Western Liberators
Aaah... First class? This is basically heaven!
They even provide fluffy slippers and massage chairs?!
Look at this! There's a folding table right here too!
You can adjust the seats however you like. Want to play cards together until we get there?
Yeah! Omega loves card games!
With you...? No way!
I always lose when I play cards with you... You memorize every single card mid-game!
Hmm... then Omega won't memorize three out of every ten!
You two. I told you we're not going on an outing, didn't I?
We're traveling for the [Void trial], in case you've forgotten.
How about taking this a little more seriously?
Aw, don't be such a bore. You don't get chances like this every day!
Enjoy it while you can, or you'll regret it. When are we ever going to ride a train like this again?
Luna. No sense of urgency.
Asking whether you've ever questioned why Polaris would provide [first-class train tickets] in the first place.
Hm? Yeah, now that I think about it. They usually book us standard tickets...
What's gotten into them, springing for pricey first-class this time?
It's because this train is a special service.
A special service?
Ours is the only passenger car on this train.
The rest are cargo cars.
Huh? So we rented the whole train ourselves?
It's not that. It's because ordinary travelers can't go to the West right now.
There are trains coming out of the West, but no one's trying to head in like us.
A disaster alert is currently in effect across the entire West.
This is a special train transporting relief supplies from NOA to the West.
Every other means of transport into the West is temporarily suspended.
The first-class accommodations are a form of compensation for us, since we're headed into harsh terrain no one else wishes to enter.
Ehh?! Seriously? Why are you only telling me now?!
Lisa told us before we left. Assessed to be Luna's fault for rushing in ahead to check out the first-class car.
Uuh... no wonder I barely saw any crew members...
...
But that doesn't change anything! We should enjoy it while we can!
It's not like we can turn back now anyway, right?
Since it's come to this, we might as well make use of every service they've got!
Give Omega everything, please!
Whoa! There's even ice cream in the freezer here!
Huh?! It's Kalaid's famous eternal snow ice cream! Anyone want some?
Me!
...! Me...!
*Sigh...*
Well, maybe this beats being too tense.
And so, the usual lively chatter continued as we enjoyed the first-class experience.
Then I noticed the scenery outside the window was slowly turning red.
Are we almost there...?
It was just as I leaned my face toward the window to get a better look.
?!
Wh-what's going on?
Huh? Cube?
With a sudden flash from the Star Piercer, Cube appeared.
Huh?! You scared me! What is it?
Emergency alert. Emergency alert.
Issuing warning to user with system administrator privileges.
An [unidentified spacetime discontinuity] has been detected ahead along the current route.
Recommendation. Avoid the area until this system completes a full analysis of the phenomenon.
Spacetime... what?
Spacetime discontinuity...? You mean space isn't continuous...?
Insufficient time to simplify terminology to the speaker's level of comprehension.
Immediate retreat is strongly recommended.
Immediate retreat...?
You're saying stop the train? What in the world is up ahead?
Calculating time until projected encounter...
Ten...
Ten minutes?
...Nine, eight, seven...
It was seconds?!
Brace for impact.
AAAAAAAGH!!
Ngh...! Emergency braking... Risk of derailment!
Gah... Everyone! Hold on tight so you don't get thrown around!
Whoaaaa!!
The whole car shook wildly, and anything not fastened down went flying in every direction.
Every lavish ornament went flying, turning the place into a complete mess.
The train suddenly lurched to the side with a violent jolt.
Derailment confirmed...! The wheels have left the tracks...!
Let's get out!
You want us to jump off a moving train?
Is there another way?
There isn't, but... ugh, there just isn't...
There's no time. We have to decide now!
We have no choice! Let's jump now!
If the train rolls over, we're finished.
Just as we were running toward the door...
The train tore apart, splitting me and Asherah from Luna, Smile, and Omega.
No, to be precise, it wasn't only the train...
The space between us tore open, forming a rift.
Wh-what is this...?!
Beyond it lay a vast expanse that looked like outer space.
Discontinuity...! Don't tell me this is...!
The instant I reached out toward the others on the far side of the rift...
A brilliant light burst from the rift, flooding everyone's vision with white.
...I don't remember much after that.
Urgh...
C-Captain... are you okay?
Taking Asherah's hand, I got to my feet and looked around. Endless red earth stretched before us.
A coppery scent drifted in with the dust carried on the wind.
Leafless trees stood barely upright upon the twisted earth. Withered branches reached into the empty sky.
A landscape where death had taken root, the likes of which I'd never seen in NOA or the Duchy of Monastir, greeted us.
Luna! Smile! Omega!
Can you hear me? Answer if you can!
Asherah called out across the desolate landscape, but no answer came.
We split up and searched the area, but found no trace of the members, nor of the train we'd ridden in on.
...They have to be... somewhere around here...
I remembered how the very space between us had cracked open, as if torn apart, before I lost consciousness.
An [unidentified spacetime discontinuity] has been detected ahead along the current route.
Recommendation. Avoid the area until this system completes a full analysis of the phenomenon.
Spacetime discontinuity...? You mean space isn't continuous...?
I tapped the Star Piercer and called for the Cube Palace, but there was no response.
Maybe the shock from the fall earlier knocked it out for a bit...?
But what about Luna, Smile, and Omega...?
That doesn't make sense, though. The tracks from the train we came in on are still right here.
Though the train... is nowhere in sight.
Will these tracks lead to Raven Wall...?
The tracks stretched toward the horizon, disappearing into the distance.
I didn't know how far we'd have to walk, but for now, there didn't seem to be any other option.
For now, that's all we can do.
And so Asherah and I walked for a long while toward where the dust was coming from.
Everywhere we go, it's nothing but red.
I heard the Void Core in the West is buried deep underground. The Void aura from it is what turned the land and plants into this.
That's why they say Voidborns are likely to appear here—
C-Captain. I wasn't the only one who heard that just now, right?
I'm hearing something besides Voidborns. I think I hear people...
Could it be someone's fighting Voidborns?
Captain!
Got it. Let's head toward where the sound came from!
Yeah!
Don't lower your shields! We have to keep the airborne Voidborns focused on us so the main force can advance!
Focus fire! Take down the big ones first!
People are fighting... Voidborns?
Ah...! Captain, look over there!
There's a girl surrounded by Voidborns. We have to save her—
C-Captain?
Before Asherah could even finish, I dashed toward the girl surrounded by Voidborns.
There was no time to hesitate. I swung my sword and cut through the Voidborns. I forced my way in to rescue the girl.
The girl's lips parted in confusion watching me, as if she hadn't expected this.
...And then she whispered.
She whispered something I hadn't expected in the slightest.
Ahh...
I went to all the trouble of preparing such a lovely feast, and someone had to barge in?
Right after that, a flurry of pure white slashes swept through the area.
Deputy Commander Lydia. I believe I told you to take combat seriously.
Oh please, Commander Ceres. Surely you don't mean to say this situation is my fault?
I'm the one in a bind, thanks to that interruption out of nowhere.
I-interruption?
I went to all that trouble luring them in for one big strike... and you're the ones who nearly got caught in it, you know?
You there. What were you thinking, cutting in mid-battle?
C-cutting in? We saw you all fighting and tried to help—
There's plenty I want to ask, but dealing with the Voidborns takes priority.
Lydia. The flanks are yours. Deploy both wings and cut off the enemy's retreat.
As for the front...
I'll handle it.
So these people are...
The Western Liberators...