Chapter: 69. The Elemental Sovereign is a Woman
“Give up resisting, Mana…”
Alongside Ayako’s voice came countless ice spikes directed at Mana.
However, Mana, relying on the physical abilities of the “White Spirit Maiden,” dodged them all.
As she evaded, Mana sidestepped and launched three wind blades with a swing of her arm.
Ayako seemed to have already mastered Mana’s habit of testing attacks with long-range strikes, and before Mana could initiate her attack, she had already switched to her own extraordinary item.
The icy wings vanished in an instant, replaced by a transparent water shield resembling a bubble.
The wind blades struck the outermost layer of the shield, creating a ripple before disappearing.
Just like Mana, who could utilize multiple extraordinary powers, Ayako also had similar offensive and defensive methods.
Although it is common knowledge that each extraordinary item and weapon requires a specific magical frequency to operate—meaning that generally, a person can only use one extraordinary item at a time—Ayako appeared to be highly skilled at adjusting her magical frequency, enabling her to switch between different extraordinary items instantaneously, achieving effects akin to using multiple abilities simultaneously.
“Are you talking about that person… the chairman?” Mana questioned.
If Ayako’s original surname, as she just mentioned at Noah Hall, is indeed “Toujou,” then the surname “Tsukiumi” shared by her and the chairman of Ark Academy suggests that Ayako, after leaving the Toujou Association, became the chairman’s adopted daughter.
While it was unclear whether she was an undercover agent sent by the Toujou Association to infiltrate the upper echelons of Ark Academy, the current situation seemed to indicate that Ayako was more of an undercover agent planted by the Ark Academy chairman within the Toujou Association.
“So, to help the chairman, you chose to betray the student council president and your childhood friend, Toujou Seiryu?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ayako replied coolly. “You don’t even know who you’re up against—”
“Then tell me, what is the chairman’s objective? What exactly is in that black sphere?”
As Mana rapidly pondered how to extract more information from Ayako, it seemed that Ayako, who had been by her side for the past two and a half years, instantly saw through her thoughts.
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding, Mana. Although this matter is related to the chairman, she… is not the chairman.”
Yet Ayako’s reaction appeared not to be an attempt to conceal anything, but rather a proactive disclosure of the information Mana wanted to know.
It seemed she was more interested in directly bringing Mana into her camp, or in the faction she represented, than in fighting.
“She?” Mana quickly caught onto a key word.
The person Ayako feared was a woman.
This significantly narrowed down the possibilities in Mana’s mind.
“If Mana knew the whole truth, she would certainly agree with my current choice—”
“—What exactly is going on?” Mana interrupted Ayako’s despondent speech. “Instead of using vague language, you might as well explain things clearly!”
“…Everything begins with a lie.”
“A lie…?”
“That’s right, a lie about the ‘Savior.'”
“The Savior…” Upon hearing this, Mana’s mind flashed through various associated images, finally zeroing in on one name.
“Are you talking about the Savior who died to save the world—the ‘Elemental Sovereign’?”
“Exactly. Even those new to the extraordinary world would know this common knowledge—when the world was on the brink of destruction, it was the Elemental Sovereign who stood up and chose to sacrifice herself to save this world.”
“This common knowledge… which part is a lie?” Mana quickly grasped the information Ayako was trying to convey.
However, Ayako’s next response still shocked her.
“You’re mistaken; there isn’t just one.”
“‘The Elemental Sovereign did not die to save the world,’ as well as ‘the matter of her already having sacrificed herself.’”
Mana maintained a posture of looking up, yet her heart felt a chill from Ayako’s words.
“Are you saying… the Elemental Sovereign is still alive?”
“That’s right… that betrayed savior did not die; at the last critical moment, she came to Ark Academy and, with the chairman’s help, has been hiding here, plotting a grand revenge. The item you hold is the key to her revenge plan—”
“No way, you’re saying ‘she’? But the Elemental Sovereign is not…”
“I was also very surprised when I first found out—that the Elemental Sovereign is a woman.”
—————–
“Taiha-chan?!”
In the chaotic warehouse.
Taiha was knocked away, interrupting her extraordinary ability.
Nagi surfaced from the shadow beneath her feet, and then she anxiously glanced toward the direction where Taiha had been sent flying.
At that moment, behind her came a laugh from Otorii, filled with arrogance tinged with madness.
“Haha!”
His raucous laughter caused the monsters lurking on the warehouse roof to crack their heads open with various mouths, emitting sharp and piercing laughter.
Nagi, maintaining her persona as a “girl who has just entered the extraordinary world,” turned in fright.
What met her eyes was the figure of Otorii, bathed in moonlight, laughing heartily as he clutched his stomach.
“Thinking you could take my things from me? This is the fate you deserve!” Otorii said, lifting his head and blinking the six eyes on his face.
Along his cheeks, several gill-like organs opened up, which were his new “eyes.”
“…Assimilation?” Nagi remarked quietly, a sound he couldn’t hear.
In the worldview of the original work “Star Draw,” the relationship between the contracted beast and the contractor doesn’t only come in one form.
Although in “Star Draw 1,” the summoned fantasy monsters exhibited only one combat type by fighting as independent entities, in the sequel “Star Draw 2,” both the worldview and the combat system were upgraded, adding two more interaction types between the contractor and the contracted beast.
In addition to summoning them to fight as independent entities, the second method of interaction is “assimilation,” also known as “synchronization.”
In simple terms, it’s the fusion of the contractor and the contracted beast.
This allows the contractor to gain certain physical traits or powers from the contracted beast, thereby enhancing their own physical capabilities, and in cases of higher assimilation rates, the two can even merge into one, acquiring powers that surpass their original limits.
Of course, this is just the setting.
From a design perspective, Nagi, having been a fan of otaku culture, naturally understood what the game developers were aiming for.
For example—
If a beautiful girl character contracts with a fantasy beast that has cat-like traits, through assimilation, she can gain cat ears, becoming a cat-eared girl.
It’s very easy to understand.
However, it seems this design isn’t entirely a blessing.
For instance, Otorii, who was undergoing assimilation with a chimera before her, presented a non-human horror that was hard to praise.
“This chimera… has turned into this?”
Nagi observed the fierce monster perched above with a calm demeanor, her expression darkening.
Chimeras are quite famous as fantasy monsters in the original work.
In fact, their name is well-known.
“Synthetic Beast: Chimera,” as the name suggests, is a type of fantasy monster that can rob other beings of their characteristics and abilities, combining them into itself.
As it consumes various beings, the potential can reach a very high ceiling.
“Does Otorii really fit the title of a chimera? What a fitting combination,” Nagi thought disdainfully.
Finally, after his fit of laughter had subsided, Otorii approached Nagi.
“How about it? You can feel it too, right? This beautiful form—”
Beautiful? Nagi seemed to confirm it again as she looked up. No matter how she saw it, what met her eyes resembled a creature that came from the hands of some abstract artist.
It had nothing to do with beauty.
But it was indeed very postmodern.
“Don’t worry; soon we will merge into one—”
“Eh?” Nagi was taken aback.
“Rest assured, it’s a wonderful feeling. Let’s fuse our flesh and blood, becoming inseparable—” Otorii’s upturned mouth split all the way to his ears.
Staring at Nagi, Otorii caused her to involuntarily shiver.
But before she could respond, a precise retort came from behind her—
“Pfft, what kind of yandere are you… While it might not be nice to say, the yandere attribute is supposed to be the exclusive right of beautiful girls…”
Taiha slowly walked into the bright moonlight, brushing off the dust from her shoulders.
Even though she had just taken a direct hit from the chimera, she looked only slightly dusty and was unharmed.
“You?! You’re still alive—”
“Hah? A blow like that? Even a casual swing from a certain woman would be more painful than this.”
“…..Just a big talker?! Chimera! Tear apart this disrespectful woman!”
“Let me show you the pinnacle of evolution in the natural world, a perfect creature capable of constant self-enhancement—the power of the Chimera!”
