The moment Yuuka Kazami appeared, the flow of time in this world froze, then shattered into nothingness.
So.
Whether it was Alice being forcibly replenished with magic by Patchouli, or Yuuka Kazami brutally pummeling the black dragon before finally blasting it to the horizon with a single magical cannon shot—
All of it was seen clearly by the adventurers below and the gods within Babel.
Up in the sky.
Yukari Yakumo, hidden within a gap, asked helplessly, "Yuuka, you've had your fun venting, right? Can we go now?"
"Mmm."
Yuuka Kazami gave a slight nod.
"Good, then.." Yukari visibly let out a sigh of relief.
Every world possesses its own will. When beings from other worlds arrive here, like Alice in this one, they are absolutely bound to be rejected.
Of course, the Will of the World isn't that petty. If Alice could accept the 'Falna', she would likely be accepted by this world's consciousness.
Even if Alice didn't receive the Falna, given enough time, the Will of the World would probably come to tolerate her—if she were alone.
But the problem was..
Alice represented the entire realm of Gensokyo.
And what did that imply? Why was Alice being rejected by the Will of the World?
Well...
Let's just say, if a guest came to your home, ate your food, drank your drinks, enjoyed your amenities, and on top of that, siphoned off a massive amount of your electricity every month, probably no one would just take it lying down without eventually trying to kick them out.
Especially when Yukari Yakumo, the mastermind behind this 'electricity theft', was the one who opened the gap connecting to this world.
She'd been detected by this world's consciousness the moment she did.
Right now, Yukari was constantly being repelled by this world. The difficulty of maintaining the gap was unimaginable.
Especially after Yuuka Kazami had beaten the black dragon half to death.
Yukari was starting to suspect that the Will of the World was absolutely furious by now.
So, she hurriedly urged Yuuka Kazami, wanting her to leave this world immediately. If they stayed any longer, it might not be just a 'pet' like the black dragon showing up next.
Even the gods themselves might step in to deal with them.
Even though Alice was on fairly good terms with some of the gods, that really only extended to two or three deities at most.
Gods can't use their Arcanum in the lower world, but if someone did unleash their divine power, even she, Yukari Yakumo, wouldn't be able to handle it.
So.
"Yuuka, hurry back! We need to leave. If we go now, I can send you to little Alice's side, alright?" Seeing Yuuka's calm, unfazed expression, Yukari pressed anxiously.
Yuuka Kazami opened her parasol, elegant as a proper lady, and began walking towards the gap.
Suddenly, she stopped. Her tone left no room for argument. "Wait one more minute."
"Eh?" Yukari was stunned. "A minute? What are you going to do?"
"Just retrieving something." Yuuka said flatly, then turned and flew away.
"Hey!! One minute! Only one minute! If you take longer, I won't be able to hold the gap open!!" Yukari shouted, exasperated.
"Honestly, what's with these guys? Each one more willful than the last! Yuuka's like this, and Shinki too!"
"The moment she saw little Alice was hurt, she actually wanted to smash this world to pieces. If it weren't for big Alice calming her down, that madwoman would've definitely done it."
"Why is my life filled with such unruly people? Even little Alice... my perfectly good plan was ruined, turned into this mess full of holes, needing a whole series of patches."
"A lady gets tired too, you know!!"
Yukari Yakumo felt like crying, but had no tears. She grumbled incessantly within the gap, with no one around to hear her.
Meanwhile, Yuuka Kazami swiftly flew to a field of sunflowers.
The sunflower field wasn't large, especially compared to her own—maybe only a tenth the size.
But as a flower youkai, Yuuka could feel the vibrant, bursting life force of this newly grown sunflower field. For once, the corner of Yuuka Kazami's mouth lifted slightly.
With a casual wave of her hand, the entire sunflower field vanished in an instant.
Yuuka flew back towards the gap.
This time, without waiting for Yukari's urging, she plunged directly into the gap, once again taking Yukari by surprise.
"Eh? That's it? You're done?" Yukari asked, looking at Yuuka in surprise within the gap.
"Mmm. Little Alice's sunflower field cannot remain in this world. It would be rejected and wither." Yuuka stated quietly.
"Fine, I understand." Yukari nodded. "Since that's settled, let's take our leave now."
With that, Yukari waved her hand, and the spatial rift in the sky leading to the gap instantly sealed shut.
In an instant.
The whole world seemed to grow quiet. A gentle breeze blew, as if nothing had ever happened.
But the devastation outside Orario's walls, the ground scorched by the meteor-like volcanos, the injured adventurers—all bore witness to the powerful being that had assaulted Orario not long before.
The adventurers of Orario had been remarkably lucky.
Facing the invasion of a mighty black dragon, yet in the end, no one had died. The worst injuries were serious, but not fatal.
In a world where venturing into the Dungeon could cost you your life, they had faced an overwhelmingly powerful black dragon and kept their lives.
While it was true the dragon's focus was on Alice, dismissing the others as mere 'ants', surviving that widespread meteor volcano attack was enough to prove that every adventurer present today had exceptionally good fortune.
However, Finn didn't know yet if there were any casualties.
He himself had been caught in the meteor volcano barrage. Relying on his resilient Level 6 physique, he emerged battered and bruised, but not seriously wounded.
"Everyone, quickly assess the casualties and injuries!" Finn's eyes were somewhat dim.
It was rare for Finn to feel this sense of defeat in his heart.
He'd faced powerful enemies before, but they were always ones with strategies, weaknesses to exploit. An enemy as absurdly, unreasonably powerful as this black dragon...
This was a first for Finn.
It also served as a harsh lesson.
In any situation, even with all possible preparations made, you must always face the possibility of something utterly unreasonable occurring.
This time, Alice's companions, powerful beings from another world, had driven the black dragon away. But what about next time?
If the black dragon appears again, who will come to their aid then?
After all, Alice has already left this world, most likely returned to her own.
If they themselves don't become stronger...
Should the black dragon return, no one in all of Orario would be able to withstand its assault.
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T/N: If you are in my patreon, even if you didn't pay, there should have been an announcement that I would stop translating this novel, but after further consideration, it'll be in the same state as Depresso Simulator, something to resume when i have more leeway from college or if my interest in this fic is reignited, but for now, with the ending of the Danmachi arc, this will take a short(or long) break.
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.