Naze Boku no Sekai wo Dare mo Oboeteinainoka? - World 5

TL, ED: Pascal’s Wager

Sorry for the abundance of TL notes, I just feel like they are important to mention what I’m changing, especially if I’ve translated in a consistent way up to now. As always, please remember to only read this on neosekaitranslations.com.



１

 

An endless sea of clouds.

The landscape of the green meadow and the armored troop carriers lined up there have disappeared. The sky stretched out in every direction, and the world was covered with cotton-like clouds. (TL: Oops, seems like the previous chapters have been taking place on a meadow instead of a plain. Was hard to tell)

Kai stood on a stone walkway that floated there.

「……This is……」

It was familiar to me.

The first time I entered from the Demon’s Graveyard and met Rinne. (TL: Changing from Demon’s Crypt to Demon’s Graveyard)

The second time, I entered the Holy Spirit Graveyard and found the petrified Heavenly Lord Alfreyja there. (TL: I’m going to assume that there’s only one holy spirit graveyard, as with the demon graveyard)

This was the third time.

It’s still a mysterious space, but not chaotic at al…………l. (TL: Read “all” with a lengthened pause in between)

──I thought so.

「What’s going on. Isn’t this the place?!」

The endless clouds were red.

It wasn’t the orangey color of dusk. It was a horrifying strong dark blood red.

The sky was brown.

It was stained in a muddy poisonous brown.

「This passage looks like it’s rotting too……」

Stunning stone pillars reminiscent of ancient sculptures lined the stone passage at regular intervals.

There were countless black spots on the stone pillars. I didn’t feel like trying to get closer to find out what was on them.

……Why was I here in the first place.

……Rinne was caught by Rath=IE, and then just after that, something started.

That was all I remembered.

While I was swinging the Code Holder in a daze, my consciousness was cut off.

「Ne Kai.」

「Is this really the place I came to in the past? The sea of clouds and passage are similar, but the atmosphere is so different……」

「Come on, Kai. Y, you, are listening?」

「Let’s consider the possibility of another place. If that’s the case-」

「Hey!!!!」

「Whoa?!!……Jeanne?」

I turned around in a panic when someone yelled in my ear.

The commander of the Urza Humanity Rebellion Resistance stood before Kai’s eyes.

Alone.

「Jeanne, were you here?!」

「……I was here. I was calling to you from behind you, but you just started mumbling and walking away.」

「You, didn’t notice me?」

「That’s right. He’s been talking to himself the entire time and my voice couldn’t reach him. Excuse me.」

Mu-, Jeanne said with a pout. (TL: Mu = pouting sfx)

「I’ve been chasing you for a while now.」

「……chasing me?」

「So, er um, you slashed at Rath=IE. That’s why I also held the bow to help.」

The elf bow certainly fit in Jeanne’s hands.

「As soon as you slashed the black fog, everything went white in front of my eyes. It was as if a tremendous light erupted and I was sucked into it……」

「Did you see it?」

「…………」

Mu-, Jeanne inflated her cheeks again.

She bashfully turned her eyes away as if she wanted to say something and restlessly shook her head.

「Er Jeanne, the rest of the story.」

「L, like I said! It seemed to have disappeared……I, I’ve been chasing you in a hurry!」

In falsetto for some reason, Jeanne shouted with a slight blush on her face.

「Then I was sucked into the light and found myself here. It was similar to the last time I was transported from the graveyard of the Yurun Federation, but it looks a little different……」

「I’m sorry for worrying you. Also, I have the same feeling about this place.」

The appearance was clearly different from before.

The last two times I’ve been here, the place was dull, but the landscape itself had a solemn and sacred atmosphere like an ancient temple.

But, how about now.

 

“The alteration has reached the second level.”

“The world『mutates』. Towards a bizarre future you are completely unaware of.

 

……Those words of Rath=IE.

……It was said as if the world reincarnation wasn’t over yet.

Was this place related to the change?

「I wonder if we’re the only two people here.」

「Let’s walk a little. There may still be someone, and in any case, if we don’t find an exit, we’ll leave everyone on the other side.」

「Yeah. I’m leaving my subordinates, and Rath=IE too……」

Fang Emperor Rath=IE fused with the rasterizer.

In contrast, there were about fifty mercenaries in the Humanity Rebellion Resistance. The difference in numbers was clear, but even so it would be difficult to beat the strongest creature.

「……Farin’s there」

While walking quickly along the stone passage, Jeanne said the name of her female warrior who was her escort.

「I think Farin could buy some time to let my subordinates escape by car. Balmung-dono should be able to take command quickly. 」

「Reirin’s there, as well as Rikugen Kyoko.」

「Yeah. So let’s believe and find an exit. And see if we’re not the only ones wandering around here.」

「……Probably Rinne too.」

Only two people, Rinne and I, were able to recognize Rath=IE’s Zero-Coordinate Tampering.

I didn’t understand the logic.

But it was a delirious Rinne who tried to stop it. It appeared to Kai that the Zero-Coordinate Tampering had stopped, but──

「This wasn’t here a while ago.」

「I want to find it as soon as possible. This place is clearly different from before.」(TL: I suppose it refers to the exit)

Don’t stay here.

There was an atmosphere that made you feel that way with a gut feeling.

──Straight.

Proceed through the endless passage. Ignore the left and right forks. If we turned in the dark, we wouldn’t know how to turn back.

「Ne Kai, what’s that.」

Jeanne pointed to the end of the road.

A raised plaza that resembled an altar.

At the end of the staircase with less than 10 steps, there were three majestic marble columns. They all towered over the surroundings.

The altar that I remember──

「No way.」

This was the altar where Rinne was caught by the rasterizer.

I barely managed to push back the words that had come up to my throat back into my chest.

 

“The girl looked like an angel.”

“The girl also looked like a demon.”

 

This was where I met Rinne.

The place where I wandered from the Demon’s Graveyard and found her trapped on a pillar?

Was it just a similar place?

If it was the same place, then this space was still out of the ordinary.

……I visited here before from the Demon’s Graveyard in the Urza Federation.

……But I was in the Schultz Federation until a while ago.

North and west of the world continent.

Are two points with a tremendous distance connected in this space, ignoring the physical space?

「Is there even such a thing……?」

「What’s wrong, Kai? Why did you stop suddenly like that.」

「……Let’s go. That’s the only place that stands out at the moment.」

Step by step, we climbed the stairs and watched the situation.

At the base of the towering column was a broken chain and its fragments. There was no doubt it was a chain cut by the Code Holder.

And──

「Rinne?!」

In the center of the altar, a blonde girl bent over in a prostrated position.

There was no response when I called out to her. She didn’t seem to be seriously injured, but she was clearly unconscious.

「Rinne, hey Rinne. Come on────……!!」

I ran to her out of breath.

Kai lost his words for a moment as he touched her shoulder to pick her up.

──Tenma’s wings.

The wings with characteristics of a demon and an angel still appear d on Rinne’s back.

Was it because she had wielded her power to stop Fang Emperor Rath=IE? She must have lost consciousness without the strength to hide her wings.

And now, Jeanne was behind me.

「Kai, what’s wrong?」

「No, I’m fine. Jeanne, I’ll take care of Rinne, so I’ll keep an eye on her────」

There was no time to hide it.

Jeanne, who ran with a delayed step, looked at the fallen Rinne. Immediately afterwards, Kai heard her transmitted gasp.

It was seen.

「……Rinne……that thing on your back……」

「Wait, Jeanne. It’s not like that!」

「────」

The Holy Knight of Light stared down at Rinne’s wings. (TL: Don’t know if I’ve said this before, but Jeanne’s title is better off translated as “Holy Knight of Light” than “Spiritual Knight of Light,” just based on context)

She was not human.

It was the same fear Kai had when he saw Rinne for the first time.

If they were angels, they were in the sidhe race, and if they were devils, they were in the demon race. Either way, they were human enemies.

「Rinne’s wings, this is…………」

「Is she still breathing?」

「Eh?」

「She’s unconscious and collapsed, but is she still breathing? If she needs CPR, I have to hurry.」

Jeanne knelt on her knees.

After confirming the faint breathing sound of Rinne, she stroked her chest in relief.

「It seems she’s just unconscious. Forcing her to wake up is harmful to her body, so let’s see what happens.」

「…………」

「What’s wrong? Staring at my face like that.」

「No, uuh……」

There was no way she hadn’t noticed Rinne’s wings.

In fact, she must have gasped in surprise at least once. So why didn’t she try to pursue the matter further?

What was Jeanne thinking?

It would have been easier to talk to her if she had said「what are these wings?!」, but why didn’t she ask that? It was too unnatural, and it made me feel nervous.

「……Aren’t you curious?」

「I already knew it. Rinne isn’t human, right?」

She spoke with a hint of tension in her voice.

But the expression on Jeanne’s face was calm and filled with her usual calmness.

「Since when?」

「Farin consulted me. That much is obvious.」

「Ah……I see.」

Farin was watching the moment when Rinne used her magic.

That was when she had stormed into the government palace to challenge Dark Empress Vanessa. Ever since then, Farin must have been secretly working on a theory.

……Once you find Rinne suspicious, you’ll see many suspicious elements of Rinne.

……She was frightened of the sight of humans in the Special Humanitarian Zone.

It was possible that she was another race that resembled humans.

In fact, Io’s Humanity Rebellion Resistance had an elf dressed as a human who was an aide to the commander.

「If anything, I was waiting for Kai to tell me.」

「……Ugh-」

「Do you have anything to tell me? You do have something to say, don’t you?」

Jeanne’s gaze hurt.

Overwhelmed by her silent pressure, Kai bowed his head obediently.

「……I’m sorry for not telling you.」

「Why did you not tell me?」

「When Jeanne and I first met, I didn’t think you’d trust me if I told you this. I said『I am a human being in the world where the Five Races War ended』. I also thought talking about it could get Rinne executed if she was another race.」

「That’s right. In fact, I might have done that if I met her for the first time.」

Jeanne smiled dryly.

Some self-deprecation was probably mixed in there as well.

「As the commander of the Urza Humanity Rebellion Resistance, I was nervous every day, wondering when we would go to all-out war with the demons. If I was introduced to Rinne at that time, I would have burned her at the stake, thinking she must be a demoness disguised as a human.」(TL: Possibly a reference to witch burnings)

「……Burning at the stake.」

「I’m serious. I don’t think I would have hesitated at the time.」

「Then it’s a good thing I didn’t say anything?」

「It’s extremely annoying.」

「Which is it?!」

「……it’s soft. Like a bird’s feather.」

Jeanne looked at Rinne, who was still unconscious, and fearfully touched the wings on her back.

She touched to check her appearance.

「I have a lot of questions I want to ask you, but I’ll get to them when we get out of here. So for now just one. Can I trust Rinne? Can I think of her as a human ally?」

「────」

It would have been easy to answer with a single word「yes」.

But that would have been meaningless. I don’t think that was the answer Jeanne wanted.

……I didn’t say who Rinne was.

……And it was too natural to answer such a question「that’s right」.

To accept the other race Rinne as a commander. If there was an ideal answer I could give, it would be──

「Without Rinne, I wouldn’t be able to beat Dark Empress Vanessa. It was because of Rinne’s persistent fighting.」

「-!」

「Even when Neo Vishal was attacked by the gargoyles. I only defeated one gargoyle. If it hadn’t been for Rinne, the Special Humanitarian Zone might have been destroyed.」

「…………」

「I’ll leave it to Jeanne to decide what she thinks of that.」

Mutual silence.

The silence was soon disturbed by Jeanne’s sigh.

「It’s not fair. If you say that, I can’t question anything else.」

「I’m relieved. For you to say that.」

「Ah, but there’s one more thing.」

Jeanne held up her index finger.

She pointed her finger at me. Furthermore, she fixedly brought her face closer, staring enough to open a hole in my face.

「Wh, what?」

「Kai. I’ll ask you something.」

「What?」

「You’re not going to tell me you aren’t really human, are you?」

「I’m a human?! You know when you see it!」

And──

As in response to that voice, Rinne, who was lying on the floor, made a small movement.

「Rinne?」

「……ugh…………h, huh? Where is this?」

Rinne opened her eyes.

She rubbed her eyelids, still drowsy, and raised her upper body, curiously looking around. And finally noticed the wings on her back────

「Uh, oh, oh no! Don’t look Jeannya!」(TL: So I just noticed that Rinne says “Jeannya” instead of Jeanne AHAHAHA. It’s like a “cute” way of saying Jeanne.)

She hid her tenma’s wings behind her in a fluster.

However, Rinne herself was probably aware that her wings had been seen.

「…………」

「……Did you see it?」

「Yes, I enjoyed it plenty. But don’t worry, Kai told me what happened while you were sleeping, and I’m not going to tell my subordinates in the humanity rebellion resistance.」

Jeanne smiled slightly.

And.

With a slight lingering hesitation, she moved her fingertips towards Rinne.

「────」

In front of Rinne.

She gently traced the wings on Rinne’s back with her fingertips. Just like combing her hair with her fingertips.

From the snow-white tip of the feather.

To the cold, shining black feather, she stroked.

「Wa, wait Jeannya. That tickles……」

「Ara? I’m sorry.」

Jeanne smiled gracefully.

Rinne, on the other hand, was probably not used to having her wings touched so carefully. Her cheeks blushed in embarrassment.

「It, it’s okay……」

「Do you mind?」

Fu-, Jeanne exhaled. (TL: Like exhaling with a “fu” sound)

I thought she was going to withdraw her hand, but the silver-haired girl said crisply.

「Then, I’ll continue more.」

「Fueh?」(TL: shock sfx)

「──This is the place. I see, it tickles to touch this part of the wing.」

「Wai-?! Wait Jeanne……a, aahahahaha!!!! St, stop Jeannya, what are you doing! Sa, save me!」

Jeanne tickled her wings with both hands, and Rinne turned over.

She seemed to be very ticklish, her face became bright red, she writhed and struggled for breath.  But Jeanne’s hands didn’t stop.

「Nya, what are nya doing……No, ah, ahahahahaha?!!!!」(TL: The pun doesn’t translate well in English, but I suppose think of “what are (n)ya doing” as a pun on “what are you doing”)

「Punishment. Rinne, you’re such a bad girl for keeping these wings hidden from me.」

「Be, because……！」

「If you make an excuse, I’ll continue.」

「Ahahahahaha—……I’m sorry……I’m sorry, I won’t hide it anymore, so don’t tickle me────────────?!!!」

「Good.」

Rinne collapsed limply.

She looked down satisfactorily and Jeanne exhaled. (TL: “she” should be Jeanne)

「Alright! This made me feel a little better now. It was kind of a stress reliever, too.」

「……Uu. I’ve never even been touched by Kai before.」(TL: “Uu” = embarassment sfx)

Rinne’s face was still red.

「Jeannya was mean to me……」

「It wasn’t mean. It’s a proof of good friendship. Isn’t that right, Kai?」

「So now you’re dumping this on me?」(TL: As in responsibility for the answer)

Kai didn’t know how to reply.

But──

Rinne’s expression seemed to loosen up when Jeanne said the words「proof of good friendship」.

Kai had a similar feeling.

……I didn’t want to hide Rinne because I wanted to.

……It was because I couldn’t find an opportunity to confide in her. (TL: referring to Jeanne)

This wasn’t the case with Reirin or Rikugen Kyoko, who were known to be other races.

The relationship between Rinne and Jeanne was built on the premise that 「each other is a human」, so if Rinne’s wings were seen, their relationship might fall apart.

Kai was worried about that.

Of course, so did Rinne herself.

「But it’s a step forward.」

「What do you mean?」

「It’s good to be friends.」

Kai responded with a wry smile to Jeanne, who folded her arms.

「The next people to confide in would be Saki and Ashlan, but they would be surprised and react loudly. I’ll still have to be careful.」

He took Rinne’s hand and helped her up.

When. Jeanne, who was watching, folded her arms.

「I’m really stumped. I wonder how much more of a multiracial coalition my Urza Humanity Rebellion Resistance will be, with already having Reirin and Rikugen Kyoko.」

「It won’t increase more than this. As you’d expect, I don’t think Fang Emperor Rath=IE can understand me.」

Fang Emperor Rath=IE was the clear enemy.

……I thought the heroes of the four races fought for the prosperity of their respective races.

……But only Fang Emperor Rath=IE was different.

Revenge against the Great Founder.

With this obsession alone, he fused with the rasterizer.

「I want to leave this place as soon as possible. I’m also worried about the humanity rebellion mercenaries I left behind……Rinne, can you guess what’s going on in this space? Like a way to get out?」

「……Hmーm. I have no idea at all.」

Rinne looked behind.

The stone pillars and broken chains of the altar. As soon as she saw it, the tenma girl’s expression clouded over.

「I don’t like it here……」

「I can’t say that I like it either. And it’s a lot different than before──」

A moment later.

The blood red sea of clouds was pulsing.

It was a huge pulsation. The atmosphere trembled under the impact, and even the altar where Kai and the others stood vibrated in small increments──

 

A deafening flirtatious voice echoed in this strange space.

 

Voice?

A laugh resembled the high-pitched tone of fingernails on glass, but with a vivid mysteriousness added to it.

「Rasterizer?! Where did it come from?!」

I had the Drake Nail in hand.

In the event of an emergency, it could be switched to the Code Holder, making it the strongest sword that could be used against the overwhelmingly durable creature Rath=IE. There was no more reassuring weapon than this.

But what was this waterfall of cold sweat running down my cheek?

……I felt like my heart was tightly held.

……Just hearing its voice now.

The shock and fear of the first encounter with the rasterizer.

No, more than that?

I felt the presence of a tremendous monster behind that flirtatious voice. I felt like my whole body was being crushed by such a heavy pressure.

「Jeanne, what was that voice just now?」

「I heard it even if I didn’t want to. It sounded different from Rath=IE’s voice, but I’m sure there’s something there.」

Jeanne held up her elf bow.

Looking in every direction from the top of the altar, her lips were cold and pale.

「The rasterizer is still here?」

「Aside from the one that fused with Rath=IE, I know of one other. But the voice I just heard wasn’t that one either……」

The remaining rasterizer was the one that once captured Rinne.

But the current creepy voice was different. It didn’t seem to match the image of any of the rasterizers I’ve seen.

……It was not an individual I’ve seen before.

……Even if the voice earlier was a rasterizer, it could be a completely different new species.

I only heard the voice.

No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t see it.

「Rinne, I’m going to have to push you, but can you move? It wouldn’t be strange for anything to happen at any time, so we need to find a place to escape…………Rinne?」

「────」

I noticed.

Rinne was silently bringing her body to my back.

Her breathing was rough.

Her arms that clung to me tightly were quivering helplessly. (TL: Protecc)

「……Scared.」

「Rinne?」

「No! Kai, let’s run. Impossible……I can’t beat that voice!」

「What are you saying?!」

「Come on, come on Jeannya! We have to get out of here quickly! We have to get away from here!」

Rinne’s voice was now screaming.

And the sea of clouds below us began to pulse hugely again.

With *dokun* *dokun.* The sea trembled with enormous power, and the waves that remained washed over Kai and others on the altar. (TL: dokun = like heartbeat sfx, think waves are referring to the sound waves)

「……I agree with Rinne. I have a really bad feeling about this.」

Jeanne bit her lips.

「Kai, we need to find an exit! Do you have any idea where that might be?!」

「No. We’ll have to search all around here anyway──────no, wait.」

He ran down the stairs.

Then Kai stopped and looked back at the altar he had just ran down.

「Rinne, this is where we first met.」

「……Y, yes.」

Recall.

At that time, I ran desperately to let RInne escape from the rasterizer. After that, I found an exit and returned to the Demon’s Graveyard.

……Yes, there was only one exit.

……But if I go through it, where will I move to?

「Kai! It’s approaching!」

Rinne pointed to the sea of clouds drifting below the stone corridor.

I couldn’t see anything, but the tenma girl’s face was pale white as she stared at the sea of clouds.

「Something’s under the clouds! It’s rising up!」

 

Mga elmei pheno clar (Sing, all people)

 

Unknown──

There was something unbelievably huge on the way. There was a transcendental「something」that made this space itself tremble.

I understood it instinctively.

「Rinne, Jeanne, over here!」

There was no time to hesitate.

If I stayed in this space, I would be annihilated. I followed my instinct and started running. The goal was to get behind the altar. I was going to get to the straight passage from there.

「Jeanne! I only know one exit. I can’t guarantee where it’s connected to even if we go through it. 」

「Escape is the first priority.」

Jeanne, who was running right next to me, was breathing hard.

「This isn’t a good place for humans. Anyway, let’s escape outside!」

「Uh huh.」

「──Kai, there it is!」

Rinne, who was leading, pointed in the direction they were moving in.

A crack of light.

I had seen it before. This was the same door I went through when I first came here with the Code Holder.

「Kai, what’s that light?!」

「That’s the door. Listen, Jeanne, there’s no guarantee we’ll be back in Western Schultz!」

I wouldn’t wait for a reply.

Before Jeanne could say a word, Kai jumped into the crack of light.

Text: Urza Federation    End Analysis God-Made Ruins「Demon’s Graveyard」

 

２

 

Reddish-brown earth.

A wasteland of pebbles lightly accumulated due to the hard bedrock that spread. How long had I been watching the brutal scene?

 

“2 in the afternoon. Right on time.”

“I’m going to start monitoring the 『graveyard』now. Jeanne, can you hear me?”

“This is the Urza branch of the Human Protection Agency. I can hear you perfectly, Kai.

 

Demon’s Graveyard──

I reported the surveillance results and sent it to Jeanne on the other end of the line.

The reason why I remembered my daily life in the canonical history was probably because she was standing next to me, and we were looking up at the jet-black pyramid together. (TL: She referring to Jeanne)

「……What happened.」

Jeanne, squinting in the sandy wind, murmured as if she remembered.

How long had it been?

Jeanne, who had been looking up at the graveyard speechlessly, turned around absent-mindedly.

「This is the wilderness of the Urza Federation? No way……because we spent so much time going through the elf forest, going through the holy spirit’s nest, and finally reaching the Schultz Federation.」

From west to north.

We were forced to 「backtrack」instantly through that enclosed space.

「I was the one who said we should run away first, and the situation was very tight. But as expected, this is far beyond my imagination……I got……a little sick.」

*petan* She squatted on the ground.  (TL: Some sort of flop or slump sfx)

In the face of such a supernatural phenomenon, her whole body must have lost all of her strength at once.

「Kai and Rinne aren’t surprised……？」

「I am surprised. But this isn’t the only time.」

In terms of surprises, there was nothing better than the world reincarnation.

Furthermore, Kai was half prepared for this transition.

「Is Rinne the same?」

「Yes. I’m relieved we got out of that previous place. Is Jeanne different?」

「……That’s right.」

Shaking her head in disbelief, the commander of the Urza Humanity Rebellion Resistance stood up.

She took out a communication device from her pocket.

「Farin?…………it’s no good after all. It’s too far away for the signal to reach the Schultz Federation with the computer terminal.」

「Is it impossible to get in touch?」

「I want to know what’s going on there, but there’s nothing I can do. I don’t know how the battle with Rath=IE went. I’m the commander and at a time like this……」

Jeanne clenched her teeth bitterly.

「Let’s go to the headquarters.」

「I’m just asking, but the headquarters isn’t the Schultz Humanity Rebellion Resistance’s radio tower, is it?」

「It’s the Urza Headquarters. The humanity rebellion resistance in Urzak has a communication facility that can reach the rest of the federations. We can contact them there.」

The level ground of a roadless wilderness──

It would take us a day to cross here on foot. There was no water or food. It was a long journey of nearly a week to reach the imperial capital, even if we replenished supplies at the nearest Special Humanitarian Zone.

……What was worrisome was the movement of the cryptids.

……Now that Jeanne was gone, the remaining Urza Humanity Rebellion Resistance should be restless.  (TL: This seems to be referring to those in the Schultz Federation)

If the cryptids launched a total attack there, there was no guarantee that the remaining people in Western Schultz would be able to withstand it.

「We’ll have to walk as much as we can during the day and camp out for the night.」

Jeanne pointed to the southwest in the direction of the imperial capital of Urzak.

We made up our minds and started walking in silence.

「Let’s hurry.」

「Jeannya, stop.」

Rinne stopped at the end of her step.

She looked up at the blue sky with a steely gaze and a stifled voice.

「Don’t move. They’ll find us.」

「Eh?」

「……It’s too late.」

A winged race swooped down from the sky above Rinne’s raised eyes.

Rulers of the Urza Federation──

Five demons with jet-black wings and tails landed in the wilderness. All of them were larger than Kai, and their body surface oozed dark light.

……Demon lookouts?

……Did they notice us on the ground and come over?!

This land was territory controlled by the demons.

Humans regained only the imperial capital, Urzak, but the rest of the land was in the demons’ hands.

……It was completely unexpected to meet outside the imperial capital.

……For these people, humans erre the natural enemy race.

I looked straight at the demon in front of me.

All five of them were silent. But the brilliance of magic power that rose from their bodies already told me that the demons were ready for battle.

「Can you understand human language?」

『────』

There was no reply. Do you not understand human language, don’t want to communicate, or are seeing how this is going to go?

「……Okay. I’ll tell you what we want to say for the time being.」

I lowered the Drake Nail I was holding.

Kai stabbed the tip of the bayonet into the ground as the demons focused their eyes on him.

「Kai?!」

「Put the bow down, Jeanne. Rinne too, not yet. Restrain yourself. We just got lost here. We have no intention to fight at this point. There is no benefit for either of us to fight each other.」

『────』

「Did you know? The cryptid hero Rath=IE is aiming for this land. If we fight each other and you get tired, you will only be invaded by the cryptids.」

There was no lie.

And this was a reproduction of the negotiations that the holy spirit race’s Rikugen Kyoko made with Balmung.

『────Nonsense.』

The demon’s mouth opened.

A voice like a hoarse old man’s spun words into the wilderness.

『In the wilderness, strange shadows, have, been moving. So were humans.』(TL: This demon is speaking in a weird accent that is hard to convey in English)

「……Strange shadows?」

『This is the demons’ land. Anything else, elimination. Is orders.』

The light from the magic drew spirals.

Light was generated from the twisted corners of the demon’s wings, and they gradually became sparks and increased in size in the void.

「Kai, they’re attacking!」

「D*mn it, is there useless to talk to them?!」

Five demons.

It’s not a force that couldn’t be beaten. With Jeanne, who wore the battle dress of the Holy Knight of Light, Rinne, who fought Dark Empress Vanessa, and Kai, who possessed the Code Holder.

But if we fought here──

Probably dozens of demon troops would attack in retaliation.

『Extinguish dirty humans.』(TL: This seems to come closer to “erotic” or “pornographic,” but those both sound really strange here. 

The brilliance of the magic swelled.

Kai also reached for the Code Holder in preparation for the release of the magic. The moment of inevitable clashing between humans and demons──

The strange event came from the depths of the earth.

 

The demon was blown away in a spray of blood.

 

…………

……Eh?

I didn’t do anything. The two girls behind me didn’t either.

Jeanne was in the posture of nocking an arrow into her elf bow, and Rinne was ready to fight back with her magic, but neither of them made a move.

『Human?!!!』

Looking down at the fallen one, the other four howled at the same time.

Each of them bent down with a fierce spirit, and magic circles began to shine on their outstretched wings.

『What are you doing–!』

「Wait! You know by looking that we’re not doing anything. The one who attacked him…」

*roar-*!

The wilderness overlooking the graveyard was filled with the sound of gunfire.

The sound deafened my eardrums for a moment. Before the lingering sound could fade, another demon fell to the ground.

「……What’s there? Jeanne, Rinne, be careful! There’s something other than us!」

Towards the two of them.

But more than that, Kai shouted at the three remaining demons. To tell them the current attacker was not human.

──The earth roared.

The sand on the surface of the earth jumped greatly, and the grass began to rustle and shake as if frightened.

「Diastrophism?! At a time like this……no, this is-」

Memories of yesterday flashed through my mind.

Immediately after crossing the Schultz Federation border, I experienced exactly the same shaking in the mining town Agito.

……This was the Urza Federation.

……Was this shaking similar to what happened in the Schultz Federation?

Kai, Jeanne, and Rinne. And while the three remaining demons stood there, the reddish-brown ground cracked.

Along with the rising smoke, something was crawling up from the cracked ground.

『……What is this. Cryptids?』

Before the stunned demons, the thing appeared.

 

Steel blue mechanical body with a shining carapace──

 

It was a mechanical beast whose body was made entirely of steel.

But on the surface, there were tubes that looked like blood vessels, pulsing repeatedly with a dokun dokun. (TL: Again, heartbeat sfx)

……It resembled a mechanical doll of the Human Protection Agency.

……But what about the blood vessels and muscle tissue like this creature?!

It’s a machine and living thing.

「W, what is this thing……！」

「I don’t even know. I’ve never seen it……」

Jeanne and Rinne’s voices faded.

Yes, as they say.

There should not be such a thing in the world. There was no such race. Unless there was some kind of revolution in the world’s race history──

 

“The alteration has reached the second level.”

“I’ll take care of the others before the sixth arrives. That mechanical steel species is troublesome.”

 

「……Sixth?……Don’t tell me…………」

My lips became parched from the extreme tension.

An unknown race emerged from the ground. And then there was the strange prophecy of Fang Emperor Rath=IE. Only one guess comes from this.

A vision of ruin──

「Rath=IE–!」

To the king of beasts, who was not here.

Kai shouted so much that his voice was hoarse.

「Is this the true identity of the world reincarnation?! It’s not a redo of the Five Races War, but about mutating it into a radically different future!」

 

 

──Mechanical steel species.

The「sixth」that did not exist in the Five Races War.

A steel lifeform, born of an insane fate, gave its first newborn cries.

 

 

TL: Hi everyone, as usual we’re looking for help on novel/manga translating/editing/whatever else. Please join the NeoSekai TL Discord if you’re interested. Also, please support the author by buying the raws if you can. Expect the rest of v4 to come out on 7/10. Keep in mind that I do work in PST around 10 PM-12 AM usually, so it probably will come out 7/11 your time.