Minutes Before the Appearance of the [Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle]

Just moments before the [Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle] appeared, Albit and his group were being pursued by the dark elf students from <Svart Industrial High School>.

The chase had continued from midnight until morning.

They were being pursued by dozens of threatening magic-armored soldiers and hundreds of dark elf students. Just when they were on the verge of being caught, they managed to widen the distance, only to be persistently chased and surrounded again.

During this process, their vehicle was eventually damaged.

Albit and his companions had to flee on foot to the city streets in front of the gate.

The escape was not smooth either.

No matter how much they tried to slip away through alleys, their steps were always halted by their pursuers. The minions directly under the student council president Andrea of <Svart Industrial High School> appeared without fail whenever they ran. The entanglement with them, which had lasted throughout the night, had become tiresome.

Before long, Albit and his companions were still being pursued in the city streets in front of the last gate leading to the Golden Street.

Their pursuers even chased them up the steep stairs of an alleyway.

“There they are! Over there!”

“Tsk!”

“Bell Secretary! I’ll cover the rear!”

Bell always led the way, using her ether skills, and was now so exhausted that she no longer had the energy to complain. She silently frowned as she controlled the flying daggers, while Sigrun provided cover in response to her movements.

Sigrun, even as she pulled her bowstring, tried persistently to persuade the dark elf students loudly.

“Fellow students from <Svart Industrial High School>—! Shouldn’t we stop this meaningless fight? The stability of Academy City is more important than money and power…!”

But the dark elf students chasing them shouted back with expressions as if they had seen something repulsive.

“Shut up! If you, a dark elf, had the nerve to leave <Svart Industrial High School> and side with <Aesir Girls’ High School>, then be quiet and become our bounty!”

“What stability of Academy City?! You just latched onto the strong ones! Money is earned through fighting!”

“You may talk about justice, but you’re no different from us, drawn to the smell of money…!”

“…Misunderstandings are sad. Not all dark elves are obsessed with power and money.”

Sigrun muttered bitterly and finally fired an ether arrow.

Swish!

Thump—!

The crimson daggers and ether arrows flew, disrupting the enemy ranks. But with the ongoing battle that lasted all night, it was difficult to shake off their pursuers when even their ether skills couldn’t be used.

“Ugh…?!”

The harsh ether consumption blurred her vision.

Bell struggled to control her daggers, but the ether connection was severed due to fatigue. The daggers, with their ether threads cut, fell with a sharp sound.

Clang—!

Startled by the sound, Bell and Sigrun reacted.

“Ah—?! I dropped them…!”

“Bell, Bell Secretary, are you okay?!”

A sudden opening emerged.

In the gap between the daggers and arrows.

Three armored pursuers pushed inside the narrow alley stairway.

“Get them! Get inside!!”

“Push with the armor—!!”

“They’re exhausted, they’re easy coins now!!”

Albit jumped between Bell and Sigrun.

“Bell-senpai! I’ll hold them off!”

“Albit, sorry…! I’ll pay you back later!”

“What’s there to pay back between friends!”

“I’m still your senior—”

“Bell Secretary… asserting that now is unseemly…! A true strong person knows when to be humble—”

“Shut up—!”

Amidst this banter.

Albit used an ether skill on the armored students. After the prolonged fight, only Albit, who barely consumed ether, was able to use ether skills.

Albit swung his sword toward the charging students.

“Haa—!! [Flash Sword]—!!”

“Damn it…?! You’re still using ether skills—?!”

A sword strike exploded.

Boom!

The sword strike burst like a red volcano, emitting a scorching heat with a loud roar. Albit charged through the armored students who were startled by the attack, shoving them with his shoulder.

Wham—!

“Uwaaa?!”

“Aaah!!”

Two students hit by Albit’s shove had activated the armor’s defensive function and were unable to move until they rolled down the steep stairs.

Two armored students tilted on the steep stairs.

“Damn—!!”

“Damn it!!”

But there was one student who avoided Albit’s charge.

She was about to swing a black greatsword down at Albit.

“You bastard…! Where do you think you’re going?!”

“…!”

A voice intervened.

“I won’t let you!”

“Greta!”

Just before the greatsword swung down.

A white-haired student emerged from the building's shadows… Greta tripped the armored student. Her sudden hand-to-hand combat was her specialty.

“The kick of justice—!”

“Ah, hey!! That’s not a kick…?!”

Stagger—!

“Oh, oh…?!”

It wasn’t exactly a kick, but it was enough to unbalance.

The armored student staggered and rolled down the slope below the alley stairs. They all rolled down, making the sound of cans rolling.

The voices of the armored students echoed from afar.

“Damn—!!”

“Damn—!!”

“Damn—!!”

“…” “….”

Albit and Greta watched and sighed in relief.

“…Phew, thank you, Greta.”

“No problem! We wouldn’t have made it here if it weren’t for you, Albit! We’re almost there!”

“…!”

Greta pointed with her slender finger.

There, visible beyond the slightly open gate, was the place they had longed to join all night… the western gate leading to the Golden Street. Beyond the gate, faint glimpses of a fight with red ether flying back and forth were visible.

The group stared in silence in the same direction.

“…” “…” “…”

They were supposed to have arrived long ago and joined the <United Student Council>, but they hadn’t expected to be pursued so relentlessly.

Bell picked up her dropped daggers and returned, speaking in a dazed voice.

“How did it come to this…? Nothing is going according to plan… Could it be that Clara and [The Violet Spinning Wheel] are still being chased…?”

Kara replied bitterly, rummaging through the worn-out ether conductor pouch for [Revolutionary Comrade].

“I know… It’s really worrying. Our vehicle got damaged, and endless elves came at us wherever we went… Phew.”

“I don’t condone racial slurs… but I do admit my old alma mater is a bit materialistic and sticky…”

“Oh, captain…! No matter how you look at it, it’s not just ‘a bit’… Your attitude of even embracing the flaws of your old school…!”

“…”

Albit watched Sigrun and Greta’s conversation with a subtle expression.

She climbed the steep stairs and spoke to her companions.

“Everyone, I know you’re exhausted, but let’s keep moving. Since our plan has been disrupted, <Svart Industrial High School>’s plans must also be messed up. The situation isn’t all bad.”

“…Okay.”

“Sometimes I wonder if Albit is really a first-year student.”

“I agree. Comrade Albit is as reliable as senior comrade Clara.”

“…Is that a compliment?”

Albit chuckled at Bell’s question, responding with a smile. Her face was covered in dust, and her hair was disheveled, but her laughter conveyed a sense of satisfaction.

“Yes, to me, it’s a compliment.”

“…I see.”

Leading their weary steps,

As they climbed the stairs and headed for the main street.

Whirr—!

Several automatons waited with a mechanical hum.

The cause that forced them to take the alley was waiting with its gigantic body.

“…?!”

“They were waiting here first?!”

“Yeah. Come on. I ordered the kids to drive you here.”

“What…?!”

A relaxed voice responded to their shocked remarks.

Light reflected off her luxurious sunglasses.

Bell spoke in a shrill voice upon seeing her.

“Andrea…!”

“Wow, our kids would chase you to hell if paid… You’ve dodged them all… Do you want to work under me?”

Andrea, the student council president of <Svart Industrial High School>.

A dark elf girl draped in a black and gold coat, perched atop an automaton. The golden hue of her lavish accessories and the fine material of her school uniform stood out.

Despite the chase lasting all night, she somehow remained composed. Her smile beneath the sunglasses resembled that of a salesperson.

Whirr—!

Whirr—!

...And the ominous mechanical sound from the many armored puppets encircling the street was presumed to be the source of her composure.

“…”

Albit took a breath and spoke to Andrea while standing at the forefront.

“Please step aside.”

“Oh, negotiating when strength fails? You fit our school’s natural talent profile perfectly. How about a tan and join me?”

“You must realize by now that there’s no chance of victory for the Eastern Alliance. While you’re chasing us, the noble faction students on the Golden Street are isolated, continuing their fight against [The Violet Spinning Wheel], [The Blue and White Thunderbolt]… and [The Pink Spiral].”

“Hmm, [Faded Spiral] now? I haven’t heard that in a while. But so what? Out of the five colors, there are two. And there’s an old has-been who used to be the strongest in Academy City, so I should retreat with my tail between my legs?”

“…”

At that moment, a voice boomed from a megaphone in the distance.

-Attention to the approaching <Svart Industrial High School> students! From now on, this area falls under the operational zone of the <Gjallarhorn> main force. If you do not leave immediately, you will be deemed hostile forces—!

“…”

Hundreds of people approached with noise.

Andrea, however, remained unfazed.

Seeing her, Albit struggled to conceal her frustration.

“To put it simply, it’s no longer profitable for you, right? Soon, <Gjallarhorn> reinforcements will arrive to join us. In such a situation, do you think Frau from <Public Bana Boarding School> will still support you? Do you really believe she can rule Academy City?”

“Oh, when did you call for reinforcements while being chased? That’s troublesome. You’re quite resourceful. But you know…”

“…”

Swoosh—

Andrea slowly removed her sunglasses and spoke.

“I never really considered Frau my real employer.”

“…What?”

“The real one who paid generously insisted on capturing the brown-haired one from <Central Prism Academy>.”

When her large sunglasses were removed, a tattoo of a ‘snake’ wriggled around her eyes.

Seeing the ‘snake,’ Albit felt a strong sense of unease.

“…?!”

A voice echoed in Albit’s mind.

The cry of a great bird.

Screeeech—!

[…Fight against the beast god of chaos.]

[…For the balance and order of Yggdrasil.]

‘What is this…?’

A strange scene flashed through Albit’s mind.

A vision of a giant hawk’s wings.

‘A giant hawk…?’

Unaware of Albit’s confusion.

Andrea, with the snake tattoo around her eyes wriggling, spoke in a relaxed voice.

“Frau was a big-spending client, but from now on, the true master of Academy City will not be an idiot like Frau.”

“What do you mean…?”

Andrea quietly pointed to the ground.

“Our new master is below.”

“New… master…?”

Hundreds of <Gjallarhorn> forces clashed with the armored automatons that arrived.

Andrea, still seated atop an automaton, continued to pursue Albit and his group.

“What on earth are you saying…?”

It was only a few minutes later that Albit understood Andrea’s words.

From beneath the ground… a giant serpent emerged, ridden by a <Ratatoskr> priest transformed into a dragon.

The giant serpent, shrouded in ominous black ether, roared toward Yggdrasil. The massive barrier surrounding Yggdrasil shattered with a thunderous sound.

The barrier of the Golden Street… was collapsing.

Boom—!!

Albit and his companions, pursued by Andrea, hurriedly ran toward the Golden Street with the newly arrived <Gjallarhorn> main force.

‘Clara-senpai…! Rota…!’

*

The [Golden Witch] approached the [Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle] just before it died. Both beings were gravely wounded, struggling to breathe.

The [Golden Witch] spoke to the ‘serpent.’

“…”

“In the end, I couldn’t find the ‘story’ with my friends.”

“…”

“All I knew was ‘battle’.”

“…”

“But… someday… someone will find it. The true meaning within the magic I left behind… truly…”

“…”

“My friends… the ‘prophet’… will carry on my will…”

“…”

The ‘serpent,’ erasing the [Fate] of individuals and inscribing the truth of the cycle, slowly closed its eyes, wishing to witness its old rival’s will fulfilled.

The [Golden Witch], too, coughed up blood and slowly closed her eyes.

“Someday… surely.”