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WeD - V1C54 - Makia Facing off Giants with a Descendent of the Twilight Clan
🕑 Added 2022-11-17 14:32:11 +0000 UTCThis is Makia.
Since the portside ceremony was also the last day of the Holy Festival, things were very lively here with lots of people crowding the place.
“Unlike the Karted Sea, the Central Sea looks really peaceful.”
“... Hasn’t it always been that way? You know, there’s a theory that the four continents used to be one large supercontinent? At the very center of the Super Continent was the Sacred Land of Vabilophos. When the continents eventually split into four, the piece that moved south happened to contain the sacred land.”
“Is that so? So that’s why the sanctuary is here, in a place exposed to all other continents…”
“The reason Miradreed was built here was that it was supposed to be a defensive base in case of attacks by enemies due to the sacred place. However, I have no idea whether this theory is even correct.”
Riding over the quiet waves of the sea, a lone black ship begins to emerge.
“Is that the migrant ship? Did you come on one of those?”
“The one I was on was a lot more shabby. Since today is supposed to be a festival day, I expect they would use a better looking one.”
“... I see…”
If I had not attended this Holy Festival here, I might not have known how large the migrant ship actually is. I lean over the railing to stare at the ship. Just as I nearly fall off the railing, Tooru grabs me by the arm.
Bangg!!
“?!”
The sound of a gunshot echoed suddenly across the place.
Cheerful chatters suddenly devolved into screams of horror.
“Gunshot! It’s aiming for the viewing platform!”
“Y-Yuri…”
We turn and stare up at the tower. That’s when we heard more shots. Then, a semi-transparent shield flashes over the tower.
“A spirit wall… Third Summoning Stage, I think. It has been a long time since I’ve seen one.”
“What the heck is this… Woah.”
The people are understandably frightened as they run around, pushing and shoving others out of their way. I am pushed along, too small to fight against the crowd when Tooru catches me by the arm before I’m actually swept away.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“... Yeah, although I nearly got crushed.”
Tooru is breathing hard, his other arm grabbing onto a pillar so he would not get pulled along by the crowd too. Then, we simultaneously look up at the viewing tower.
Sir Raymond, the younger brother of the king is standing in the middle of the platform, arms waving and screaming something into the wind. A sudden fierce volley of fire is heard and more people scream [1] and crouch with their hands over their heads. Clearly afraid of being shot.
[1] The bullets left streaks of light behind them as they whizzed towards Sir Raymond. However, just before the bullets reach him, the bullets swerve upwards into the sky. A group of people in black robes suddenly appeared around Sir Raymond, forming a protective circle.
“Wha…?”
“Who are those… ?”
We stare with wide eyes at the black robed people.
I counted six of them.
Each of them has a hand out, a 3D magic cube floating on the back of their hands. A larger cube-shaped space under their feet as a floating platform.
“Hey, that magic, isn’t it similar to yours?”
“Yeah, that’s Spatial Magic. I guess those black mages are probably… foreigners…”
The Black Mages scattered in all directions.
Tooru tracks one of them with his eyes even as a 3D magic cube appears on his hand.
“I’m kind of curious about them. I’m going to chase one down.”
“Then, I’ll go with you,”
I am also a little worried about the viewing tower. However, considering Yuri’s ability with defensive and healing magic, there is really no need to worry about them. Therefore, I decide to go with Tooru to satisfy my curiosity.
“From what I’ve heard from a reporter in Karted, there are quite a lot of Anti-East factions inside the Royal Capital.”
“So, you think they caused the commotion to interfere with the ceremony?””
“Could be. It could also be part of a plan to assassinate Sir Raymond in the confusion. They may or may not be related. It is also possible that this is a show planned by Sir Raymond to display his supporters.”
“... and that the Anti-Eastern faction is essentially dancing in the middle of his hand?”
“There isn’t enough information to prove one way or the other.”
We stop at a location indicated by the 3D magic cube. There were already a group of fallen people in the area, surrounded by rubble and abandoned weapons.
However, the sight that makes me breathe in sharply is the robed Black Mage.
He/she/they stand on the pile of rubble, a giant scythe-like weapon in hand, making them look like a reaper of death.
The mage must have noticed us, because they begin to turn around slowly. A sharp wind blows and raises the black hood.
“.....”
Long and straight black hair, eyes as black as night with pale, faintly pink lips.
The white of their skin made their surrounding blackness even darker somehow.
“... A girl…?”
Indeed, the Black Mage standing before us is a beautiful girl steeped in sorrow.
There is a certain familiarity in her features.
[1] I know those eyes, and that air of sorrow.
When she sees us, her eyes widen a little.
Then, in a fluid motion, she pinch the cloth of her robes, pull it aside like a skirt and bend her knees and waist gracefully.
“Greetings, Honorable Demon Kings.”
“?!”
“This woman… She knows us…?”
Tooru and I exchange a sideways glance, before bracing ourselves for… for whatever is about to happen.
From this distance, we cannot not see her eyes properly and therefore cannot not guess her thoughts as she steps down almost delicately from the mound of destruction.
The bloodied scythe in her hand transforms into a particle of light and tucks itself into her earring.
“Physical Space Compression Magic…”
“Yes… As expected, Black Demon King-sama,” the woman bows again. “I am Lepis Twilight.”
“... Twilight?”
“The Twilights are Black Magic users from the Northern Continent. Black Demon King, we are your descendents.”
“?!”
Needless to say, Tooru and I are very surprised. Still, we could feel the truth in her words.
For one thing, her magic is very similar to Tooru’s. Moreover, she looks very much like Tooru.
“I must say, your descendents are pretty amazing.”
“...”
“I guess if you’re a woman, you’d look like this.”
“Shut up, Makia. I have a headache right now.”
Tooru appeared to be confused by this situation.
Lepis Twilight observes our exchange without comment before slipping her hood back on. “Black Demon King-sama, Crimson Witch-sama, please, do come this way.”
“...?”
“The rest would be handled by Raymond-sama’s soldiers.”
We follow her, [1] since we have no idea what else to do. She moved through the residential area into a more open location.
From here, we could get a very nice view of the Central Sea and most of the port city.
“This should be good enough.”
“... Good enough for what?”
“To witness the coming.”
Her voice had dropped from polite neutral to dramatic whisper. As though she is hinting at something apocalyptic or something.
“What is coming? Didn’t you guys wipe out the Anti-Eastern faction already? Look, a lot of those terrorists had already been captured.”
“... You are correct. However, this is just a small ‘event’ to gather rebels and show off one’s power. A show that serves as a warning for others.”
“...”
[2] A show? Literally? Wait, didn’t Tooru mention something like this earlier?
[2] “Now that the prelude is over, the main event is nearly upon us. Can you not hear it? The growls of ‘Giants’ are cutting through the sky and smashing seas. They have come for the Sanctuary…”
“... What?”
The wind suddenly switches direction.
The sky, which had been a gentle blue just now, is covered by churning dark clouds.
Seagulls [1] wheeled and screeched, their movements odd and erratic. The seabirds were flapping frantically to get away from the sea.
The bad feeling in my gut could no longer be ignored and chills run up and down my spine. I swallow against the lump in my throat and stare at the sea, sweat suddenly pouring from my forehead.
[1] Then, I heard it.
It is a grinding clunking sound that I have never heard in my life, but is somehow still familiar to me. The grinding sound is like a dull roar, a growl.
It comes from beyond the sea as a giant, black, gigantic…
“... Wha- , what is that…”
“It’s huge…”
[3]
The… things coming towards us are… varied
Some break out from the sea like monsters, others descended from the clouds in a curiously stiff yet elegent way. The monsters, I could not conceive a better description than this, came in many forms. Some have long arms and wings, most are half flesh and half mechanical there is one with a gigantic head and many faces showing different expressions.
There is a void in the sky where light pierces through. If I have to explain it, it kind of reminds me of the pictures in Earth churches where angels descended from the sky. Well, over here, a… thing, that resembled a giant marionette with an eerie looking mask is descending. Instead of mercy and holiness, it radiates something horrible and monstrous.
There is no way to describe our feelings just then as we stand here and ‘witness the coming’ as Lepis Twilight had so eloquently put it.
There are 10 of them in total.
[3]
“O-oi, just what the heck are those? What!?”
“Honorable Demon Kings, you are witnessing the latest weapons of the Hermedes Federation. The Super Magic Raiding Giant - Gigas… well, they are essentially golems.”
As expected, Tooru is also sweating. Laughter spills out of him, “Haha, just what is this thing…”
It feels like we are in the middle of a super special effects movie.
I’ll be honest now.
I’m scared and uneasy.
If even we feel this way, what are the people of the Southern Continent feeling now? They must be filled with horror and fear, as though death is about to descend upon them.
I am certain. Today’s horror, I will never forget it.
[Gumihou: Added some dramatic detail. It’s not that the writing is bad per se, but certain details are added for clarity and drama]
[1] Add Detail
[2] It’s all very unclear, there’s vague, and there’s incomprehensible. Add details to make it vague and chuuni-ish
[3] Add descriptive detail beyond ‘Some were flying towards us while the others were breaking the seas apart. Monsters with various shapes, with many long arms and wings, as well as having half their bodies made of machines. There’s one with a giant head, with various facial expressions. In the skies, there was a cavity with a ring of light which resembled the ring of an angel. If I were to explain it, it was a giant with an eerie mask, like a sacred giant marionette, but with an overwhelming feeling of a monstrosity coming from it..’
Since this is a first appearance, add an element of ‘rawness’ to the experience.
