The Valkyrie's head went blank. She wasn't overwhelmed by anger or surprise—— She has been trained to discard all unnecessary thoughts to focus better on saving the lives of the people in front of her. It's weak, but she still has a pulse. I might be able to save her. The tactical oxygen and anesthesia kits I was carrying with me came in handy. All that's left is a blood transfusion. But before that I need to test her blood type. ——The Valkyrie relentlessly ran under the night sky. (Come on, her blood type! Tell me her blood type already, test strip!) (Rita or me would be fine, please just tell me one of us is compatible!) (There is no one else but us who can withstand a blood transfusion for heart surgery.) (Please, hurry! Even if there is a 1 in a 100 chance of saving her, please tell me!） (Please, test strip—— Turn teal!) ..... The Valkyrie let out a long exhale and her knees hit the floor of the ship's deck. The blood test strip displayed a brown color. 3 minutes passed. No change. 6 minutes passed. The result still refuses to change—— ——Type O. Type A and B are blood types that cause agglutination. A person with type O can only accept blood from a type O donor. ...And unfortunately, neither Rita nor her are compatible with that blood type. This small blood test strip proved performing surgery will be impossible. The young Valkyrie realized that other than using Abyss Flower, the Divine Key stored in HQ far away—— ——There is no way she or anyone else from the Caledonia could save Eikenal's life. The only thing the young Valkyrie could do for her... was to prepare a funeral. ...As requested by Tazumal-sama, I will proceed to read the 「last oracle」 of Eikenal-sama. 「God told me the 13th Baktun is the beginning of a new era.」 「On the last day of the 12th Baktun, the world of God and man shall be completely separated.」 「God will never bless you again. God will never curse you again. The future will be left to the natural cycle and order.」 「But before that, God demanded that a truly pure avatar living in this world, were to come to live in his world.」 「Everyone, who I love from the bottom of my heart, please do not be angry, sad or jealous——」 「Ix Tab-sama has told me: By separating Heaven from Earth, our world will one day will be able to be as splendid and bright as Heaven.」 「In the new era, through hard work anyone will be able to create miracles on par with God.」 ..... The purest avatar of God has left this world and gone to the other side. Come on, let's go. I feel like... she pulled a fast one on us. ...How ourselves feel about this doesn't really matter. ...At the very least, it seems the rest of the village is willing to earnestly go along with her 「oracle」. There might had been a better way to end this but... we can't turn back in time. ..... I agree. Let's get going. We're going South, to the 「Federation」. ...Maybe we'll be able to do something for her and this village. T-The 「Nakom」-sama is here!! We must inform Cauac-sama the 「Nakom」-sama is here immediately! ...What's up with these guys? Aren't they supposed to be a garrison from the Federation's army? Why are they running away? ...You must have left quite the impression on them yesterday. Well, that works on our favor. Looking at how they're panicking tells me they won't put up much resistance. Time to act like a pirate, Valkyrie. ...? It's fine, most of the work is done already. It'll be easy. They're so afraid that just 「being direct」 will be enough. I am sorry to have made you wait, 「Nakom」-sama. Welcome to Tuluum Fort. I am Cauac, the person in charge of this place. I have heard warriors of the 「Federation」 were disrespectful towards you the other day. Please allow me to sincerely apologize on their behalf. Huh? What was that? I can't believe what I am hearing... Can you say it again? The other day, us, the 「Federation」, were disrespectful. I sincerely apologize. ..... Quite the sudden change of attitude, don't you think? You people sure were acting all high and mighty back in 「El Rey」. Please forgive us. You are a 「Nakom」-sama. No member of the Federation is allowed to be disrespectful towards a 「Nakom」. ...What's this 「Nakom」 thing? Why I am a 「Nakom」? 「Nakom」 means 「Super Human」. They are heroes who stand far above the average person, and who are loyal to this land and not to God in Heaven. 「The path to become a Super Human can be traversed by anyone. However, until you reach that level, you must display the utmost respect towards those who already are Super Human.」 「They are the sea, and you are a grain of sand. No matter how much a grand of sand struggles, they will always be buried by the tide.」 We follow the teachings of the High Priestess, please do not misunderstand us and think we only show this level of respect to you. I deeply apologize if we ever have offended you. ..... Then, if I tell you to leave 「El Rey」 alone, will you do it? Yes. As long as the High Priestess doesn't oppose to your orders, we will treat your words as law. If you wish, from now on 「El Rey」 will be treated as an independent nation. ..... Very well. Then I don't mind being a 「Nakom」. Are my companions and the Captain also considered 「Nakom」? Yes. It is clear they all posses enormous prestige and power. Then that makes things easier. This 「Nakom」 wants you to arrange a meeting—— Between me, my companions and your 「High Priestess」. Will that be possible? Of course. I will immediately send a messenger to 「El Castillo」 of Chichen Itza. How long will it take him to reach that castle? He runs until he switches with someone else at a relay point along the way. It will take a day and a half approximately. Running? Surprisingly primitive. Then the fact that there are relay points and routes it means the roads are in good condition, correct? Yes. The Federation makes sure to maintain the roads in good condition every year. Perfect. Then, let's do the following: Bring us a capable guide, and I'll teach him an easier and better method of traveling than running. (...?) Wow! I can't believe this! This is amazing! Long live the Nakom! ...Hey, Rita. Is riding a bicycle really that fun? Yes, Bianka-sama. Our guide is, for the first time in his life, experiencing a speed faster than when he's running with his feet. ...I see. I guess they don't have horses around here. Which is why he's as excited as the bikers of a violent running tribe making their engines roar at midnight. ...Violent running tribe? What's that? A group of people who like to drive bikes really fast. ...Ah, delinquents? Hehe. It's true there are delinquents among bike gangs, but that doesn't mean every bike lover is a bad person, Bianka-sama. If we ever have the chance, I'd like to take you for a drive through the empty streets of Naples at night. Umm... sure, maybe one day... Sorry, I'm just not in the mood right now. ..... I was... really useless today. I couldn't stop her from hurting herself. I was only able to watch her die from blood loss. There should have been... absolutely... a better way to handle that... ..... That's... how life is, Bianka-sama. You might know this already, but in the outskirts of Naples there was once a settlement which was buried under volcanic ash in the year 79 AD—— Its name was Pompeii. The victims of the Pompeii tragedy had a chance to escape when the volcano began to erupt. But after the first earthquake passed, they chose to go back to their homes to protect their property, without realizing the ash was getting closer with each passing moment. The thought of stealing from someone else didn't even cross their minds. They simply wanted to repair their broken houses and take whatever they could carry to a safer place. Regrettably, the world did not wait for them, and hundreds of volcanic ash fell upon the city in an instant. Those unlucky people were buried deep in ash... and never had the chance to use those properties they cared so much about again. ——Did they do the wrong thing? Back then, would had anyone been able to know about volcanic activity and devise a plan to evacuate? ...The answer is of course no. No one is omnipotent. It's easy to criticize the past using knowledge from the present, but no one living in the present can predict the future. ..... I understand... what you're trying to say. But... I... I know. You don't have to say anything, Bianka-sama. I know well. Because you have... a pure and kind heart. ..... H-Hey! What's up with you!? Wipe off your tears, idiot! Hehe. Bianka-sama sure is cute. Y-You're being super creepy right now! We've now passed Oxkutzcab Station. We'll be arriving at Chichen Itza once we go through the forest you can see up ahead. Is Chichen Itza a big city? I believe it's quite small compared to the 「large cities」 you all are used to. It takes approximately 3000 steps to walk from one end to the other. Hm. Should be more or less similar in size to Ajaccio. Haha. I think nobody but you understands that comparison, Archaeologist. What's Ajaccio? Some rural town in Italy? No, it's the capital of Corsica in France. Ho... I see. So Corsica is considered French territory, huh. History sure has its interesting twists and turns. That's the future to you, right? Hahaha, yes, but once I know what the future is like I can't help but wanting to change it. ...Do you dislike 「fatalism」? That's one of the reasons, yes. But the most important one is knowing what to expect. For example... someone who learns flushing toilets exist can't go back to take a dump in a pit latrine like nothing happened, you know? Couldn't you have come up with a better example... Hahaha, that reaction right there is exclusive to someone from a 「developed world」. From the perspective of a 「non-developed world」, you guys look 「impeccable」. Even nobles rarely took baths in the 13th and 14th century in Europe. I'm sure you can't even imagine it. In my time, doctors didn't even know they needed to disinfect themselves before performing surgery. That era wasn't academic at all. If one were to collect all books made during that period they wouldn't even fill a corner of the Great Library. And I wouldn't have been able to hear the beautiful melodies composed by Mozart and Beethoven had I not 「met by chance」 the future in this world. Humans are fundamentally greedy creatures. I think being honest with that desire is the key to live a good life. ——Don't you agree, Guide? It'll probably take you several years to make your own bicycle using materials from here, but even so you're willing to work hard for it, don't you? ...Yes, what is it? Oops, I forgot he can't understand us if no one is translating for him. Wow! What a tall temple! Is it a historical building, Guide-san? Yes, it's a thousand years old building. A-A thousand years？ Yes, Nakom-sama. The High Priestess encourages the preservation of historical buildings. The interior of the temples have been refurbished not only to protect its structure but also so that they can be used as buildings. I'm sure you will understand once you go inside one of them. ...This is the Kukulkan Temple, the most magnificent building in all of Chichen Itza! Kukulkan is the name of an ancient deity, it means 「Feathered Serpent」—— Yes yes, it's a great temple we get it. What's that thing behind the temple? Looks like a big pile of iron to me? ...「Big pile of iron」, you say? Ah! You must be referring to the 「Heart of Kukulkan」! It's actually a meteorite. Oh? A meteorite? Looks similar to the Ayers Rock in Australia... Hehe. Travelers from far away, that is the core of a star who fell from the sky that I purposely dug up from Chicxulub.

注：

希克苏鲁伯（Chicxulub，玛雅语意为“恶魔的尾巴”）陨石坑位于尤卡坦半岛西北部，是一个埋藏在地表之下、直径约有150~180公里的陨石撞击坑。它也是地球表面最大的撞击地形之一。

2010年3月5日，《科学》杂志上的一篇研究报告确认，在6500万年前形成希克苏鲁伯陨石坑的小行星撞击事件，是造成恐龙大灭绝的首要原因。

p.s. 该陨石撞击时产生的爆炸，相当于百万枚人类历史上威力最强的氢弹——“沙皇炸弹”同时起爆；因此在实际情形中，这颗直径10公里以上的小行星，在撞击的瞬间就完全汽化了。

 High Priestess! Forgive my rudeness! At ease. Guests from a distant land—— Your arrival has been foretold by the stars and birds. I am Esther Zarathustra, High Priestess of the 「Peninsula Federation」. You may address me as Esther. I believe you already know the Federation to a certain extent. But nonetheless, I would like you to personally introduce you to the country I founded with my own hands. The long count calendar of Yucatan is entering its 13th Baktun. If the 「long count calendar」 was created for the sake of a special day, then that would mean the Maya civilization has existed in this land for nearly 5000 years. But as you can see, their tools are very primitive and they lack the livestock necessary to cultivate the land. When I first arrived, like many others 「Wanderer」 did, I could not believe a civilization this strange could exist. But now I can say with confidence this wasn't a 「human」 problem. The Yucatan Peninsula is a geographically impoverished region. There is no livestock and ore can not be mined. The nearest vein is far away in the Mexican plateau. People did their best with the tools they had, but their lives did not improve. If one did not know the date, one would think they had gone back to ancient times. I come from the era of Cyrus the Great—— If you were to ask other Wanderer for their opinion, they would claim 2500 years in the past are 「ancient times」. Eh? It is not that surprising, young lady. I mean, isn't your Spanish really good? When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When many Wanderer can speak the same language, there is no need to keep around the language of the natives no one knows. B-But the natives communicate using hieroglyphs, don't they? Shouldn't you be the one following their customs? The language of this place is too primitive, it is unable to express advanced technological vocabulary. It is easier to teach a Wanderer Spanish than going through the trouble of using a translator. ...Y-You discarded their language for that reason? Is it strange? Things without value must be discarded. That is what I learned from my father at the age of 10. 「Zarathustra」... Yes, that is the name of my father. This 「Federation」 I built with my own hands is based on the ideals my father passed down to me. ...Let us continue our talk inside the 「Heart of Kukulkan」. ...You mean inside the meteorite? Why did you make such a fancy building inside a meteorite? No reason in particular, it was simply a mining site that was no longer in use. It's a place full of mystery fitting to be Esther-sama's house. Thank you for the compliment. But rather than my 「house」, this place is closer to being my 「laboratory」. Oh? And what kind of experiments does the great High Priestess do? Before I begin my explanation, there is a question you must answer first, my honored guests. Do you know who my father is? 「Zarathustra」? The Persian Priest the Greeks called 「Zoroaster」? Yes, my father was a Priest too. I would like to make a small correction to your answer. 「Persia」 is a derogatory term used by the Greeks, its proper name is 「Iran」. Later generations paint him as the person who started Zoroastrianism and unified the many multi-ethnic groups in Iran. ...I have heard that from many Wanderer. However, there seems to be a misunderstanding. ——Do you know anything else? 『Avesta』 is a religious text with the purpose of reaching enlightenment... But unfortunately two thirds of it were burned by Alexander The Great. My father would had not felt bad about that. ...Why? Because my father never made such scripture in the first place. And according to what I have heard, these days 「Zoroastrianism」 has taken a form very different from what was originally intended to be. ...Does that have any relationship with the 「experiment」 you mentioned earlier? You are correct, Captain. And, it is deeply connected to the legend of the 「Serpent King」 as well. Please, sit. Let us take our time to get to know each other.