บท 32: Above
The sun was setting as it colored the sky orange.
The bushes were rustling as Sylvia, who carried Lily on her back, led the way to Ophelia and Mika.
Lereon, who followed behind her, walked with his arm crossed.
"..."
Sylvia was tense.
She only heard rustling caused by them, however, she neither heard nor felt the presence of any animals or monsters in the vicinity.
Taking a quick glance behind her, she pondered.
Were they perhaps frightened off by Lereon Pantl?
With him, they could proceed without getting into danger.
"I think we're almost there..." Sylvia stated nervously.
In the dark woods, full of thick vegetation, she saw light.
"Good."
From there, she did not see any trees further, meaning that there should be the wide and open space, where they were initially.
She picked up the pace.
Were they fine? Did they beat the enemies? Or are they still fighting? What was the rumbling from earlier? Just what was the situation?
Sylvia was a person, whose emotions would not show on her face, but this time it was visible how worried she was.
She picked up the pace even more.
"..."
Lereon squinted his eyes.
From the front, rustling was heard.
There, the silhouette of a person carrying another person was seen.
"Ms. Ross!" Sylvia shouted delighted with a smile.
From her position, she could clearly recognize who that was.
It was Ophelia with an unconscious Mika on her back.
"Sylvia...? What are you doing here? I thought I told you to escape from the jungle!" Ophelia said confused.
Her confusion grew as she noticed Lereon from behind.
For a moment, it looked like she saw a ghost as she stared bewildered with her mouth open.
But then, she turned grim and stern as she frowned her eyebrows.
"W-what are you doing here, Lereon...?"
"Hm? Aren't you... No, that's not the time for that. I'm here on a mission."
At first, he seemed slightly surprised, too, but he quickly regained his calm composure.
"Mission?"
"Yes, the king of Malnor requested that I should investigate the Great Jungle."
He fixed his glasses.
"Apparently, a demon resides here." he stated bluntly.
Sylvia's eyes widened.
"Huh...?"
She quickly shifted her gaze towards Ophelia.
"W-wait... Ms. Ross, could it be..."
Ophelia nodded.
"Yes. He means the man from back then."
"S-so that was a demon...?"
Then, Lereon meddled in their conversation.
"You've already met the demon?"
His eyes and tone were sharp.
She could only nod sheepishly again.
"Then tell me. Where is that demon now? Explain everything to me without leaving out a single detail." he ordered her sternly.
"..."
She hesitated.
She did not know how to start or what to say.
Should she state the truth? Should she say that Mika defeated not just a horde of monsters but also the demon alone? Should she talk about the things she witnessed? The power Mika wielded, which she had never seen before? The arrows of light, the spear and Excalibur?
She was about to utter some words, but then she closed her mouth again.
Ophelia remembered.
Mika always hid his powers whenever he could.
He intentionally blew the entrance exams to get into the lowest class.
During their first time fighting, he threatened her if she were to reveal his powers.
Even now she did not fully understand yet, why he was so secretive about it.
She did not even grasp all his abilities yet.
But she knew that she should not spill the beans now.
She may be facing a member of the Grand Order, but after witnessing Mika's fight, she would rather side with him.
For now, she began to talk about how she and Mika were stalling time for Sylvia and Lily, leaving out the details about Mika's sword, Excalibur.
"The two of us were slowly losing consciousness... I barely remember how a person suddenly appeared. That person exterminated the demon and the monsters with overwhelming power..." Ophelia said pretending to rack her brain.
"..."
Lereon carefully listened to her words.
"From the reports, it should have been at least a B-rank demon... But I was the only one from my group that was sent here..." he muttered pensively to himself.
"Lereon?"
"As it is mandatory to do so after a quest, I expect a report from you and your team. Because you encountered the demon I was searching for, I will read the report, too." Lereon stated.
He sighed.
"If you go straight to the exit, you won't encounter any monsters for now. We will meet up at the entrance later. I will go and inspect the place for a while." he ordered.
Sylvia and Ophelia shook their heads vertically and instantly began to move.
Following that, Lereon headed to the open space, Ophelia came from.
As he emerged from the bushes and was confronted with the full view of the field, he could not believe his eyes.
Being a member of the Grand Order meant being one of the strongest in the world.
Thus, he knew what his comrades were capable of.
And he was sure that none of them were able to create such a monstrous display of their powers.
With his jaw dropped, he stunningly looked at the immense wide and deep crater, whose end one could not see if one would look down.
A B-rank demon could not be capable of something like that.
Therefore, it had to be the person Ophelia was mentioning.
"Just who in the world did this...?"
Back to the others.
Sylvia and Ophelia leisurely walked back, each carrying a person.
"Was that really the truth, Ms. Ross...? Did another person really appear and defeat the demon?" Sylvia asked carefully.
"..."
Ophelia was guilt-ridden.
"Sorry... I will tell you when it's the right time." she replied apologetically.
Thus, the two continued walking in silence towards the exit with the sun being almost completely set.
Meanwhile, unknown beings were supervising the whole situation.
They were in a place somewhere far above them, where not even clouds or humans could reach them.
A place for no normal mortals.
A place for beings, who were known for just being a myth.
It was a place for certain heavenly beings.
And in a conference-like room, which instead of walls had pillars supporting the place, someone was staring at a crystal ball.
The place was spacious and only had a large table in it.
Therefore, it seemed odd, if only one person was attending the place.
Usually, the place would be dominated by silence, however, from time to time, different kinds of talks can be heard from there, ranging from idle chitchat to serious conversations.
The person's eyes were practically glued on the crystal ball as it depicted the events unfolding down there, in the human realm.
To be more specific, it showed the life of Mika.
Suddenly, someone barged into the place.
"Hey, you're being called." that person stated sounding annoyed.
From the sound of the voice, it could belong to a young man.
"Hm? You're still watching them? Did you ever take your eyes off that ball?" he asked jokingly.
"..."
The other person did not respond and just silently passed by with the crystal ball in the hands.
In a hallway so spacious, clean and decorated minimal and yet elegantly, the two were walking side by side.
Compared to the hallways in the academy, this one was bright and gave off a soothing and majestically atmosphere.
The young man took a side glance at the crystal ball.
"Zantar, huh... Never heard of him."
He had a carefree attitude.
"..."
No sound left the other person's mouth.
"Did it succeed? Is it possible to borrow my spear in their realm?"
The person still did not take the eyes away from the crystal ball.
Seeing the reaction, he had to sigh.
"Still, I don't understand it. Why was that boy chosen to be your successor? I can't see anything in him."
Then, for the first time, he got a reaction from the person.
The person, or rather the man, who seemed middle-aged, stopped in his tracks.
"You know it, too, don't you? Because he said so." the middle-aged man said with a gentle voice as he stared to the ends of the hallway.
The young man clenched his fists.
"But... But wouldn't it be better for you to hold onto that position longer?" he asked with childish innocence.
"You, of all people, know my current condition the best. Therefore, the answer should be clear."
The middle-aged man moved forward again, whereas the young man only stood still.
"On a side note, it is better this way. I cannot stand being his right hand anyway." he said.
"..."
Thus, the younger one watched the back of his superior with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
It was time for a meeting between his superior and the one everyone hailed and revered.
The almighty one.
The absolute one.
The savior.
The leader.
The one who is above everything and everyone.
God.
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