「They began to bombard my barrier with spells. As if new stars were born, multiple flares of Lumen and Blaze magic grew in size before being discharged in a salvo of 『Flaming Comet』 and 『Light Ray』 spells. Eventually, the outer film was shattered like glass, releasing a sonorous peal that signalled the real start of this space battle.」

“Mana Cannons! Fire!!!”

「As Charlotte roared out, our own sentry arrays met their attacks with a variety of counters. Warpships equipped with magic artillery that the Arquenis squad controlled endlessly discharged lasers and magic that scribbled the astral cosmos, blinking in and out of sight at subluminal speeds. Plenty of mages had also begun engaging in combat as the enemies lower-ranked Manareas fought desperately against our own well-trained mages but were rendered incapable of battle within moments.

Amidst the embroiling chaos, just a single phalanx of mages permeated their way through the battlement straight to the heart of our current battle potentia. As we were without the aid of most of the Guardians that were deployed for crystal collection, only the currently present Ordinaires whom were stationed here with us were available.

In other words, their sole targets were me and Charlotte – whatever their reason is.

They decided to launch an assault on our platoon specifically for that reason, otherwise either myself or Charlotte would have been given notice of other invasions happening elsewhere within the Hypercluster.」

“Haha! How about we let the others do their thing and we have a showdown of our own?”

“You do realise that you and your henchmen are fighting a loser's battle?”

“That doesn't matter. Our real objective are the two beauties over there.”

“You're here for us? What a shame, none of you barbarics are my type.”

“Attack!”

「As I thought. Me and Charlotte. Why do they insist on attacking just us two? It couldn’t be out of lust because that would just be foolish. Alright then, we'll give them what they wished for! It'd be easier to take down the commander that way.」

“Hahh... 『Diamond Link』.”

「Threads of diamond were conjured by Charlotte, who mired the assailants such that not one of them could move a muscle. Though, it was only a matter of time before they broke out. She was simply buying time.」

“Ohh, these are ridiculously sturdy, but...”

「It wasn’t enough to hold them in place forever. After physically enhancing themselves with magic, they broke out of the chains and they were about to translocate even closer.」

“Keep on moving!”

“Not any further!”

“Huh? Who the hell are you all?!!”

「To their indignance, they were intercepted by a few mages that were close by with 『Shower of Blight』. Thick virulent clouds of the dunnest blacks plumed and threatened to corrode their lives.」

“Tch! 『Earth Barrier』!!!”

「Abrading away the barrier made of solidified earth, more clouds of dust were ejected into space through combustion due to heating by friction. Soon, the gas shrouded the vantage of onlookers and even sent the mana fields into chaos. No one could tell where anyone inside the clouds were located.

And that wasn’t to our leverage. Instead––」

“Oi, out of the way!!”

“““!??”””

「––the assailants employed an impromptu and astute ploy on the spot. A condensed shockwave of energy was mysteriously discharged from the adolescent brat, capable of pushing the dust cloud all the way out to the Amamiya mages.」

“Clear away! Retreat! Take care of the small fry flying around in the Hypercluster’s domain!! We'll handle this. Would that be alright, Miss Freya?”

“Nn... I suppose. Let’s quickly get rid of them.”

“Unn.”

「Our Manarea squad took some distance before scattering into the sky from beyond the dust cloud that disrupted the mana fields. The assailant mages landed on the deck and no sooner had they all surrounded Charlotte, all ten of them had been frozen within their own perceptions.

An 『Ascension Technique』.

Narrowing down their own senses of time, they were aware of any and all minute changes that occurred within their field of view, but that also meant hyper-accelerating themselves and their thought processes. If their physical bodies could not keep up nor navigate within such a condensed moment, ultimately it will backfire on them. Even if they were to try and move within their perception, it would all be for naught as they are not able to.

Meanwhile, Charlotte plucked at their vagus nerves and rendered all of them unconscious.

Not a single one of them were able to process what happened. Even if they were able to perceive what happened to them, they would not be able to understand what happened to them.

It was that conclusive and inevitable.

Charlotte made quick work of all ten mages and they all dropped like flies–

–except for those two.」

“Ohh? Still conscious, I see.”

「If it was that bleak man, I wouldn’t have been surprised, but even that brat had somehow managed to not fall into a total blackout.」

“Nha!?!”

「The enunciating reflex delivered it’s expectation at an odd, very truant interval. Accompanying a groan and dropping onto his arms and knees, the brat was instantly powerless in his position but Charlotte decided to let it be. He wasn’t all too important.

What mattered most was his boss, recoiling next to him.」

“ –!?”

「Retreating backwards on the deck, the bleak man kneeled in what little respite he was given, though it would not save him from the bitter end that is yet to come.」

“I knew that the Amamiya's vassals were full of monsters but you can’t be serious? Are you all secretly High-Rankers??”

「Soothing his neck, he tried to allay the hurt blaring in his neck.」

“Don’t start whimpering now. It’s your fault for being conferred a low rank.”

“I'd pay attention if I were you.”

“Nn?”

“Guaahhhh... I won’t be taken alive by the likes of you... Not until I accomplish what I need to do first!!”

「The impudent brat managed to recover a lot quicker than I imagined. He pulled on Charlotte’s leg and broke into a dash with the propulsive impetus he gained. Sweeping past Charlotte, he approached my general direction. No matter how far he'd make it, exerting any effort would be meaningless at this stage. It seems that he really does have a death wis–」

“ 『Nocht』!”

「Screaming out the incantation of a spell, a flash burst out from nothingness itself, coalescing to give form to a lyxion of manalyte that was held high above our heads. Rites with intertwining lines adorned the long shaft that merged with a hollow ring. On both sides of that same hollow ring were flanges fitted with secondary blades while the main blade tapered into a sharpened metallic tip at it’s head.

A spear-type lyxion.

Weapons made of mana-resistant manalyte that can augment mana as well as repel it. The purer the metals, the more intricate the rites engrained onto it can become, meaning the more powerful it is as a lyxion.

And this chauve-souris was a High-Class lyxion at that as well.

Even I cannot fend myself against a direct attack from a lyxion of such a high grade. It will simply tear through my mana if it ever gets into contact.

That is, if I were to keep using my mana in its Isoperium state.」

“『Parsec Veil』.”

「A faint, minty bubble spread beneath the chauve-souris' blade as it’s spearhead descended with phenomenal strength – enough to cleave a moon in half. Impelling my Parsec Veil, it struggled in a fierce deadlock of inordinate forces. Sparks bloomed deep into space as the reinforced manaluminium stabilised our stances. Even a supernova wouldn’t be able to leave a mark on such an alloy.」

“Hmm... A brat like you waving around such a high-grade lyxion is laughable. Where'd you get your hands on that?”

“Huh??? Why do I have to answer that? I ain’t got a clue. Shadow over there was the one that gave it to me.”

“Ara~, that’s too bad!!”

“I also do not intend to give you any answers unfortunately.”

“Hmm? ‘Shadow’ he says… Right now, if I were you, I wouldn’t try doing that.”

“Yep! Exactl–”

「Out the corner of my eye, I happened to see Charlotte nonchalantly standing there with an unenthusiastic look. By then, I noticed a crack forming in my Parsec Veil – but it didn’t attenuate the ongoing clash with the chauve-souris lyxion. But it was because of a little projectile that was shot at a velocity a bit too fast for my liking.

Multiple mana-infused bullets were shot at near-light speed.

Within a timewarped frame of reference, I entered a state of heightened concentration that wasn’t Ascension as I watched the crack slowly morph into a fissure by the consecutively well-aimed shots before it fully pulverised my Parsec Veil.

Another round of light bullets came flying – they were a mere few tens of centimeters away from perforating the left side of my chest – clearly aimed at my heart.

I could barely shift myself out of the bullet's trajectory, leaning forward as fast as I could with the utmost control I could exert with my mana. Similarly, I would have easily dodged the bullet if I just moved away using 『Ascension』, but it'd be a waste to use it on the likes of such infirmed weaklings. It'd take too much effort.

Plus, I didn’t want to stand up and move away.

Though it was exponentially more difficult to make minimal adjustments to my sitting position without Ascending, I still didn’t want to stand up. With minimal movement, I let a bullet fly past my left arm. The rest I deftly dodged without much of a care.

Though if I realised it any later, I might have worried a bit more.

Though if anything, I was also somewhat careless with this levity of mine. Haha!

My Parsec Veil was thoroughly colliquated and I really didn’t want to bother stopping the lyxion being flung towards me. I closed my eyes just so that I could let myself be given a reason to raise the bar. It's been a long, exhausting day and I just wanted to quickly end all this without much of a fuss...

Aaaaaand as expected, the impudent brat happily missed, leaving only a tear on the ruffles of my maid outfit, beside my right shoulder.

What a pain... I'll have to get Charlotte to fix this later.」

“I... I DID IT!!!! SHADOW, I DI–”

“Great, now keep still...”

Click.

“HUUH!?! WHY SHOUL... –!?!?”

「The brat turned around and froze in shock. How naïve could one get? To announce fanfare of one's victory in the midst of battle was akin to letting oneself be killed. I wonder what was racing through his mind right now? Haha!」

“!?!”

“Oh my, how daring...”

「Straitening my eyes, I belatedly understood the nature of what it was held in his hands. I’d been curious about it earlier, but I dismissed it without giving it much thought. Just after the impact of the mana-infused bullet, the bullet itself was shot from a Dual-mode Type 25 Magic Handgun. One which that could fire either light bullets with little mana output or––」

“Oh yes I would.”

「––discharge an ultra-powerful death ray at high voltage.

If the energy within the molten core of a planet were to be compressed into the barrel of a gun, there would be plenty of magical energy building up inside what was held within the bleak man’s hand – within Shadow's handgun.」

“Boom.”

「Within these few ephermal moments, an energy blast that couldn't compare to the measly infused magic bullets he fired earlier. It homed onto the brat’s Od as if he were a sacrificial doll intended to be thrown away.」

“Awwww. How unlucky... Us two can’t exactly let this happen, can we, little one?”

「No reply came. Of course it wouldn’t – he didn’t even have enough time to think up a response. A crimson point of destruction roared in arrogance as its pure might bolted forth. What pure nonsense.」

「Fufu... What an absolute fool.

Ahhhhh... it’s been a while since I've been treated to such an amusing sight. Miss Freya looks like she’s given up trying at all – though of course I didn’t laugh out loud, but in my mind.

The death ray from Shadow's handgun was steadily approaching but I couldn’t care less what it would consequently bring about. Making a high-level mage use magic is something a low-level mage really shouldn’t provoke. And it looks like Shadow and his young minion will learn of that the hard way.

I was more interested in the spectacle that was yet to unfold.」

“『Radial Blast』.”

「Murmuring the incantation of a powerful Umbra spell, everything beyond the hemisphere formed on the deck around Miss Freya was violently blasted away, shoved and forced back by a few astronomical units.

That man named Shadow and his young minion.

The unconscious henchmen mages.

Even the high-energy blast in contiguity with the expanding space between us.

Seething away as residual energy to be absorbed back into Elyiere.

Though, anything which Miss Freya excluded from the effects of the blast would obviously not be affected. In essence...

Miss Freya pushed back the whole enemy fleet closer towards the star at the center.

Now, the finale shall truly begin.」

“Ugh...!?!”

“M-mission accomplished!!! All squads, b-begin to retreat if you value your life!!!”

「Ohhh??? What an interesting command to announce. They gained a fair bit of distance, so they decided to take advantage of it and turn tail for now. Translocating away, whether it was in fear for their lives or the inauguration of their pursuit, it still remained a mystery what their real objective was.

All they really did was initiate fruitless combat with opponents they couldn’t ever hope to defeat.」

“『Nebula』!”

“『Radial Blast』!”

「How pointless. Sprayed out in voluminous ejection, clouds of stardust were synthesised and profusely promulgated throughout the star system, diffusing all the debris outward as an impromptu smokescreen.

Never mind.

It wasn’t pointless.

It was suicidal.

“This really is taking too long, don’t you think so, Charlotte?”

“If that’s what you think, then why not put an end to this fiasco?”

No one else was better suited to bringing out their end. Heralding the cessation of their foolhardy act, Miss Freya's celadon mana burst out as a cloak of Isoperium; her eyes gleamed with the scintilla of her released mana.

She smirked with a horrific disdain for the enemies.」

“『Stellarator』.”

“““ –!?!?!”””

「The begotten anomaly, everyone had noticed.

They were being dominated by the astral forces that blackmailed all into falling to their demise.

Lucidly, the luminous blue star began swivelling like a spinning top, dragging along the dust clouds of 『Nebula』 as it started getting larger, brighter and faster at fusing its elements. It may quite possibly signal the start of a fiery and hellish end.

Everything within the gravitational field of the star shuddered at its mercy. Warpships began steering out of control, mages were pulled into the depths of hell incarnated and the orbits of celestial bodies were thrown out of equilibrium.

The blue star was forced to crush into itself through accelerated fusion. It was only a matter of time before such a delicate balance tipped over.」

“Quick! Enter the nearest warpship if you–”

“Fufu... Ahahahaha!!! If you're thinking of warping away on your ships, it’s not going to work!!”

「Miss Freya is as correct as one could be. As long as she is here, escape is impossible. The iron fist of gravity isn’t something so magnanimous. One would understand once they were to see what would come next.

Even over vast distances, this deadly exchange of tidal forces took place between the defining boundary of life and death.

The enemy fleets swiftly sought solace within their warpships. Immediately preparing to depart, the ships fell towards the gravitational center but steadily overcame it as their warpdrives began deploying.」

“You're joking. And just how exactly do you plan on stopping our ships?”

「Shadow was in doubt of Miss Freya's veracity, impugning the possibility of hindrance. Certainly, levanting was viable as long as they could effortlessly accelerate beyond light speed through spatial warping.

But what if the fabric of space was distorted so much that it was no longer possible to maintain warpdrive?」

“Fufufu... Ahahahahahahaha!!! Try your hardest to escape before the star goes supernova! Otherwise you’ll all end up dying!!! 『Ergosphere』.”

「The final endowment was uttered in a portentous dare.」

“!?!? YOU'RE FUCKING SHITTING MEEEEEEEE!?!? WHY AREN’T WE MOVING!?!!”

「A cage of jeopardy clung to their warpships, a field of gravity that naturally ensnared them, a one-way track of death they could not reverse.

There was no more hope remaining for them.

No matter how much faster they accelerated, no matter how much higher their speedometers crawled, they would be gravitationally bound to the star's nest, waiting in pleas of deliverance.

But that moment may never come to pass.

The luminous star kept spinning, kept heating, kept expanding until eventually it reached its endpoint.

Its stellar fusion could no longer handle the weight of its own gravitational pull and began to collapse inwards. Shrinking at an alarming rate, the supermassive star was seconds away from causing a catastrophe.」

“How many times must I repeat myself? We can’t have you all dying on us. 『Mana Dissolution』.”

「A millisecond away from utter maleficence, the pre-cataclysmic event was fully granulated into mana essence upon being subject to Miss Freya's death stare.

The ultimate mana synthesis of the Element of Zephyr.

Even then, the sheer energy density of the concentrated mana was left without the slightly bit of stasis.

Thus, instability and chaos ensued.

The whole star’s worth of mana waned away in devastating tides of pure rejection. Fireworks of mana raged into a mind-breaking asunder. Bubbling up across the heavens, a melange of colours burst forth in place of a supernova. A mass-mana collision event.

Jet streams of mana lambasted our whole fleet and everything within a few light seconds. It may end up affecting quite possibly the whole stellar neighbourhood if it were not for the Stellar Migration accomplished by our Equalisers.

Like lasers streaking across one’s periphery, incessant headwinds of mana jettisoned into deep space, proliferating more work for our Equalisers.

The whole enemy fleet had fallen into disarray. No, it was more accurate to say they couldn’t even operate as a fleet.

The functionality of their ships were vitiated, their ensemble left in an indefinite coma, their souls were too overwhelmed for conscience.

Thus they were unfit for battle and could no longer continue fighting back.」

“Now then, that’s the end of that. Wouldn’t you say so, Charlotte?”

“There’s still plenty of things that need doing. This'll just add a little bit more to that list.”

“Muuun? I meant for us, no? All that we'll have to do is take that man named Shadow alive and torture him! Let the others handle the rest.”

“Then I shall be back once I recover that person named Shadow.”

“Nn!”

-════════════════-

“Hnn... this is unbelievable. How ill-equipped were they...?”

「Glancing around at all the leftover rubble and battered remains of the warp vessels, everything had been eroded away without any exception. The bodies of the opposition floated in space amongst all the incurred damage. The residual mana hanging in isolation began interacting. At times, the reactions caused abnormal flits and flickers of baneful light.

Translocating through space, I found him exactly where I'd imagined him to be – inside the same ship he had boarded in an attempt to flee from the fait accompli. Prying open the fuselage of the warpship, he and his crewmates were on the floorboard, knocked out cold for the act of living. I stood in front of Shadow's body and pulled him up with telekinesis.

I conjured diamond binds and restrained each of his limbs. This time however, they were reinforced with mana. There’s not a single person who’s ever been able to escape my grasp if I’m set on confining them.」

“Hey. Wake up.”

「I willed him back to consciousness as his eyes snapped open in full attention. This would a good opportunity to glean something – if anything – from him.」

“Aa…?! What’s all this?”

“You’re rather calm despite being so severely restricted. Do you have anything to say for yourself? We’re willing to tone down the punishme~nt...”

“There’s nothing in particular I have to say. We’ve done all we could and now, it is up to you all how you treat us. Though, by the looks of it, we might end up getting executed for treason either way, right?”

「I see. I'd be wasting even more time if I tried probing something out of him. This isn’t my place to interfere with. What a shame.」

“Tch. I have nothing to say either. And what’s with that subservient attitude? That won’t it cut unfortunately. It appears you don’t realise how serious a crime you all have committed. You intentionally raised your swords against the Amamiya Family – don’t go thinking you’ll get away with this. And whoever it is that’s backing you, the Amamiya Family will be sure to pay you back with pain. Then you all will become desperate just to end your lives. I hope you put up some resistance then if not now.”

“I d-don't need to a-anything. R-rather I advise that you keep an eye out for them.”

“Oh-ho, you're telling me what to do? Know your place, mere plebeian. Do not act so arrogant for our eyes see much of what you can never hope to witness up upon the sky. Do you know why it is that we migrate the stars before such foolishness?”

“H-hell if I know.”

“The heavens, you philistine. The Amamiya take pride in their stars which beautify all of Elyiere and it is in no one’s interests to defile the heavens. Such is the reason why these skies are called the Heavenly Skies. Blame only yourselves for the blunder of tainting it. Your lot had left us with no choice but to detonate a star to prevent others from being destroyed. Your sins are not light by any means at all.”

“Aight, aight! Spare me the lecture!?! Could you let me go...? It kinda hurts in all these chai– AAAAAAAAAA?!?!!?”

“Of course we will. Once you have paid for your share of sins at the astral prison.”

“…I’m not going to be bound like this forever right? RIGHT?!?!?!?”

“What’s that? Pleading for your life now? Don’t worry, you’ll have many chances to escape later on.”

“?!!”

「Flashing his soul with my mana, he lost consciousness once more. Dropping his head, the back of eyes showed up in fear at the last moment.

But then–」

“???”

「Branded marks enchanted with magical rites penned his skin in dark lines.

I braced myself for any potential threat it may have brought about upon activation but it seemed that it wasn’t needed so much.

In due time, the marks turned bronze before the light and marks crumbled away, leaving no trace of its happening.

Branded rites I couldn’t detect. Rather, they shouldn’t have even existed there in the first place. It was only after he had lost consciousness that those marks appeared. It then disappeared all too quickly to allow the decryption of what was inscribed.

Tch. No use thinking about it.

Turning around, I translocated back to the command warpship where Miss Freya and the rest of our fleet were deployed.」

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

“Hnnnn, all of that really happened? I didn’t notice.”

【 “Of course not~! No~ one would notice a single~ star among billions being destroyed~!” 】

“No, like... I meant... Ahhh, forget it. So, there’s even more of these mysterious rites that can’t be deciphered. More to crack, I guess. So, what happened after that?”

【 “The perpetrators were all safely sent to the astral prison in the Guardian's Supercluster. But by the time they were incarcerated, every one of them died within a few hours.” 】

“...”

「Damn... that gave me a few chills. Saying something like that so casually... the mark of profession, it must be.

What an eye-opener.」

“So... did they find out anything?”

【 “Haha… about that... there was literally nothing to find. Memories wiped, rites deleted and even lives lost! We didn’t retrieve a thing. Though, after the retrieval of the crystals and the deaths of all the prisoners, A hypercluster-wide personnel check was made and ten of thousands of Servants, Guardians and Equalisers were caught for sabotaging the network of Amamiya's Retinue. A few individuals among the real task forces of the three divisions were found guilty of betrayal in court, for whatever reasons they had.” 】

“That’s quite the oversight. This might even be the second largest incident I've ever seen with the Amamiya Family.”

【 “Nn? Second, you say?” 】

“Ah. Forget what I said. So, where's the part that led up to Charlotte-san’s incident??”

【 “Jeez!!! I'm getting to that part!!! All this happened quite some time ago and things have started to settle down since then. But according to what Charl said, it was about a week ago when Charl's servant contract started acting up. It slowly began eroding away by the time she realised.” ]

“Hnn... if she noticed it, didn’t Charlotte-san renew her contract then?”

【 “Fufu! That’s precisely the problem. She didn’t.” ]

“She... didn’t???? What... why??”

【 “Nn... let’s see, how to say it... She subconsciously didn’t report this to Eri-sama. It wasn’t until Charl appeared before you three that this matter came to light. She's displayed signs of mental impairment and split personalities until her condition was stabilised through mana-medical treatment.” 】

“...”

【 “During the time she was in her crazed state, it was like she was possessed by something else. As if she had surrendered control of herself to something else entirely that took over her mind and acted in Charl's place.” 】

“Then, I'm guessing that whatever it is that took control of her mind suddenly aimed after me.”

【 “Sakuya-ojouchan certainly catches on quick, huh?” 】

“Can’t help thinking like that when I was warned about this, months in advance. If someone’s after me, an attack on Amamiya isn’t much of a surprise, is it?”

【 “Woah, woah, slow down there. I can’t say for sure whether these occurrences may have something to do with my precognition, but I'm sure that this isn’t what my Clairvoyance had foreseen. There’s also the possibility that it may not have anything to do with my precognition.” 】

“Hmm... so that’s what it comes down to. If it isn’t connected, then why are these people after me?”

【 “Their motives are questionable, since the ones that attacked the main fleet were after me and Charlotte.” 】

“The crystals and rites might be casting some sort of psychological spell to interfere with the thoughts of others.”

【 “That notion has been ruled out since the mana crystal’s properties make it highly unlikely that it’s used for that reason. Then there’s the sudden appearance of what Charl claims to be the same rites which she had seen on one of the invaders. But Charl's the only one who’s able to see them. None of the Institute’s sensors have picked up any oddities present with herself and once more we're presented with another issue.” 】

“Then Lost Hexes must have been used. Though, I can’t bring myself to believe such a thing. If so…”

【 “It’s better not to think about it! Right? But there’s no choice but to suspect others. If Lost Hexes are being cast, then that means all sorts of Vynexian laws are being broken. If anyone did have the power to use them, there are many people we could point fingers at. And if we do…” 】

“It’ll turn into a huge mess… will Alvyion be put under strict guard?”

【 “It seems that we may have to proceed in such a way.” 】

“Oh well, I guess the administrators have no other choice.”

【 “Sucks to be them! Oh, speaking of the administration... the investigations show that before Amamiya-kyo was notified, she made a request to access the network of Hypercluster Mana Field Scanners at one of the Equaliser Ringworlds. From there, an independent scan was made in which she surveyed the skies for high mana emissions for things like the crystal. She conveniently happened to spot such densities over at Sakuya-ojouchan's galactic quarters and immediately reported it to Amamiya-kyo! What bad luck!!” 】

“Pretty much. All these coincidences really did throw a wrench into Sora and Yuki's Manarea training... Thanks to that, I can’t really do much for them anymore.”

【 “It’s only a temporary measure. I’m sure their memory seal will break away in 3 years time at the latest. I hope this helped clear away your doubts on the precedence of why things occurred.” 】

“Mhm… it was really helpful. Thank you, Freya-san.”

【 “I am unworthy of your gratitude, Ojou-chan.” 】

“Well then, I suppose it’s about time I enter the Chiliocosm.”

「Though I say that, it’s not an easy endeavor by any stretch of the imagination...」

【 “Fufu… good luck!” 】

「Ending the holographic transmission, Freya-san's figure returned to nothingness as I sat within the silent songs of the winds.」

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

「I’ve been having a lot of trouble for the past few months trying to break through the top layer of Fírinne Libria. I’ve tried coming up with all sorts of ways to solve the unique and dizzying riddles the different stages propose – but to no avail.

Not only does the library itself test your magical prowess, but it also tests whether you are worthy of accessing its lower layers. Between the multiple library sections, there are these dimensional ‘trials’ that one has to complete to gain access to the next layer beneath.

As one of the Sealed Grounds, the whole Chiliocosm is managed by the Servants of Amamiya. Challengers are registered and their activities are monitored inside the upper layers of all the different localities.

If one thought of the Chiliocosm as a game, you would enter the localities through the selection interfaces found inside the portals seen inside the lobby where I met up with Freya-san and Ayame-obasan a few months ago, just as I am inside of one of those portals myself. The severed space inside the portals act as entry points which lead to the inner localities of the Chiliocosm.

Once you start playing the riddle game, you realise that after the first stage, it’s impossible to clear.

The first stage is like a trial version of the deeper, more intricate systems embedded and sealed away inside the locality of its own inner dimensions such that it without solving the trials of each layer, opening a pathway and traversing to the other dimensions can never be possible in any other way.

That’s simply what the Chiliocosm is. A place of riddles with significant secrets kept within unreachable chests of treasure.

Over the years, many high-rank mages among the Ordinaire and Erydexals have tried their hand at delving into the deepest depths of the localities of other Sealed Grounds but none have ever succeeded – except for a small number of Erydexals.

But I believe I have a chance. Riddle-type problems can be overcome from pure analysis by combining magic and technology. I’ve spent months trying to program algorithms that might prove to be capable enough to break through the trials...

...only to end up royally failing each time.

Every time, I inch closer and closer to overcoming the first stage of the Chiliocosm's high-end trials which is why there can be no room for hesitation. I've decided to see this through to the end.

With that determination, within a space that contorted, with phantasmal rings of selections, I touched a single option that caused all the others to turn to particles, scatter and converge into a blinding light.

I stood before the trial of Fírinne Libria.」

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