Chapter Eighty-Three: The “Protagonist” of This Era
After the storm.
Just as Nagi rode the Garuda away.
A dazzling light descended from the sky, landing directly above the Tenkai Mansion.
The light landed steadily and then transformed into a brilliant sphere of light.
Centered around the sphere, an invisible domain slowly expanded, like a layer of transparent bubbles, enveloping the entire Tenkai Mansion.
Everything within the domain gradually slowed down until time completely froze.
“Safely arrived, starting recording—wait! You can’t go out yet!” A crisp and pleasant voice of a girl came from the center of the sphere, tinged with some panic.
However, the girl’s warning was clearly ignored.
Two figures emerged from the center of the light, breaking the stillness of the domain.
The first to appear was a tall young man with a fit physique, a handsome and symmetrical face, and water-blue eyes that resembled a deep lake, complementing his gray hair, almost like a prince from a fairy tale.
He wore a white coat, which was the “Academy” uniform, and a “Moon Academy” badge glimmered faintly on his collar in the moonlight.
Following closely was a petite black-haired girl, her prominently sprouting hair swaying rhythmically with her steps, like a spring.
She also wore the academy uniform, but due to her petite figure, even the smallest jacket appeared oversized, hiding her arms in the sleeves, resembling a ghost.
At the same time, her long coat trailed on the ground, already stained with mud and water.
However, the black-haired girl seemed unfazed by it.
Her ruby-red eyes were wide open, curiously surveying the surroundings.
Then, she gently raised her tiny nose, as if sniffing something—
“How is it?” The youth in uniform asked while scanning his surroundings and cautiously observing the dilapidated courtyard.
“Mimi doesn’t smell any trace of monsters!” The black-haired girl playfully raised her arm hidden in her sleeve and gave a cute bow.
“I thought so too… Hey, there are no enemies left, come down already.” The youth shouted back towards the dazzling sphere.
The sphere flickered with a faint light.
“I’m not going out until the recording is over!” The girl inside the sphere sharply retorted.
The youth displayed a look of helplessness, sighing: “Should I commend you for being brave, or say that you’re too timid, ACE Time Harbinger?”
She had set out from the academy as soon as the mission was given, trying to arrive at the disaster site as quickly as possible.
However, after arriving, she had stayed hidden in the time-space domain, not willing to show herself.
“Shut up! Life is only one, and being careful is never too much! Not everyone has a Ten God Pillar contracted beast like you to keep them safe!” The girl in the sphere replied, her voice tinged with dissatisfaction, “And stop calling me by titles; it’s too cringy!”
“Be normal, just call me by my name!” The girl in the sphere protested loudly.
“Sure, a lot of ACEs like to be addressed by their titles.” The youth responded with a light chuckle, a hint of teasing in his tone.
“What should I call you, ACE Midelash?” She countered mockingly.
“Who’s calling Mimi?” The black-haired girl turned her head curiously upon hearing her name mentioned, her ruby eyes sparkling.
“Don’t mind her, let’s go.” The youth said softly, then directly led the girl named “Midelash” towards the most obvious large hole in the courtyard.
The youth’s keen hearing picked up faint breaths coming from below the hole.
But what truly caught his attention was the unmistakably familiar aura mixed within.
“You guessed it right; it’s the aura of the End.”
The girl in the sphere stated confidently, “According to the designs of the basement altar, I compared it with hundreds of data sets from the academy’s database, confirming this is the handiwork of the Celestial Society.”
Although she remained hidden in the sphere, she was fully cognizant of the situation, more informed than the others present.
“This girl has the End’s shadow bestowal within her… Without a doubt, the End had descended upon her, but—”
“—Someone dealt with the End before we arrived.”
The youth continued, his expression turning serious.
“According to the intelligence provided by the SEMA Branch Commissioner Ichiro Maki of Kawano City, there seems to be a mysterious entity lurking in Kawano City, hunting the fantasy monsters here every night. Perhaps it was that person who took action.”
“To resolve the End in such a short time means that this End is not a true complete form, right?” The youth murmured, then jumped into the pit, landing in the damp basement.
The sight in the basement revealed a silver-haired girl and a male figure lying there, with occasional golden light spots dancing over them—that was the trace of the “recording.”
The girl in the sphere possessed a unique ability, allowing her to fast forward or rewind the scene as if through video replay, which was extremely useful for finding clues.
“How’s it? Can we rewind?”
“…Something feels off.” The girl in the sphere’s tone took on a grave note, “The integrity of time has been severed.”
“Severed the continuity of time?” The youth frowned, a familiar authority springing to mind.
This shouldn’t be happening, because the one with this ability is…
—No, this time the End has awakened; could it be…
Both the youth and the girl in the sphere thought of the same thing at the same time.
“I’ve reported the situation at the scene to the academy, and next, we need to tally the casualties in Kawano City and Nanase Island; we may need long-term observation… I really hope this doesn’t fall on me.”
The girl in the sphere, adopting a “better safe than sorry” attitude, hurriedly reported the issues encountered.
The youth reacted immediately to one of her mentioned locations: “Nanase Island?”
“Yes, and according to the report from the SEMA agents present, the authority of the storm has manifested.”
“…Is that for real?” A stiff smile appeared on the youth’s face.
The owner of the storm authority had long since passed away. If the storm reappeared, it would mean that this revived End might regain those lost authorities?
The thought sent a chill through the youth’s heart.
What kind of existence could defeat the End that had once possessed one of the “Ten God Pillars,” the fantasy creature “Garuda”?
However, unlike the youth, the black-haired girl named Midelash beamed with a radiant smile upon hearing this: “Sister Garuda? Is it really Sister Garuda?!”
“However, there’s also a… good piece of news?” The girl in the sphere interrupted the atmosphere.
Her tone was mixed with complexity, sounding both joyful and puzzled.
“It seems SEMA has found the ‘Ultimate Masterpiece.’”
The youth suddenly froze.
The Ultimate Masterpiece from the Celestial Society’s archives—the perfected vessel of the End.
“Don’t tell me the Ultimate Masterpiece has also awakened the End?” The youth remarked with a forced smile.
“Don’t make such unfunny jokes.” The girl in the sphere interrupted, “The Ultimate Masterpiece awakened, successfully stopping the ritual in Nanase Island, and defeated the remnants of the Celestial Society. The threat level seems to be 8.”
“To awaken and defeat a threat level 8 fantasy monster in one go; is that what the Ultimate Masterpiece is?”
“However, that’s not the good news.”
“?” What news could be better than finding the Ultimate Masterpiece?
“Simultaneously, it seems SEMA has found—”
“—The name appearing in the ‘Book of Futures’… the ‘Protagonist’ of this era.”
“Tsukimi Kanade.”
Upon hearing this, the youth’s expression turned the most serious it had been all day.
“Have we finally found it… the new S-rank?” The youth sighed deeply, “It seems a new story is about to unfold.”
“Since SEMA has obtained the information, the fantasy monsters must have learned about it too…”
He raised his head, his gaze growing profound.
“They will definitely organize a new attack… We need to prepare for a wave of new fantasy monsters—”
The war between humans and fantasy monsters.
It is a war that will never end.
