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Volume 5 Chapter 4 Part 10

「It would seem so. But I never would have expected that Alma’s defense could be broken through with a single blow.」

 

「Yeah. For a moment there I thought I was a goner for sure as well, but. . . .」

 

You chuckled quietly as she relaxed her tensed-up muscles and smiled in a nostalgic manner. Izayoi and Asuka, who have not been able to relax their own bodies just yet, looked at her with question marks popping up all around their heads.

 

「Oh, it is nothing. I just. . . I just remembered the first time when we came to Little Garden, is all.」

 

「Oh yeah? Well. . . . how is that working out for you?」

 

「Pretty well, actually. Because, if you remember to how our adventure in here started, then you will realize that the first Demon Lord whom we faced off against was actually Shiroyasha, and she is a Celestial Star Spirit as well, right?」

 

You’s words made Izayoi and Asuka take a short trip down the memory lane. . . . and when they finished it, they realized that she was actually right. Shiroyasha was indeed their first real opponent from the moment that Kuro Usagi assembled them together so that they could save the 『No Name』 Community from disappearing from Little Garden forever. It was then, when they were still new to Little Garden, Gifts and Gift Games, that she stood before them: Shiroyasha, 「The Demon Lord of the White Night」 and the 「Floor Master」, that is to say the one regarded as the strongest being in the entire East Side of Little Garden.

 

「Yeah, now that you mention it, that is really how it went down.」

 

「Back then, I used to feel pretty overwhelmed by everything that was happening around us. Gods, Mythologies, stars and everything related to them. . . it always felt like there was someone bigger, better and stronger than me and that I was always half a step behind them the entire time, working my ass of to prove to them that I am as good or even better than them.

 

「Yes, definitely. However. . .  it is not like that anymore. A lot has changed since that time, including us.」

 

A confident, defiant smile appeared on You’s face, causing Izayoi and Asuka to feel a little bewildered and taken aback. That, however, lasted for only a short moment, because right after that, a similarly defiant smiles appeared on their faces as well.

 

「Yeah, you can say that again. That bastard was definitely surprising in more ways than one, but it is not like we could not do anything to him at all. At least now we know that he can be fought against, and that he can be beaten.」

 

「And we all have our own ways of fighting the Demon Lords and the trump cards that can be used against them.」

 

「Yup. We have all grown so much stronger since the moment when we were just summoned here three years ago, but as we have so clearly seen just now, that was still not enough to get the job done. But you know what can make up for everything that we might be lacking? A Community, because that is what they are for, so that your comrades could fill in for all of your shortcomings. And with that said. . . .」

 

You lifted herself off the ground and swiped the dust off her clothes. And then, she looked back at her friends and opened her arms with a wide, warm smile while saying:

 

「Welcome back to 『No Name』, you two.」

 

In response to her greetings of reunion, the three of them became silent for a moment and then immediately burst out in a fit of friendly laughter. Apparently You managed to grow up quite a bit not only physically, but mentally as well, because such words and actions would have been unthinkable for the Kasukabe You from three years ago.

 

When they were done, Izayoi combed his hair upwards and proceeded to carry the bodies of unconscious Arjuna and Krishna to where they were and then he dumped them next to one another.

 

「Well, not everything went according to plan, but as far as the end result goes, I say that this is pretty much Mission Cleared. With that black wind bastard gone, I think it is safe to assume that the Albino pipsqueak is going to be safe for a while now. And now that this little side quest of ours is finally over, I would like to go back to our regularly scheduled program: solving the mystery of the 『Lost Continent of Atlantis』 as soon as possible. . . .」

 

Cutting the rest of his words short, Izayoi looked at the sky once more, because he noticed that something was fast approaching their location. And that something. . . was the Giant Spirit Train 『Sun Thousand』 that carried both the Organizers and Investors of the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority on board of it. While travelling down in a spiral pattern, it was making its way to where the three problem children were right now.

 

「. . . But first of all, let us talk to someone who might know a bit more about all the things that are going on right now: about the mystery of 『The Lost Continent of Atlantis』, about this War for the Sun’s Authority in general and about the beast of back wind that claims to be 「The king of the Murderous Species」.」

*          *          *

At the same time. . . . in the shade of the trees hidden deep inside of the forest, where no one could have noticed her, a lone vampire girl bore witness to the battle between the black wind monster and the three problem children.

 

「. . . Ah, aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh. . . . ..! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !」

 

It was Lamia Draculea the Second, and right now, she was crying her eyes out with the tears which shined like precious gemstones as they made their way down her cheeks and fell onto the ground beneath her. Her tears, however, were not the ones shed out of sorrow. They were the tears of joy, because right now, this girl felt as if she just won in the Game in which her position, status an everything else were on the line. And so she continued to cry , because right now, even if she tried, she knew that the tears would not stop no matter how hard she would have tried to hold them back.

 

「I . . .  I found it. . . . I FOUND IT! ! ! ! ! ! ! Mother, Aunty Leticia . . . ! ! ! ! ! ! L-Lamia. . . . . .  Lamia has. . . AT LONG LAST, LAMIA HAS FINALLY FOUND IT. . . ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !」

 

The curse that plagued Lamia’s mother, otherwise known as eternity. Her gentle mother, who spent her entire life doing everything she could to fulfill her duty as the leader of the 「Knights of Little Garden」. In order to break the curse that was slowly consuming her, she thought that the power equal to that of the savior or a messiah was absolutely necessary. However, not that she saw 『Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi’s』 power with her own eyes, she realized that she did not need that anymore, because the Holy Sword could help her mother right away.

 

(Please wait just a little longer, Mother, Aunt Leticia. I will definitely get that sword and come back for you to reclaim that which has been stolen from us! And then. . . . and then we will finally be able to live a quiet, peaceful life, just the three of us. . . . . )

 

Lamia wiped away her tears and looked forward with determination. She took out her Gift Card and took out her black phone out of it, and called the only person whom she absolutely knew that she could trust. And after a moment where all she could hear was the sound of the signal trying to connect with the recipient of the call, she finally heard the sound of the handset being picked up on the other side, and soon after she heard the voice asking out a question:

 

『What seems to be troubling you, my lovely 「Blonde My Fair Lady」?』