Sky Wizards Division, Division Head Office
At this moment, in the office, Freon was seated at her desk, her expression serious.
In front of her, the members of Special Unit S128 were once again gathered, lined up neatly before her.
However, the members of Special Unit S128 each had different expressions.
Chloe had a troubled look on her face.
Kanata seemed to be deep in thought.
Yuri, on the other hand, stood there absent-mindedly, seemingly distracted.
In such a situation, Freon was the first to speak.
"I didn't expect it, but the decision to suddenly hold the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival really came out of nowhere."
The reason Freon had summoned the members of Special Unit S128 was to discuss the notification that all the academy floating cities had received from Vebel.
"By unanimous decision of the Floating City Alliance, this year's Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival will be reinstated. Each academy floating city is to select a representative team to participate in the competition in Vebel at a later date. The winning team will receive a personal audience with His Holiness the Pope, who will reveal to them the true origins of the world..."
Freon rubbed her temples.
"I imagine all the academy floating cities are already in an uproar over this?"
Freon certainly thought so.
And not just Freon; everyone present shared this sentiment.
It couldn't be helped. This decision was rather suspicious.
"Why was it suddenly decided to hold the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival?"
Chloe was baffled.
—Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival.
It was once the ultimate showdown held in Vebel among the academy floating cities.
To select the elite among elites from the scattered academy floating cities around the world, Vebel used to host this event, where the representative teams from each academy floating city would compete against each other for supremacy.
The event originally existed to stimulate the competitive spirit among the Sky Wizards of the academy floating cities, promoting human advancement through rivalry.
However, the event had been suspended for several years.
Due to the increasing threat of Armored Beetles, the situation had become unstable in recent years, leading to the suspension of this event by decision of the Floating City Alliance.
After all, to participate in the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival, the representative teams of the academy floating cities would have to leave the safety of their cities, embarking on a long and potentially perilous journey to Vebel. In an unstable situation, it wouldn't be surprising if these teams were attacked by Armored Beetles en route to Vebel.
Thus, the event had been discontinued for several years.
Yet now, it seemed preparations were underway to host it again this year.
"Even though the situation remains unstable and is worsening, they're planning to hold it again?"
Chloe furrowed her brow.
It had indeed been a tumultuous few years.
For instance, just over two years ago, the frontline fortress floating city was invaded by a massive Armored Beetle army, leading to the urgent summoning of experts from various academy floating cities, including Rozen, to provide support.
Although Rozen managed to avert the crisis and secure the front lines, Armored Beetles continued to launch smaller invasions, causing ongoing crises for various floating cities.
Even Mistgun had been nearly overwhelmed by the invasion of Shinjuku [2] not long ago.
Given all this, the situation remained precarious, making the decision to hold the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival all the more baffling.
What made it even more puzzling was...
"Although I'm quite interested in the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival, and would love the chance to compete against top experts from other academy floating cities, this time the event seems to have an eerie vibe."
Kanata frankly expressed his thoughts.
"For instance, the part about His Holiness the Pope personally receiving the winning team — that's something that's never happened in any previous Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival, right?"
Indeed.
For humanity, the Pope was a supreme figure. It wasn't just some student Sky Wizards who hadn't met the Pope; even the members of the Floating City Alliance council had never seen him.
It was said that the Pope had been living in seclusion for many years, rarely making public appearances. Even within the Floating City Alliance, few had ever seen the Pope; currently, only one Speaker had the privilege of meeting him, while the rest, including the current council president, did not.
Now, the Pope suddenly announced that he would receive the winners of the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival. This was anything but ordinary.
What made it even more suspicious was...
"What exactly does 'revealing the true origins of the world' to the winners mean?"
Kanata's words hit the most intriguing point directly.
"The true origins of the world...?"
Chloe mused.
"That indeed is a very strange phrase."
Freon seemed to have been dwelling on this point as well.
When it came to the true origins of the world, what came to mind for everyone was the mysterious history behind the war between humanity and the Armored Beetles.
After all, to this day, people still didn't know where the Armored Beetles came from, how they appeared, or why they suddenly arrived in this world and began massacring humans. These mysteries remained unsolved.
All that was known was that the Armored Beetles first appeared roughly four centuries ago, around 400 years ago, without any prior warning. They suddenly emerged in this world and launched a massive onslaught against humanity, forcing mankind to abandon the earth and flee to the skies.
But the detailed history before that period was nearly unknown; it was all shrouded in mystery.
Many had tried to uncover the secrets of this history, but all had failed.
Assuming anyone knew the truth, it might well be the Pope's lineage, who led humanity in resisting the Armored Beetles and uniting them in the aftermath. It was possible they had preserved some hidden knowledge passed down to the present day.
Now, the Pope seemed ready to reveal these secrets.
However, it appeared he only intended to disclose these secrets to the winner of the *Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival*, rather than announcing them to the world, which was yet another baffling decision.
"This so-called Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival doesn't seem simple."
Kanata could only conclude this.
"..."
Chloe and Freon fell into deep thought.
After a moment, Freon spoke again.
"No matter what, since it's the decision of the Floating City Alliance, we have no choice but to comply, select a representative team, and participate in the competition."
Whatever the case, it seemed inevitable that they would have to go through with this.
"You called us here because you want us to be the representative team and participate in the competition?"
Kanata, showing considerable enthusiasm, seemed eager to take part.
"But if we leave, the defensive forces of Mistgun will be a bit concerning."
Chloe was more concerned about this.
"..."
Yuri, however, remained in a daze, still seemingly out of it.
The group continued their lively discussion until, after a while, they noticed Yuri's unusual state.
"Yuri?"
Chloe called out in surprise.
Unfortunately, Yuri still didn't respond.
Seeing this, the others exchanged glances.