Volume 1, Prologue: The Night Sky and a Visitor

In the present

We are far enough ahead

To look back

Point Allocation (Surprisingly Exciting)

A ship traveled through the night sky.

The giant white form was positioned well above the southern coast as it traveled slowly through the moonlight.

It was comprised of 8 individual ships. They were arranged with two ships lined up in the center with the rest positioned on either side like two longer hulls.

Each ship was more than 8km long and had a city on top.

The twin bows of that dual-hulled aerial city ship bore the name Musashi in black lettering.

The Musashi’s great form was currently sliding sideways out to ocean, port side first.

The vast shadow produced by the moonlight was cast across the coastal land and the bluish-black ocean.

Some light appeared in the sky as if in response.

These lights were located well out to sea in the direction the Musashi was sliding, but they were not artificial.

This was ether light. That bluish-white light came from the ether produced when a spell or spirit was manifested. Several of them were currently lined up as if to block the Musashi’s path.

However, the giant ship approached regardless.

The ether lights toward the center reacted. They drew an arc as if to greet the approaching ship and they began to reveal their forms.

They were ships.

Some were 30m long and others were more than 100m, but every single one of them shared a certain trait in common.

They were rotting away.

This was a fleet of what could only be called ghost ships made from ether.

A countless number of ether light ships half-surrounded the Musashi at a distance. The Musashi approached them as if coming up alongside them.

Several people could be seen on the port edge of the Musashi’s decks.

There were students, shrine maidens, Buddhist practitioners, and more – all wearing anti-ghost equipment and wielding weapons wrapped in faint ether light.

Someone moved to the front of the group.

The girl had long black hair and she wore the shirt of a boys summer uniform and the tights of a girls uniform. She pushed up the slipping armband saying Vice President Honda Masazumi.

“Judge. In response to a request from the Oushuu reservations down on the surface, Musashi Ariadust Academy will now perform a largescale purification of this region of sea. The mysterious phenomenon in question has already shown itself and we cannot deny the possibility that this will require combat. Thus…”

She swung her right hand to the side.

“Everyone, perform your final gear check. We will begin on my signal.”

…On my signal, huh?

How courageous of me, thought Vice President Honda Masazumi while sweating on the inside.

Because…

…This is my first time actually taking command. I hope I can manage it.

Purifying ghosts fixed to a certain coast or airspace was one of the most common requests sent to them by Far Eastern reservations.

With the world’s nations holding a provisional rule over the entire Far East, the reservations could not engage in combat on their own authority. They lacked the power to purify a largescale mysterious phenomenon.

But in this Warring States period, the academies with provisional rule over the reservations did not have the strength to spare for guarding and preserving the peace in those reservations. In the end, the Musashi would end up doing it as a Far Eastern representative. But…

Asama: “Generally, purifying them will keep them away for 5 or 6 years, but quite a lot of them have cropped up in the past two years. Maybe because of the Apocalypse.”

Next to Masazumi, Asama was dressed in her shrine maiden outfit to signify she was here as the Asama Shrine Representative. She sighed while opening a sign frame in midair. This was a public work performed in the public eye. Her fingers raced across the sign frame keyboard to communicate via writing.

Seeing that, Masazumi opened a sign frame of her own.

The Mouse on her shoulder, an anteater named Tsukinowa, held it up for her to see.

Vice President: “I feel bad saying this after summoning you all here, but this is my first time commanding a purification. Besides, did we even do this last year? With the Oushuu clans – especially the southern region and Kunohe – I thought we got the individual trading done at Mito.”