We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Prayer
The people who stayed in the capital even in the face of existential danger. Those who gathered from various regions, not becoming mere onlookers. And to everyone, the warriors and supporters who are still fighting the hordes of monsters.
All who gathered at the foothills of Dragon Peak pray.
Please bring peace to the world.
Please dispel Kongo no Kirisame, the distortion of the world, and lead us to peace.
So that we can live with our loved ones for a long, long time to come.
So as not to lose what is precious to us.
The bonds with family. The ties with companions. Breaking down the walls between species, transcending neighbors, and erasing the boundaries between animals and plants.
The prayers of all who gathered at the foothills of Dragon Peak become stars.
The symbol of the Goddess of Imagination, Arestina, is the moon.
And the beings that symbolize the inhabitants of the world, born from the Goddess, are the stars that twinkle in the night sky.
Those fully lit stars descend from the heavens, synchronized with the movements of the young branch of the Spirit Tree I hold in my left hand.
“……!”
Kongo no Kirisame was speechless.
The gem turtle stretched its neck as much as it could and gazed up at the stars falling from the sky like raindrops.
“Now, receive the feelings of the people, the will of all living things!”
My shout was drowned out by the sonata played by the falling stars.
The sound of the air gently resonating, like the ringing of bells. Hundreds,Thousands, tens of thousands of them overlapped, softly enveloping the world.
And then, the countless stars, flicking the tails of their twinkling meteors, poured down, aiming for the landmark I had shown on the ground.
A being born from the distortion of the world, existing as the world’s nemesis.
Kongo no Kirisame.
The landmark carved into its core guides the prayers.
Dispel.
Cleanse.
Protect and bestow fortune.
Even races without religious beliefs pray, wish, and hope for their daily lives. Perhaps because of this, the stars that fell from the sky are not the merciful rain that I once saw imbued with the Goddess’s thoughts.
Pure feelings that cannot be classified into anything crystallized and became twinkling stars, pouring down onto the core of Kongo no Kirisame.
Not only that.
The stars that poured down, aiming for the landmark, directly struck the gem turtle, and instead of disappearing, scattered around, creating a sea of countless stars on the ground.
Everything in my field of vision became the sparkle of stars, and the only sound reaching my ears was the sonata. The phantom bodies of Kongo no Kirisame that were trying to approach us, and even the mist that had spread around, disappeared from my vision. The stars rained down endlessly, to the point where I couldn’t even see the gem turtle, the main body, gazing up at the sky in speechlessness, creating a sea of stars.
Even I, who guided the world’s prayers, was breathless and mesmerized by the fantastic scenery.
However.
It is not over.
Beyond the rain and sea of stars.
The presence of Kongo no Kirisame’s core has not vanished!
“Aaaahhh…! ……!”
Beyond the sea of stars, the gem turtle let out a shriek!
“I… am… the… world’s… distortion… the… kin… of… chaos…! …My… being… that… surpasses… evil… races…! …Such… a… mere… prayer…! It has no effect! Your… prayers… and… world…s… laws… have… no… effect!!”
A shiver ran down my spine.
A distorted vibration permeated the sea of stars, filled with prayers, wishes, and hopes. The unsettling sway, as if shaking the very core of our souls, made us dizzy and about to lose consciousness.
But we cannot afford to lose here!
Everyone entrusted everything to us.
Old Man Sleigsta believes in us.
He believes that we will dispel Kongo no Kirisame and restore peace to Dragon Peak and its foothills.
Besides, if we fail, Old Man Sleigsta will confront Kongo no Kirisame even if it means using forbidden techniques.
I don’t want that!
We absolutely must avoid that!
Receiving not only my thoughts but also those of my entire family, the sea of stars churned. The twinkling of stars overlapped in layers, forming a barrier, protecting us from the unsettling waves radiating from the gem turtle.
Nevertheless, the waves did not subside.
The waves that passed through us confronting it spread throughout the world.
And they permeated the entire “body” which was the mist.
“N-no way!?”
Beyond the sea of stars. The presence of the gem turtle, on which I had carved the landmark, became faint.
…No, that’s not it!
It’s not that it’s becoming faint…
“It’s blending into the mist body!!”
Monsters have magic crystal stones within their bodies as cores. This is true even for Kongo no Kirisame, which is said to be on par with the Shōjō and the Thousand-Handed Spider. And the magic crystal stone of Kongo no Kirisame is none other than the gem turtle.
But, now.
The presence of the gem turtle, its core, is thinning beyond the sea of stars.
What’s more, by dissolving the magic crystal stone into the mist, it’s trying to make the mist itself, which covers two mountains of Dragon Peak, its core!
And what that means…!
“Kukaka… Kaka! …No… matter… how… effective… your… prayers… are……if… you… disperse… them……they… become… mere… impacts… too… insignificant… to… take…!!”
What incredible deceit!
The countless stars twinkling in the sky are the crystallization of the prayers of those living in the world. I intended to dispel Kongo no Kirisame by concentrating them onto the gem turtle, the core, with my landmark.
Kongo no Kirisame noticed this as well. That’s why it thought of dispersing the starry rain with its colossal body, the size of two mountains, by dissolving the core it would receive in a focused strike into the main body of the mist!
No matter how powerful a technique or skill is, its power cannot be fully exerted if the force is dispersed.
Indeed, the starry rain, having lost its landmark, began to disperse into the surroundings, losing its convergence and power.
“Kakakaka. …The… world’s… laws? …Meaningless! …To… I… who… am… a… kin… of… chaos… it… is… meaningless!!”
Kongo no Kirisame’s voice broke through the sonata of the stars, echoing from all directions.
And as if to prove its words, anomalies began to occur around us.
The rain of stars stopped.
No, that’s not right!
To be precise, the rain of stars no longer reached the ground!!
Now, Kongo no Kirisame, having dissolved its core, the magic crystal stone, into the mist covering two mountains, was repelling the rain of stars on its vast surface.
“No way!”
Mistral was speechless.
Not just Mistral. Everyone was astonished, their eyes wide at the hidden power of Kongo no Kirisame.
In my field of vision. In the center of the sea of stars that remained after the rain of stars had ceased. The main body of Kongo no Kirisame, which should have definitely existed. It was no longer visible to my eyes.
No, it was actually visible. The mist that filled my vision all around was Kongo no Kirisame’s body, its core itself!
As if mocking our frozen movements, Kongo no Kirisame spoke.
“You… haven’t… forgotten…? …That… you… are… inside… me… ……Kukuku… Kakakaka!”
As if in sync with Kongo no Kirisame’s mockery, the surrounding mist began to writhe. Towards us, standing in the sea of stars, it began to erode the world. To devour us!
“Everyone!”
With my voice, everyone regained consciousness.
And my wives smiled gently. So I smiled back.
“It’s alright. We can still do this, right!”
“Yes. We came fully prepared. This much should be within our expectations, wouldn’t you say?”
“Oh my, Mist, saying such things might make Kongo no Kirisame furious.”
“Ruiseine, let it get angry on its own.”
“Ruiseine, let it gloat on its own.”
“Hahahaha. Y-yes, it’s within our expectations!”
“Muuu! I’ll make it regret not being guided by the Goddess’s merciful rain!”
“Madrine, since the prayers in those stars included many who are not followers of the Temple Religion, is it appropriate to broadly categorize them as the Goddess’s mercy?”
“Nyanko.”
Far above, the rain of stars, repelled by the surface of the mist, continued to fall. The rain of stars still created a sea of stars where it was repelled. The King of Dragons, Revalia, flew majestically through that sea of stars, continuously unleashing his flame dragon arts. We looked up at the situation in the sky, seemingly unconcerned by the approaching mist.
And in contrast to our composure in this situation, Kongo no Kirisame grew increasingly agitated.
“You bastards!”
Kongo no Kirisame, having nullified the world’s prayers in the form of starry rain and intending to devour us from within its body, had tilted the scales of battle completely in its favor.
Yet, we showed no sense of urgency even towards the writhing mist around us. Kongo no Kirisame, revealing its instinct for rage, moved to devour us.
From the lumps of mist, several phantom turtles, which should have been annihilated by the rain and sea of stars, were born. The phantom turtles born from the mist opened their mouths wide, converging distortions of waves in their oral cavities. At the same time, the thickened mist also writhed towards us, approaching like a tsunami!
“You… will… be… devoured… and… those… who… defied… me… will… all… be… annihilated…!!”
As Kongo no Kirisame’s voice echoed from all directions, the phantom turtles unleashed their distorted waves, and the writhing mist surged towards us like a tsunami!
“Ngh!!”
In an instant, my vision became a blur of white. The gentle mist was falling. In contrast, waves that distorted the very core of our souls, threatening to eradicate our existence.
But, none of it reached us.
“Wh-why!?”
Kongo no Kirisame, sensing the anomaly in an instant, was thrown into confusion. So, as I looked around, I gave a sly, unamusing smile and said.
“Oh dear. This is why monsters are like this. It seems you still haven’t realized?”
With a sigh, I feigned putting down my shoulders with a show of weariness. And then, I cleared up Kongo no Kirisame’s doubt!
“I was taught before that evil races are enemies of the world. You declared yourself to be a being that surpasses them. This means you are also nothing more than an enemy of the world!”
If that’s the case, I directed my gaze outwards from Kongo no Kirisame’s body, towards the direction we had been waiting. But there was only Old Man Sleigsta, his eyes shining golden as he watched the battle. The Giant Demon Lord and Charlotte were nowhere to be seen. And there was no sign of the Fairy Demon Lord Kusharilla.
Because.
“Kukukuku. A truly amusing spectacle.”
“I hate you, Dragon King!”
“Whaaat, is it my fault!?”
“Fufufu. It was a highly valuable experience.”
With these words, a presence flickered beside us. And then, suddenly, the Giant Demon Lord and Charlotte appeared. However, they hadn’t used spatial jump. Because both of them had been by our side all along!
Then why, until now, couldn’t we see them, let alone feel their presence? The answer lay with Kusharilla.
“Hmm. If one is inside you, not only can our presence be hidden, but our appearance becomes invisible. A good harvest.”
Saying this, the Giant Demon Lord laughed joyfully.
“However, I doubt you can accommodate many individuals inside. It would be difficult for anyone who cannot clearly maintain their presence in that space. Ah, Elnea, you could probably enter Fairy Demon Lord-sama’s interior as well?”
“Really!?”
“Hey, stop deciding things about me on your own!”
Kusharilla shouted irritably. Then, the mist that had been touching Kusharilla’s body scattered as if repelled.
That’s right. Kongo no Kirisame, having declared itself an enemy of the world. This means it is an enemy to all living beings in this world. Which in turn means it is also an enemy to the Demon Race! That’s why the Giant Demon Lord, Charlotte, and Kusharilla stopped being spectators and joined the fight!
And the current situation was all thanks to Kusharilla’s power. She had taken the Giant Demon Lord and Charlotte inside herself, allowing them to watch our battle from a front-row seat. And just now, all the distorted waves released by the phantom turtles and the thickened mist that should have approached us were repelled.
Kusharilla, being a Primogenitor Race with a special existence. Although she should exist there, her appearance cannot be accurately discerned. Furthermore, even I, who can sense distortions in the world, can barely feel her presence without consciously focusing. I believe Kusharilla’s true body exists in some other space layered upon this world, much like the spirit world. Therefore, we cannot perceive her with the senses we use to see and feel presences on a daily basis.
At the same time, to Kusharilla, who exists in a different space, ordinary attacks are ineffective. Only arts and techniques that can pierce through the overlapping worlds, such as the Spirit Tree’s arts, would work. A being to whom the logic of our daily lives does not apply. That is the Fairy Demon Lord Kusharilla.
In a sense, she might be similar to Kongo no Kirisame, which exists outside the world’s logic. That’s why Kongo no Kirisame also noticed.
“You bastard! …A being… that… repels… my… power…!”
Feeling Kusharilla, who repelled the writhing mist and was unperturbed by the distorted waves of the phantom turtles, Kongo no Kirisame’s rage swelled more than ever before. Sensing this, I posed a question.
“Is it okay, Kongo no Kirisame? The most frightening thing about your existence was that you were pure distortion, outside the common sense of those living in this world, where the world’s logic doesn’t apply. But now, what do you think?”
You will “devour” us. Kongo no Kirisame declared. In other words, you have bound yourself to the world’s logic of “devouring.” And your attacks were blocked by Kusharilla. If you had continued to exist outside the world’s logic, Kusharilla’s definition of existence would have been meaningless, and your attacks should have passed through, right? Because, no matter how special a being may be, Kusharilla also lives within the world’s logic. Therefore, the original Kongo no Kirisame should have been able to press forward with its own logic, ignoring this world’s logic. But now, it recognizes an event governed by the world’s logic – its attack being “repelled” – and feels anger. Anger would not arise without strongly recognizing Kusharilla and us, the external enemies. And strongly recognizing us means completely being assimilated into the logic of those living in this world!
“Finally, the preparations are complete!”
Our surprise attack. Those who are still fighting outside the mist. Everyone praying in the capital. And the rain of stars, and the sea of stars. Is this all of us? No, it’s not! What we’ve had so far was our preliminary setup, and from now on is the main event!
“Since it’s a good front-row seat for observation, I shall lend you a hand.”
“Fufufu, this time I will assist you free of charge?”
“After this is over, tell me the fate of those Imperial Honored Mansion dwellers.”
Protected by the three Primogenitor Races, we began to move towards the final closing.
