The Corridor of Fading Echoes.
Seven hundred years ago, this place had been Belobog's northern frontier, and also the ancient battlefield where Alisa Rand led the first generation of Silvermane Guards to hold off the Legion.
Right up until Bronya ascended as Grand Guardian and the Stellaron was sealed, this had remained an abandoned ancient castle, echoing everywhere with the reverberations of the old world.
Even though Caelus had used the Fourth Divine Key at its rated power to disperse the wind and snow and reshape the frozen earth, the scars of the Fracture had never fully healed.
It was only because the Mother of Deception had siphoned off a wave of its energy, and because there was no Stellaron afterward to supply power, that the Fracture would no longer expand, nor would monsters continue to be born within it.
The Corridor of Fading Echoes as it now stood had undergone earth-shaking changes compared to when the group first entered it.
At the entrance to the corridor, a statue of Alisa Rand held a battle standard, holographic advertising screens floating on either side, looping 'Fracture Ecosystem Conservation' and an 'Aether Spirit League promo CG.'
The IPC had even set up a Fracture Natural Ecology Hall.
The former Fracture zone had been sealed off by energy constrainers, and Fracture-spawned creatures—now protected animals—such as Flame-Burnt Shades, Thunderpeals, and Frost Crystals roamed within.
Tourists need only pay credits to directly purchase the data of these Fracture-spawned creatures and turn them into Aether Spirits.
As a joint development project between the IPC and Belobog, the revenue came mainly from the spending of off-world tourists.
As for the exact split of the proceeds?
Mr. Caelus, who only ever wanted to be a kept pretty-boy, couldn't care less.
On top of that, they also sold chibi-style dolls of the Fracture creatures, with a fixed portion of the merchandise profits funneled into the Fracture ecosystem maintenance project.
The story of how the Trailblaze squad helped Bronya defeat the Mother of Deception and seal the Stellaron had even been adapted into a holographic stage play, performed here on a regular schedule as cultural promotion.
During intermission, a representative would come around hawking Aether Spirit cultivation packages.
'Yep, I really should go ask Topaz for pointers on how to rake in the big bucks later.'
Stelle swept her gaze around the utterly transformed Corridor of Fading Echoes:
'I'll just tell her I've got an eight-billion-credit project.'
'Like hell anyone would believe you saying that!'
March 7th snarked reflexively, then froze on the spot:
'Wait a sec! If you two can actually use the IPC's compensation payout, it kinda seems like you really could come up with it.'
'Forget that pile of debt for now—first we'd have to tally up the rent for the Fourth Divine Key.'
Caelus gazed toward the area behind the ancient castle of the Corridor of Fading Echoes—the far-northern land where the decisive battle against Cocolia had been fought. The ancient battlefield had already been remade into a large dueling arena.
The Fourth Divine Key could control the weather at any moment to change the dueling arena's attributes; the ring could switch between Ice-type, Rock-type, and other terrains at will, and even came with weather like blizzards and sandstorms.
During a duel, trainers had to consider the compatibility between their Aether Spirits' types and the terrain and weather; victory or defeat often hinged on the details.
'Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip.'
White Seele commanded, clenching her little fist.
The Bulbasaur in front of her gave a low growl, and emerald-green vines suddenly shot out from the bulb on its back, carving a fierce arc through the air.
It kicked up the snow that the IPC had laid down through artificial snowfall so off-world tourists could experience authentic Belobog culture.
'Bululu, block it!'
On the opposite side was a little girl who looked about the same age as White Seele; her Aether Spirit was a Battle Machine Soldier captured on this very planet, model designation Battle Hound.
As for 'Bululu,' that was most likely the nickname the girl had given her Aether Spirit herself.
The mechanical Battle Hound crossed its two claws and forcibly blocked the Bulbasaur's Vine Whip.
'So, what type does the Battle Machine Soldier count as? Steel? Electric?'
Caelus tapped the railing with his fingertip.
'Caelus-cub, what do you reckon—could it possibly be Fighting type?'
Stelle pumped her fists to cheer White Seele on, then out of nowhere pinched up a handful of snow and stuffed it into her mouth—only to immediately spit it out, 'Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!'
'And the IPC goes on about authentic Belobog culture—this isn't anything like the taste of the ice-plains snow I ate the first time. Pure false advertising!'
'Not likely, right? Does a mechanical dog have anything to do with Fighting type?'
Caelus gave Stelle a kick—when this gal ate something, the synesthesia would get transmitted straight to him!
'What are you two muttering about types for?'
March 7th stepped closer, her face full of confusion, completely baffled:
'Where does this game have types like Steel, Electric, or Fighting?'
As her words trailed off, Little March's tone took a sharp turn, her expression shifting from blank bewilderment into that of a veteran Aether Spirit player facing a newbie, her mouth curling into a cat-like pout.
'Don't tell me you two haven't even glanced at the most basic type-effectiveness chart?'
'Heh heh~ Today, let Master March give you a proper lesson!'
March 7th planted her hands on her hips, her pink strands of hair swaying gently with her smug movements, like a kitten about to show off a newly learned trick.
'Type matchups and all that are a piece of cake for This young lady, you know.'
Watching the thoroughly pleased-with-herself Little March, Caelus gave a thumbs-up:
'That's our Ah Qi for you! You can even memorize such—com—pli—cated matchup relationships~'
As everyone knows, Aether Front—that universe-wide phenomenon of a smash-hit game—boasted an excellent type-effectiveness mechanic.
[Aberrant] beats [Humanoid] beats [Machine] beats [Aberrant], round and round in a cycle.
Honestly, you didn't even have to rack your brain over baffling questions like why Exeggutor has the Dragon type while Charizard doesn't—aside from failing to deliver a Rapid-Spin Weasel to satisfy certain Itachi-stans, it could fully be called a proper summon-beast game.
'Is that little tilde of yours mocking me for being a dummy?'
March 7th activated pufferfish mode, glaring at Caelus with puffed-up cheeks, her little fists making as if to pound his chest.
Stelle scratched her head in puzzlement: 'That's not right—I remember it being the cycle of [Creature] beats [Esper] beats [Machine] beats [Creature], wasn't it?'
'Huh? Is that how it is?'
March 7th's little fist, raised halfway into the air, suddenly froze; she blinked her pretty pink-and-blue eyes adorably, and her innocent, lively little-girlfriend look made Caelus unable to resist leaning in to plant a kiss at the corner of her mouth.
'Eyy~ what are you doing~'
Pouring out a complaint laced with coquettish charm, two blushes blooming on her gorgeous little face, March 7th puckered her rosy little mouth, and her small pink fist came pounding down because of it.
'You're the worst~!'
After a few poundings that seemed angry but were really just bashful, March 7th quietly turned her back, fishing her phone out of her skirt pocket like a grade-schooler cheating on an exam.
Her crystalline manicured nails—the kind that made you want to pop them into your mouth—jabbed at the screen at lightning speed, confirming the type-effectiveness relationships.
'Hmph!'
With a flashy spin, her cherry-pink hair tracing a pretty arc through the air, she shoved her phone screen right up in front of Stelle and Caelus, the tip of her nose tilting up smugly:
'I told you—with This young lady's brilliant wits, there's no way I'd remember it wrong. Look!'
She had deliberately circled the matchup chart on the screen, and drawn a crooked little victory sign beside it.
'Yes, yes, yes, our wifey is brilliantly clever.'
Stelle pulled Caelus and March 7th into her arms like she was hugging a pair of giant plushies, affectionately nuzzling the top of the girl's head with her chin.
'Tch~ who's your wifey!'
Little March shot Stelle a deliberately fierce glare, like a ragdoll cat that had been petted into a temper.
Suddenly a cry of alarm came from the dueling arena; March 7th turned to look, her little face changing:
'Oh no, Seele's about to lose!'
Strictly speaking, the original trio Giovanni had given all counted as [Aberrant] type, and were countered by the opponent's [Machine]-type machine soldier.
The Bulbasaur's Vine Whip struck the mechanical Battle Hound, dealing extremely low damage.
Conversely, the garlic-headed turtle, at a disadvantage in movement speed, took heavy damage after just a few hits from the opponent, propping up its body and panting as it faced off against the Battle Hound.
Almost anyone with eyes could see it: Seele was about to lose.
'Relax, Seele isn't going to lose.'
Caelus's tone was leisurely, carrying a kind of almost certain composure.
'Huh?! I mean, I'd love to believe in Seele too, but no matter how you look at this situation, it's a sure loss, right?'
March 7th's little face was written all over with a 'what nonsense are you spouting?' expression as she pointed at the clearly unfavorable standoff in the arena.
'This time I'm siding with Ah Qi.'
'Oh? That sure of yourself? Then… want to make a bet?'
A playful curve hooked at the corner of Caelus's mouth, his golden eyes sweeping over the two of them.
'!'
The instant that gaze locked onto her, March 7th almost instinctively sprang back a small step.
The painful memories of losing bets to Caelus several times surged up in her mind, making March 7th instinctively feel this was a trap, and she struggled fiercely inside:
Of course she wanted Seele to win!
But the cold facts were laid out right before her eyes: there was already a gap in strength between the two sides, and on top of that she was being countered by type—how on earth was she supposed to win?
'What's the bet?'
'Same as always—one King's Command.'
Caelus held up one finger.
'Deal.'
'I'm in!'
Stelle stuck out her little hand, the 'You can do it!' she'd been shouting instantly turning into telling Seele to concede, spouting some high-sounding reason like 'preserve the Aether Spirit's condition and go grind Humanoid experience.'
Out in the dueling arena, White Seele's movements paused; Seele canceled Auto-Battle and revealed a 'just as planned' smile.
'Let me show you the bond between me and Bulbasaur!'
Seele shouted about friendship while secretly activating Aether Editing.
Aether Editing was a semi-technical skill; once Bronie had learned it, Caelus and the other female bodies could all use it, though limited by physical aptitude and a few other constraints.
It couldn't compare to using Haxxor Bunny's body, but pulling off a few little tricks was no problem.
'Bulbasaur, use Sweet Scent.'
The mechanical Battle Hound, having inhaled the scent, slowed in its movements, and was then immediately bound by the Vine Whip the Bulbasaur swung over, becoming a stationary target that took the follow-up Leech Seed and Sleep Powder head-on.
The entire crowd of spectators collectively fell into two seconds of silence, then erupted into a tidal wave of uproar.
'Haaah?!'
March 7th lunged onto the railing.
'She won?'
Stelle mechanically turned her head to look at Caelus.
'What's going on?'
'How the hell did she win that?!'
It wasn't just Stelle and March 7th who couldn't make sense of it—even the bystanders watching nearby were utterly dumbfounded.
'Life, ah—lonely as snow.'
Caelus smiled faintly; Seele turned Auto-Battle back on before White Seele had even reacted, looking so adorably dazed and clueless it was downright lethal.
With the battle over, the group pressed on deeper.
All along the way it was Seele training the Aether Spirits; even when Caelus and Stelle joined in, they'd use Seele's Charmander and Squirtle to help her grind their levels.
'The goal is—Aether Front Master!'
'Let's burn the Showdown Paradise to ashes!'
Shouting like this, the group arrived deep within the Corridor of Fading Echoes' Showdown Paradise.
'Yo—Stelle and Caelus, Little March and Seele—I never expected the first ones to show up before the two of us would actually be you guys!'
Two familiar figures, with all sorts of gifts, chips, credits, and Winter City Shields laid out beside them.
Gradient gold-and-blue long hair and blue eyes, a shoulder- and navel-baring dress in black, white, and blue, with the lower half still in those black stockings native to Jarilo-VI.
'Sis—gotta say, I should've known it'd be you all!'
A blonde girl wearing a cat-ear cap who—thanks to Jarilo-VI's climate change—had already shed her padded coat and switched to shorts and a T-shirt.
'Sylvia? Lynx!'
March 7th opened her little mouth in surprise.
'I never expected the Gym Leaders would be you two.'
Caelus raised an eyebrow in surprise.
'What's a Gym Leader? We're the Champion candidates here—if you want to earn the badge, you'll have to defeat us.'
Sylvia revealed a dashing, spirited smile.
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