I could hear its footsteps once I was closer to it, but… I heard nothing at all until I was within a certain range…
None of the sounds of battle, and no amount of screaming would ever bring help running to her side. There was something about that fact that made Ayaka feel helpless. The lack of sound was much more isolating that she expected it would be.
But this is no time to give in to the isolation and curl up in sadness… It’s just as Mimori-kun predicted. It’s not just the disciples, there are eucharists wandering this labyrinth too…
Ayaka charged once more.
I need to find those of our allies who aren’t suited to fighting, and…
“…Hmph?”
“Eh?”
There she was, just staring at Ayaka.
It appeared from her reaction that she hadn’t been expecting this either. The woman was standing in one of the wider rooms, around the corner of a passage that Ayaka had just turned down.
Wh-what is…she doing here?
Ayaka gulped, trying to keep from panicking—but the confusion and anxiety washing over her ended up freezing her brain for a few moments. The woman she encountered was in the corner of the wider room, near to the wall. It looked as if she had been about to enter one of the nearby passages when Ayaka had encountered her. The woman who Ayaka saw standing before her looked back over her shoulder as if in shock. It was…
“V-Vicius…?”
“It just had to be you of all people…” Vicius replied.
Ayaka kicked her brain back into gear, pulling Touka’s orders back into her mind.
“Sogou, Hijiri, Itsuki—make your own decisions once you’re in there, and prioritize achieving our objectives if you need to.”
I haven’t met up with any of our allies yet. Should I pull back for now, and make finding them my priority? No… Even if I tried, would Vicius really let me go that easily? Or should I defeat her here on my own? Am I even capable of that? Defeating her? Vicius? What is she even doing here? This isn’t right. It isn’t supposed to be like this…
“…!”
Vicius leaped into the passageway beside her.
“Huh?”
She’s running?
Sogou recalled Vicius’s reaction upon their meeting. She had looked genuinely surprised.
But was that an act? A trap to lure me in? What do I do?
Sogou Ayaka…
“Silver—World.”
…chose pursuit.
She leaped onto the Silver Steed that her unique skill created and galloped after the Goddess—activating her kyokugen ability as she rode. Spear in hand, head low, she plunged into the passage where Vicius had fled.
She’s so fast?! But…!
Ayaka closed her eyes, concentrating all of her attention on her ears. She shut out the sound of the wind, and—footsteps…! Her presence…it’s faint, but at this distance I can still follow her!
Taking corners like she was drifting around them, she gave chase.
I can’t tell exactly where she is, but somewhere near this alleyway just off the main road? I need to keep mind that this might be a trap she’s luring me into!
“!”
Then she saw it—Vicius’s back. It was just as she came out into a wider open space—wasn’t this the recreation plaza? The fountain in the center was consumed by white, and the waterspout in its center had been blocked up.
Ayaka tossed her spear. Vicius turned, and in the same movement knocked the weapon away with her hand, which she had transformed into a whip. She then did a half-turn to face Ayaka and skidded to a stop with her hands against the ground. She stayed there, facing Ayaka down, ready to fight.
“Hoh hoh, well, well… If it isn’t the traitor Sogou! You’re doing much better than I expected you would—?!”
As Vicius faced her down, Ayaka was already circling around her—unique sword ready to strike her down at any moment. Vicius’s eyes opened wide as she tried to turn and receive the blow.
“Wai—”
Ayaka had created floating weapons in front of Vicius. The goddess was surrounded by the weapons in front of her, to her left and right, and Ayaka behind.
I’m not letting you get awa—
Smaaash!
The sound of a great explosion shook Ayaka’s eardrums like a strike of lightning.
“Eh!”
Something large, heavy, and substantial had collided with the ground between Ayaka and Vicius. The sound of rock on rock filled the air with a thunderous crack as it descended upon them with terrifying speed. The impact sent cobblestones flying up in all directions as if the ground had just exploded beneath their feet. Then a man appeared there between them… His arm extended, swung out in a hook that had been directed at Ayaka. The arm was white and thick, with deep black grooves all over its skin.
There was a presence that remained even after the strike, a pressure that hung uneasily in the air. It was like a summer haze that blurs the horizon on the hottest of days. Just as the man landed—no, the moment before he landed—he had aimed a powerful strike at Ayaka. She had just barely managed to dodge it with some swift footwork.
This huge frame… The way he looks…
Lokiella and Nyantan had seen them before… And the man that had fallen between Ayaka and Vicius matched the description well enough. The massive figure stood indifferently before her, his huge body seemingly crafted of wax.
“Ah, so you’re the one eh? The S-class hero that was s’posed to have broken?”
Wormgandr.
“Ah, thank you ever so much for saving me, Worm~! I just knew you would come~! Thank you, thank you~!”
Vicius brought her hands together in thanks, tears in her eyes. She turned herself in the direction of another passage.
“Well… I’ll be leaving this to you then! I don’t want to have to deal with this treasonous scum. ♪ Hoh hoh hoh! You’ll get yours, you bitch!”
With that parting shot, Vicius ran. Ayaka sent a few floating weapons in her direction, but the Goddess swept them all away.
It’s not just their speed… My floating weapons also don’t seem powerful enough to take her on.
Ayaka instinctively tried to follow Vicius, but almost her attention was immediately deflected by something else.
“…”
She couldn’t take her eyes off the disciple who was standing in her path.
This man…he’s nothing like the enemies I’ve faced before. He’s completely different! I can’t move… The moment he sees an opening…he’ll kill me!
And before Ayaka could make a move, Vicius was gone.
This was a trap after all, then… Was she leading me to him…?
But the thought confused Ayaka.
Why doesn’t Vicius fight me alongside her disciple? Wouldn’t the two of them stand a better chance against me? Why has she chosen to run?
“Hyeh hyeh… Sounds like Vicius doesn’t want to play with ya,” laughed the disciple, as if sensing Ayaka’s doubts.
It doesn’t matter. I’ve got to deal with the disciple that stands before me. Wormgandr… Lokiella-san told me about him. Fighting him will be difficult. He was a divine himself once. I should be the one to face him. I have been told that as a divine, Vicius is not well-suited for combat…but Wormgandr is famed for his skills in battle.
“That Vicius must have been delighted to no end when she found Wormgandr right on the verge of fading away,” Lokiella had told her. “He makes up for her weaknesses.”
He is not an enemy I can treat lightly. The Demon King was still growing when I faced him, still a juvenile. He might have posed much more of a threat if our war had gone on much longer.
Wormgandr is different, though. He looks polished and perfect. He is already complete.
Ayaka inhaled slowly, using her own unique breathing methods to prepare for battle. The disciple turned away, but never gave her an opening as he scratched his forehead with his index finger.
Wormgandr’s eyes bulged as he glared down at her, two golden balls gleaming in their jet-black sockets. His mouth retained its faint smile as the white disciple spoke. “So, like… Hyeh, hyeh… Are you serious, or what? You’re one o’ them human Heroes from Another World, ya? You—”
“Monster!”
—whoosh—