Akatsuki Translations

“Why is Diz so fixated on Akane? She’s already strong enough.”

Ur had asked Diz this question once.

Diz tilted her head, considering the inquiry.

“I won’t listen to any pleas for her life, you know?”

“That’s not what I meant… Well, I won’t deny that part of me does feel that way, but I’m genuinely curious. Why are you so obsessed with Akane?”

Because, as far as Ur was concerned, Diz was already strong.

Perhaps, in Diz’s own eyes, she still had a long way to go. Compared to her fellow Seven Heavens, there were areas where she fell short. But even so, she was undeniably powerful.

Akane’s power was remarkable, too. Ur wouldn’t dispute that.

But the question remained—was Akane really that necessary for Diz?

Diz could likely accomplish the same feats that Akane could, even without her.

“Akane transforms into all sorts of weapons, but in the end, they’re just things you already possess, aren’t they?”

If it were about mass-producing such replicas, then sure, Akane’s ability was one of a kind. But if it were merely a matter of having an arsenal of magic and sacred swords, Diz could easily procure them herself.

At best, for Diz, Akane was convenient to use.

That was why, even after witnessing Akane’s capabilities, Diz still hadn’t deemed her valuable enough to be spared from disassembly.

That was fine. However, if that were the case, Ur still couldn’t understand why Diz was so fixated on her.

“Akane isn’t even that big of a deal. You could just leave her alone.”

《What’dya just say!? I’m amazing, you hear me?!》

“Akane, shut up. your brother is trying to negotiate here.”

As Akane playfully smacked Ur, Diz smiled but shook her head.

“You’re not entirely wrong. But Ur, you underestimate Akane—or rather, you underestimate【Spirit-bound】beings too much.”

“And what do you mean by that?”

Diz straightened her posture as if preparing for a brief explanation. Ur did the same. For some reason, Akane also floated beside Ur, mimicking a kneeling posture in mid-air.

“【Spirit-bound】beings are, to put it simply, a kind of malfunction. A system error.”

“A malfunction?”

“An anomaly that shouldn’t exist. Spirits and humans were never meant to merge. It goes against the natural order.”

《Does that mean I shouldn’t even exist…?》

Seeing Akane sulk slightly, Diz patted her head in apology.

“Spirits cannot freely wield their power in this world. They are bound by divine restrictions. Only by bestowing their blessings upon humans can their power be used at all.”

Even then, those blessings had strict limitations. Only individuals with a high affinity for spirits could receive significant blessings. A person would need to obtain a blessing and then supply the necessary amount of magic power to finally wield a spirit’s power.

“For reference, the most spirit-compatible humans—the top-ranked Shinra—can only receive about ten percent of a spirit’s power.”

“Ten percent? Even Shinra?”

“That’s right. But then, there’s the【Spirit-bound】. This isn’t about blessings. It’s about a spirit directly merging with a human. Do you understand what that means?”

It was no longer a matter of borrowing power in limited portions.

After all, a Spirit-bound being is the spirit itself.

They could use all of the spirit’s power.

And because they were also human, they weren’t bound by the same divine restrictions as spirits.

They were, in essence, a bug—a complete distortion of existence.

“…But Akane is still Akane, isn’t she? Even if a spirit is attached to her, it doesn’t feel that way.”

《Nya?》

“And besides, she’s not that strong. I’ll say it again—”

《Stop saying it again!》

If a spirit truly had merged with her, then she should be an amalgamation of that spirit and herself. Yet, she remained just Akane—Ur’s sister.

And even if she could freely wield a spirit’s power, it didn’t feel like she possessed overwhelming strength. It was impressive that she could match the power of the priests Ur knew, but that only meant she wasn’t surpassing them.

“It’s also because【Red Rust】was too weak as a faith object to begin with. Most likely, by the time it merged with her, it was so weakened that its consciousness dissolved and became one with her.”

Cases of【Spirit-bound】beings were rare, but Diz explained that this was usually how it happened. If a spirit directly possessed a human, it meant its faith had dwindled so much that it was on the verge of ceasing to exist.

“And because it was weak, the power it granted wasn’t that significant—even if she could use all of it.”

《I’m gonna start crying, you know?》

“Sorry, sorry.” Both Ur and Diz reached out and patted Akane’s head.

“But… what if—”

As she continued to stroke Akane’s head, Diz muttered softly.

“What if?”

“What if… a spirit supported by a vast and powerful faith merged with a human… and could wield all of its power freely?”

“…And if they could?”

Ur’s question hung in the air. Diz closed her eyes, then spoke as if the words themselves were heavy.

“No one would be able to stop them.”

                                                     ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

　　　　　　　　　　 ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

　　　　　　　　　　 ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Rabin’s long beastperson ears stood rigidly upright.

She had always hated them—no, more accurately, the bastards who raised her had hated them. They had beaten her for it, time and time again. They had even talked about cutting them off. That was when she learned. She trained herself, forced herself, to keep them still no matter what. Even in terror, even at death’s door, she had absolute confidence that her ears would never betray her emotions.

But now, that certainty shattered.

Ears that had once remained motionless in the face of death now froze in place, paralyzed by fear. And the worst part? This fear wasn’t caused by the enemy—it came from an ally.

“Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!”

Echelle laughed.

She had been laughing for a while now. Had she gone mad?

Perhaps.

But it wasn’t the sound of someone who had broken under insanity. It was different.

Her laughter rang with a contradiction—mocking everything in existence while cherishing it at the same time. It was unsettling. The weight of her emotions was too much for a human to bear.

“E-Echelle… sama…?”

Beside her, Kalkara moved toward Echelle, concern in her voice. Rabin yanked her back without hesitation.

“What are you—!”

“Idiot!! You’ll die!!!”

Kalkara struggled, but Rabin held her down by force. She didn’t know what was happening to Echelle either. But one thing was certain—going near her right now was not an option.

Because something was watching.

Something with clear intent to kill.

『　　　　　　　　　Ｚ　　　　　　　　　　　』

The dragon stared at Echelle.

Rabin realized, with chilling certainty, that it no longer cared about them.

Not a single one of its countless evil eyes was directed at Rabin or the others.

Every last one was focused on Echelle.

And then—

『　　　　Ｚ』　　『　Ｚ　　　　　　』『　　　　　ＺＺ　　Ｚ　』

Explosions.

One after another, the air ruptured in rapid succession.

At the same time, countless dragon tendrils, sharp as spears, shot toward Echelle, stabbing through her from every direction amidst the blasts.

Kalkara screamed—a sound so strangled by terror that it barely resembled a voice.

But they couldn’t even move.

The sheer force of the shockwaves kept them frozen in place.

“Get the teleport scrolls! NOW!!!”

Rabin’s scream barely registered over the chaos. She knew. If they didn’t escape, they would die here.

The mages fumbled to unravel the scrolls, their hands shaking in panic.

And yet—

Rabin couldn’t look away from Echelle.

Her 【intuition】 demanded that she keep watching.

Echelle should be dead.

No one could survive the dragon’s explosions and the sheer number of piercing roots that impaled her.

And yet…

That presence, that indescribable aura that had surrounded Echelle this whole time—

It was still there.

“Ah.”

Laughter rang through the air.

As the dust from the explosions settled, Echelle remained standing, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Despite the numerous dragon roots impaling her body, she was unfazed.

Not a drop of blood was spilled.

“Give it to me.”

『　Z……　　　　』

A faint, snapping sound echoed.

Before anyone could register what had happened, a gaping hole had appeared in the center of the dragon’s largest magic eye.

For a moment, the hole remained empty—silent, unnatural.

Then, as if time had finally caught up, blood erupted from the wound. The eye collapsed in on itself.

“Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me, give it to me—”

Another eye ruptured.

Then another.

And another.

A hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole formed, a hole, a hole, a hole, a hole, hole, hole, holeholeholehole!!!!!

“Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!”

The dragon’s magic eyes deteriorated.

They were shredded apart, one by one.

Every time Echelle laughed—every time her clawed fingers moved—something fell away.

She wasn’t even touching them.

Yet, wherever her fingers traced, the dragon’s roots simply peeled off, as if they were nothing but loose threads.

“Get down!!! Get down, now!!!”

Rabin shoved Kalkara down, barking orders at her troops.

Echelle’s invisible slashes cut indiscriminately, slashing across the battlefield with reckless abandon.

She wasn’t aiming for them, that much was clear.

Her target was the dragon.

But if they weren’t careful, they’d be caught in the crossfire—and a single misplaced cut could blow a hole right through their skulls.

『Z　　　　ZZ　　　　　　　　　　　　　　z　　　ZZ　Z　　　Z　Z　Z』

A series of strange, gurgling noises echoed through the air.

Without question, they were screams.

Death cries.

From within the storm of destruction, Echelle had leapt from her mirrored shelter.

She danced among the writhing dragon roots.

Her black dress fluttered.

Mirrors shimmered.

The girl laughed.

And every time she did—the dragon was torn apart.

『ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!』

The dragon screamed.

Its mutilated roots convulsed, pulling together—desperate, writhing, fleeing.

They gathered, merging into its rotting torso, reassembling its shattered form.

The dragon regained its shape, its monstrous body trembling with agony.

Then, with a single, ragged beat of its wings—

It turned, spewing putrid blood from its many wounds—

And fled.

The dragon fled.

No—more precisely, it tried to flee.

『　　Z　　　　　　z　　ZZZZZZ　　　　Z　　　　　！？！？！？！！！！』

Mid-flight, the dragon suddenly stopped moving.

Or rather, it was stopped—frozen in midair.

Its twisted wings thrashed, desperately trying to pull itself away from Echelle, yet its massive body refused to budge.

Kalkara recognized the phenomenon immediately.

At some point—without anyone noticing—spider webs had been spun within Uuga

The same threads they had seen in the Spiral Library—those belonging to the Hexlord Spider—had ensnared the dying dragon.

Threads emerging from the mirrors had woven themselves into an all-encompassing web, stretching across the battlefield like an inescapable barrier.

“Ufufu… ahaha.”

Echelle laughed.

She laughed as she watched the dragon struggle—trapped like a hapless insect caught in a web.

She laughed and laughed, then reached beneath the veil covering her face.

Like a mischievous child, she stuck out her tongue and pressed down on her lower eyelid with her fingertip.

“【Blast】――――”

And with her wide-open 【Magic Eye】, she looked at the dragon—watching it thrash, trying in vain to tear through the unbreakable threads.

“【Fixation】 【Rend】 【Phantom Fractal】 【Flare】 【Blast】 【Phantom Flash】 【Blast】 【Amplification】 【Blast】 【Ignition Flare】 【Amplify Boost】 【Blast】 【Medusa】 【Blast】 【Lighting Fire】 【Blast】 【Gravity】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Corrosion】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】 【Blast】――――――”

And at that moment—

Behind her, countless mirrors emerged.

With them came Magic Eyes.

The mirrors surrounded the dragon.

The reflections of those eyes bounced between the mirrors—endlessly multiplying, feeding into one another, creating an infinite cascade of power.

The dragon’s own stolen eyes turned against it.

Glaring.

Mocking.

“【Mirrored Blossom Cataclysm—Magica Sphere Overflow】”

『Z―――――――　　　　　　　　　　　』

The hybrid dragon—

Was erased without a trace by its own stolen Magic Eyes.

　                                              ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Command Tower, Rooftop

Lynne watched through farsight magic—speechless.

She wasn’t alone. The mages of the 【White Serpent】 were just as stunned.

The monster assault was still ongoing. The tension in the air should have been unbearable.

And yet, at this moment, none of that mattered.

“…The dragon… has vanished.”

“…Y-yeah.”

A mage barely magic powerged to voice the situation.

Lynne nodded, but even then, it took time to process the reality before her.

She was a mage at her core.

Magic was about understanding the laws of the world—deciphering them, bending them to one’s will.

Even the mighty White King Formation she wielded, for all its destructive potential, operated on proper logic.

But what Echelle had just done—

There was no logic to it.

It was chaos, pure and unchecked.

It was beyond reckless. Beyond reason.

It was too dangerous. Too terrifying.

If possible, she would have liked to integrate that power into the White King Formation.

But more than anything, more than any analysis or strategy—

“We need to get Echelle out of there! Medic team, move!!”

Her command snapped the rescue squad into action.

With the dragon gone, Uuga was, at least for now, secure.

Now, they had to retrieve every last one of their people who had fought on the frontlines—

“…!?”

But before they could move—

A black dress danced in the air.

“Echelle!?”

Through her farsight, Lynne saw Echelle—floating, unsteady.

Kalkara was shouting something at her, but Echelle didn’t seem to hear.

She drifted through the air, her movements listless—until, without warning, she shot into the sky.

It wasn’t flight magic. Nothing could keep up with that speed.

She tore through Uuga’s barrier in an instant—gone.

“…Wait. That direction…”

Someone muttered.

Lynne thought the same.

The direction Echelle had disappeared toward—

It was Proudia.

And more specifically—

【Babel】.

What that meant, none of them yet knew.

《――――…Lynne?! Finally, I got through!》

“…Ur?”

Now that the dragon was gone, the adventurer’s ring reestablished communication.

Ur’s voice was laced with urgency.

Lynne, still somewhat dazed, responded.

《Is everything alright?! Anyone dying over there?! Can you use Uuga?!》

“…One thing at a time.”

She took a deep breath—steadied herself.

Then, she answered.

“We’re safe. For now. Monsters are still coming, but no one is critical. We still have backup control of Uuga, so we can use it—though it’ll take some time.”

“But—”

Her gaze lifted toward the empty, dark sky.

Eyes narrowing, she spoke the words like a warning.

“Something worse than the dragon just flew your way.”