FWAAAAT!
And a burst of light.
In light so bright they couldn’t see in front of them, everyone covered their eyes.
Except for one person.
Frondier was in trouble right now.
“......Hm.”
He had used up all his mana.
Whether he tried to use his wings, tried to use Menosorpo, tried to block the impact with a shield—there wasn’t even a grain of mana left.
It couldn’t be helped. He’d been forcing a long march for too long.
‘......Uh.’
This is really bad.
Frondier looked around. But the magic circle was still so dazzling he couldn’t properly see the surroundings. From outside, they probably couldn’t properly see Frondier either.
Am I really going to die like this?
Just as Frondier thought that—
“Yo.”
A voice he didn’t recognize. Someone lightly swept Frondier up into their arms.
Did he jump from down there all the way up here? Ridiculous jumping power.
The man landed while holding Frondier.
“......Hah.”
Frondier stared at him for a long time, like he couldn’t believe it.
He’d seen him in the game.
He’d seen him in Constell’s textbooks.
He’d seen him in the basement of his workshop.
That face.
“......Arthur.......”
“Mm, yeah. I’m Arthur. You’ve been through a lot.”
Even after coming down to the ground, Frondier stared blankly at Arthur.
“Ah, ugh.”
But he couldn’t last long before he slumped down. The aftereffects of mana depletion.
And as the light gradually faded—
“......So this is what it was.”
Countless people came into view.
They were all unfamiliar, but Frondier knew immediately.
They were all giants.
Starting with Arthur—Bellerophon, Sigurd, Roland. Heroes who had dominated an era.
Among those countless heroes.
Right in front of Frondier.
“Hi?”
There, he could see a single flag.
A woman stood holding that flag.
At least her, Frondier knew.
The woman flicked her gaze back and looked at the slumped Frondier, grinning.
“We meet again!”
“......Jeanne.”
“Why are you sitting down! How can the one who summoned us be doing that! It kills the vibe!”
Jeanne d’Arc held out her hand to Frondier. When Frondier took it, Jeanne d’Arc pulled hard.
“Now, Frondier.”
Jeanne d’Arc looked Frondier straight in the eye.
“I want an order.”
“......An order from me?”
“Yeah. Who else would do it here? You’re the one who summoned us.”
Jeanne d’Arc spread both arms, as if representing everyone who had appeared in this magic circle.
“We’re the records of Weaving, the statues of the workshop, incarnations of memory! We gathered for this moment, and we waited for this moment to come! Like the swords and spears you have in your workshop! Like bows and arrows! Like every weapon deployed to bring down your enemy! We’re your weapons!”
“.......”
Frondier looked around. The giants who had appeared with Jeanne d’Arc. All kinds of heroes looked at Frondier.
Jeanne d’Arc grinned.
“Come on, master! The order!”
A beautiful, challenging smile. Straight eyes.
“......Then rather than an order, a declaration.”
“Oh, nice. What is it?”
To Jeanne d’Arc’s question, Frondier delivered a single sentence.
And when she heard it, Jeanne d’Arc’s eyes went round—
“Ahahahaha! You remember that phrase? Merlin really loved saying it.”
Jeanne d’Arc grinned at Merlin nearby, and Merlin tilted /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ his head like, what are you talking about?
“Alright, I’ll lead it!”
Jeanne d’Arc turned away from Frondier and faced forward.
All the giants stood facing the gods.
Hff—
Jeanne d’Arc lightly drew in a breath.
Then, she shouted with aura in her voice.
“Bring down the gods—”
And then.
The heroes’ voices exploded.
—FOR THE GIANTS!!!
That voice pounded the ground. It shook the sky. A tremendous roar like a wave swept the area, making the gods’ skin and lungs tingle.
“Now then.”
Jeanne d’Arc raised her flag high and—
THUD!
—slammed it down.
The flag was planted over the battlefield.
Jeanne d’Arc’s eyes were filled with fighting spirit, and the smile at the corner of her mouth was provocative and intense.
Her murmured voice carried the resonance of a tiger.
“Revenge.”
“WAAAAAAAH!!!”
A clash between giants and gods.
As the battlefield opened once again, the human side began its counterattack.
The human side hadn’t been able to go on the offensive even once since this war began.
But with the giants joining, the situation changed.
Most of all, Jeanne d’Arc’s flag. The flag’s buff effect was outstanding. The Zodiacs were no longer pushed back by the high-ranking gods, and thanks to the giants, the numerical disadvantage among the strong had disappeared.
‘Dangerous. Those guys from back then, again!’
Zeus scanned the battlefield with an anxious face.
With his power, trying to change anything was impossible—just dealing with Aster in front of him was already overwhelming.
The giants had appeared again. Zeus had felt their strength on his skin in the war. He knew better than anyone what kind of threat giants were.
‘To break this situation.’
Zeus turned his head. He needed a move that would flip the board.
Soon, Zeus reached out a hand.
[All troops.]
That voice could only be heard by the gods.
[Aim for Frondier.]
An order proclaimed to all gods.
While everyone was busy fighting their own battles, the high-ranking gods naturally spread out far around Frondier while blocking the humans’ attacks.
“......Damn it.”
Frondier, far away, saw it and caught on to their intention.
Humans and giants, in the chaotic situation, didn’t know what was happening.
‘Smart.’
Frondier was at the bottom of the barrel for mana. Even if he wanted to shout, he’d have to load it with aura for it to carry, but he didn’t even have that kind of energy.
‘But I can’t die right now.’
Frondier’s eyes shone blue.
There was only one way to draw out mana after mana depletion. You take out vitality.
But how much could he block, sacrificing this body?
In the meantime, the gods gathered into positions suitable for targeting Frondier.
[Now.]
Zeus’s order fell.
SCHHK!
In that moment, all the gods raised their weapons, sharpening the tips of their blades.
“......! No!”
The human side realized too late as they saw them move in unison. But it was too late.
Then, at Frondier’s side—there was only one person.
“......Ah.”
Frondier stared at him blankly.
Right in front of him.
“Frondier, stay still.”
A sword stood there.
“You’re too fearless.”
“......Atjie.......”
Atjie was back.
Exactly as Frondier remembered him.
Holding his spear, with that sharp presence as always, he stood over the battlefield.
Atjie stretched the spear tip long.
That stance. The killing intent that flowed out.
And on top of that—
FWAAAAT!
His Eclexis shone.
Roach Family Spear Technique
Atjie Original
Imaginary Fallen Piece
An instant.
“......Huh.......”
A sound like breath bloomed across the entire battlefield.
All kinds of weapons floating in the sky fell.
Glittering gold.
Like stardust falling.
Shiiiiii.......
CLINK!
THUD!
THUMP─!
With such hollow sounds, all kinds of weapons rolled across the ground.
The weapons of all the gods flew from the sky.
And then.
SLASH─!
Another horizontal slash split the sky.
“KRAAAAAH!!”
The gods screamed.
It was Ampere’s blow.
An attack that had been hard to block even when they had their weapons.
This time, a great number of gods were split in two.
But Ampere had no interest in that sight.
He hurriedly threw his gaze far away.
To Atjie and Frondier.
He cast a desperate look toward his two sons who had returned.
The two, too, naturally looked at Ampere, drawn by the sky-splitting blow.
When their eyes met—
“......H-Heh, hehehe......!”
Before Ampere could even smile, the sound came out first. For a moment he almost dropped his sword.
But the war wasn’t over yet.
Soon, he calmed his breathing and looked at Atjie and Frondier.
The three of the Roach family, understanding each other’s intent, nodded.
“Frondier!”
Then May hurried over to Frondier.
Frondier looked at May a little awkwardly.
“It’s really May, right?”
“Yeah. And Loki too.”
“That’s really confusing to hear.”
“Hahaha. Don’t worry. It won’t last long anyway.”
“It won’t last long?”
At Frondier’s words, May smiled a little sadly.
“You forgot? Magic is a phenomenon.”
“......Ah.”
“My memories won’t last long. In a bit, I’ll go back to the May you know.”
Then May rummaged in her clothes and pulled out a small crystal.
It was the Dragon Heart Frondier made.
“Here. This. Frondier Heart.”
“......Can you not call it that?”
As he spoke, Frondier swallowed the Dragon Heart.
FWAAAAT!
“Mm, you control it well now.”
“Probably thanks to reining in the Mana of the Nine Worlds.”
This time, unlike the last Mangot war, there was no situation where mana control became unbearable.
Still, mana was clearly filling explosively.
With the giants joining, the battlefield’s mood flipped.
Frondier looked around.
The power of mighty heroes unfolded before his eyes.
Osprey and Elodie’s power that didn’t lose to them, and even the Zodiacs and his disciples.
Frondier took all of it in.
‘......This war, probably.’
They would win.
It was obvious from the situation.
In the first place, from the point where Frondier wasn’t fighting and was just observing, the gods had to be considered as having no winning chances.
‘But it’s not over yet.’
Frondier briefly looked up at the sky, then looked forward again.
Slowly, he cast his gaze around.
His head moved very slowly, from left to right.
He could see his comrades fighting far away.
He could see the Zodiacs, and Constell’s teachers.
He could see his disciples.
He took all of it in.
Then Frondier closed his eyes deeply.
So he wouldn’t forget.
He wanted to say thank you.
And sorry, too.
That he’d been repaid.
That he wanted to go to the sea.
‘......But there’s no time to talk.’
Then Frondier opened his eyes.
SHRAAAK!
He spread the demon wings and shot up into the air.
At his sudden action, everyone there had their eyes stolen for a moment.
But in war, you couldn’t keep paying attention to somewhere forever.
Except there was one person with the most leeway in this war.
She stared at Frondier for a long time, a face like all her doubts had gathered between her brows.
A chill ran down the spine.
“......No way, that idiot......!”
