Holy White Fired – Part 01

When Granryuk and Yoshino returned to the Man Gnome village, they were quickly found by fellow villagers, detained, and put into house arrest. This house arrest was just a nice way of saying they were thrown into a punishment cell, a cave at the village’s edge usually reserved for troublemakers.

They’d tried to report their findings, but their requests were denied. Five long days passed, and they still had no clue about the tower in the village center. Finally, they were released and summoned by one of the elders.

The meeting was held at the elder’s home. The Distant Girdle stood guard beside the elder, with four more stationed outside, making it clear there was no chance of escape.

“What you two did was completely against the rules of our village,” the elder said sternly, arms crossed. She was the third most powerful among the seven village elders, of which four were women, including the Grand Elder and herself.

Granryuk, standing across the table, shot a glance at Yoshino beside him. “Yoshino did nothing wrong. It was all my idea. I dragged her into it.”

“Oh, trying to play the hero now, are we?” Yoshino scoffed.

“If someone needs to be punished, let it be me. But at least let me make my report first.”

“Hey, Rikido! I went out there of my own volition too!”

“Silence. You’re both too loud,” the elder interrupted, her expression hardening further. “When did you two get so intimate? You can’t hide something like that in a small village like ours.”

“It’s not like that,” Granryuk protested. “I don’t have any strange feelings for Yoshino. She’s so obsessed with her research she doesn’t even bother taking baths.”

“What did you say?! I don’t want to hear that from a child who insists on being called Granryuk when he’s already got a name.”

“Granryuk sounds cool!”

“Look in the mirror! You’re definitely a Rikido!”

“I said quiet!” the elder barked, banging the table. Finally, the two fell silent.

“Well… I don’t care about your relationship right now. What’s your report?”

Granryuk and Yoshino exchanged glances.

“A-Are you sure?” Granryuk asked.

“I’m the one telling you to do it. Of course, I’m sure.”

Granryuk swallowed his frustration over the fact that they’d been ignored for the past five days.

“Understood. Yoshino, show her.”

Yoshino nodded, pulling some documents from her bag.

“What are these?” the elder asked.

“They’re documents from someone in the Saak family. We found them in the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas.”

The elder raised an eyebrow. “So you didn’t just leave the village for a vacation.”

The Distant Girdle took the documents and began examining them.

“And? I hear the Great Labyrinth has surfaced?” she asked, clearly already informed.

“Yes,” Yoshino said. “The Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas is moving north, heading toward our village.”

“Hmm, I thought so.”

“You thought so?”

“You saw the large tower in the center of the village, didn’t you?”

Granryuk and Yoshino nodded.

“We kept you in the punishment cell for five days to ensure that tower—the Starwhite Wedge—was functioning properly. If you two were spies for the Saak family, the information could have leaked. We also didn’t know how you activated the Black Wedge Gate.”

“A-A spy? That’s preposterous.” Granryuk stammered, flustered at the accusation.

Meanwhile, Yoshino was lost in thought.

The elder didn’t know how Yoshino had activated the Black Wedge Gate. She was unaware of the Tally hidden in the research lab. Yoshino had known that only the lab director and a select few staff members were aware of it, but she hadn’t expected even the elder to be in the dark.

Yoshino felt relieved that she’d kept the Tally hidden. If the elder had known, she might have faced the wrath of the director, a man as fierce as an ogre. Being beaten would have been the least of her worries; she might have been banned from research altogether. For someone like Yoshino, who was so obsessed with her work that she often neglected even basic hygiene, that would have been unbearable.

“Third Elder, what exactly is the Starwhite Wedge? Even I, a member of Ultimate Mirk, have never heard of it.”

“Of course you haven’t. Only the director and a few of the elders are privy to that information.”

I see, Yoshino thought. Just as the director had hidden the Tally, the elders had kept the Starwhite Wedge a closely guarded secret.

“The Starwhite Wedge is a weapon, one that harnesses souls. It’s our trump card against the Saak family.”

“A weapon?!”

“Do you want to see it?”

“A-Are you serious?”

“It’s fine now. Now that we know it’s operational, it wouldn’t matter even if you were spies. The Man Gnomes’ victory is certain. The Great Labyrinth moving towards us is actually to our advantage.”

The confidence in her voice sent a shiver down Yoshino’s spine.

They haven’t seen the Great Labyrinth, that massive floating island, with their own eyes, she thought. That’s why they can afford to be this confident. But there was something more in the Third Elder’s tone.

The elder stood up. “Come with me. It’s about to begin.”

“About to begin? What is?”

“You’ll see.”

Despite her advanced age—well over 200 years old—the elder’s steps were firm.

As they left the elder’s house, the cool night air brushed against Yoshino’s cheeks. The temperature in the Man Gnome village was usually stable since it was enclosed, but tonight was different.

“Wow.”

Night had already fallen.

In the Man Gnome village, they didn’t rely on magic for light. Their only source was fire. Despite the late hour, Man Gnomes were bustling about with lamps. The closer they got to the village center, the more crowded it became. If it weren’t for the elder’s presence, navigating the throngs would have been nearly impossible.

A towering structure loomed ahead. It pierced through the dome ceiling of the Man Gnome village, extending out into the open air.

The night sky was shrouded in dark clouds, hiding the stars and the moon, but the chill seeping through the open hole was unmistakable. Yoshino shivered.

“Third Elder, you’re here,” someone called.

Waiting for them were the other elders, including the Grand Elder. The lamplight cast eerie shadows on their ancient faces.

“Yoshino brought back something quite interesting. A record from the Saak family.”

“Did she now? Perhaps we’ll find it amusing to read after this is all over,” the Grand Elder mused. “Going through the records of the fallen Saak family could be a delightful pastime in our old age.”

The other elders laughed.

What’s going on? Why are they so confident?

The conflict between the Man Gnomes and the Saak family spanned a long, long time. The Man Gnomes had suffered greatly and had never underestimated their enemies. But seeing the elders so optimistic now, Yoshino wondered if they had grown complacent during the peace that followed Soaarunay’s death in an accident, an accident that eventually led her to drift through space and time to reach Ayano Sasakura in Japan.

Noticing Yoshino’s confusion, the Third Elder smiled.

“Don’t worry. The only reason we couldn’t use the Starwhite Wedge before was because we couldn’t pinpoint the location of the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas. But once you witness its power, you’ll change your mind.”

Yoshino swallowed hard. Was it really that powerful?

“Has the Starwhite Wedge been here all along?” she asked.

“It has,” the Third Elder confirmed, pointing to the ground. “It’s been sleeping.”

It had been buried deep underground. With the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas surfacing, its location had become clear, and the weapon was finally activated.

Very thorough.

The Starwhite Wedge had likely been hidden for ages, known only to a select few Man Gnomes, those who would never leave the village. Otherwise, the Saak family might have discovered its existence. Had they known, they would have gone to even greater lengths to conceal the dungeon, ensuring it never surfaced. They certainly wouldn’t approach the village so recklessly.

Soaarunay had somehow found the Man Gnome village and was preparing to strike first. But the elders saw this as an opportunity and prepared a counterattack. They were perfectly ready.

“The time has come.”

The Grand Elder gazed up at the tower. High above, a hand reached out from a window, holding a lantern that was being spun in slow, deliberate circles. A clear signal.

Yoshino noticed the hand seemed unusually large. She wondered if the director might be up there.

“Return the signal. Give the order,” the Grand Elder commanded.

A civil official, an Attending Awl, nodded and lifted his lantern. Seven other Awls positioned in a distant square moved into action. They had been standing in a cross formation but now spread out in a circle.

The hand withdrew into the tower, and a moment later, Yoshino felt a strange prickling on her skin, like static electricity. Then came a pull, as if the tower itself was drawing her in, tugging at her very being. There was no wind blowing to explain it. The silence was palpable.

Hundreds of Man Gnomes stood in complete stillness. Some, like Yoshino, seemed to feel that same pull, hugging themselves with unease. Younger Man Gnomes, the Bees, clung to adults, while Renka, Raiga’s daughter, stood alone, looking anxious. Her father, a member of Distant Girdle, was out on guard duty.

Yoshino was seeing the Starwhite Wedge for the first time. Since it was a means for the Man Gnomes to fight the Saak family, it most certainly did not use magical energy. It was a weapon that harnessed souls.

She had never imagined souls could be used to attack. The Ultimate Mirk had reasoned that souls were the essence of life, the core of this world. How could they be weaponized?

“It’s starting,” Granryuk murmured.

Indeed, it was.

The Man Gnomes were about to launch their assault on the Saak family. On the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas.

In the next instant, a blinding white light consumed Yoshino’s vision.