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Last Embryo Volume 3 Interlude Part 1

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

Giant Spirit Train 『Sun Thousand』, Stage Wagon, Special Guest Lounge

This particular wagon was truly of a highest class, complete with expensive-looking candle lamps and filled with the smoke emitted by the incense burners and the tiny Fire Spirits that spread their haze around, making the atmosphere in there somewhat spooky, like you were entering a monster’s lair rather than a place reserved strictly for the most esteemed of Divine Spirits. However, that smoke was not serving only decorative purpose, but also a rather practical one: it was being used to conceal the identity of the guests from one another.

You might wonder why would such a function be needed, and rightfully so. What you need to realize is that there are quite a lot of Divine Spirits or other beings who preferred not to be seen by others even in Little Garden, a place where all manner of Gods and demons gathered. Not to mention the fact that this was the main hub of the amusement center where the bulk of the competition making up the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority would take place. In other words, this particular wagon was the place where the Hosts and Sponsors – those who bestowed Gifts on their chosen champions so that they could compete against one another– gathered.

In this place shrouded in the veil of mystery, Queen Halloween and her Head Butler, Scathach, were currently enjoying a cup of delicious, freshly brewed black tea.

「It would seem that it has started, my Queen.」

「So it would seem indeed.」

「I have to wonder though: was it really a good move to divide Kudou Ayato’s group like that? Because if I may allow myself to be perfectly honest, I thought that it would be better to first have her regain more of her battle senses and abilities through combat as soon as possible.」

Since they have been summoned to the stage wagon, the image of Homura and his group has been projected in the Viewing Crystal located in the center of the lounge. Of course, Ayato and Suzuka were not there with them. Taking the teacup away from her lips, Queen turned her gaze to the other VIP seats.

「Rest assured that everything is exactly as it should be, my dear Scathach. After all, before it can come to that, there is someone whom these children absolutely have to meet first.」

「And by 「Someone they absolutely have to meet」, you mean Kasukabe You?」

「Of course. You and I, we both know that they can only gain from meeting the owner of the 『Genome Tree』 as soon as possible, especially since she is one of the Victory Candidates, and someone who is not entirely unrelated to both Homura and Ayato.」

This particular comment got a sensible chuckle out of Scathach.

「You didn’t say anything about it to me beforehand so I guess I cannot complain about it. All I can do is to trust in the righteousness of your judgement, my Queen… oh, it’s starting.」

The gong signalizing the beginning of the first Game sounded off as soon as Scathach lifted her face back towards the Viewing Crystal. Queen on the other hand didn’t look lie she was interested in the beginning of the competition in the slightest, opting instead to resume drinking her tea, since its fragrance was especially to her liking. She had no interest in the contest that was about to commence, since that was just an exhibition match, something where hardly anyone would choose to go all out, since the more sensible option is to keep one’s cards as close to one’s chest for as long as possible.

However, Scathach intended to watch it all from beginning to the end with a serious expression on her face.

The Game has started with the materialization of a group of bronze-winged flying monsters, which dashed towards Homura’s group as soon as they popped up into existence. From the Viewing Crystal, Saigo Homura’s frustrated voice was transmitted as clearly as if he was standing right next to all those who were spectating the match.

「H-Hey, wait a minute, a-already?!!! Damn it, you’d better move your ass and do something about this mess, Shittyteru!!!!」

「I know, I know, you don’t have to yell at me about it! Uesugi, you deal with those pesky birds, I will locate the monster essential for clearing the challenge!」

「I’m not going to do it.」

「Okay, then let’s go and…. Wait, WHAT?! What did you just say?!!」

「I am by no means obligated to participate in the repaying of your debt together with you. No matter how weakened you might be in comparison to how you were in your prime, you should still be able to dispose of the enemies of such caliber entirely on your own, and with a single strike at that, so do it on your own. I will stay right here and not move an inch from this spot, protecting Saigo Homura’s life. Hmph.」

Uesugi ended her answer with a rather cute pout and looked away from Tokuteru as if she didn’t want to look at something that got stuck to the bottom of her shoe. Seeing that there was no way for him to change her mind about it now, Tokuteru simply groaned in frustration and faced the horde of incoming enemies all by himself.

「Fine then, whatever! Do whatever the fuck you want, I don’t care! Homura! Since it has come to this, you will do the searching! Got it?!」

「Huh? Who, me?! And how the hell do I even do that?!」

「Just use your 『Proto Idea』 and you should find a way quite quickly! Anyway, here they come!」

Tokuteru screamed at Homura while brandishing his Vajra and facing the bird monsters, the Stymphalian Birds from the Greek mythology, famous for their foul breath which was more toxic then any poison known to man. Thankfully, it didn’t look like they were going to use that particular ability there, since this was a simple Exhibition Match where no deadly force should be employed so that no harm would come to the participating Players. In that case, Tokuteru decided no to use the full extent of Vajra’s power as well, changing it from a spear into a staff.

Not that the blade of his spear would have been of much help, since the metal wings of the Stymphalian Birds repelled any and all normal blades, so in order to circumvent that bothersome quality of theirs, Tokuteru simply whacked one of them across th head, smashing its skull into tiny pieces with a swift, almost nonchalant motion.

「Gyaaaah!!!」

With an ear-piercing shriek, the bronze wings of the second bird bent in under the sheer force of the blow that was directed towards it. It was nothing fancy-looking of especially flashy, just a simple, strong strike utilizing as little unnecessary movements as possible. Since the Stymphalian Birds were used to protecting themselves from harm with their sturdy wings, they were actually very weak against any kind of attacks that were being directed to towards their actual, soft bodies. Taking advantage of that obvious weakness, Tokuteru was knocking them down from the sky one after another.

And then there was Arjuna, who was shooting any monsters that Tokuteru might have missed down with the arrows which were raining incessantly from his Divine Bow. Seeing him eliminate his targets with the rapid-firing shots that involved the minimum amount of movement, much like his father, Scathach estimated that Indra’s son was not using even one-tenth of his actual power.

(Hmm, it would seem that everyone is pulling their punches just like we expected them to do. As expected of the Indian Gods and their progeny, their real power is not something that can be easily measured.)

While Scathach was busy mulling over her own self-proclaimed incompetence in judging the power of the contestants properly, Arjuna kept on eliminating more and more monsters with minimal effort, which became somewhat vexing to everyone who was watching him do so, because in theory, Stymphalian Birds were not an enemy that could be easily defeated. Well, not that easily at least.

In Greek mythology they belonged to the domain of the God of War, Ares, and were said to be the direct descendants of a powerful demonic bird. If only they started using their trump card, their poisonous breath, then even a Demigod like Arjuna would have to exercise extreme caution in dealing with them if he wanted to get out of this bout unscratched. But since that was nothing more than an Exhibition Match that ability of theirs has been sealed away, making this challenge significantly less challenging than it actually could have been.

(Well, in the end sealing their poisonous breath was probably for the best. If this was truly a serious battle to the death, those beasts wouldn’t stand a chance against them.)