Naze Boku no Sekai wo Dare mo Oboeteinainoka? - World 1 - The Last Federation (Part 3)

TL, ED: Pascal’s Wager

Grand Arc・Great Plains──

A grassland leads to the border with the Schultz Federation in the west. As many as thirty military vehicles moved in a straight line along the roadless path.

A mixed unit of about 150 people from the two humanity rebellion resistances.

「Well, we’ve got a big group again, haven’t we?」

Ashlan sits in the driver’s seat.

If I looked in the rearview mirror, I could see more than 20 cars following us in two lines just behind us.

「It’s a spectacular sight, but with this many people, aren’t we going to run out of weapons and ammunition soon? There’s a limit to the amount that can be loaded into a car.」

「Yeah. We need to think seriously about food and water before weapons and so on.」

Saki said in the back seat.

While chewing gum, she stared at the map in her hand.

「The West Schultz Humanity Rebellion Army must also be having a hard time if they have to accept 150 mercenary soldiers like us. They’re the ones who provide food, water, a place to sleep, and so on.」

「There’s at least one old ruin.」

「I don’t like it. Rats and snakes are likely to come out of a ruin. I won’t ask for a bed, for at least I want to be able to sleep peacefully. Rinne thinks so too.」

「Me？Hmm……」

Rinne thought in her usual seat to the right of Saki.

「I can sleep anywhere, so it’s okay.」

「Me too. Rats and snakes are cute and cuddly. When I slept in the forest, I often slept with rabbits.」

The elf shrine maiden agreed with her.

「However. Lord is worried about what happens after we get there, but we haven’t even crossed the southern border of the Union yet.」

「Yeah……ah! Kai, I see it, the graveyard.」

Saki looked up and pointed through the window.

On the green horizon.

A jet-black pyramid, much higher than the trees, stands tall.

「Even if you look at it now, it’s really big. It seems it could hold an entire small city. I thought this was a building only for the Urza Federation because Kai told me about it before, but it’s here too.」

「Oh, I don’t even know when it was made.」

Unanalyzed Shinzo Ruins.

It is a general term for buildings whose builders are unknown to us. In the canonical history, the Prophet Sid used this to seal the four races.

……I don’t know who built the graveyard. I thought this too.

……Is this also related to the god of prophecy?

“I am an existence of the world where the Five Races War is over

“I’ve exhausted all my power to create the Code Holder.”

Deep in the elf forest.

That’s what the statue calling itself Asurasoraka, the god of prophecy, had said.

Kai could not determine whether that existence was truly a transcendental existence that could be called a「god」, but there is no doubt that she is a living witness to the Five Races War.

However.

There are some people who are uneasy with the graveyard in front of them.

「────」

I gazed at Reirin in the rear.

She stared at the window, and as expected, the elf shrine maiden clenched her teeth silently.

「……Yes, I’ll be patient for a while longer. I promise.」

The elf’s monologue was stifled.

Her voice echoed through the car, but only Kai and Rinne were the ones who understood her feelings.

──Heavenly Lord Alfrejya.

It was the graveyard that took back the frozen, as if petrified, angel from the rasterizer.

“This stone statue is not alive. There is no need for Rikugen Kyoko to attack.”

“N, no that’s not the case! As long as we can lift the curse, we should be able to revive Heavenly Lord Alfreyja.”

Rikugen Kyoko said as she touched the statue of Heavenly Lord Alfrejya. This is not a petrification spell. It’s as if time had been stopped.

The statue of Heavenly Lord Alfreyja was then hidden again inside the cemetery by Reirin herself.

It couldn’t be placed in the base of the Humanity Rebellion Resistance, but outside the graveyard, it would be under the control of the holy spirit race. We couldn’t let them find and destroy it.

……The rasterizer was the one who attacked Heavenly Lord Alfreyja.

……But it’s possible that the mastermind behind that monster was Fang Emperor Rath=IE.

For the sidhe Reirin, he was the enemy of Heavenly Lord Alfrejya.

For Kai and Rinne, if Fang Emperor Rath=IE was the source of the world’s reincarnation, they couldn’t overlook that in order to return to the canonical history.

「Are? Isn’t this bad?」

Suddenly.

Saki, who had been looking at the map, suddenly lifted her head.

「Hmmー……hey Kai, do you see anything in the front from the passenger seat?」

「Only rocks and trees. What’s wrong, Saki?」

「If we keep going like this, we should be able to see the fourth city, Gliere. It was attacked by the holy ghosts a long time ago and is in ruins.」

「No way.」

「Yes yes. It looks like a holy spirit race nest. And it looks really big……」

A grassland where as many as 30 military vehicles are advancing.

It was only a few minutes later that the shadow of the city became visible.

「Ah!? Af, after all, it’s not what I expected!」

Saki screamed.

And to the left, even Reirin was frowning.

「It’s as creepy as ever. And the nest is……huge.」

──Shining ruins.

The entire city had been covered with strange, glowing, moss-covered things.

A metaphor for it would be if the building was covered with a spider’s thread. There was an extremely eerie「web」that was incomprehensible to human senses.

「Whoa whoa whoa, Kai, this is bad! We should brake or change direction right now. If we keep going, we’ll run into the nest.」

「I agree with that, but……」

Tens of thousands of holy ghosts live in the nest.

There is no doubt it is more than enough to encircle this coalition force. If we were surrounded, it would be inevitable that no matter how elite the soldiers were, they would be wiped out.

「But everything is as planned. We will go into their nest.」

「What!? Don’t tell me, that’s what this is?!」

「Yes, yes. The quickest way to the West Federation is to penetrate the nest. That’s what Commander Balmung meant when he said to 『go straight』.」

While responding to Ashlan quickly.

Kai himself was chilled to the bone.

……Lion King Balmung, you’ve made a bold decision.

……Neither Jeanne nor I would want to go through with such a reckless attempt.

“We’ll deal with you another time, humans. Let’s stop fighting.”

That was the declaration of Rikugen Kyoko.

If she really meant what she said about overthrowing Rath=IE, then even if we stepped into the nest, the holy spirit race should not attack.

In other words, by going straight ahead, this was confirming the true intentions of Rikugen Kyoko.

──To say the inverse.

Living sticky slime. Ghosts. Luminescent bodies.

If even one of them attacked, a great war between the holy spirit race and the humans would start on the spot.

……There is no way of winning if you fight in their nest.

……I know, but I still want to determine the true intentions of the holy spirit race, the lion king said.

Jeanne also gave permission.

『Gentlemen, we will now enter the nest.』

King Lion Balmung’s voice echoed over the broadcast.

It was a powerful voice.

『In other words, this is an experiment to confirm the true intentions of the holy spirit race. As far as if their words that swore they would overthrow the cryptid tribe were a truth or lie, I do not know. But I will say this. Everyone, get a gun ready.』

To the holy spirit race’s nest.

One car, then two, proceeded.

As the tires scraped on the road surface where the glowing mold grew, the spores that sprang up from the momentum flew through the air.

「Commander! There’s an emergency call from car one!」

A subordinate’s scream interrupted the communication device.

「Lo, look above you, sir! From the top of the abandoned building!」

『……Is it a ghost?！』

A floating body fills the sky overhead.

They came from all directions of the ruins and started circling above the thirty cars going through the nest.

It was like a vulture hunting for its prey.

「Y, you can see them! Directly overhead──────」

『Don’t shoot! Wait. You are not allowed to fire until I give the order.』

The Lion King roared.

『The situation is the same. There is no doubt they are nervous about when the humans will attack. They are also searching for the true intentions of us humans.』

「B, but……they’re getting closer and closer!」

『I said not to shoot！』

There was a hush.

Ashlan silently gripped the steering wheel, Saki held her breath and kept silent, and Rinne and Reirin glared from the left and right windows at the overhead ghosts.

Probably the same thing was happening in every car.

『Go straight.』

The commander’s order was given without hesitation.

We went straight down the road that had once been the city’s main street.

The road was littered with shattered asphalt, window panes, and concrete peeling off the walls of buildings. Then a single, very large structure came into view.

A building that looks like a twisted tire.

『What is that? I don’t remember seeing a building like that──────Whatttt!?』

The Lion King’s gasp echoed through the communicator.

It wasn’t a building.

It was a giant, silvery sticky slime that was larger than a building. It was so immobile that from a distance, it could be said to be considered a perfect mimic.

『What kind of living sticky slime is this!?』

It’s a giant that reaches the size of a ten-story skyscraper.

It was more massive than even the giant behemoth we encountered in the elf forest. Just by falling straight down, all the vehicles of the allied forces would be crushed.

「Probably thousand year class. Or hero class……？」

Reirin’s voice was faint.

「The holy spirit race individuals grow larger the longer they live. They’re similar to the cryptids, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a living sticky slime.」

There are four strength guideline levels.

Ten year class──A small, newborn individual. Can be defeated by a trained mercenary soldier.

Hundred year class──A well organized mercenary force can fight it, but it’s dangerous.

Thousand year class──Powerful and unmatched. There is always the possibility of being annihilated, even if the human tries any means.

Hero class──Original Spirit Lord・Rikugen Kyoko.

This is a guideline common to all four of the races.

To deal with the thousand year class and above, a joint discussion between the commander and captain level is required.

……It’s not just the heroes who are scary.

……I was made painfully aware of this when I was in this Urza Federation, but once again, I was reminded of how ridiculous it was.

The same is true for the demon race.

It was strongly burned into my memory that a hero-class demon, the number two, appeared in front of Rinne and me after we defeated Underworld Empress Vanessa.

The demon who called herself Succubus Princess──

“I am Succubus Hinemarill”

“If I’ve heard that Vanessa onee-san had been defeated by someone, it’s only natural I wonder what kind of person he or she is, right?”

Just as there is still Succubus Princess Hinemarill after Dark Empress Vanessa.

Even now that Rikugen Kyoko had been incapacitated, the total power of the holy spirit race is still beyond human imagination.

「But it won’t move. What do you think, Rinne?」

「……The atmosphere is tense.」

Rinne looks up from the window glass and stares at the giant silver sticky slime.

「It’s angry. It’s very angry because someone stepped into its nest.」

「Is that true?」

「Yeah. It’s okay with attacking at any time, but──」

It doesn’t move.

The living sticky slime the size of a small mountain does not move an inch. There was no change while thirty cars crossed the road just a few meters in front of it.

「I think it’s holding back.」

『Balmung-dono.』

Jeanne’s buttery clear voice came out over the communication device.

『There is no movement. The ghosts are also flying overhead, but there is no signs of an attack. And we’ll be passing through the city soon.』

『…………』

『I wonder if this is the holy spirit race’s intention.』

『──I know.』

The lion king sighs.

『You can’t let your guard down until the last moment you pass through the city. But my friends, as you can see. The holy spirit race is willing to let us pass. They want to defeat the cryptids.』

There was no lie in Rikugen Kyoko’s words.

It has been proven.

『All troops, continue to march straight ahead.』

Strength returned to the Lion King’s words.

『Let’s go. To the Western Federation──』