The horn’s sound rang out, resounding high and clear across the city.
Pauline dashed onto the chamber’s terrace, looking down over the Royal Capital. From more than fifteen stories above the ground, the view stretched far and wide—from the streets below to the hills beyond the city walls.
Above her, the aurora shimmered. Bands of light fluttered like divine banners, as if the entire blue sky itself had been transformed into a war standard.
Pauline let her gaze drift downward.
“…Rion-san”
The gods and our group descended toward the capital, heading west.
Adventurers and members of the Raven Corps were already deployed within the dungeon, so preparations had been made. Still, if any danger were to arise, the Western Dungeon was the most likely source. It was the most formidable location in the capital—after all, it had been the prison of the most powerful monsters.
A rustle of wings drew her attention to the right. Ravens rested their black feathers along the beams above.
From the chamber, a voice called out.
“…Pauline!”
When she turned, the voice came from the king himself. Only a handful of the Raven Warrior corps and a few nobles remained in the chamber. Most of the other nobles had either reached the limits of their patience and fled, or had followed Rion and the others to help defend the city. The more of the latter, the easier the “real battle” to come would be.
As Pauline returned to the chamber, King Asgard tapped his chair with a sharp, satisfying rhythm.
“You’ve grown bold in your words. You were still a child when you openly despised slavery, spoke against it, and were driven to the frontier.”
Pauline’s grip tightened around her rod, and she lowered her eyes.
“…That was a long time ago.”
Slavery had been the reason the nobles came to dominate the kingdom. The fact that humans could be born with predetermined skills made them perfectly suited to the slave trade. Once, the kingdom had failed to prevent nobles from amassing wealth through slaves.
As a result, the nobles grew in power, while the kingdom—the enforcer—grew comparatively weaker. In the end, the monsters themselves became the “slave traders,” siphoning off all the benefits.
Seven years ago, ten-year-old Pauline had pleaded directly for the nobles to stop slavery. Her words needlessly provoked the delicate balance between the royal family and the nobility. She had been sent to a remote temple. Had her sealing skill not manifested, she might have remained there until her death. Joining the Raven Warriors and eventually becoming its commander seemed almost a cruel twist of fate.
Who could have imagined that she would one day face off against the very slave traders she had opposed as a child?
“You have denied the myths. Soon, you will spread this throughout the kingdom, won’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“And from here, what will you do? How do you intend to lead the kingdom?”
Pauline shook her head.
“I cannot say for sure yet. Because, first, we must defeat Ymir, the pinnacle of the monsters plaguing the country. Otherwise, everything will remain mere fantasy.
At the mention of Ymir, the remaining nobles furrowed their brows. They did not yet know the full extent. The king had been briefed in advance through correspondence, but the nobles and the people still needed to learn about Ymir, the “ashes of the titans” and much more.
“But, with adventurers standing at the forefront of this battle, I can feel the strength of this country.”
Pauline admitted, her true feelings spilling into her words. Perhaps the horn had lent her courage.
“The safe myths of the past no longer exist. We must carve our own path through danger.”
She paused, letting the weight of her next words settle.
“And it is in braving such perils—that we call adventure.”
If this is truly the continuation of the myths, then adventurers are surely the ones meant to bear it.
Pauline walked onto the terrace. Glancing at the beam to her right, she saw that the ravens that had perched there earlier had already flown away. A pleasant breeze stirred around her as she murmured,
“Gods soaring over the capital, defeating monsters… perfect for introducing the divine…”
As if in response to her words—
“If I am called upon—”
A young man in a black robe landed gracefully on the terrace.
Pauline’s eyes went wide.
“L-Loki-sama…!?”
Loki lowered his drooping eyes further, holding up two fingers in greeting. A mischievous grin spread across his face. The trickster god looked genuinely delighted.
“Weren’t you supposed to be out fighting?”
“I couldn’t possibly miss a task this important and fun, as a trickster star.”
Loki replied. He faced the capital from the terrace, arms outstretched.
“Sound forth!”
The trickster god gave a grand, theatrical bow as though to yield the stage. Pauline swallowed and stepped forward.
“Now, Your Highness, your words please—”
◆◆◆
The gods’ magic wrapped around us, lifting us effortlessly into the sky.
Mia-san, Felix-san, the Raven Warriors, and Solana with the others—together with the gods, we soared. Once out of the castle, we headed west. To reach the monsters quickly, there was no faster way than to be carried by divine power.
But—
“Well… we’re kind of standing out, huh…”
I muttered, glancing down.
Crowds of people were staring up at us. Some had stopped in the middle of the main streets, others leaned out of windows, and a few even watched from boats on the canals.
Anyone would be stunned—light bursting forth from the royal castle, and people were inside it.
—What… what is that!?
—Humans!?
—G-Gods…!
Some gasped in shock, some screamed, some fell to their knees in prayer.
—Ooooooooh!
And from beyond the city walls, the monsters roared in response.
Mia-san’s face went pale.
“This is bad! That sound… it’s not just goblins—there are orcs and golems out there too!”
The monsters’ cries weren’t coming only from the west. As we soared through the sky, growls and roars began to rise from the north and south as well.
Solana furrowed her brow and took to the air above us.
“…It’s not just the Western Dungeon! East, north, south—monsters are pouring out of every dungeon! Ymir’s presence… it’s still strong…!”
The capital must be in utter chaos.
Above us, mysterious lights shimmered. From the dungeon beyond the walls, monstrous voices roared. Black smoke had already begun rising from the west.
“What do we do…?”
We could defeat the monsters, but if this continued, panic would grip the people. At worst, after the battle, a crowd might storm the Odis Temple.
Then, the wind carried a voice from the castle.
—Citizens of the royal capital.
It was Pauline-san. I turned toward the sound in surprise. A god in a black robe waved both hands from the castle.
“…L-Loki?”
I whispered, and Solana answered.
“She’s using sound magic. Loki intends to broadcast the princess’s words across the entire city.”
The aurora still lingered in the sky, glowing alongside the magic released by the awakening horn, Gjalhorn.
The princess’s voice carried through the city, solemn and majestic, like a divine proclamation.
—I am the commander of the Raven Warriors.
—As already conveyed in the gods’ message, monsters from the age of myths are returning to our world.
They were the perfect allies to calm the chaos sweeping through the capital.
I took the moment to observe the city walls. If monsters were emerging from four different dungeon, we would need to divide our efforts carefully.
—The final battle is about to begin.
—But in the sky above… the gods have returned for the sake of humanity!
Surely, the entire royal capital is watching us.
—The myth that the gods once defeated all monsters can no longer be called truth.
—Powerful monsters are now awakening before our eyes.
—But.
Pauline paused, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
—There is no need to lose hope.
—If the monsters awaken, so too shall the gods.
Thor and Heimdall responded in unison. The thunder god Thor raised his hammer, Mjolnir, and Heimdall lifted his sword. Both divine weapons gleamed in the sunlight, illuminating the capital for a brief, radiant moment.
“Yes!”
The voices of the two war gods thundered across the city.
From below, it must have seemed as though Thor, Heimdall, Sigris, Uru, and Solana—the five gods—had appeared in person to save humanity.
Solana, too, shouted toward the city, her voice ringing with divine authority.
“People of the city! Protect the streets from the dungeon now!”
The earlier voices of confusion had vanished completely.
—The gods of the great sealing era, wielders of immense power, are all on our side!
From the city walls came cheers of relief and excitement. Adventurers were already fighting.
The gods and we exchanged determined nods.
“Everyone, spread out! Western Dungeon—Thor and Mia! Northern Dungeon—Uru! Southern Dungeon—Sigris! The Raven Warriors, with Felix, take the Eastern Dungeon!”
In midair, our group split off toward their assigned directions.
Solana floated down lightly beside me.
“Rion!”
Heimdall approached as well, moving close.
“What should we do?”
“Un…!”
Then, a shiver like being pierced by an icicle ran down my spine.
My gaze followed downward.
A grinding, ear-piercing sound echoed from below, resonating with a terrifying intensity.
“What… is this?”
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
It was a crack. Like the fractures that run across a shattered vase or bowl, a jagged fissure had appeared in the empty air itself. As if some colossal object were breaking, the crack continued to widen. Above the central plaza of the royal capital, the rift had already stretched seven or eight meters across.
Solana furrowed her brow.
“…It’s the frost of the titan.”
I shivered, drawing my short sword.
Chunks of air seemed to peel away with a soft crackle, one piece after another. Before I knew it, a dark, gaping hole had formed in the sky.
A biting cold wind rushed in. Even tens of meters away, I felt it chill me to the bone.
Heimdall narrowed his eyes.
“This is your job, boy.”
Two red lights flared within the rift in the sky—groans of a monster. Those lights… were its eyes.
“I will defeat that monster!”As I landed in the plaza, the colossal beast emerged from the rift in the sky, descending toward us.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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