Chapter 124 - Distortion

"... Who are you?"

Noel frowned slightly as she asked, and the woman bowed politely again, as though apologizing for her rudeness.

"Oh, I'm only an unremarkable student. I would be grateful if you remembered my name."

"..."

For a supposedly unremarkable student, being able to remain so composed in her presence was strange enough.

More importantly, Noel could see it.

'... Black.'

A cloying blackness permeated the woman's body and her every gesture, catching Noel's eye.

She couldn't have explained exactly what that felt like, but she knew one thing for certain.

This woman was anything but a good person.

If anything, she was someone rotten through with malice.

"Incidentally, there is something I would like to ask the illustrious Lionhearted."

The way she took it for granted that she already knew Noel's identity was almost enough to make Noel snort.

Noel's expression soured further, but the woman continued calmly, paying it no mind.

"Honestly, don't you find this a little dull?"

"... Excuse me?"

"The succession ceremony I knew wasn't such an amicable affair."

Bailey continued as she looked around.

"Everyone competing so cordially without a single casualty... It really makes me feel this place has gone soft compared to the old days."

"..."

"By this point, the death toll should have reached at least three figures."

Noel narrowed her eyes, her hand settling naturally on her scabbard.

The succession ceremony's days as a living hell that produced heaps of casualties had been put to a complete end centuries ago.

So who was this woman, to speak as though she had witnessed those scenes herself?

Something about her... felt dangerous.

"... What are you trying to say?"

"Simply that I thought it could use a little spice."

A faint smile settled on Bailey's face.

There it was again.

That rotten black light suffused her expression so thoroughly it hurt Noel's eyes.

As though she truly, genuinely regretted that no one had died.

"It would have been nice if you agreed, Lionhearted."

"... Enough of this nonsense—"

"Well, I've made a few preparations of my own, so it doesn't really matter."

"...?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

She casually dropped those words on the bewildered Noel.

"And we will meet again."

It sounded almost like a declaration that this was certain to happen.

And that was, indeed, a fairly accurate interpretation.

After all... this conversation took place mere tens of minutes before the succession ceremony claimed its first casualty.

▣

Traveling with a commoner student imposed considerably more restrictions than one might expect.

The difference between superhumans who could wield supernatural power and those who couldn't was like heaven and earth, starting with simple physical endurance.

Unlike superhumans, any of whom could easily go several days and nights without sleep so long as they could use divinity, the students tired quickly. Even a generous description of the terrain around the Grand Temple couldn't call it anything less than rugged.

Some grew anxious as the students rapidly wore themselves out; others offered encouragement. The problem was that all of this, too, was part of the test.

They had to look after the "subject" accompanying them and negotiate each obstacle successfully.

'Benevolence, insight, leadership...'

Well, those were probably the sorts of things it was meant to test.

Protecting and guiding their assigned student was probably the heart of this rite.

He seemed to remember some lofty explanation about the student being a metaphor for the people they would one day lead... Anyway.

The fact that there were no restrictions whatsoever on obstructing other contestants or engaging in small-scale combat certainly felt appropriate for the infamous succession ceremony.

Consequently, everyone was on edge in one way or another. They couldn't help being steeped in paranoia when anyone nearby might become an enemy at any moment.

Indeed, the Black Night rite produced the most casualties of any event in the entire ceremony. Its format bore some resemblance to the preliminary labyrinth challenge, but the danger was on an entirely different level.

However much softer it had become, this was still the succession ceremony. People were bound to be killed or injured.

In that respect...

"I'm tiiired."

"..."

"Carry meee."

"..."

The sight of Aiden moving forward with the Pontiff on his back after those demands was, by any measure, perfectly suited to monopolizing everyone's attention.

Most of their looks seemed to say, What a determined bastard. He'll go that far to win...?

Of course, in stark contrast, Aiden's expression as he carried the whining Pontiff was that of a man who had given up on life.

'... Like hell.'

He was merely playing along because he had no idea what sort of tantrum she might throw if he didn't do as she asked.

At this point, it was deliberate harassment. He was going to lodge a formal protest later, even if he had to ask the Emperor to do it...

Yet as he mulled over that resolve, something else struck him as even stranger.

'... Don't they recognize her?'

Everyone was looking at Aiden as though he were the odd one, without sparing a glance for the Pontiff on his back.

That was rather unexpected.

Katya, Aiden, and Noel had recognized the disguised Pontiff the instant they saw her. Yet no one else showed the slightest sign of doing so.

... Of course, if they had recognized her, the ensuing uproar would have made the attention he was receiving now look utterly insignificant.

"Actually, that's what's strange."

The Pontiff spoke from his back as though she had read his thoughts.

"How did you figure it out the instant you saw me?"

"Pardon?"

"Believe it or not, disguises are one of my specialties. This isn't something you should be able to see through at a glance."

"..."

"Even setting you aside, how did the people around you notice?"

To be honest, Aiden couldn't offer a proper explanation for how he had seen through it so quickly either.

'I can just see it.'

It probably had something to do with that business about his Race changing after repeated contact with deities.

He had intuitively recognized the Pontiff the instant he saw her. It was an inexplicable feeling.

But he could offer a somewhat clearer explanation for why the people around him could do the same.

-Skill Info

■ Origin

You can share your skills with targets affected by the skill 'Weaver of Fate.'

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※ You make contact with 'deities.' The skill gains additional effects.

※ Certain targets connected to those beings may be affected at all times.

※ Targets 'Noel' and 'Katya' meet the requirements. The targets are strongly affected by your abilities.

It was an ability that allowed him to share his abilities once a day with a target whose affection he had built up.

But after he made contact with deities, those special effects at the bottom had been added.

As though Sier and Karva, whom he had met, had deep connections to Noel and Katya.

"..."

Well, sure.

Considering they looked like gigantic versions of those two, that much was obvious. But at this point, he really needed to dig into who they actually were.

It looked as though he would be studying theology, of all things. Anyway.

Thanks to this skill, anything Aiden could do, those two could accomplish without much difficulty as well.

"..."

Having reached that conclusion, Aiden glanced back at the Pontiff on his back.

Come to think of it, she, too, was affected by Weaver of Fate and liked him enough for him to copy her skills.

Which meant she also met the conditions to create new skills under the influence of the Origin trait.

'... Is this a good opportunity?'

Whatever the reason, opportunities for the two of them to stick together and "cooperate" like this would be rare.

Given the right opening, he might get to wield a skill as incredible as the divinity Katya had previously created under Origin's influence.

And he had clearly tempted fate.

"The 'nest' is just ahead."

At those words, Aiden straightened up.

The nest was the first obstacle encountered by the first seeker on the journey to meet the god of purification.

It was famous as the lair of a dragon, that staple villain of myths and fairy tales.

According to the tale, the seeker had wisely persuaded a dragon that had gone mad and begun rampaging, soothing its madness and befriending it.

"How did you recreate that?"

"We couldn't bring in a real dragon, so we substituted an artificial magical beast like the ones you saw in the labyrinth."

The Pontiff grinned as she whispered into Aiden's ear.

"It may be artificial, but you can look forward to it. We prepared something truly magnificent to welcome the kids around this point."

The roar that followed, closer to an explosion than anything else, certainly seemed to prove her words.

ROAR!

ROOOOAAAR!

"Oh, that's the stuff."

With students all around screaming in terror, the Pontiff flashed a fierce grin at the enormous dragon roaring in the sky.

Graceful curves, dazzlingly beautiful scales, and a body so massive anyone would have proclaimed it the ruler of the skies.

Though not the size of a full-grown dragon, it was plainly larger than a lesser dragon. Letting out a blood-freezing roar, it landed, coiling around the mountaintop.

"The engineering department really worked hard on it. They spent almost an entire year putting that thing together."

Her pride drew an involuntary wry smile from Aiden.

Wasn't she just like a child showing off a Lego collection she had painstakingly assembled? Artificial or not, that thing was an imitation of a dragon, one of the former rulers of the old continent.

"... Still, this is the succession ceremony. Won't people get hurt fighting it?"

"Sure. But they should have adjusted its output accordingly."

In that case, the staggering amount of Mana gathering in its mouth right now was probably little more than a performance.

A bit of showmanship, perhaps. A warning of just how powerful the creature they were about to fight was.

The sight did make most people tense, but they were largely awed by its sheer majesty, with some even cheering.

They could never have reacted that way without being certain it wouldn't actually kill them.

Yes.

"...?"

That was how it should have been.

"...??"

But for some reason, a chill ran down Aiden's spine. He flinched, staring at the dragon gathering Mana in its mouth.

Something...

Something was wrong. Something felt off.

As though he mustn't let it continue.

"...?!"

It was around then that Aiden's eyes met the dragon's.

That thing had just looked directly at him. As though it was aware of him.

There was no mistaking it.

... Its movements were far too lifelike for something "artificial."

"... Wait, that thing."

At that point, someone who had felt the same wrongness as Aiden murmured in a daze.

"Could it be real dragonkind...?"

Before those words could even be finished, it happened.

RUMBLE...

RUMMMBLE...!

BOOOOOM!

From the dragon's mouth, death erupted in a straight line.

Straight at Aiden.