Type-Moon: Does even a sneak peek make it official?

When Attila mentioned "two people and a wolf" she had brought back, Avia was rather puzzled.

The "wolf" clearly referred to the Norse hero Sinfjötli. As for the "people"… Siegfried had already returned to the Rhine.

Maybe she meant Typhon, who had taken the form of armor — but that would only make one person.

Since he couldn't quite figure out who Attila's "two people" referred to, Avia decided not to dwell on it. He'd just introduce Typhon first and ask later.

"Well, I welcome anyone — and I'm glad if the people you bring here, or whatever else, come to see this place as their home."

But before the silver-haired young man could speak, the white-haired girl spoke first.

She stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed, her upper body tilted slightly forward, looking up at Avia from under her lashes.

The young man was clearly more than a little taller than her. From this small difference in height, her blood-red eyes lifted toward his blue ones.

Like this, those crimson eyes seemed — for some reason — to carry a faint trace of displeasure.

Attila continued in an earnest tone:

"But… aren't you a little late this time? Have you been doing well lately? You haven't been cold, have you? Luka said there've been natural disasters and wars outside… you haven't been hurt, right?"

"Of course not." Avia shook his head firmly. "After all, I'm the one who defeated you fair and square, Attila. There's no way anything could happen to me."

But the white-haired girl clearly didn't agree.

"…That might have been true before."

Her voice suddenly took on the sulking tone of a pouting child — startling even herself.

"If it were before, I think you would've gone along with what I said — because you couldn't beat me. But now… it's different."

And that's why… I'm afraid.

But the last part was far too embarrassing to say aloud, so she forced herself to swallow it back down.

At the very beginning, when Avia first came to this era, he'd thought Attila would be impossible to change.

A Star-Scout who destroyed simply for the sake of destruction — even as a "Head Unit" — she only cared about swinging her blade, cutting down anything in her path. In the eyes of ordinary people, she must have seemed utterly numb to death. Even she believed that herself.

But how could she not care?

And because Avia could never believe she truly didn't care — he hoped she would live for more than just fighting.

"You say that, but we've known each other for years. Don't worry, okay? I promise you, I've always been like this."

The silver-haired young man smiled. By way of reply, he picked up the Sword of the War God lying at her feet and handed it to her with genuine care.

"Oh, right — I haven't introduced you yet. This is—"

Along with his words, he spoke silently in his mind to Typhon:

Typhon, can you come out for a moment?

In Attila's gaze, the red-haired girl beside Avia suddenly narrowed the corner of her single golden eye, glaring at her — and then shooting a look at Avia as well.

A little earlier, the ever-grumbling Typhon had fallen uncharacteristically silent upon seeing Attila. The strange, repellent aura the girl carried made her want to lash out — but out of respect for her bond with Avia, she barely managed to restrain herself.

Typhon Efomilos was then caught off guard: here was this human, laughing and chatting with a strange white-haired human she'd never met before.

Close enough to touch. The white-haired one smiled openly, showing concern without the slightest distance. In Typhon's eyes, the two had no barriers between them — smiling as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Yet in front of her, Avia had never acted that way. He had never spoken to her so close, never smiled at her with that expression, never shown such unguarded ease.

It was… different. More casual. More spontaneous. Less self-conscious. Almost like he wasn't bothering to be polite — or like he didn't feel the need to protect himself in some strange way.

It made Typhon burn with frustration.

She hated this human who had so easily freed himself — hated him to the point of loathing, without knowing why.

And though she'd always said she wanted to eat him, in truth, the Progenitor Dragon never truly wished for that to happen.

That was just an excuse to convince herself — nothing more.

After all, humans die eventually. Once he's dead, that would be enough.

That's how it should have been — yet the red-haired girl found herself unable to accept it.

She didn't want to think about… that possibility.

Why is it that with someone I don't even know, you can… No. I don't want that.

"Pull yourself together."

"I don't want to."

The words slipped out of her reflexively — like some lost, unreasonable human refusing to face the road ahead.

Only after she'd spoken did Typhon realize — blush or no blush — that the voice wasn't her own, but came from the phantom species that had been dwelling on the human's body even before she had.

From the moment she emerged from the volcano and began following him, she'd noticed a humanoid phantom bound to the Rhinegold linked to his soul. She hadn't thought much of it at the time — and the phantom rarely spoke, just silently watched — so she'd stopped paying attention.

"Seems that way," the white-haired, purple-eyed phantom said with a little huff through her nose, then smiled slyly. "That human might have a strange, inexplicable aura — and always picks the most tactless time to interfere with your plans — but are you really fine with not showing yourself? Is the Greek Progenitor Dragon just giving up like this?"

"…Who even are you? Acting so familiar — watch yourself, or I'll kill you."

"Ooh, ooh, look at my hair color — and I've been with him far longer than you…"

Her purple eyes sparkled like a kitten spotting a mouse to play with.

"Hmm?"

"I'm his little sister — the one who died a long time ago. I've been watching all this time, helping my brother find someone to love~"

Seeing the phantom's mischievous grin, Typhon suppressed her murderous urge. The girl's frivolous, teasing attitude infuriated her… yet somehow, she couldn't quite deny the possibility.

"Oh dear, looks like you've got a rival now. She's a childhood friend, you know. But Typhon, after following him all this way, aren't you going to at least give your name?"

"…I don't want to."

"How should I put this… right now, you're basically human yourself."

The white-haired phantom sighed, as if in exasperation.

"?"

"What I mean is — when faced with this sort of thing, humans have a weird habit of stubbornly clinging to their pride."

Then the phantom suddenly arched one eyebrow, eyes gleaming with inexplicable satisfaction.

"For a person to move forward, they need a view worth matching — and the road ahead is one you'll walk together. In short — good luck. I'll be watching, you know~"

"…F-fine then."

Just before she assumed her human form, Typhon glanced back — only to see the vivid purple eyes of the humanoid phantom smiling 'gently' at her.

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