Teach me, Master D! Part 3

D "Arrived as requested, Teach D."

Slap!

Ming "Ah? Ah ah! What a skillful trick—cutting off a head so neatly! Could be a staple performance at banquets, couldn't it?"

D "I'll pass on that. It hurts."

Ming "If you can speak with just a head, the body's unnecessary, isn't it? Yes, mince it—"

D "Ah… My beautiful form, now seen only as a corpse, unobscured by mosaic."

Ming "This composure, even with just a head… it's infuriating."

D "I am immortal. I do not die."

Ming "As a temporary punishment, you'll remain a head until this segment ends. Understood? Good?"

D "Such a violent act…"

Ming "I. I. D. E. A. S.?"

D "Yes, Ma'am."

Ming "Very well."

D "To reiterate—this is the third installment of Teach D’s Time. I'm a head now, so my energy is slightly lower than usual."

Ming: "Of course. Otherwise, there would be no punishment."

D: "Hm. No way. My ultimate form left in such a wretched state? No way."

Ming: "Just move forward."

D: "Yes, yes. Well, even as a severed head, my beauty remains intact. Camera, please frame from the neck down."

Ming: "There is no camera. Stop stalling—I’ll step on you."

D: "Then, regaining my composure, I’ll proceed. This time, I’ll give a brief overview of the past arc. In short, it’s all Potimas’s fault. That’s the entirety of it."

Ming: "Blunt to the point of absurdity."

D "But that is precisely the case. The setting of the past arc is the same star, long before the main story. At that time, the civilization was slightly more advanced than current Earth. That alone would not differ greatly from Earth, but there are two key distinctions. The existence of the fallen angel Syriellis, and the presence of dragons."

Ming: "So gods are nearby."

D "That is correct. However, only a select few humans know Syriellis is divine, and the dragons remain hidden to avoid provoking Syriellis. Thus, their influence is negligible. The situation is perhaps closest to Earth with a real Ojira present."

Ming: "Still feels slightly different."

D "Well, I can't quite explain it, but there's definitely a creature of extreme power. That's the gist. Dragons are unbeatable by humans. They're docile if left alone. But provoke them, and things get bad. That's the general understanding. But no one really knows they're divine or from space. Maybe some believers caught vague hints."

Ming "Was it the Dragon God Sect?"

D "Yes. Probably spread in secret, using Sariel's blind spot, to implant the idea that dragons are supreme in people's minds. Gullible folk fell for it completely."

Ming "From a human perspective, dragons are clearly superior. So gathering belief around them isn't surprising."

D "Belief leads to more than offerings—entire fortunes vanish. Pgyaa."

Ming "Don't say 'Pgyaa' with a straight face. It's honestly creepy."

D "What kind of nonsense is calling this exquisitely beautiful young maiden’s severed head creepy!"

Ming "It’s creepy just being a severed head."

D "Hiccup hiccup"

Ming (Annoying)

D "Anyway, let’s leave the dragon at that. The one who took interest in the dragon’s mysterious power—well, you know who that is. Potimas Haifenas. Driven by his desperate desire not to die, he pursues the study of eternal life. Naturally, he achieves no success. Yet he refuses to give up. He turns his attention to the magic used by dragons. Boldly, he abducts a dragon’s child. He begins analyzing it."

Ming "That incident was the catalyst for Sariel and Gurye meeting."

D "Yes. Gurye, the young dragon. And Sariel, guardian of humanity. The two encounter each other. At first, they are at odds—more precisely, Gurye is constantly picking fights. But somehow, without notice, it shifts into a reluctant intimacy."

冥「It was mostly one-sided from Gurye, though.」

Ｄ「You shouldn’t say that. Anyway, while the two of them remained stuck in their stalemate, Potimas continued his research into magic. He discovered an invisible force—MA energy. The true nature of this energy was the life force of stars. Using it would cause a star to decay, eventually leading to its collapse—a dangerous energy. Yet he revealed its existence to the world, despite knowing this. Because MA energy could evolve humanity. Evolved humans would possess enhanced physical capabilities and extended lifespans. Yes—this was the faintest glimpse of what Potimas sought: eternal life, in its truest form.」

冥「Still, it wasn’t true immortality. So it remained far from what Potimas desired.」

D "Yes. Therefore, Potimas had to pursue further research. However, he was exposed after repeated inhumane human experiments and placed under international warrant. His research required vast funds and proper facilities. To obtain these, he had no choice but to accept aid from various nations. Thus, he announced MA energy—a revolutionary new power source—and secretly solicited support from multiple countries, concealing its problematic aspects."

冥 "Unscrupulous. How utterly unscrupulous."

D "Perhaps announcing humanity's evolutionary path was not merely to capture the hearts of the wealthy, but also had clinical experimental intent."

冥 "Indeed. He earns the title 'Potikuz' with merit."

D "And here, the dragon does not remain silent. The dragon, of course, knows the truth of MA energy, and immediately advised humanity to cease its use. But humanity refused. As a result, the dragon initiated the extermination of humanity."

Ming "That sounds like the dragon."

D "Indeed. They look down on other life forms. They must have seen it as pest control. Irony, given they are the pests of the universe themselves."

Ming "You're drifting off-topic."

D "Ah. Right. Let's return. Humanity had no means to resist the dragon, suffered heavy casualties, but then our goddess, Salier, rises. She saves humanity from the dragon's grasp. Hoo, that's cool."

Ming "Eeeh."

D "The humans are at fault for recklessly consuming the star's Life. From Salier's position—charged with protecting the star—her actions are undeniably controversial. Objectively, her intervention complicated the situation. But from humanity's perspective, she was undeniably a savior. Without Salier, humanity might have gone extinct."

Ming "Indeed. From each standpoint, her actions appear entirely different."

D "To humans, she is a savior. To the dragon, she is an inexcusable bug—protecting pests. The dragon likely found her behavior utterly intolerable. A fitting outcome."

Ming "She might have been endearing if she had simply accepted it and cried herself to sleep."

D "Expecting such a thing from them is pointless. Yes, the dragon did exactly that. Stole the remaining MA energy and fled into space—something utterly unthinkable! He stole something utterly unthinkable."

Ming "You just wanted to say that, didn’t you?"

D "He really did steal something utterly unthinkable. Now the stars begin their countdown to collapse. To stop it, the lost energy must be replenished. One method proposed was sacrificing Seriel as an offering. And who suggested that method? You know who—Potimas. Moreover, this plan was never meant to succeed. The energy from Seriel’s dissection was meant to be stolen by Potimas."

Ming "Unforgivable."

D "A race that chose to repay its savior with betrayal. At that moment, the goddess of salvation appeared! That is me!"

冥「Salvation… (laughing). Yes. I know, I know.」

Ｄ「That’s not true at all. I did prepare a proper path to salvation. The current situation is mostly due to Potimas.」

冥「It’s troubling that you’re not entirely wrong.」

Ｄ「I arrived in grand fashion. I promised to prolong the lives of the stars and of Salier. I activated the system using Salier as its core. This system recovers the spiritual energy of living beings after death and uses it to replenish the MA energy lost. Moreover, it’s designed kindly—those who die may be reborn into the same star repeatedly.」

冥「Kindness… what exactly is that…」

Ｄ「Spiritual energy increases through combat. Thus, the people of that world continue fighting. Until their debts are fully repaid.」

冥「That sounds like gladiator slaves.」

Ｄ「Similar enough. And this concludes the rough outline of the past arc.」

冥「Wait a moment. You're omitting something crucial.」

Ｄ「What is it?」

冥「Why do you think you're currently headless? It's because of him—Potimas Haifenas. You deliberately spared him. If you hadn't said those strange things to Gurye, Gurye could have killed Potimas swiftly and saved that star more efficiently. Why did you do that?」

Ｄ「Eh? But that would have been more interesting, wouldn't it—

*Snap!*

冥「Then, that concludes today's session. Farewell.」