“The Sabre-toothed Tigers are the lot that led the White Army against Mira, ain’t they?!” came a voice from the crowd.
“But they’re on our side now? The Goddess tricked them too, jus’ like everyone else! They switched sides when they learned the truth… Somethin’ like that?”
“Huh? Then all that stuff ’bout them bein’ executed was just rumors?”
“The Sabre-toothed Tigers are our allies anyway! They fought with the Holy Order of the Purge to protect Yonato in the great invasion!”
“Th-that’s right! I dunno what’s goin’ on down in Mira, but they ain’t done nothin’ to us! I’d be happy to have ’em on our side!”
“Rinji,” said Oulu, looking over at him—his tone questioning. Rinji’s gaze was fixed on the man in knight’s armor, who was standing on the stage. “…The Sabre-toothed Tigers, eh?”
Yasu didn’t have close ties to the group, but he was familiar with them and had met them before. They had been the ones who trained Ikusaba Asagi’s group. Yasu looked up at the sky from within the crowd of onlookers.
The ones who trained us. I feel bad about what happened to Banewolf, too. He reached out a hand to me. I should have learned everything I could from him, but instead, I brushed his hand away. How many times have I turned down the kindness of others? All for my stupid, no-good, worthless pride.
…I brushed off Sogou-san’s help, too.
Suddenly, a memory floated into the back of his mind—a memory of the old world.
Mimori-kun… Him too. What I hate most is that this stupid conceit and cowardice of mine hasn’t completely left me yet. People can’t change that easily. That’s why we have to face up to what we are, rather than try to run. That’s what I decided to do…
Yasu raised his head once more. The man up on the stage began speaking again once the crowd had quietened down.
“A group of individuals who have long lived in hiding, in a place known as the Country at the End of the World, are also joining the fight!”
“…!” Yasu’s heart skipped a beat.
“They have long known the secret to defeating Vicius, and so have had no choice but to live in hiding from her! More shocking, they are demi-humans… And they have monsters on their side who have souls, creatures who are not subject to the golden-eyed madness! They are fighting alongside the Wildly Beautiful Emperor even as we speak!”
Yasu gently placed a hand to the bandages that still covered his wounds.
The Country at the End of the World—those people saved me.
“In addition!” cried the man in knight’s armor, appealing to the crowd with a grand sweep of his arm as he spoke his next line. “The Lord of the Flies Brigade, who defeated an Inner Circle demon at the Battle for the White Citadel, are currently fighting under the Wildly Beautiful Emperor’s command!”
“Belzegea too…!”
Belzegea… Seras Ashrain…
I… I owe them my life.
A hand shot up from within the crowd. “Ahem! Wh-what about the heroes?!”
Waves of further commotion spread through the listeners, and some began to draw those at their sides closer, to whisper among themselves on the topic.
“Yeah… Some of the Heroes from Another World still stand on Vicius’s side…”
“One of ’em they got is Ayaka Sogou. She’s strong enough to sway the whole course of a battle on her own, far as I heard. I’d be terrified to make an enemy of her…”
That’s right… What about Sogou-san, and my other classmates?
“I heard that the hero Ayaka took down the Demon King…”
“Huh? Wasn’t it the other super strong one that did that? What was his name again? The one who was on the eastern front during the great invasion…”
“The Something sisters, right… The older one? S’posed to be real pretty…”
“Huh? You sure? I thought I heard the hero that killed the Demon King was a guy…”
“A-anyway!” shouted the man who had raised his hand to ask about the heroes first. He looked terrified as he addressed the man in knightly garb. “How are we supposed to beat Vicius when she’s got a monster like that on her side?!”
“Do not fear! All the heroes who can fight have learned the truth and have joined the Wildly Beautiful Emperor and his Anti-Goddess Alliance!” called the knight. The crowd quietened, and then after a brief pause, ripples of calm spread through the crowd.
“Whoa… Y-y’know, they do say that Wildly Beautiful Emperor’s a charmer…”
“But hey, ain’t this just ’cause some other god has come down to punish the Goddess? Otherwise, there’s no way they’d defy her, right?”
Yasu’s good hand clenched into a fist.
What is this feeling… Relief?
There was something emboldening in it too—it felt like a hand upon his back.
It’s Sogou-san, after all… I bet she’s the one keeping everyone together. I’m sure Nihei Yukitaka’s helping, too. He used to be in my group.
“Vicius intends to annihilate every last person living on this continent.”
Sogou Ayaka’s not the kind of person who would support the Goddess if she’s doing something like that. But what about the Takao sisters? I don’t feel like they’d stay on Vicius’s side. And come to think of it, is Kirihara-kun in this fight? He might be with Sogou Ayaka right now, fighting shoulder to shoulder. What about Oyamada Shougo? Has he recovered? Is he fighting on Sogou Ayaka’s side? Anyway—everyone’s out there fighting. The people of the Country at the End of the World, Belzegea, Seras, Sogou-san…
It sounds like they’re going to Alion—to Eno, where we were first summoned. That’s where they plan on fighting Vicius. If they’re the ones attacking Eno, then we’re on defense here. I don’t know all the details, but this Holy Eye thing seems to be a problem for Vicius. It might even determine the whole course of this war. If protecting the Holy Eye of Yonato will help them, then…
“…”
And I…
Yuri walked over to Yasu. Grabbing at the hem of his shirt with her little hands, she looked uneasily up at him.