Previous recap.
The Enadori arc had settled down, leaving me with nothing to do and plenty of time to lounge around.
Then one day, Chiavu showed up.
True to her promise, she brought something interesting.
And what she brought was... equipment parts for the Etranze.
The name of the equipment was, of all things, the Banish Blaster.
Just how powerful was the Banish Blaster, anyway?
Grrrooooaaaaoooww...—!!
Fweeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuu...—!!
Whooooooooooommm...—!!
A tremendous sandstorm carrying everything in its path raged and blew with ferocious force.
Everything was dark, nothing could be seen, only the violent, roaring sound of the wild wind filled the air.
A sandstorm.
Floating right in the middle of it was the dimensional ship Etranze.
Nothing else was moving.
"......Whoa."
"Wof, are you sure this is right?"
"Yeah."
It was strange.
Why does it look like the end of the world out there?
"Man, this is something else."
"Can't see a thing."
"Yeah, we'd be completely shredded if we went outside—and this ship should be torn apart too, honestly… But it's fine, apparently."
"Seems that way."
"An Etranger won't even get a scratch from something like this."
Nequia was puffing herself up with pride for some reason. Then again, she does know more about it than I do—its owner.
For reference, we were watching the situation outside through a window projected into midair.
GROOOOOAAARRR—!!!
SHREEEEEEEAAAAAAA—!!!
WHOOOOOOSH—!!!
GAAAAAAARRR—!!!
Oh, I heard what sounded like a scream. Probably a monster.
Shredded to pieces, just like Chaibe said.
"So what do we do?"
"Should we pick a different spot? But we don't really know any other places…"
"Hmm, I can't think of anywhere either."
Yeah, that's fair.
A wide-open place where we could let loose without worrying… Oh, I just thought of one.
But that's somewhere outside this world, so there's no telling whether we can even get there.
"Too bad. Even I, the Queen, can't think of anything either."
"Does she really have that side to her?"
"Fufun~ I just thought of something goood~"
Chive laughed with the unmistakable glee of someone about to pull a prank.
I could see fangs peeking through the gap between her lips.
"The beastly aura just got stronger."
"What are you planning?"
"Hmm-hmm~ I was thinking, wouldn't this place be fine~?"
"Huh, here?"
"And the reasoning behind that?"
"This seems like the type that builds up power from the structure and then releases it, right~? So even if we go all out from the start, this place should be fine, wouldn't you say~?"
"I see. There's some logic to that."
Nekea seemed convinced.
Was there, though? Well, either way, it did look like firing at full power here wouldn't cause any trouble.
For a brief moment, a thought crossed my mind: isn't this a flag?
No, no, there's no way. We're on a small ship.
"Well then, shall we give it a try? But how should I go about it?"
"Leave it to me, the Queen."
Nekea sat down in the pilot's seat and tapped the console panel with fluid, practiced motions.
Then, from the seat where the cube was embedded... a control stick emerged.
No, wait. Th-there's a... a trigger.
The kind of firing trigger you always see in the space battleship anime from my past life.
Yeah, that kind — just the trigger part of a handgun.
"Wof. Grip it."
"Got it."
I grip it, heart fluttering just a little.
A firing trigger. Everyone's wanted to hold one at least once, right?
Everyone's wanted to charge up the energy and pull the trigger at least once, right?
And right now, I'm the one holding that firing trigger.
As I squeeze the trigger, a window appears before my eyes.
A gauge is displayed sideways, showing a percentage.
This is it — energy charging.
This is exciting. I touch the trigger lightly. Hard. It's locked.
Once I confirm that... just — am I really okay to fire this?
What is this. Every time the number climbs higher, I feel more uneasy.
The name "Banish Blaster" gives me a bad premonition.
Maybe it's because I've used Banish before and I know its full power all too well.
Just then, Nekea spoke from the pilot's seat.
"Banish Blaster firing sequence. Entering final phase."
"Huh—wait, what?"
"That's what it says. Final protection disengaged."
The moment those words left her lips, the trigger lock released.
The gauge filled to 100%.
"Banish Blaster. Fire!"
"Fire!"
I found myself echoing her words as I pulled the trigger.
Four barrels roared in unison, unleashing the Banish Blaster.
It was a flash of white, like a single blinding pulse.
In an instant, the grinding sandstorm that had been trying to tear us apart vanished, and a crack of blue sky split open above.
Then, silence.
"............"
"............"
"............"
The three of us stood there, speechless. On Etrange's window, a slightly-off-center patch of blue sky was reflected back at us.
But after a while, the misalignment smoothed out, and it was simply clear sky.
Had that just been… the wall of the sky?
"......"
"......"
"......"
We remained silent for a long time.
Right. Nobody expected it to turn out like that.
Seriously though, what was that power? What kind of output are we even talking about — no wonder I had a bad feeling about it.
Why would something this small have that kind of firepower?
Even for a spaceship that's absurd. What kind of enemy are they preparing for? Space monsters?
Space anomalocaris or something!? Come on!!
And naturally, we exchanged glances and spoke at the same time.
"This is definitely something we should never ever use."
We were in perfect sync.
After that, reports came in of white flashes and distortions in the sky confirmed all across the continent.
Three weeks passed in the blink of an eye after we'd shaken things up on a fairly global scale.
I'm doing fine today too.
Nothing in particular to do, so I mixed up some tea and lounged around in my room.
Naturally, Etrenze's armaments became a secret known only to the three of us.
The Witch doesn't know either — for now.
We tried our best to remove the Cube, but it wouldn't come off no matter what.
I used Banish on it, but it was nullified. Completely pointless.
So the three of us made a pact: we would absolutely never use it.
When Etrenze comes back, it's a given we'll get used like a taxi again.
Sure enough, the Four Stars headed straight for Heizen's dungeon.
It was basically a training run for exploring that ship's dungeon.
Come to think of it, I just now realized I haven't shown my face at Heizen's at all since then.
There's nothing in particular to do around here for the time being.
Maybe I should drop by once in a while.
Well, but I've already decided I'm just going to drink tea and take it easy today.
I think it was the same yesterday. And the day before that, too, now that I think about it.
Oh, but yesterday Anemos and Shiro were with me.
Anemos said he'd been recruited by the Heiarn Trading Company and was troubled about it.
I thought it was Heiarn or Hang or something, but I was wrong.
It was from Akindura. If that's the case, there's nothing to be done — just accept it.
That's someone who even managed to convince that witch.
In related news, the response to Enadri's "Witch Water" has already caused a huge stir despite only being advertised so far.
As expected, appointing a witch as the image girl seems to have sent shockwaves through every industry.
With this, victory is practically assured.
"It's almost winter, but it doesn't feel cold at all."
I know this area has a mild climate to begin with, but when it's cold, it's cold.
In the dead of winter, it snows.
My gaze happens to land on the statue of Lord Yomido on the shelf — not the Pakira figure.
That's what caused Pakira to turn bright red with embarrassment and flee when she came into the room the other day.
Remembering that, I let out a sigh.
"...What should I do..."
The other day, I got called into that mysterious space again, and Lord Yomido pressured me about when I'd bring Pakira over.
But at this rate, I have no idea how to even bring the subject up.
On top of that, there's the Transformation thing, the Anomalocaris, and a whole mountain of other problems.
"Well, for now, let me just take it easy."
Panicking won't help anything.
This tea is good. I'm settling in.
"W-Wof, we've got a big problem!"
"Wof, something real bad happened!"
"This is serious."
Bursting into the room like an avalanche were... three men.
Axe. Hoss. Rel. The Thunder Fang.
Wait, weren't they supposed to be helping out at Heisen's dungeon?
I'd heard they were still over there and wouldn't be coming back for a while.
"Wh-What's going on?"
"It's bad, Wof."
"Something real nasty happened, it did."
"This is an emergency."
All three spoke over each other, faces tight with alarm.
What now, what now. What happened? Even Rel, the calm one, wore a grim expression.
"Wh-What happened?"
"Heisen's... Wof's dungeon... was conquered."
"What?"
"The rest of them all got captured."
"What?!"
"We were only able to get out thanks to Agaro."
"Conquered? Captured? What exactly happened?"
A cult? Or the Nameless? No, no—a bandit guild?
But Agaro was there, and Alexander. Plus "Forestar" and "Thunder Fang."
With all those powerhouses gathered together, they still struggled and got conquered.
Who on earth—could it be [Transformation]?!
Imagining the worst, Axe spoke up, his expression grave.
"The Night King."
"Huh?"
Huh?
Hm?
"The Night King conquered Heisen's dungeon and took everyone hostage."
"Eh?"
Hm?
Hmm?
"Wof. I'm counting on you."
"Help me take down the Night King. I need your power."
"........."
Hm?
Huh?
Hmm?
Hm-hm?
Hmmmmmm?????????
"What do you mean?"
I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
Huh? What do you mean?
————
Season 5 ends here.
Thank you very much.
And so, to commemorate the conclusion of the long Season 5...
To those of you who've read this far, found it entertaining, and are looking forward to what comes next...
Especially Wof! Mineha! Pakira! Knife! Juicy!
Hoss! Narcissus! The Witch! Riv! Lupinus! Nekia! Isibara! Summeria! Anemos! Biddo! Knife's Goddess! Yomido! Megadia! Anomalocaris! Hiyarn! Shiro! Akindura! Ambrosius! Lanjiar! Lizzgala! One of the Five Sisters!
One of the First-Class Delvers! Everyone else! The rest of you... (inanimate objects included)!!!
If your favorites crossed your mind, even just for a moment...
It would truly encourage me from the bottom of my heart if you could follow, star, or heart this.
Hehehehehe.
Sorry for the late reply, but I'll definitely get back to you.
More than anything, it becomes the source of my writing energy, motivation, and encouragement.
I mean it.
It really cheers me up! My dog Poppy even runs around too.
And Season 6 is scheduled to start next Monday.
Because I realized that stockpiling chapters is nothing but an illusion.
Please keep supporting me from here on out!!