(W-What in the world is about to begin?)
Shortly after Lady Felice departed for the Akinashi Domain alongside Titan under Kai Heinemann's instructions (coercion), the vision of Lucas and the rest of the Wind Cats suddenly warped. In the very next instant, they found themselves transported to a seemingly boundless wasteland.
Surrounding them were countless Transcenders—easily dozens of times more than the host that had lined the path of swords earlier. These beings observed Lucas and his companions with cold, appraising eyes.
It felt precisely like frogs pinned beneath the gaze of a serpent. And understandably so. Even the black skeleton—the Deimos Lich, an entity of overwhelming might—stood rigidly at attention, trembling like a frightened young rabbit. Every single one of these figures was an absolute powerhouse, against whom even comparing Titan would be sheer folly.
Amidst the suffocating pressure...
"What do you intend to do with us?!"
Maaya, the black-haired young girl, bravely planted her hands on her hips and shrieked at the long-nosed monster barring their way.
Without bothering to give her an answer, the monster turned toward the Transcenders behind him.
"Bestow our divine protections upon these ones and forge them! That is the divine word of our great lord! Hear me, I repeat! This is a divine word! By the gods of heaven and earth, we must fulfill his will without fail!"
Spreading his arms wide, his three bloodshot eyes blazing, he bellowed at the top of his lungs with a roar that shook the very air.
"I hear ya! Ye don't gotta yell every single time for me to listen!"
At the vanguard of the dragon horde, a seven-headed golden dragon raised a single brow in annoyance and voiced his complaint.
"I don't care either way, but by the looks of it, there's only about eighty of 'em. Who gets to bestow their divine protection? They look like ordinary humans to me, which means they can only take one, right? If it's an order from our lord, I ain't about to back down, neither."
At the words of the tall man with a horn on his forehead and sanpaku eyes, an intense tension gripped the area, and the clatter of the Deimos Lich's trembling bones grew thirty percent louder.
"I am well aware. That is precisely why we shall decide by our usual lottery. That way, there will be no bad blood afterward, will there?"
"Haaah, so it's down to luck after all. Well, drawing lots when we disagree has been our way for tens of thousands of years. I got no objections."
The horned man with sanpaku eyes yawned and took a swig from the flask in his right hand.
"Girimehkala, what does our lord intend to achieve by granting power to these creatures?"
To the seven-headed golden dragon's inquisitive query, the long-nosed monster instantly replied:
"To eradicate the humans currently outside my curse boundary."
"Mere humans? We're going out of our way to grant our divine protections just for that? Are the humans out there truly that powerful?"
As the seven-headed golden dragon let out an incredulous squawk, Girimehkala simply shook his head.
"They are weak."
He gave only that brief answer.
"Hmm, then what in the world does he mean by this?"
When the dragon frowned in confusion, Girimehkala twisted his face into a fiendish sneer.
"Ladon, do you still not understand? What our lord desires is a thorough, utterly merciless slaughter. A devastation so absolute that they will spend eternity regretting ever baring their blades against our great god! For that, mere divine protections will not suffice. They are nowhere near enough, I say!"
He raised both hands toward the heavens, his voice boiling over with fanatical zeal.
A beat of stunned silence followed Girimehkala's outburst. And then—cheers erupted across the wasteland.
"I see! Even mere vermin are to be crushed with absolute, overwhelming force! As expected of our great lord!"
"It sends shivers down my spine! I'm in awe! Truly, our great master is beyond compare!"
"Very well! I shall break them down and reforge them from scratch!"
Amidst an atmosphere that was deeply bizarre by any rational standard, Girimehkala nodded in satisfaction.
"And to that end—Norn, explain!"
He cast his gaze down at the girl of about twelve or thirteen standing beside him, her face almost completely obscured by her white hair.
"Okey! Dis is No-chan's domain, yes it is! While living here, the flow of time becomes one five-thousandth for us!"
As the white-haired girl puffed out her chest with pride, the Transcenders erupted into further jubilation.
A dreadful premonition seized Lucas. A horribly foul omen... Overcome by the phantom sensation of insects crawling beneath his skin, he spoke up.
"What... do you intend to do with us?"
Lucas asked. In truth, he had no choice but to ask. With a beaming, ferocious smile, Girimehkala turned back to the Transcenders once more.
"I have received direct imperial orders from our lord to take personal command of their instruction. None of you have any objections, do you?"
He demanded the consent of his peers.
"If it is our lord's will, so be it."
"Then leave them to me for a short while. It appears that, much like myself in the past, these wretches possess flaws that must be corrected long before we even speak of divine protections."
Shoulders slumping in disappointment, the other Transcenders grumbled their parting remarks and began departing the wasteland one by one.
Once the others had vanished, Girimehkala fixed his three glaring eyes upon Lucas and the Wind Cats for the very first time.
"I am Girimehkalaaa!"
He roared with a deafening volume that threatened to shatter their eardrums.
"From this moment forth, I am the drill instructor for you worthless water fleas!
I despise and loathe every single one of you from the bottom of my heart! Without a shred of hesitation, I shall batter, crush, and utterly obliterate your weak spirits and rotten-fruit resolve! You are more than welcome to despise me in turn! For to me, your hatred will be my greatest happiness and absolute bliss!"
As those nightmarish words echoed across the wasteland, the torture masquerading as training for Lucas and his companions began.