Creak—!
"Have you finally arrived?"
Once the pieces on the board began to move, danger was bound to follow immediately.
"Lady Freya, Lady Artemis. Let us speak for a moment."
To mitigate that danger, Akumo needed to secure concrete information.
"Hedin, Horn. You two need to hear this as well."
Akumo gathered the group.
He shared the information he had gathered thus far and pointed out the suspicious aspects of Olympia.
Ultimately, he announced his decision to personally dig into their secrets.
"What!? That is too dangerous, Akumo!"
'Based on the explanation, Bell Cranel and Hestia have already waded in too deep...'
"In essence, you are saying we will be antagonizing Olympia?"
As Hedin noted, Bell and Hestia were already heavily involved.
To investigate their suspicious elements now meant, by necessity, becoming their enemy.
"No, perhaps that is what they want from the start?"
"What do you mean by..."
Eton, who had condemned Epimetheus; Ilia, who worshipped only Hestia.
From those who craved the flame and lived only for it, he felt a strange, bitter sense of guilt.
"It is a fine night."
A man dressed in black, looking up at the sky, murmured to himself.
"A sky so beautiful and fleeting, like a fantasy shrouded in lies."
His cloak fluttered in the moonlight, looking strangely precarious for some reason.
"A truly pathetic darkness that cannot hide everything until the end."
Step, step—!
The man in black turned away, no longer looking at the sky.
Step, step—
Akumo, having turned his own steps, looked toward the sky and spoke.
"Lady Freya, Lady Artemis."
Thud—
"Will you trust me?"
The eyes of the adventurer seeking the truth gleamed as he reached out his hand toward the Goddesses.
Smirk—!
"Of course, Akumo."
"I shall be waiting for your adventure."
The Goddess of the Moon and the Goddess of Beauty readily took his hand.
Clack—!
"Being with you is always a headache...!"
"I am not a combatant, but if it is my Goddess's command."
The [White Strategic Mage] and the [Silver-Haired Girl] followed behind him, embarking on a path of adventure alongside the Pioneer.
**
Thwack—!
Thud—!
"You dispatch them like the wind, kinsman."
"It is simply the way I have lived."
Two streaks of blonde hair fluttered as they neutralized the guards in an instant, advancing forward.
"The [White Strategic Mage]...! I had heard the rumors, but he is strong...!"
"Save your surprises for later. Move quickly."
Dash—!!
In the wake of Akumo's passing, several guards lay collapsed without a single drop of blood drawn.
Moving in such a manner, they managed to reach the inner sanctum of the city.
"The miasma does not seem to be thick around the guest house. Perhaps these torches are warding off the calamity..."
Contrary to what they had heard, the night in Olympia was sleeping more peacefully than expected.
"There are no anomalies yet; the city seems to be at rest..."
"It is far too quiet. It feels as if even the presence of people has been put to sleep."
Just as the group was about to move deeper with those thoughts in mind—
"....Will you go?"
""""""!?"""""""
Without a single hint of presence, a man in black stood before them.
This meant he possessed astonishing technique and extraordinary power.
"Once you cross this boundary, there is no turning back."
Step, step—
"Will you still go? Adventurers of Orario."
The man approached them slowly, his footsteps audible now.
He spoke as if he himself had become the boundary, blocking their path.
"W-Who!? Since when...!?"
"How did he just appear like that!?"
Lilly and Welf cried out in shock at the man's sudden appearance.
"""""....."""""
However, Akumo, Ryu, Aisha, Hedin, and Horn could not utter a single word.
'This level of pressure... is rare...'
'It feels like that boar... no, is it even more?'
The nature of this pressure transcended human cognition, washing over their souls like the jaws of a dragon and drawing cold sweat from their entire bodies.
'Mixed within that pressure...'
'Is a presence that is far too familiar.'
Their nerves were entirely consumed by that one realization.
""""Divine Will!""""
Who was it? Prometheus? If so, why? Why now of all times?
Such questions jumbled their minds as their instincts for vigilance surged.
"I could make you retreat, and these eyes could choose to overlook you."
Slight movement—
"However, before that, I wish to ask for your intent."
Despite their wary glares, the man simply questioned them calmly.
"....Are you prepared to resist the harsh truth, even after knowing everything?"
His voice carried sincerity.
It was a message to them—a hope that they would not oxidize into ash and perish at the end of the story.
"If not, turn back now. If you cannot carve your own path as yourselves, rather than as heroes..."
Rumble—!!!
"You will not be able to resist the darkness of this land."
The crushing pressure constricted their bodies even tighter.
"Wait quietly for the manifestation of the [Eternal Holy Flame]."
Everyone trembled under that weight.
'This pressure is absurd...! My legs are shaking so much I feel like I'll prostrate myself any second!'
'He won't reveal his identity, but this volume of Divine Will...!!'
'His divinity is too high! This is a being that could be called a Great God...!!'
Aisha, Ryu, and Mikoto were horrified by the Divine Will radiating before them; they felt a spirit that overwhelmed even the Gods of Orario.
'Impossible...! Even my Goddess would have to be dead serious to emit this much Divine Will...!'
'It's hard to even breathe...!'
Even for the retainers of a Goddess, the Divine Will emitted by the being before them was an unprecedented experience.
"....."
However, to Akumo, the pressure tightening around his throat—
"You.... who are you?"
Felt all too familiar.
**
"For now, let us say I am [Cyrus]."
"I didn't ask that question just to hear some alias."
Divine Will—and a powerful one at that.
Because a Divine Will strong enough to be called a Great God was pressing down on him.
Akumo could feel it.
'He's of the same kind. This guy is just like me.'
The being before him was utilizing Divine Will at will.
But he was not a God himself.
'In the first place, if he were a God, he wouldn't be able to radiate Divine Will so indiscriminately...'
The tension was so high that a battle could break out at any moment.
In that situation, the man spoke.
".....I ask."
"....?"
"Before a God, will you follow, or will you submit?"
He wasn't asking Akumo.
He was asking the other children behind him who were unable to move.
"""""..."""""
"....So you will not express your intent. Well, that is fine too. To hesitate and wander is also your destiny."
"Wait..! What are you talking about!"
Despite Akumo's shout, the man simply continued, as if there were no need to test Akumo himself.
"You cannot possess foresight beyond that of a God."
Step—
"When you know everything and stand at the crossroads.... I shall ask again."
Step—
"For now, choose only whether to advance or retreat. I shall open the path."
With that, the man vanished instantly like a shimmering haze.
**
"....! Everyone, come here!"
Dash—!
"The space where that divine being disappeared.... it's vibrating!"
Shortly after the man vanished, the torches of the city all cooled into a pale blue.
"It resembles the barrier we saw from the ship before arriving in Olympia..."
"To think the flames in this area were creating a fake landscape... a barrier to hide the truth from us..."
And, as if offering a final chance.
In front of the passage wavering like a haze, the city's true landscape—which had been maintained until now—became visible to them.
"....I suppose we have no choice but to go."
"You are right, Hedin."
Even so, they could not stop.
Step, step—!
Ultimately, they willingly stepped forward to pass through the corridor.
""""""!!"""""""
What met their eyes was a shocking sight that could truly be called [Ash].
"Then struggle."
"For you have opened the box yourselves....."
As if a voice were speaking, the sight they were about to witness was entirely their own choice.
"What is.... this...."
It was a sight they would have to bear.
"What is.... this place...."
Drip—
"Where are we....!!!!?"
A hollow question escaped Horn's lips, and Aisha broke into a cold sweat, paralyzed with shock.
Tremble—!
"The Eternal Divine Realm.... Olympia, has vanished...!?"
"What in the world....?!"
What lay before them was, quite literally, [Ash].
The ruins of a fallen nation that had perished long ago, leaving nothing behind.
That was all there was to the scenery.
—Uooooooo!!!!!!!!!
"""""!!"""""
Before they could even process the shock, Flame Soldiers rushing from somewhere were fighting someone with sharp ferocity.
Clang—!!!
Boom—!!!!
—Uooooo!!!!!!!!
Crash—!!!!
"Kh...! Begone!!"
"Push! Push them back!!!!!"
A chaotic battle ensued between soldiers holding swords, desperately holding their ground against the Flame Soldiers, and priestesses firing countless flames to block them.
"The soldiers and priestesses of Olympia are fighting a horde of Flame Soldiers...!"
"This is just like... the Great Feud in Orario seven years ago..."
"What on earth is happening!?"
"I don't really know either...!!"
Unlike Haruhime, Lilly, Welf, and Mikoto, who were greatly flustered by the sudden 180-degree change in scenery, Ryu calmly analyzed the situation.
"A completely different world... hidden by a barrier... Perhaps every night, a battle like this...."
"It seems it has continued every single day..."
"""!!"""
—Uooooo!!!!!!!!!
This was the massive secret Olympia had been hiding.
No, it was just one of the secrets.
"They're coming! Everyone, prepare for battle!"
Soon, at Hedin's shout, their battle began immediately.
========================
Your Power Stones help support the release of new chapters and promote this fanfic. Please consider sending a few...
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 200
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T