GalaxyTL
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Gi-gi, gi-gi-gi……!
I push with all my might, using both hands and feet.
And then, with a creaking sound, the large, heavy door, with the History of Neverfall depicted on it, slowly began to open.
Gradually, gradually… bright light leaked in through the widening gap in the door.
<We’ve come quite far into the labyrinth, and the decorations on this door are incredibly luxurious. So, this must be the end… the heart of Neverfall. I wonder what awaits us there!?>
Extra-sama was casually having fun, saying some random hype words.
Well, I’m also a little curious.
I’m a little hungry after crushing that robot, so it’d be nice if there was something like a yakitori stand.
<There’s no way there would be, right? This is the heart of Neverfall, so it must be a control room. There are things like control magic computers there, right? The smoke from the food stalls would damage the equipment.>
Stop it, stop suddenly replying seriously…
<…………There might be a tropical juice stand……>
There’s no way there would be, the humidity would damage the equipment.
And there wouldn’t be any customers either.
<Geez! I wanted to ride one! Emiiiiーーー!>
Hahahahaha!
As we were talking, the door fully opened.
Extra-sama and I stepped into the room, without any caution… and froze.
Why?
Because this room… even though we descended deeper and deeper into the labyrinth… looking up at the ceiling of the room, there’s a wide-open sky!
<Ah! I see… It’s a projection. The entire inner wall must be a liquid crystal display, projecting the outside world.>
Oh, what a sense of openness.
We can feel the vastness of the sky, and it’s not cold because we’re actually indoors.
It’s a property that shines with the builder’s attention to detail.
And in the center of the room, there’s a giant jewel, shining in seven colors, floating in the air, like an ornament.
<How beautiful. A great way to add an elegant, luxurious, and gorgeous touch to the room.>
Cables extend from the jewel in all directions, connecting to various important-looking machines placed along the circular inner wall of the room.
<The futuristic atmosphere, reminiscent of the now-defunct super ancient magical civilization, creates a sense of otherworldliness.>
And in the funnel-shaped glass tube, above the jewel… hmm… a girl is floating…
<The ultimate beauty, is it a person… is that the idea? If we think of it as an interior decoration… it’d be shocking to those who aren’t used to it. Maybe evil gods like this kind of thing.>
…………
<…………>
No, that’s not interior decoration, is it?
Wait, eh?
Eh, eh?
What is that girl?
Is she alive?
<Hmm… She’s probably alive. I recognize that faintly glowing liquid filling the glass tube. I forgot the name, but… it was often used in life support devices and stuff during the super ancient magical civilization.>
I see, so she’s alive…
But, what is it?
Why is there a girl trapped in a glass tube?
I tilted my head, with questions bubbling up.
And it was at that moment!
“You’ve made it this far…”
A young man’s voice suddenly echoed through the room!
“!”
I hurriedly looked towards the voice.
It’s coming from a little behind the giant jewel.
Extra-sama and I were so absorbed in our room viewing game that we didn’t notice.
Someone was standing there, with his back to us.
What catches the eye about this person is his shiny, long, golden hair reaching his waist.
A blue cloak with some kind of complex embroidery.
And that luxurious white ornament on his head.
“To you who worked hard to save Air… First, as a father, let me say… thank you.”
That person, ignoring me, who was confused by his sudden words, expressed his gratitude.
But…
<Who is ‘Air’?>
I wonder who?
Seriously, who?
He said ‘as a father’, so she’s probably his daughter…?
<We don’t know her, do we?>
Ah, maybe it’s the name of a pet?
<I see! It’s a misdirection!? Make us think it’s his son or daughter, but at the very end, it turns out to be the name of a pet! And we’re like, ‘What!?’ Is that the kind of twist you’re thinking of! I can see through it!!>
No, you’re wrong.
When you start theorizing, you’re usually completely off…
<That’s not true! I often watch the Detective God’s isekai broadcasts!>
“But as the king… I have to stop you. The Great Spirit’s pronouncements are absolute. The ritual… will be carried out.”
Huh!
Crap, I was so absorbed in chatting with Extra-sama that I wasn’t listening!
What did he just say?
<Oh, um, something about ‘carrying out the laundry’…>
Hey, if you weren’t listening either, just say so!
“Therefore.”
<Ah, look! The story is moving forward! This isn’t the time for fighting!>
You’re good at changing the subject, Extra-sama!?
That aside, it certainly seems like the story is going to move forward.
That mysterious person also slowly turned around to face us.
Oh, he’s quite handsome… just by his looks.
He has a low voice, and from the contents of the conversation, he must be a man… but.
His tired expression is a bit of a letdown.
“If you want to save Air… Defeat me!!”
Well, it seems the fun is over.
The mysterious handsome guy shouted that with hostility, and then suddenly jumped high into the air!
And… he spread large, pure white wings from his back, and stopped in midair!
<A-An angel!? I never thought we’d meet one here!?>
An angel!?
What’s that!?
<One of the races created to be errand boys… the limbs of the gods, to rebuild the world that was devastated after the ‘Day of Ruin’!>
What!?
<The gods learned their lesson with dragons, so their abilities are somewhat limited… but they still possess far greater magical power than ordinary humans! I thought they were all hiding in the mountains somewhere, now that the earth has been rebuilt and they’ve served their purpose… but…! Be careful, Emi!>
…Of course, I won’t let my guard down.
Since he’s showing hostility, he’s an enemy.
I’ll kill him.
Even though I don’t know who he is.
My head cooled down.
Mana and killing intent filled my body.
The next time he moves.
If he comes at me.
…I’ll tear him to shreds and kill him.
“…………”
But.
He didn’t attack me.
He landed on the floor, his wings still spread.
He stared at me.
And then… he said.
“…Who are you?”
…!!
Who am I? It’s not about that!!
I don’t know who you are, but since you’re going to be hostile, I’m going to kill you without mercy!!
You can’t show hostility and then be like ‘Who are you?’!
“No, who are YOU!?”
I couldn’t help but shout!
I shouted, irritated that my fighting spirit was dampened!
“…………”
He stiffened, his face hardening, at my outburst.
And then, after a moment of silence…
“…Who are you?”
He asked the same question again!
Ahh, come on!!
“I said, who are YOU!?”