[V11C36] Who Speaks First Wins
Translated by Jodas 11: Envoy of the AbyssTia soared into the air and looked around.
Since she met up with Hütter and Sevil, Tia hadn’t flown very high, so she wasn’t able to get a good grasp on how the battle was playing out.
(Things changed so much, so quickly…)
The Monsters gathered around the Third Spire: Water Bubble, where the mana density was highest. Meanwhile, the humans’ ring of vines slowly constricted around them. However, rather than devote all their forces to the front lines, they formed a secondary and tertiary encirclement to ensure nothing broke containment.
Of the faces she could see around the Third Spire, Wedge Tower mages greatly outnumbered soldiers from the supporting army. Alongside Old Man Kappel from the Management Office, she spotted Guidance Office Director Hegelich, Extermination Office Director Haydn, and Protection Office Director Böll.
And taking the lead was the one who taught Tia choral magic, Spiremaster Alto.
“Everyone here is in agreement! We won’t let you kill Fiene, the contractor to ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’!”
When Tia heard Alto’s words, her immediate thought was:
(That’s a lie.)
The humans still weren’t sure whether to kill Fiene or let her live.
Spiremaster Abel, who knew the Wedge Tower’s secrets all this time, believed they should kill Fiene so she could introduce the next contractor. Spiremasters Alto and Lowein took great offense to that idea, but they were unable to provide any alternative plans of their own.
And the operation began before they came to a decision.
Yet regardless, Alto insisted that everyone was in agreement not to kill Fiene.
However, Tia, as a Harpy, could read the humans reactions like an open book. Confusion, dissatisfaction, hesitation, and more showed in their voices and their expressions.
(…The humans are wavering. Now that they see Fiene with their own eyes, they’re hesitating.)
One of Fiene’s hands was immersed in the Font of the Abyss, and through it she communicated her will. Then, as the Abyss makes contact with Fiene’s will, new Monsters are born.
Fiene was ‘The girl who was sacrificed on the whims of adults,’ but she was also ‘A fearsome entity that supports the Monsters.’ Would everyone on the human side really be so welcoming of such a girl?
Fiene cast a pitying gaze over both Abel and Alto.
“I can hear those voices that say ‘That girl must be eliminated.’ Truthfully, there are many, many people who bear such thoughts, yes?”
Many of the mages’ faces contorted in distress.
They now understood. Fiene was no mere victim. She was an enemy to humanity.
Abel, lucky to be alive, shouted with a pale face.
“Alto, Fiene is controlling the Font of the Abyss… She is no longer a friend to humanity! Her heart’s been stolen by the Monsters! She’s an enemy!”
“Even so, we have to save her! If we don’t, there will be no end to this! This terrible cycle you’ve been caught up in has to end here!”
“I never asked for your help! All of this has been necessary to protect humanity from a Monster invasion!”
As she watched the heated exchange between Abel and Alto, Fiene’s smile grew wider.
(…This is bad. Very bad.)
Once a flock’s leaders started fighting, the followers would be left with no idea what to do. Even if they did have a plan, it would be harder to act on it.
She hadn’t imagined that Headmaster Möbius’ absence would be so devastating in this way.
(The Monsters are about to make their move… What do I do…?)
Spiremaster Alto had tried to have her way through brute force, but she failed.
Now, it was time for the resident brute force professional to make her move.
Stepping confidently and proudly in front of the crowd, this person’s gorgeous black hair billowed behind her as one hand rested on a curved sword.
“Listen up, everyone!”
Sevil barked. Her aura permeated the atmosphere and blew all those uncertain feelings away.
“I, Adelheid Sevil Lamea Krewing, the next Headmaster of the Wedge Tower, command you! Capture this insolent cur who dares to call herself the Daughter of God in the presence of a Krewing! I want her unharmed!”
Hütter did tell her earlier that the Krewings were special to humans. So special that one couldn’t ascend to the throne without that surname. It was proof that they had the approval of the Ras Belsch Orthodoxy.
Sevil now activated two trump cards at once: the authority of the Imperial Family and the influence of the Ras Belsch Orthodoxy.
Sevil pointed the tip of her sword at the Third Spire: Water Bubble and the Font of the Abyss that consumed it.
“That Font of the Abyss is only maintained through the mana forge by the Ancient Magical Artifact ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower.’ As Imperial Princess, I grant you my permission! I will bear all responsibility! I command you to destroy ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’!”
When a murmur spread through the crowd of humans, something came flying out from the bushes behind Sevil that hit the Third Spire’s walls and erupted with a tremendous ‘BANG!’
It looked at first glance like someone had deployed an incredibly powerful attack, but Tia knew it wasn’t. That was Wren’s inscription magic. He wrote a formula that did nothing aside from make an impressive sound and light, stuffed it into a tube, and threw it.
Nonetheless, this attack that clearly seemed directed at the mana forge — at ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’ — changed the humans’ minds.
The attack on ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’ had already begun.
“I repeat! Capture the girl! Destroy the Artifact!”
Surprisingly, the first to respond to Sevil’s command was Saint Helena — No, there was nothing surprising about it. She was, after all, Saint Helena of the Ras Belsch Orthodoxy.
“Exactly… We must re-educate this impudent child that claims to be the Daughter of God.”
The Ancient Magical Artifact ‘Eurydice, the Cackling Foam’ began attacking the Monsters crawling out from the Font of the Abyss.
The Guidance Office’s Director Hegelich shouted, his face showing mild exasperation.
“Five newborn Greater Monsters confirmed immobilized! As Her Imperial Highness said, attack now!”
Arrows of lightning and wind launched from the skies and the ground, raining down on the herd of Monsters.
Watching Sevil take center stage and declare herself the next Headmaster like it was nothing, a third-rate con man had a thought.
(Damn, you would make a better con artist than me…)
In the world of aristocrats, the principle of ‘Who speaks first wins’ proved true more often than not. The Black Lion Emperor was a perfect example of that.
Even after being dismissed and disregarded by the previous Emperor, he assumed the Krewing name and sat himself upon the throne before anyone could tell him otherwise.
(Plus, with the Wedge Tower’s leader absent… of course people are going to believe her when she shows up with all that aura and confidence to declare herself the next leader. Actually, they basically have no choice but to go along with what she says. If they don’t, it may very well mean the end of humanity.)
Be it Abel or Otto, anyone with a connection to Fiene couldn’t help but be tied down by their emotions. Sevil, however, was completely unbothered by such things. She had no problem making a decision on Fiene with confidence and authority.
Let it be known that Adelheid Sevil Lamea Krewing was a genius when it came to fanning the flames.
It was scary how easily she could emerge from this chaos and usurp command.
(And Wren came in at just the right time to support Sevil. Boy, like it or not, you’re already Sevil’s personal pretty boy lieutenant… I don’t think she’s ever letting you go.)
For the record, Hütter didn’t tell Sevil or Wren to do any of that.
‘My students might be a little too talented…’ In awe, Hütter averted his eyes towards the sky.
(By the way, where did Tia go?)
When he looked up, Hütter saw something terrifying. The orange Harpy that was singing to bless the Monsters was now diving straight towards Tia.
“Crap! Tia, look out!”
By the time Tia heard Hütter’s voice and started to move, the orange Harpy’s talons were well on their way towards Tia’s neck.
But a sudden gust of wind blew the orange Harpy off balance.
A spear coated in winds lunged towards the Harpy’s head.
“Are you okay, my rival?”
To shield Tia, the Extermination Office’s ace and scion of a Monster-Hunting family, Frederik Lange entered the fight.
The orange Harpy dodged his spear by a hair’s breadth, but the winds Frederik made were enough to knock her off balance. She stopped singing and found a place to land for a second.
When the orange Harpy took a look at Frederik, her face contorted in anger.
“I remember your face! You’re the Monster Hunter that slaughtered my kin!”
“Hm? I thought we’d wiped out all the Harpies. There was a survivor…?”
At that point, Hütter noticed something odd. The orange Harpy was shaking with rage but, strangely, so too was Tia.
The orange Harpy made a horrendous hissing noise.
“I won’t forget how you skewered my kind’s heads, ripped out their guts, tore off their wings, and buried their corpses in the bottom of Breakneck Gorge! I won’t forget the sounds of their screams echoing off of Breakneck Gorge’s walls!”
As if making sure he heard every single word, the orange Harpy howled at him.
Frederik’s light brown hair wafted in the breeze. The gaps in his hair revealed sharp eyes filled with hatred that had been honed like a blade.
“I won’t forget either. I won’t forget my comrades who were snatched away by you beasts and thrown to the bottom of the gorge. I won’t forget how their corpses were shredded to pieces by talons.”
It might have been because of the hostility radiating between the Harpy and Frederik, but Tia’s body quaked.
‘What are you doing standing around there like an idiot? Get over here, quickly!’ Hütter begged internally, but Tia did not move from that spot.
“I’ll rip your guts out and make you watch, Monster Hunter!”
“The last of the Harpies… You die here!”