold mixed in—warm.
He looked down at me with those shining eyes, then closed them.
In an instant, the light vanished.
As if something snapped, all my senses returned. The wind and cold brushed against my skin vividly.
“Senior!”
At the urgent voice, I looked up. Maimon stood in front of me.
Ah—right, Maimon…
Wait.
Why is Maimon here?
I shouted urgently,
“Irix!”
“Young master is here!”
Maimon pointed beside me. Irix lay there unconscious. The thin chain wrapped around his body was being held by Maimon.
“Are you all right?”
“I think… so.”
Only then did I notice the thin chain tightly wrapped around my own body. Maimon was holding that too.
“Ow.”
The thin chain was squeezing me too tightly.
“My apologies!”
Maimon hurriedly apologized and pulled his hand. The chain loosened and slid down. When he tugged it, it moved as if alive, returning to his hand and coiling around his wrist. The dagger attached to the chain snapped neatly into its sheath as if thrown with precision. I wondered—was that an ability, or just a function?
“Irix.”
I shook the unconscious Irix. He didn’t move, so I got worried and shook him harder.
A moment later, he groaned and opened his eyes.
“Irix, wake up.”
His eyes widened suddenly and he tried to sit up, only to stagger. Maimon tried to help, but Irix raised a hand to stop him.
“I can do it myself.”
And then he proudly collapsed under his own power.
Thud—
That must’ve hurt.
Sure enough, suppressing a groan, Irix shouted while lying there,
“I’m fine!”
“Maimon didn’t do anything.”
What’s the point of insisting you’re fine while lying flat on the ground like that? You’re the least fine one here.
I placed my hand on Irix’s neck. His temperature was normal, and his pulse steady. Thank goodness. Only his face was pale.
Irix glared at me.
“Take your hand off.”
Ah, how scary. I put more strength into my hand and pressed down on his neck.
“Kh—”
Irix let out a strained sound.
