SWNOVELXO Chapter 69 - Shining Brighter Than Gold☆ (2)
Oh.
Oh…?
Ohhhh—!!
Suddenly power overflows from my body. It was on a level incomparable to what I had absorbed from
‘This power…!!’
The first to notice my change beside me was Hilde.
“Lara, you… there’s light coming from your hair…?”
“Yes☆ That’s right─♪ Will you call me ‘Ultra Ether Clara’?”
“This is… what on earth…”
Hilde was flustered as she ruffled my light pink hair that had started faintly glowing golden. And occasionally she brings her nose close and sniffs.
“What on earth happened to Lara…!”
Sniff─
Sniff─
Rough breathing suddenly heard from behind.
‘But why smell…? I haven’t washed my hair in over a day.’
…
Well…
Whatever.
I decided not to worry about unimportant things.
Hilde spoke with her nose buried in my faintly golden glowing hair. Her voice resonated due to the hair covering her face.
“A different kind of ether scent is coming from Lara’s hair… What on earth is this familiar yet unfamiliar scent…?”
“Ugh… Th-That’s dirty.”
“…[Purple Spinning Wheel], did you just insult Lara’s hair as dirty?”
“N-No, your current behavior…”
“…”
Freya stared at Hilde with disgusted eyes for a while. Then she pointed at my neck and spoke in a startled voice:
“R-Ruffian…! Golden flowers keep bursting from the scars on your neck?! Some kind of l-light keeps coming from inside your clothes…?!”
“Oh my…☆”
What are you saying now?
I hurriedly looked inside my collar.
Golden flowers were blooming from the scars that had spread like thorny vines across my chest and nape. Like the grapes the gods were said to have eaten in ancient times… luscious golden flower buds appeared, scattering brilliant afterimages.
Pop─
Pop─
Growing instantly.
Blooming instantly.
Scattering instantly.
Golden flowers growing enough to cover the scars.
The golden petals appeared countless times, entering my hair and body, returning as warm and gentle energy. That endless circulation and accumulation eventually became enough to even cover my own wounds.
‘This much should be enough to completely fill the empty spaces in my ether.’
Like a golden flower field dyed by the sunset.
Shining ether was endlessly springing forth from my body. And all the golden ether was originating from the same place.
“…!”
I raised my head and looked at where the golden energy was coming from.
Following the path where the golden energy was connected… all that golden energy originated from a cat leisurely swishing its tail in the distance.
“Ugh, where is…? Oh, Senior…?”
And sure enough, beside the golden cat was Rota, groggily getting up while hugging the first magic book.
‘The owner of the golden color… The color that only one person had until Rota used the first magic book in the game. But to think ‘her remnant’, which only existed as an item effect in the original work, would appear directly…’
I now seemed to know the identity of the golden cat.
“[Golden Witch]…”
“…!”
“…!”
Hilde and Freya who heard my muttering. They quickly turned their heads to look at the golden cat again.
Twitch
The golden cat twitched its tiny ears in affirmation and spoke to me. It was a voice with rhythm, as if reading a fairy tale.
『To be precise, I am the memory she left behind, her final rebellion. A form concretized from the will to understand the laws of the universe, even within the spinning wheel woven by [Fate].』
“Th-That’s…!”
『I am a thought form made of ether, the medium of [Fate], in this universe full of chaos. You could say I’m an existence that was hiding to carry on her final wish.』
“Th-That’s…!”
『…Hey, to be honest, you didn’t understand a word I said, did you?』
“Th-That’s right…☆”
Ah… I was caught.
‘Even with Zhuge Liang’s brain, what I don’t know is what I don’t know…!’
The golden ether cat that only appeared as Rota’s awakened version skill effect in the game. Even if I asked about her origins and purpose… I couldn’t understand.
『This era’s ‘saintess’ has peculiar tastes, but she’s exactly like ‘her’ in this aspect. I guess [Fate] continues between similar personalities after all.』
Me?
A saintess?
And her…?
Could it be the [Saintess of Sacrifice] written in a corner of the statue…?
‘An epithet that doesn’t appear in the game where only [Fate of the Three Heroes] appears…’
The golden cat… [Golden Witch] sighed deeply once, then looked at the huge black snake slowly advancing towards the World Tree in the distance.
『…To put it simply, I’m an avatar trapped in a magic book that only a child with [Golden] fate can understand, when the time comes for the beast god of chaos to appear.』
“…”
『That child needed to be prepared enough to face her own [Fate], but…』
For some reason.
I seemed to understand why she, who appears in the latter half of the story, has appeared now.
‘Because Rota… gained confidence earlier than in the original work…’
The process Rota went through.
Me, Kara, Alvit, Freya… and the moment she walked out on her own at the checkpoint in front of the gate. All of those things helped her grow faster than in the original work.
[Golden Witch] spoke to me:
『It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence that the ‘saintess’ and ‘witch’ who can uniquely accept my ether are in the same place at this moment.』
And fixing her gaze on the ‘snake’ again, she muttered in a bitter voice:
『But what shook this world into chaos was… not [Dragon Crouched in the Abyss]… but the power left by [Snake of Wisdom and Cycles], after all… The ‘prophet’ with the dragon’s followers…』
“…!”
The name of the prophet unexpectedly flowing from [Golden Witch]’s mouth.
“The person called the prophet…!”
But at that moment.
The impact of the collapsing wall hit us once again.
Rumble—!!
Amidst that thunderous sound, the maniacal laughter of the green dragon Ofnir overlapped. He was standing in a threatening praying mantis-like posture on top of the giant snake’s head.
[Kahahahat—!! Kahak, kahahaha!! I!! Will succeed─!!]
Where [Snake of Wisdom and Cycles] passed, magic armaments made of black ether were appearing and being fired towards those blocking its advance.
Roar—!!
Whoosh—!!
A wave of pouring black armaments.
Thousands, tens of thousands of black ether armaments with different appearances endlessly appear. Faintly contained within them was the energy of the ether skills of
“…!”
Freya spoke with violently trembling eyes seeing that:
“Th-Those are…!”
『That’s right, now they’re the remnants of [Fate] left by followers… offered to the ‘snake’s’ body. The ‘snake’ erases others’ [Fates] and infinitely circulates, mastering all knowledge of this world. It seems to have absorbed the ‘golden armaments’ I left behind too… Attacks through ‘golden armaments’ won’t work anymore.』
“Th-Then… is it impossible for us to oppose the ‘snake’… Is this… Is this… our [Fate] to perish from f-foolishness…”
Freya muttered with her eyes closed, as if devastated:
“M-My [Fate] is… ‘ignorance’… A f-fool who can do nothing… In the end… no matter how much I struggle to escape [Fate], it ends up like this…”
“…!”
I heard Freya’s [Fate] for the first time.
She considered it a curse that couldn’t be changed no matter how much she struggled. That’s why she had separated herself from the story in the game.
‘…Freya.’
I fully understood Freya’s resignation for the first time. I could understand why she had lived so lonely and desolate.
『…You’re a strange child too. It seems like a [Fate] closer to this era’s sage than anyone.』
“…What?”
But even hearing that.
[Golden Witch] spoke to Freya in a nonchalant tone.
Like a girl hearing a child’s question asking about something obvious.
『There’s nothing closer to truth than knowing that you ‘don’t know’. Rather, when you think you ‘know’, ruin and arrogance come.』
Freya spoke in a desperate voice. Her shabby purple cat ears were trembling pitifully.
“Th-Then what should we do now…!”
『…』
[Golden Witch] looked at Rota who was now fully awake.
『Starting from ignorance… create new magic.』
“Yes…!”
Although she had just woken up, Rota somehow seemed to know what she had to do. The letters of the first magic book she was hugging were faintly glowing golden.
[Golden Witch] looked back at us while swishing her tail. Her gaze that looked at me, Hilde, Freya, and Rota in order sparkled golden.
『Let’s create it using all of my remaining ether.』
“…!”
『…It seems it will be a very joyous meeting and farewell ceremony.』
“F-Farewell ceremony…?!”
[Golden Witch] spoke to us one last time:
『Before we start, I’ll take one question from each person as the last. Do you have anything to ask?』
After resolving our respective curiosities.
We roused the research faction students and had them head to the ‘Sage’s Room’. And the one who created new magic with [Golden Witch]’s help at the center of the ‘Sage’s Room’ was…
…not Freya, but Rota.
* * *
The research faction’s library.
The rooftop below the tower with the ‘Sage’s Room’.
We arrived again at the place where I had been fighting fiercely with Ofnir.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Hilde fidgeted while constantly looking my way.
Me in a fully charged (temporary) state faintly glowing golden.
Freya who had erased her dejected expression now returned to normal.
We three decided to go towards [Snake of Wisdom and Cycles] like this.
“…”
I thought while still looking at the scars on my body where golden flowers kept sprouting.
‘My body condition is really fine, isn’t it? Assuming I’m an evasion tank in this fully charged (temporary) state, is this a bruiser + magic dealer + tank composition…? Not a bad composition. With this level of composition, there’s a possibility…!’
Now that we have a way to approach [Snake of Wisdom and Cycles].
I was quietly reigniting my fighting spirit for the battle about to begin.
“…”
While I was thinking that, Hilde spoke while subtly holding my hand.
It was unusual how she just grabbed it without even asking now.
“…Lara, are you really okay?”
“Yes☆ Completely fine─♪ This might even be my prime☆ Do you feel itchy right now? Want to have a quick light sparring match☆”
“…It’s fine.”
“Hmm─♪”
“…?”
“…I thought you’d secretly check the ‘distance’ while looking me over☆”
“…”
“You always do it secretly☆ Sneakily♪ Without saying anything~☆”
“…”
I giggled and joked with the girl who had made my heart uneasy all day today. She should forgive this small revenge.
‘Please start realizing soon that it’s surprising when you make skinship without saying anything.’
Hilde spoke while looking into my eyes faintly glowing golden:
“…Because Lara asked me to believe.”
“…”
“Then I will believe forever.”
“Ahaha…☆”
…
…
…
Ah, I don’t know.
It felt like something big would happen if I continued this line of thought here.
So I quietly nodded.
“…Yeah. Thank you. For believing in me.”
“…No. Thank you. For keeping your promise.”
“…”
“…”
Beside us, Freya’s voice was heard tapping her chest as if frustrated:
“C-Crazy bitches… C-Crazy bitches… Are you trying to burn down the World Tree…!”
“I wonder why… the World Tree is burning☆”
“Th-There’s such a thing… Haah…”
“…?”
Just as I was about to ask about the true meaning of that ominous prophecy.
『Let’s begin. The golden story.』
“…!”
Whoosh─!!
A dazzling golden light began bursting out from the Sage’s Room.