【Who… are you?】
A voice that could not be described merely as cold.
It felt as though it had not passed through his ears at all, but had been projected directly into his soul.
Aion gripped the hilt of his dagger, ready to draw it at any moment, and looked toward the source of the voice.
Pale moonlight poured through the hole in the ceiling. Silhouetted against it, the shadow of a silver fox as large as a house looked down upon him.
【You are not Dante… An intruder, then.】
Shhhhhh—
The very air turned into a weapon and pierced his skin.
It was not mere killing intent.
It was primal fear, born from the creature’s very existence.
【You have no right to remain here.】
Screeeech—
Wind Fang.
More than a dozen blades of wind formed in midair and aimed at Aion’s throat.
Gulp….
One wrong move, and he could lose his life in the most futile way imaginable.
Yet, as though this sort of danger were not unfamiliar to him, Aion’s eyes soon cooled.
‘What… is this thing?’
He had to survive. He could not die here without even knowing why.
‘Say something, damn it!’
As if they had been waiting for him to ask, the Terminuses flooded Aion with useful information.
【Flame: Xien! It is Xien! Why is he here….】
【Earth: Damn it! He is a Great Spirit of Wind! And of all things, the infamous Calamity Beast!】
【Water: Wind… what have you done? Are you trying to get Aion killed!? Do something about this situation, now….】
【Arcana: Aion, say something. At this rate, there is a high chance you will die.】
A tangled mass of information.
From among the overlapping voices, Aion picked out only what he needed.
‘Xien, the Great Spirit of Wind…?’
He had never heard that name in his life.
The only spirit whose name he knew was Lathanor, said to prevent avalanches in the North.
‘Dante… This thing definitely called someone Dante earlier!’
He had never heard that name either, but now was not the time to dwell on that.
“Great Spirit Xien!”
【…You know my name?】
Whoooosh—
Wind wrapped around Aion’s entire body.
It was an unpleasant sensation, like being licked by a predator.
【Then you must also know what will become of you.】
“…Why are you angry?”
Only Xien’s silver eyes were barely visible through the window.
Even Aion, whose harsh training had dulled him to fear, found his body trembling without his realizing it.
【You dare set your filthy foot upon the place of promise, then ask why?】
‘The place of promise?’
Aion’s mind began racing.
Dante… promise… place… cabin.
Linking those crucial words together, Aion formed a single hypothesis.
【Enough….】
“That is unfortunate.”
The moment he said that, Aion’s demeanor changed.
He no longer trembled, nor did he hesitate over his words.
【…What do you mean?】
Aion casually ignored the wind blades aimed at his throat and shrugged.
“If I die, this place will be abandoned once more.”
【…This is not an abandoned place. Nor is it any concern of yours.】
He could not let the conversation end.
Aion hurried, but continued speaking in a way that did not seem desperate.
“The previous owner of this cabin seems to have cherished this place, but they must have left in a hurry.”
Based on the information he had learned, Aion chose words that might unsettle Xien.
“Judging by the fact that they could not even clean away the bloodstains.”
…Flinch.
The sharp force of the wind faltered for a moment.
Beyond the window, Xien’s eyes narrowed.
【……That is a rather long last testament.】
His voice rumbled low.
But it was no longer filled with the blind killing intent from before.
He was undoubtedly shaken.
Aion did not let the opening slip by.
“When the owner of this cabin returns someday, if they find this place destroyed… they will be very lonely. Dante… was that the name?”
【That is not a name you may speak so carelessly!!!】
Whoooosh—!
The wind surged fiercely again.
“Urgh… Perhaps then, they will simply leave once more.”
【What do you dare suggest to me?】
The Great Spirit’s pressure did not yield easily.
Xien growled, as though his patience had finally reached its limit.
Aion pointed to the hole in the ceiling.
To that gaping void through which starlight poured.
“A house needs someone living in it.”
【…….】
A brief silence.
“No house without people is any different from a sick one.
Someone must live here—fill the broken places, mend what has fallen apart, and breathe life back into the house.”
Xien let out a mocking laugh.
【Even now, I come and go from this place.】
“This is not a house for you.”
There was an obvious difference between a spirit with an incorporeal form and a human with a physical body.
【Nor is it a house for someone as insignificant as you.】
“I know. Even so, this is a space meant for humans.”
A house was where people lived.
A place to shelter from the rain, sleep, and seek safety.
And a place to keep out the wind.
【…….】
A silence that felt both fleeting and eternal passed.
Xien stared fixedly at Aion.
Only his eyes were visible, but it was obvious that he was weighing whether to kill or spare him.
‘Push harder.’
Aion spoke once more.
“Someone must remain here. If this cabin is the place where the person you await—Dante—will return.”
At the end of that silence, Xien bared his sharp teeth.
A single fang was larger than Aion himself.
Thud—
Xien stepped back and spoke.
【……You are quite the smooth talker, for a mere trainee at such a miserable magic academy.】
The Great Spirit Xien slowly opened his mouth.
Fwoooosh—!
“Urgh?!”
An irresistible vortex wrapped around Aion’s body.
Whoooosh—!
He was crumpled like a sheet of paper and sucked out through the window.
“Ghk…!”
Suspended upside down in the air by the whirlwind, Aion could not move his body.
Under the moonlight, the creature’s true form was revealed.
A silver fox far larger than the cabin.
Its three tails drifted like mist, and its golden eyes gleamed arrogantly, as though they looked down upon the entire forest.
‘This is… Xien, the Great Spirit of Wind…!’
A presence more overwhelming than any creature he had ever seen.
An absolute gap in power; one he could never hope to bridge, no matter what he did.
The instinctive terror that he might be torn apart by those enormous claws without being able to do anything crawled up his spine.
Yet instead of swinging his claws, the mysterious fox brought his enormous snout right before Aion’s face.
【The day you die will not be today.】
“Hah… haaah….”
He could barely breathe.
The pressure felt as though it would crush his lungs.
【But it may be soon.】
Xien’s golden eyes pierced straight through Aion.
【…I will be watching you.】
With those words—
Shhhhh—
Like the wind that had whipped the fallen leaves suddenly dying down, the massive fox’s form scattered and vanished.
The force supporting him disappeared, and gravity seized Aion.
“Uh…?”
Thud!
“Urgh!”
Aion was unceremoniously slammed into the dirt before the cabin.
Had he not instinctively broken his fall, he would surely have been injured.
“Cough, cough….”
The taste of dirt lingered bitterly in his mouth.
Even now, the midnight encounter felt hazy, like a dream.
***
“……Ha.”
The next morning, Aion rubbed his dry face with hollow eyes.
He had not slept a wink all night.
No—he had not been able to.
“What was that…?”
A fox larger than a cabin had tried to take his life.
No matter how brutally he had lived in the North, he could hardly be expected to sleep soundly after that.
“At least it is the weekend starting today….”
Aion muttered as he rubbed his sore eyes.
【Flame: Tsk tsk. You look terrible. Still, that is understandable.】
【Earth: At least you survived. Forget some future disaster—you not dying last night was a stroke of incredible luck.】
The Terminuses comforted Aion in his mind.
They even praised him for handling himself remarkably well despite facing such a terrifying being.
【Water: You spoke quite well.】
【Flame: That was excellent improvisation. Hahahahaha!】
【Earth: So what are we going to do now, you old fools? That Calamity Beast Xien is living right outside the cabin, is he not!?】
【Flame: Why are you asking us? There is someone else who ought to answer that.】
Aion knew who that person was, too.
“…Old man Wind, do not think you can just let this pass.”
There was no reply.
“…If you do not intend to talk, I will just return to the dormitory.”
Then the voice he had been waiting for finally sounded.
【Wind: Wh…at… are you… curious… about?】
“I do not care about Calamity Beasts, Xien, or Great Spirits. Why did you bring me here?”
Unlike the long wait, the answer came at once.
【Wind: Thought… you would… get along….】
The other Terminuses immediately protested.
【Flame: Get along? With a Calamity Beast that was humanity’s enemy?】
【Earth: What a lovely dream! Why not just push the boy off a cliff right now?】
【Life: This was… reckless.】
The Terminuses caused such an uproar that Aion struggled to get a word in.
But there was one thing he absolutely needed to confirm.
“But what exactly are these Calamity Beasts and Great Spirits?”
【Water: You do not know Xien? …I see. Naturally, even I would not have known at this point in time.】
【Earth: Xien is the Great Spirit of Wind. Among spirits, he is called nobility among nobility. That fellow could shred an ordinary mage in an instant and toss the pieces into a stew.】
The more he heard, the less he understood.
‘Why did Old Man Wind… make me meet someone like that?’
【Flame: Hey, Arcana. Does talking about Xien bring about the catastrophe too?】
【Arcana: This case is somewhat ambiguous. Aion has already seen Xien and even spoken with him. It should be safe to speak now.】
【Earth: Why?】
A brief silence followed.
【Arcana: Because you have all already said, several times, that Xien will become a Calamity Beast.】
【Life: Ah….】
【Flame: Damn it.】
A heavy atmosphere pressed down inside Aion’s mind.
【Earth: Then I will put it plainly, brat. In the future, Xien will stand against humanity. He is a truly horrible nightmare of a creature.】
【Lightning: Heeheeheeheehee! He kills many! So very many!】
That brought him back to his original question.
【Flame: So why did he make Aion meet Xien now? The Great Spirit who became a Calamity Beast in every world….】
【Wind: No……t…rue.】
The Wind Terminus denied it.
【Wind: Xien… not… Calamity Beast….】
【Water: What do you mean?】
【Wind: Xien… Guardian Spirit….】
The Terminuses could not hide their bewilderment.
【Flame: That butcher Xien… stood on humanity’s side?】
【Earth: You rotten old man! Who do you think would believe such nonsense…!?】
【Wind: Xien… noble… I kn…ow… heard it….】
“You heard it? What? From whom?”
A name suddenly came to Aion’s mind, and he spoke it at once.
“Do not tell me… Dante?”
The silence stretched on.
The Wind Terminus said nothing more.
【Flame: Hah… What an irritating fellow. He says only what he wants to say, then vanishes.】
【Water: Xien as a Guardian Spirit… Frankly, it is difficult to believe.】
【Earth: Now you have only made things more complicated!】
Aion wanted to discuss the matter further, but Wind had fallen silent.
So he had no choice but to find something else to do.
“First… I should get moving. I have a lot to do.”
Early in the morning, Aion headed to the shops in the city and ordered materials.
Exion provided the funds, so he was able to procure a considerable quantity without issue.
“Let us begin.”
The materials arrived before afternoon, and Aion immediately changed into work clothes.
Bang!
Clang!
The sound of hammering shattered the silence of the forest.
Craaack—
He tore away rotten floorboards, laid new wood in their place, and drove in nails.
Before repairing the hole in the roof, he covered it with thick cloth as a temporary measure.
“Whew….”
After working for a while, beads of sweat formed across his brow.
The pain of labor seemed to help him forget, if only slightly, the fear of the previous night.
Then it happened.
Rumble—
Creak….
Thud!
From the entrance to the forest came the sound of something enormous being dragged closer.
It was not so much the sound of wheels rolling as it was a vibration that seemed to be plowing up the earth itself.
‘What is that? …Could it be a monster?’
Aion placed a hand on the dagger sheath at his waist and turned his head.
The moment the source of the sound emerged through the mist, he doubted his own eyes.
“……Huh?”
A wagon as large as a house.
It was piled with such an immense quantity of luggage that even two large oxen would have struggled to pull it.
And what was pulling that wagon was—
“……Arrived.”
One slender arm.
A girl with bluish hair, wearing a school uniform covered in dust.
As though she did this every day, she dragged the enormous wagon along with one hand.
Aion already knew who the girl was.
“……Leila?”
Aion’s mouth fell open.
That was strength far beyond ordinary limits.
‘They said Leila carried me out when I lost consciousness in the fire… So it was true.’
When he had first heard it, he had not believed that Leila possessed such monstrous strength.
But seeing it with his own eyes, he could not deny it.
When she spotted Aion, she lightly raised her free hand in greeting.
“Hello.”
“Why are you… here?”
As Aion asked in a daze, Leila set the wagon down instead of answering.
Thud—
She rummaged through the pile of luggage, then pulled out a crudely carved wooden nameplate.
Inscribed upon it was the name Leila Draconis.
Step, step.
Without hesitation, she walked to the building directly beside Aion’s cabin.
It was in slightly better condition, though it was still nothing more than a ruined house.
Tap.
She held the nameplate to the pillar beside its door.
Then—
Knock.
Crack!
With a single light strike, the nameplate was embedded halfway into the pillar.
The meaning of that absurd act was obvious.
“……?”
Aion looked back and forth between the nameplate, Leila, and the wagon behind her.
Before he could even ask a question—
“I am going to live here.”
Leila declared it with a face that shone despite being covered in dust.
He could not understand.
Why would she leave behind a dormitory equipped with every comfort to come all the way to a ruined house like this?
‘Then again… I did the same thing….’
Still, his situation and Leila’s were different.
He had a reason of his own, one that the Wind Terminus had led him toward.
He had to stop her immediately.
“Aion Iskar. I heard that you live here.”
Before he could say anything, Leila spoke first.
“…So?”
Nod.
Leila nodded as though it were obvious.
Her eyes met Aion’s directly.
“I am going to live here. Leila Draconis.”