The fortieth floor of Hotel Elnath, the highest point accessible by the building’s regular elevators, was occupied by a club lounge.
No sooner did Sylvia and the others step out from the elevator than they headed down the corridor, lightly brushing aside the lounge staff offering up reverent greetings.
At the end of the passageway was a door, needlessly extravagant, that opened with a heavy rumbling when Sylvia held out her school crest. Beyond it was a waiting room fitted with a tasteful sofa, and at the wall farther back was another elevator.
This one connected the fortieth floor of the building to the forty-second at the top. The forty-first floor was dedicated to administrative and management offices, so this elevator only served to connect their current floor with the domed aerial garden at the building’s zenith.
“U-um… I know we’re already here, but is it really okay for me to go inside…?” This question came from Minato Wakamiya, her gaze wandering restlessly as she hid behind Sylvia’s back. “I mean, isn’t this basically Asterisk’s holy sanctuary? I thought only student council presidents could go inside… Supposedly not even foundation executives are allowed…”
“Oh-ho, it isn’t such a big deal. It’s only a garden. The Rikka Garden Summit is just a symbol of student autonomy, that’s all,” Claudia said with a chuckle.
That was certainly true, but it wasn’t the whole story. As Claudia and Sylvia understood all too well, the Rikka Garden Summit was ultimately a tool for the foundations to avoid criticism. It allowed them to argue that student affairs were ultimately decided by the representatives of the students themselves. Of course, there were some projects submitted to the Rikka Garden Summit by students, but the vast majority came directly from the foundations via the student council presidents under their control, who, with very few exceptions—namely Xinglou—were obligated to follow the instructions of their parent organization.
“I didn’t think you would actually come join us, no questions asked,” Claudia said, still half-astonished. “Thank you.”
“Of course I came! I already owe you so much!” Minato exclaimed, clenching her fist in front of her chest.
She apparently hadn’t been able to get a ticket to the championship match, and so she had been intending to watch it privately with her old teammates.
“It’s like they say, pity doesn’t do anyone any good. You’ve got to help people out when you can.”
It was true that Sylvia had gone out of her way to help Minato’s friend Chloe in the past, but that was more for her own sake—or strictly speaking, for Queenvale’s.
There was something to be said for helping others out of a sense of altruism without expecting anything in return, but considering the circumstances, she was genuinely grateful that Minato had decided to join them.
“There’s something I need to ask you before we go any farther. Once we’re inside, there won’t be any turning back. We’ll be forced to fight an incredibly dangerous adversary. Are you really okay with that?” Claudia asked, her expression serious.
“Um… I don’t really know what’s going on, but this is all to help people, right?” Minato responded, turning to Sylvia.
“Yep, that’s right,” Sylvia answered. “I’ve got to do this to save someone I care about and to protect others dear to me.”
“Then I’m totally fine with it! I’ll come along, wherever you need me!” Minato said with a carefree smile.
“…Thank you, Minato.”
She had an honest heart, the kind that never wavered.
The courage to keep on pursuing her dreams without giving up, even after enduring forty-nine consecutive losses in official ranked matches.
Sylvia was beyond grateful.
“I understand,” Claudia said. “In that case, I can let you cover my back with peace of mind… Now, it’s time. We should go.”
Indeed, the championship match was just about to get underway.
The three exchanged measured glances, then stepped into the elevator.
At that very instant, an eerie sense of aversion rose up inside Minato’s chest, along with a strong urge to turn around.
“…! U-um, Sylvia…! Is this…?!”
“I…see… So this is the field the Varda-Vaos uses to keep people away…!”
But so long as their wills were resolute, it wasn’t intolerable.
Sylvia reached out to the air-window and shut the elevator doors. After a short ascent, they opened once more.
What lay before the group was a familiar sight to the two student council presidents:
Waterways stretched in all directions, while well-maintained garden beds were in full bloom. In the center of it all was a small hill, atop which stood a small arbor, fitted with a hexagonal table modeled after an asterisk. If they had come to attend one of the regular sessions of the Rikka Garden Summit, no doubt Claudia and Sylvia would have gone to take their usual seats.
But their objective this time wasn’t a tabletop game of conspiracy and intrigue, but real battle.
“…We know you’re here, Varda-Vaos. Why don’t you show yourself?” Sylvia called out quietly, her voice nevertheless filled with open hostility.
At that moment, the air ahead of them warped, and the Varda-Vaos—the Orga Lux in control of Ursula Svend’s body—emerged.
“Huh?! Wh-where did she come from…?!”
“She must have been using another field, like the one meant to keep outsiders from entering. A barrier to interfere with our thoughts so we couldn’t see her.”
Minato, who had never before witnessed the Varda-Vaos’s abilities firsthand, stared back wide-eyed. Sylvia had briefly explained what they would be going up against, but it was only natural that she was taken aback once she encountered it for real.
Of the three of them, only Sylvia had directly confronted this enemy before.
In that respect, it was a little odd that Claudia seemed completely unperturbed.
“I would not have expected anyone to enter this place. And your timing… I see. Yes, you must have realized that we cannot issue Orphelia instructions now. Which means you must be moving against Madiath and Dirk, too, I assume?”
At that, the Varda-Vaos pulled back the hood of the robe shrouding her face, revealing a head of dusky blue hair.
She seemed to have surmised their intentions.
“Sylvia Lyyneheym and the user of the Pan-Dora…Claudia Enfield, I believe your name was? And…hmm, a new face… No, wait. Those vibrations… The Járngreipr? Which would make you Minato Wakamiya.” All this the Varda-Vaos muttered to herself while looking them over one by one.
“D-do you know me…?” Minato, who probably hadn’t expected to be addressed by name, stared back in surprise.
“Ah, I see,” Claudia observed. “So you recognize humans not as individuals, but as users of certain Orga Luxes.”
“I can remember your names if necessary, but I find it a little difficult to distinguish between you humans. You are easier to recall when associated with my brethren,” the Varda-Vaos responded without any observable artifice. “Now, perhaps I need not ask, but why are you here?”
“To bring an end to your plans, naturally,” Sylvia answered as she activated her sword-type Lux, giving it a swing to test its condition.
The Fólkvangr had been rendered unusable during her match against Orphelia, but this spare Lux was a priceless treasure, carefully tuned especially for her.
Claudia likewise pulled out her Pan-Dora, while Minato activated her Járngreipr.
“To stop our plans…? I am afraid that will not be possible.”
Far from readying for combat, the Varda-Vaos, on the other hand, continued to speak with little concern.
“I do not know where or how you acquired this information, but our plan is already in motion. Orphelia is merely the final part.”
At that moment, a violent explosion erupted in the distance, causing the entire building to sway dangerously.
“Was that…?!”
“Looks like it’s started.”
Outside the glass walls of the dome, explosions erupted one after another throughout the city of Asterisk, sending flames roiling high into the sky.
No, that wasn’t entirely right.
Strictly speaking, they seemed to be concentrated around the city’s outer edge.
“What have you done?!”
“The Valiants we deployed have merely begun their operations. Their main task is to destroy the transportation system and related facilities. So as long as no one interferes, there should be minimal human casualties…for now.”
“…You’re trying to stop anyone from escaping Asterisk.” Claudia glared back, likely having inferred their enemies’ reasoning.
Now that she looked carefully, Sylvia could see that most of the damage was around the port block and the airship departure and landing areas.
“You’re a swift thinker. Precisely. Some individuals with unique abilities may be able to fly or swim across the lake…but they will be rare exceptions. Most of the humans remaining in Asterisk will be sacrificed to Orphelia.”
“I won’t let you do that!” Sylvia cried, rushing forward and lashing out at the Varda-Vaos.
“I told you. Stopping us will not be possible.” The Varda-Vaos immediately caught the oncoming blow with a huge black battle-ax that materialized in her right hand.
“Ugh…!”
Sylvia had poured her energy into that blow, but her foe hadn’t even flinched—rather, she had swept her aside as if she was no more than a fly.
Ursula was her former teacher, and objectively speaking she was indeed exceptionally talented. But Sylvia had grown considerably since they last met and hadn’t expected to face such a huge gulf in ability. This, then, could only be the raw power of the Varda-Vaos itself as an Orga Lux.
“Your main ability is mental interference, right? Is that what you’re doing?”
She had heard about the power from Ayato, but to think it could be this potent…
“Of course. We are the remnants of God. In our true form, this would be nothing.”
“God…? You’ve got a big head on you there, huh?” Sylvia murmured, on high alert as she kept pace with her foe.
Then—
“I know how you feel, but you shouldn’t run off ahead.”
“I’ll help!”
Claudia and Minato stepped forward to secure her flanks.
“Three against one…? I do not intend to lose, but just in case…” As the Varda-Vaos raised her left hand, the air distorted once more, with several autonomous puppets appearing in the room.
In number, they totaled—
“Around twenty, I’d say,” Claudia called.
“Wh-wh-whoa…!” Minato shouted.
She had expected some Valiants, but not this many.
“The three of you are certainly strong—but only according to the standards of this world. From my perspective, you are little more than infants hailing from a primitive plane of existence.” The Varda-Vaos’s emotionless eyes gleamed, the urm-manadite at her chest letting out an obsidian light.
“M-my head…!” No sooner had that light reached her than Minato fell to her knees, clutching her skull.
“Ugh…!” Claudia similarly backed away, her face contorting in agony.
The black light emitted by the Varda-Vaos directly interfered with its target’s psyche, allowing the Orga Lux to falsify memories, control one’s consciousness, or even destroy one’s mind itself.
“Have you forgotten, Sylvia Lyyneheym? You were once reduced to crawling in the face of my power.”
“I…don’t need…to hear that from you…!” she gasped, grabbing Minato by the nape of her neck and pulling her away.