Author: 猫夜叉 (Nekoyasha)
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Having flown up to a height where I was sure no humans would be able to see me, I looked down upon the royal knights being deployed to encircle the forest.
The supreme god Lucifer called me a fool and looked at me with a bored look on his face, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether he had felt the same way as I did now.
Because if so, that would be unpleasant. I had never expected to feel like that.
“…A fool, huh.”
The royal knights were simply carrying out their orders, none the wiser of the truth.
They probably wouldn’t have suspected the goddess Astaroth of having caused the stampede even in their wildest dreams.
So wouldn’t ‘fool’ be a fitting description for them?
I’m not one to say who’s evil and who’s wrong, but looking down at them somehow felt like I was observing simple puppets, which made me all feel all the more worse for them.
I wondered if that was why. I looked up at the clear, night sky.
The full moon, shining a silvery-white, filled my field of vision.
“…It really is beautiful.”
And that was also the truth.
Beautiful things were beautiful no matter who looked at them. It was how the world worked.
Which was why –– I had to get started. I would become the someone who would scream out to the world that what is wrong is wrong. For Athena, for myself. And for Fenrir.
However, I could not get my fundaments wrong. I wasn’t doing this because of someone else, but because I thought it was right.
Because from now on, it will be something I decided on, something that I started.
I looked down at the lower world again.
“……”
I can’t read ahead.
People were outside of their own understandings. So I wondered what thoughts people would have if something completely unknown to them suddenly appeared in front of them. Would they be filled with curiosity, or would their faces scrunch up in fear.
For me, it had been curiosity when I had seen Lucifer.
I guess interest it is, then.
Having come to that conclusion of my thoughts, I immediately thought how stupid I was and stopped.
It’s too late for that now. I’ll know the answer soon enough. I just have to go find out.
“…Alright, let’s go, me.”
––Now then, let us begin. It’s my debut.
I flapped my wings a few times and began falling head-first towards the ground, just as I had wanted.
I sped up with the help of my wings.
Not yet. It’s not enough yet. I want an overwhelming speed.
I sped up even more by activating wind magic with both hands and pointing them behind me.
The whistling of the wind in my ears became even louder. I was going so fast, the ground was almost right in front of me.
I fell into thought as I watched the rapidly approaching ground.
…How should I act when I land?
Bored? Nono, I think this is very important.
I’m a human. But for now, I have to be a god.
The fairy tales here have always been violent, beautiful things, after all.
––Alright, I’ve got it.
I was reminded of Lucifer and how he let out this overwhelming presence.
Copying him, I spread out my wings to either side, bent my knees a little, and in a posture that almost screamed ‘A god has descended’, and accompanied by an ear-splitting sound–
–I stepped onto the ground.
Instantly, a dust cloud rose up around me. The impact had created two large holes underneath my feet, and a storm-like wind arose.
I watched from the cloud of dust around me as the wind knocked down the surrounding trees, simultaneously being very aware of all the gazes fixed on me, one of which possessed an overwhelming pressure.
I couldn’t see her yet. But I could still tell.
There was a powerful person on the other side of the still-not-settled dust cloud.
I hadn’t confirmed it, but I didn’t need to. I knew that magical power very well.
––My sister, the sword saint Rei Astario was there.
The next moment, a somewhat powerful wind blew across the newly-minted clearing as if to blow away the dust cloud.
A few moments later, I caught a glimpse of her beautiful, if slightly frazzled, long black hair.
Our gazes met. Her black eyes were clearly filled with hostility.
…Thank you, sis. I won’t have to hold back.
She pointed her sword, silver in the moonlight, at me.
“…Who are you?”
Her clear voice flew straight at me, even though the wind had not yet settled completely.
The magical power overflowing from her body was turning into wind, and I caught a glimpse of silvery-white hair out of the corner of my eye.
“Answer”
My sister was calm. I wasn’t sure whether it was simply due to her strength, or whether she had figured out who I was a long time ago…
“I’m… I am–” I tried to say, but–
“Surround him!!!” a man suddenly shouted.
The knights immediately began moving, their armour giving off metallic clinks and clangs as they did so.
Not long after, I was surrounded by enemies.
As expected of the royal knights. Their refined movements had my mouth hanging open in awe in my mind.
“Youuu!!!! Who are you!!!”
A man wearing silver armour stepped out from behind my sister.
I assumed he had been the one to give the previous order tot he rest of the knights as well.
But still, that piercing glare and voice. I knew who he was. He was the one who served next to my sister.
“…Fufu”
…Who…huh?
I couldn’t help but chuckle. I feared nothing. I’d have to do it one way or another, so why not go all-out with my performance.
“…Who do you think you are, asking me something like that?” I replied to the man, striving to keep my voice as deep as possible.
…Perhaps it was because my body had grown, but my voice left my mouth deeper than I had been expecting.
“What!??! You dare!?! Do you even know what situation you are in!?!?!” the man said angrily, pulling out his sword and using it to gesture at my surroundings while glaring at me.
“Situation? Whatever are you talking about?”
I knew what he was trying to say.
The silver knights had me surrounded. He was asking me whether I knew that.
Which was why…
“Do not tell me you are speaking of this lot?” I snorted, glancing at the knights surrounding me.
The man literally began shaking as if he couldn’t stand the sight of me.
“I see… It seems like you want to die…”
…Hmm… that’s a surprise. He’s got quite a lot of magical power there.
“I am the captain of the first division of the royal knights, Gramus Tale,” he said in a deep voice, holding his sword in front of him. “There is no need to name yourself any more. I have no need to remember the name of a man – who is about to die!”
He pointed his sword at me.
“Attaaaaack!!!!” he screamed, and the knights around me all began running at me.
““““Uoooooooo!””””
The ground shook from their steps.
Well now, that was a bad move.
I waved my right hand.
That’s right. I didn’t need magical power or magic for this. I just waved my arm. That was enough.
The gust of wind I had created stopped the incoming knights.
Some of them fell over, unable to withstand the strength of the wind.
The two things the knights all had in common was their eyes wide open and bodies frozen in shock.
“Wha-!?”
The man who had called himself Gramus was, naturally, also shocked.
My sister stepped forward, pushing him out of the way.
“Gramus. Withdraw the soldiers.”
“Rei-sama!?! What are you talking about!! Our honourable royal knight division won’t–”
“Gramus!” my sister shouted, making Gramus and the rest of the knights all shudder.
“I won’t say it again… if you don’t want them to die in vain, have them stand down immediately. Or have you still not noticed!? That’s not a human. That’s a god.”
“A god…!?! !! No way!! Do you mean to say that he is the Blue Meteor from earlier!?! That we should give in to a being with such a small amount of magical power!?! Is that what you’re saying!!?!”
I was the one who felt shaken upon hearing that.
…I had messed up. I had this habit of suppressing my magical power.
“That’s right. See those wings? He looks like a god to me.”
“Ha! Some demi-human races have those as we–”
–I let the magical power sleeping within me loose.
Instantly, a feeling of being almighty spread throughout my body.
––Ah… amazing. This. This is the best.
Overwhelming difference in power: check.
My magical power swirled outwards from me in a spiral.
“Wh- w- h- h- what- is with- that- magical power-!”
Gramus’ face blanched. Simultaneously, the clattering sound of shaking armour began assaulting my ears.
Clatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatter
The knights surrounding me all began to shake. The sound echoed and resonated around the clearing like some kind of strange orchestra.
“Fufu…”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
Don’t make me laugh. If you all shake from just this much, just how were you planning on hunting Fenrir.
“Fufu… fuhahahahaha! Hahahahaha!”
I had reached my limit. I burst out laughing, adding another layer of sound to the concert of the armours.
Yep. They’re fools. They’re just puppets who faithfully move to the tune of this fake story, none the wiser of the truth.
Let’s give them a show. Fenrir is nothing like this. And I ain’t gotten a single bit serious yet either…!
“D-devil…”
Gramus looked at me with eyes filled with fear and collapsed to his knees.
“…”
Devil… huh. I guess I have become something akin to that.
However, I cannot stand hearing that from your mouth.
“What happened, commander of the royal knights? Your prided knights are all trembling. Have you perhaps finally noticed it? The mistake you made?”
“…Mistake…?”
“Yes, mistake. Or can you still not tell? How you people tried to smear mud on my work?”
I couldn’t even tell whether I was still only playing the role of an evil god. Any more.
However, my actions were all heading towards my one, unforgotten goal.
“The one… who caused the stampede–” I tried to change my expression into an evil smirk as I told them the lie. “– was none other than yours truly.”
Gramus’ eyes widened.
“…T-that’s wrong! The one who caused the stampede was the divine beast Fenrir! My lord and the gods all said so! To kill the vermin tainting this forest! Clearly so!”
How idiotic. Does he even have a brain.
“Then tell your brainless master this: The likes of you–”
I could not lose. I would go down the path I believed in.
“–cannot obstruct my path.”
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