9
Leaving Julius and Echidna, Emilia raced up the stairs.
She moved her long legs single-mindedly, going up two, sometimes three stairs with each step at an extraordinary speed. But in her heart, she focused on going faster, even faster.
She gritted her teeth as she ran. Her desperation showed on her beautiful face.
She was worried about the two she’d left below on the second floor. Reid was extremely strong and violent, and he had a nasty mouth. Her two friends might get hurt physically or emotionally.
Of course, she wasn’t just worried about Julius and Echidna. She was concerned about Subaru, Beatrice, and Meili trying to hold off Shaula. And she wondered if Ram would be able to fulfill her role. Would Patrasche be able to protect Rem? Did she have to rebuild her bonds with everyone from the beginning again because her name had been eaten? There was no end to those concerns, and it honestly made her want to stop and cry.
But she couldn’t stop. And she couldn’t cry. She held back the sniffle that lingered in the back of her nose.
“Because nothing is over yet…!”
Having people who trusted her and believed in her was what kept Emilia going right now. There were lots of concerns, lots of things worrying her, but she was filled with faith that surpassed all that.
“Ghh! There’s light!”
Up ahead, Emilia’s purple eyes caught a glimpse of a white light. It was the end of these long, long steps leading into the unknown first floor.
With that thought, she launched herself forward and accelerated even further.
“I made it!”
Tearing through the light, Emilia finally reached the end of the stairs. What lay before her…was not a space that could be called the first floor.
“Huh…?”
Dumbfounded, Emilia let out a surprised sound as she came to a stop. What greeted her wasn’t the continuation of the familiar watchtower.
The walls were nowhere to be seen, and there was no ceiling. An awe-inspiring blue sky spread overhead. Emilia wasn’t standing inside the building, but outside it. After coming up the stairs from the second floor, Emilia emerged on the roof of the tower.
“Is the first floor outside…? This is…higher up than the clouds, even…”
The top of the tower was vast, and there didn’t seem to be any railings. If she went to the edge, she should be able to look straight down.
The tower was touching the clouds that should have been far above it, and Emilia caught her breath, realizing that she was inside the clouds, or even above them.
It was her first time reaching such a high place, but after that surprise, something else entirely caught her attention.
“ ”
“…Oh…”
It was quiet, and almost too magnificent, so she had failed to notice its presence.
Emilia, who had been completely focused on her location and the clouds, was slow to notice the being standing at the edge of her vision. She slowly turned around and let out a gasp.
Even with the despair of having her name stolen and being forgotten by the world threatening to overcome her, Emilia had held on in the final refuge of her heart, steeling herself for whatever may come. But nothing could have prepared her for this.
That was just how unexpected this sight was.
Because…
“You’re…”
“—Thou who hath reached the tower’s peak, petitioner of omnipotence who treads upon the first floor.”
There was a solemn, deep voice that seemed to echo directly in her soul. Emilia realized her voice was trembling.
Who could blame Emilia for being faint of heart? No one. It was impossible. Because all beings had no choice but to kneel in that being’s presence.
Because its name was—
“—I am Volcanica. By ancient oath, I ask thy will.”
The Holy Dragon Volcanica—its massive body covered in blue, gleaming scales—looked down on Emilia with a presence that could blow away her very soul with a single breath.
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