Chapter 7: Makoto Takatsuki Guards the Capital
The inauguration was an event held to confirm the Hero of Light as one of the leaders of the Soleil Knights, a title that Sakurai had earned after defeating the blight dragons. Its other purpose was to inform other countries that Highland had the allegiance of Abel the Savior’s reincarnation. Coincidentally, the ceremony would also announce the appointment of a new State-Authorized Hero in the small land of Roses. So I’m coincidental then? I see.
I could hear the knights chatting from where I was sitting.
“Shame the weather couldn’t have been nicer for the event,” one knight complained.
“We could’ve held it on a different day, yeah. I hate wearing wet armor.”
“Surely the Grandsage could’ve changed the weather.”
“She would never, though. She follows her own whims too much.”
“You’re right, there...”
We were gathered in the plaza in front of Highland Castle. It was normally used as a garden, but there were tens of thousands of soldiers standing at attention there instead. The skies were cloudy, and rain was drizzling down on us. A clear day would’ve definitely been more picturesque, but the tens of thousands of soldiers were still an intimidating sight. I was honestly shocked that this was just a part of Highland’s troops.
“Will they really rebel against this?” I wondered to myself.
“Hey, Takatsuki?”
“Makoto, it will happen, right?”
Sasa and Lucy needled me when they heard my whisper. Whoops, better keep my mouth shut.
Our group was in the visitor’s seats reserved for nobles. We were being treated as more-or-less some of the central figures here. Princess Sophia and Prince Leonardo were situated a little ways away since they were royalty. I was kinda worried about their safety. Still, they had that bodyguard of theirs, so they’d probably be fine.
Fujiyan and the others were evacuating to safety. Furiae...was behind us, a hood covering her face. She was acting as an “attendant” for the Hero of Roses. I hope she behaves...
The event had begun with a parade, and now, there were a bunch of nobles assembled and congratulatory addresses were being read.
It was taking ages...how long would this carry on for? Part way through, I’d set Calm Mind to 99% and had started practicing my water magic to pass the boring time.
As I was doing that, I heard fanfare from up high. Oh?
“Hero of Light, Ryousuke Sakurai! Come forth!”
“At once!” he replied.
Sakurai had finally been called down, so it was time for the main event. He strode up onto the stage wearing his shining silver armor. Joining him on stage were Highland’s princes, the Sacred Nobles, and the pope—all important people that I’d seen at the meeting. There was someone positioned even higher on the stage, and I assumed that he was the king of Highland, though I had never seen him before.
“In the name of the Goddess of the Sun, Althena, I appoint you as leader of the Soleil Knights,” Princess Noelle declared. Sakurai knelt, accepting the ceremonial sword she offered.
“It is an honor.”
“How divine,” someone nearby murmured.
“It is wonderful to see the reincarnations of our savior and saint alongside one another.”
“It is magnificent to bear witness to such a splendid sight...”
Everyone seemed satisfied with the ceremony, which I assumed had been patterned after the legends of a thousand years ago. The beautiful Princess Noelle, the handsome knight Sakurai—both, standing side by side... It certainly did paint a picture.
I could hear a “tch,” from Furiae behind me.
Come on, no curses here, I thought.
But suddenly, my train of thought was derailed by the sound of an explosion. The ground around us shook violently.
What?!
“It’s an attack!”
“Shielders! Ready!”
“Protect His Majesty!”
The well-trained knights murmured for a moment but quickly rallied. Of course, our group wasn’t just sitting and watching—we were headed toward Princess Sophia, alert to our surroundings along the way. Furiae...yeah, she was with us still.
I couldn’t see through the dense crowd, but there were more thudding explosions that quaked the ground.
“They’re from the Snake Sect!” someone hollered.
“They’ve got mages! Watch out!”
“Shielders, forward!”
“Get the healers! We’ve got wounded!”
The Snake Sect was carrying out a suicide attack? So...there wasn’t a rebellion of the beastmen after all. What a surprise.
I’d figured that the Snake Sect would be the last to appear. The invaders had come from the edge of the plaza, so I couldn’t really see them through the tens of thousands of Highland soldiers that were assembled. Guards surrounded and protected the royalty and nobility, so it didn’t seem like the Snake Sect had much chance of making a dent in Highland’s forces...
“Takatsuki!” Sasa called, drawing my attention toward the middle of the soldiers. Someone was moving weirdly through them?!
“There are enemies hiding among the soldiers!” I yelled as we headed for the princess.
Damn, no one’s noticed!
A Highland soldier had abandoned his post and was running toward Princess Sophia. I could hear him already chanting something!
“Someone, protect the prince and princess!” I yelled.
“Rahhhh!”
The geezer bodyguard was there! He stood in front of them, a bulwark of protection, as the terrorist disguised as a soldier finished his chant.
Suicide Magic: Fire Storm.
Suicide Magic?! It couldn’t get worse! That type of magic had been completely forbidden to us at the Water Temple.
That magic didn’t use mana, but rather, spent the caster’s life. The only benefit was that you could cast spells without a magic skill. But, that power was explicitly forbidden by the churches of the goddesses. Back at the Water Temple, they wouldn’t even discuss how the spells were used...and this terrorist had used it without hesitation.
“Glory to the cambions!” he screamed.
Damn it! I wasn’t going to make it!
As the caster tried to blow himself up, the bodyguard leaped for him, trying to shield Roses’s royals.
“Geezer!” I cried.
A moment later, the explosion rang out. A pillar of fire rose into the air, and I saw that it was just as powerful as some of Lucy’s high rank spells.
“N-No!”
“Geezer...”
Lucy and Sasa both screamed out in grief. Damn it! He’d made sure that no one around him had been hurt. But...he’d sacrificed himself.
“What a gallant knight...”
“Who was he?”
“A bodyguard from Roses, apparently.”
“A wonderful example of a knight...”
“Don’t let your guard down! There are pretenders disguised as Highland soldiers!”
The knights around me were reacting to the blast as well. I listened to the cacophony as I moved toward Princess Sophia and the smoke that hung over her.
Then, I saw the geezer, swallowed by flames.
Damn it all! I thought, collapsing to the ground. The flames finally died out, and the blackened corp—
“Suicide Magic? How despicable! Lady Sophia, Prince Leonardo, are you safe?!” The slightly blackened figure of the bodyguard was swaying on his feet. The enemy Snake Sect soldier was in his arms, limp.
“What?” the three of us asked flatly. Actually, in our collective shock, more than just the three of us probably uttered that...
“Don’t let your guard down, everyone. They won’t hesitate to do anything! This is a vicious attack!” he declared grandly.
Come on! You’re pretty much uninjured!
I didn’t have Mind Reading like Fujiyan, but I was pretty sure I could hear everyone thinking the same thing. The bodyguard’s Iron Wall skill sure was impressive! Also, the attacker had blown himself up...but somehow, he was still alive?
So did Suicide Magic only use some of the caster’s life force? That...might actually be usable...
Don’t even think it! Noah screamed in my mind. No. Suicide. Spells!
Ah, right, I was just joking, goddess.
“Princess Sophia, Prince Leonardo, are you okay?” I asked. “Nice one, Geezer!”
He guffawed. “It’s all thanks to your warning!”
“Hero Makoto, I am well. This has become quite the issue.” The princess was casting healing magic on the bodyguard as she spoke.
“Sasa, stay with Prince Leonardo.”
“Got it,” she replied confidently.
The knights from Roses were gradually gathering around us as well.
“Lady Noelle!”
“Enemies!”
“They’re disguised as soldiers!”
Other blasts were going off around us. Were they after the priestesses?
In an instant, the explosions vanished into light. Was that Sakurai? I glanced over and saw him protecting Princess Noelle. The enemies seemed powerless before him.
“Hey, Makoto? Is this the Snake Sect?” Lucy asked, surveying the area.
“Probably. That attacker shouted ‘glory to the cambions’ after all. It’s not a well-organized strike, though...”
There were only a few dozen Snake Sect guerrillas attacking a place with tens of thousands of soldiers. Even if one assumed that the initial explosion outside was a diversion and they were actually after the priestesses...their attack had been utterly subdued. It was all pretty simplistic.
“Is that the end of them?” Princess Sophia asked. She’d been targeted, so her face was hard, but she was still acting calm.
“Looks like it,” I stated. “Another attack while we’re all so alert would...” My words trailed off. Highland soldiers were ferreting out anyone who was acting suspicious, so I didn’t think there would be another battle. “If there’s going to be another attack...” I restated, my mind occupied. I peered up at the sky and used Scout. Lucy followed my gaze. The clouds made the visibility poor, but among the cloud cover were...
“Wyverns!” Lucy shouted.
There was a group of them flying toward us! Had they been hiding among the clouds?
“Mages! Shoot them down!”
“We’re trying! There’re too many of them!”
The wyverns were snaking their way through the air toward us. Though the mage corps tried to intercept, they didn’t manage to take them out. I used my Clairvoyance skill to look at the riders. It was like another suicide squad.
They’re zealots...
“No good, fall back!” yelled a soldier.
About a dozen seconds later, the entire area was blown apart.
“Princess Sophia,” I yelled, grabbing onto her hand.
She looked shocked for a second, then seemed to infer what I meant. “Very well.”
I instantly synchronized with her and felt the raging river of her mana flow into me.
Water Magic: Snowman Battalion.
There were a lot of enemies, so we needed to respond in kind. I’d created several hundred snowmen that were a few meters tall.
The wyverns appeared in the air above us, but were swallowed up with faint puffs—my enormous snowmen engulfed the wyverns and Snake Sect riders alike. They could chill out in the snow for a while.
“Wow, what a cute spell, Takatsuki,” Sasa cheered.
“U-Umm,” Princess Sophia said hesitantly, tapping me on my arm with reddened cheeks.
“’Scuse me, Princess Sophia,” I replied, going to let go of her hand...but she’d tightened her grip.
“You’re always...so abrupt,” she said, staring into my eyes and still clutching my hand.
“Makoto!” Lucy shouted, bonking me on the shoulder with her staff.
“What’s up, Lucy?”
“How long are you going to stare at each other?” she asked. “Those guys you froze are going down.”
The wyverns and their riders were indeed falling from the sky. And, from their current height, impacting the ground would definitely kill them if they weren’t lucky...
Fine, guess I’d need to risk myself as well.
Just as I made my decision, there was a quiet voice.
“Gravity Magic: Float.”
A huge magic circle glowed to life following the voice’s command, and the enemies started floating just before they hit the ground. I spied a short mage with white hair and a matching robe standing in the middle of the circle.
“Grandsage?”
“Sorry I’m late,” she said. “You had to clean up for me.”
The mana infusing the area was shaking. So this was her being “ready for war”?
“There’s bad energy in the air,” she commented with an unpleasant look. “It seems that there’s a retainer of Iblis here.”
The area stirred at her words. Some people screamed. Others started to tremble, and still others just hunched down on the ground.
“Iblis” was the name of the Great Demon Lord from a millennium ago. The Great Demon Lord Iblis. That name was a symbol of fear to the inhabitants of this world, and the terror of it was ingrained into their psyches.
If they reacted like that to just the name, would they even be able to fight once the Great Demon Lord returned?
“Grandsage, I offer our thanks for your aid,” said the prime minister as he arrived. The king wasn’t here anymore. Had he been evacuated?
“How could this happen?! How did these filthy heretics infiltrate our renowned castle?!” demanded someone. I was pretty sure it was the first prince of Highland.
“Noelle,” wheedled a second voice. “Responsibility for this attack lies somewhere, and we need to find the source of it.”
That was probably the second prince. I couldn’t see Princess Noelle’s expression since she was behind Sakurai. The other nobility and clergymen all seemed safe. The soldiers were arresting the frozen members of the Snake Sect and taking them off somewhere, along with the wyverns.
Sorry it’s such an annoyance to deal with, I apologized mentally.
“Makoto, Hero of Roses. You have our thanks for dealing with the attack from the Snake Sect,” stated Princess Sophia as she stepped over to us. “It was magnificently done. Grandsage, I offer my thanks to you as well.”
I indicated that Lucy should take over the job of hiding Furiae, then stepped forward.
“It was a shock, but this is all they can muster?” laughed one noble.
“Well, they are empty-brained and filthy-blooded.”
“Indeed, indeed. It was a foolish attack.”
Things were starting to relax...but then, someone else spoke.
“No, I’m afraid things have only just begun.”
Everyone turned to focus on the speaker. The figure was standing atop the king’s throne upon the stage, in the highest position available.
It was...a very much out-of-place clown. A familiar clown. He’d been in Horn.
“Who are you?!”
“Get off of there now!”
Knights ran over to the stage.
“Wait.” The Grandsage spoke simply, instantly stopping the soldiers. “That man is being puppeted.”
“He is, Grandsage?”
“Oh?” mused the clown. “Ah, I see, you are the White Grandsage, a descendant of the legendary party!” His easy smile didn’t abate. Yet, when I looked closer, I could see that his eyes were empty. It was obvious to see that he was being controlled.
“That man,” I said, pointing at the clown, “was the one commanding the monsters that attacked Horn, right?”
The clown shrugged. “He was a disappointment.”
So...the clown is truly being used like a marionette—someone else is speaking through him.
“Despite all that time and money,” continued the puppet-clown, “he couldn’t crush Horn.”
“What?!” the geezer demanded.
“Now, now, calm down,” I said. After all, it would be foolish to respond to provocation—our enemy definitely wanted that. “Honestly, whoever came up with that plan screwed up,” I pointed out. “I mean, did the mastermind really expect those trash mobs to crush Horn? The cambions actually executing that flimsy plan did everything they could.”
Provocation was the best response to provocation.
“Certainly...” the puppet-clown replied after a pause. “So then, are you the new otherworlder hero?” His expression hadn’t changed, but I could hear the anger in his voice. Maybe he was more upfront than I’d expected.
“I’ll let you introduce yourself first,” I countered. Who was this guy? He probably had something to do with the Snake Sect at least.
The clown...or rather, the person controlling the clown, introduced himself. “My name is Isaac. I am our mighty leader Iblis’s son, Archbishop of the Snake Sect.”
Great Demon Lord Iblis’s son...? So that meant...
“You’re a demon lord?” I asked.
“No, Makoto,” Prince Leonardo started to explain. “The leaders of the Snake Sect all call themselves the Great Demon Lord’s son.”
“There are only the three demon lords on the demon continent,” Princess Sophia added.
“You fool!” the first prince proclaimed confidently. “I care not whether you’re an archbishop—your men are already defeated!” Well, the attack had failed. Archbishop Isaac didn’t reply; he just raised his hand skyward. Held in his grasp was a metal object that looked like an apple circled by a snake.
A pair of knights shouted out a warning.
“Watch out!”
“What’s he planning?!”
The item didn’t seem to have any mana in it, though. It was empty, already used.
“I used this tool back in Roses. It preserves our mighty father’s voice,” Isaac declared.
“What in the...?”
“Does he mean...?”
The soldiers all looked puzzled.
Could that be...
“Is that an item that creates blight monsters?” I asked.
Back in Horn, a giant on the verge of death had been transformed into a blight giant. When that had happened, I’d heard the Great Demon Lord’s voice, its juvenile claims...
“Hero Makoto?! Is that true?” Princess Sophia exclaimed.
“Oh... I’m impressed,” Isaac said. His tone mirrored his words.
“Before the blight giant awakened, I heard a childish voice,” I stated. “It spoke about warriors and going against fate.”
“That was almost certainly Iblis’s voice,” the archbishop replied.
So...talking about “fate” must’ve been a habit of the Great Demon Lord.
“The monsters we have tamed are currently massing around the city,” continued Isaac with a grin. As the words left his mouth, I could hear a bell tolling rapidly from the gates.
“Reporting! There are monsters marching on the four gates!”
Some nobles around us began crying out in distress.
“At all four?!”
“Impossible! There was only an increased monster presence in the forest!”
“There is no problem,” the commander in chief of the Soleil Knights calmly answered, interrupting the panicking nobles. “The Soleil Knights and the Cardinal Knights were all assigned to the gates yesterday. The Temple Knights have all been reassigned as well, apart from the bare minimum needed to maintain peace within the city.” If memory served, Owain was the commander’s name. He was Sakurai’s boss, and his composure under pressure was just what I’d expect from the head of the country’s military.
“Oh...and here I thought we’d hidden the sea monsters. Impressive preparation indeed,” Archbishop Isaac commented, his calmness still intact.
“Hah!” a noble laughed. “This is nothing more than an imbecilic gathering of cambions, after all. They will never breach our defenses!”
“Just as I would expect from our Lord Owain,” another noble added. “We have nothing to fear from the filthy cambions!”
Well, I guess they were feeling confident again...
“Hmm, are you aware that there are several blight monsters mixed in?” inquired the archbishop. “I used this to awaken many blighted beasts.” He tossed the snake item lightly into the air and caught it.
“Blight monsters...” murmured a noble.
“And what of it?!” shouted another. “We have the Hero of Light. He has already defeated blight dragons in Labyrinthos!”
“Besides, even Roses’s hero can defeat them...”
“Precisely—if a lesser hero can defeat them, then blight monsters won’t help your plot.”
Wow, that was quite the backhanded compliment.
“Makoto, they’re mocking you,” Lucy muttered.
“They’re so rude!” Aya added.
“Hero Makoto, pay them no mind,” stated Princess Sophia.
“I was just gonna ignore them,” I replied after a pause. It was kinda surprising that Princess Sophia was joining the other two in my defense. But, none of them needed to worry about it. I turned to the Grandsage. “Should we capture him?” I asked.
“Keep him talking. He seems like the type to monologue.” She was watching the archbishop carefully.
Well, who am I to disagree?
“Are you sure that focusing only on the gates was the best plan?” Isaac smirked. “After all, do you not know of the beastmen’s plan to rebel?”
Man, how barefaced can you be? You’re obviously the one pulling the strings of that revolt.
“How vexing it must be! We have already rounded up the ringleaders!” the first prince declared smugly. It’s not like it was his achievement though... Most of it was uncovered by Fujiyan’s investigation, and Princess Noelle actually arrested them. I glanced over at her and saw that she looked unconcerned by her brother’s words.
Isaac laughed in amusement. “I see, I see. Good for you.”
“What are you laughing at?” the second prince demanded. But before waiting for an answer, he directed his subordinates to kill the man.
The clanging of the alarm bell still filled the area.
“R-Reporting!” a soldier yelled as he rushed in. “There are riots in the seventh and eighth districts! The main group involved are beastmen!”
The crowd around us grew noisier, and Archbishop Isaac’s face twisted into a grin. “Gah ha ha ha! Oh? How strange! I thought you’d captured the ringleaders! How in the world could this be happening?!”
The royal family and other nobles had completely lost their composure. There was no calmness to be found as they all shouted over each other.
“What have you done, swine?!”
“Those beasts chose the worst time to rebel!”
Still... I mused. This was impressive. It was all going as Furiae had said. I glanced her way, but the hood hid her expression.
“Hear my revelation! Fate decrees that Highland’s capital Symphonia will fall today!” Isaac spread his arms in the sky as he yelled out his declaration. He was really getting into it.
“U-Unthinkable...”
“Impossible!”
“Our city will never fall!”
“B-But...there is a large-scale monster attack...and at the same time, the cambions and beastmen are rebelling...”
“W-We need to get away!”
The crowd’s unease had reached its peak. Issac simply surveyed us all. Other than those in my group, only Owain still seemed to be calm.
Then, a cool voice cut across the area. “Nothing of the sort will be happening.” Her tone was clear, almost musical.
Princess Noelle.
Perfect timing. She’s like a film director.
“Oh, Princess Noelle, if I’m not mistaken,” the archbishop observed snidely. “The Priestess of the Sun and the reincarnation of the Witch of Salvation.” It looked like his expression wasn’t the only thing twisting—his personality was too. “And I suppose the boy next to you is the Hero of Light. We will need to deal with you both eventually, but that can wait. You can hide away in fear until that day comes. Incidentally, what was that proclamation supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Symphonia will not be falling.”
Isaac’s confidence hadn’t abated, but Princess Noelle was still placid.
“Noelle! What is this?!” the second prince exclaimed.
“Explain,” demanded the first prince.
“The beastmen uprising is connected to the weed that has been running rampant in the seventh and eighth districts.”
The archbishop shot her an amused look.
“Using that drug makes it easier for Moon Magic: Brainwashing to affect the mind,” Princess Sophia continued.
The Highlanders broke out into conversation.
“What?! That has never been mentioned before!”
“Relaxing our control of it in the lower districts has backfired...”
“To think...there was such a use for it.”
“Well, no one is researching moon magic...”
I honestly couldn’t blame them—we’d only found out about it yesterday.
“It took ten years,” the archbishop informed us proudly. “The plan was to gradually brainwash the demi-humans living within Symphonia. Curses take a long time to activate, but they are far from simple to undo. Once a curse is cast, it is impossible to unravel until its goal has been accomplished. The one I placed spread the following message: ‘if you hate the humans oppressing you, then destroy Symphonia.’” Archbishop Isaac continued on smugly. “There is no demi-human living within Highland that has not experienced some form of oppression by humans, so these words are effective on them all. The activation condition was...the sound of the bell! The very bell that warned your soldiers of an emergency. It is a sound that has not been heard, not even once, over these past ten years.”
He definitely did like to talk... He’d just told us everything.
And the bell was still going.
“Someone stop that bell!”
“I will send word right away!”
The nobility was now reacting with panic.
“Aha ha! It’s too late!” Isaac cackled. “You can’t stop a curse once it’s activated!”
“Are you sure you should be telling us all of this, Mister Archbishop?” I asked mockingly. Honestly, I was bored of just watching all of this unfold.
“Oh yes, Hero of Roses. Our plan is already complete. I already told you, did I not? Fate decrees that Symphonia will fall. None can oppose fate.”
Hmm, he certainly was confident in his plan...but, fortunately for us, we’d heard all about it from Furiae yesterday.
◇ Yesterday ◇
“I have conditions.” The moon priestess smiled bewitchingly. “But first, I will explain how Symphonia is to fall tomorrow.”
She proceeded to explain the Snake Sect’s plan. It was something that none of us had even imagined.
“They will use weed to brainwash the beastmen...?”
“I cannot believe they will make more blight monsters...”
“It strikes me as rather ironic... They will use the bell of peace to activate a revolt,” Fujiyan added.
“What if we stopped the bell from being rung ahead of time?” I asked.
“Then we won’t be able to inform the citizens of the risk’h,” Nina replied.
“And even if it solved the problem tomorrow, it would not solve the root cause,” Chris said.
“Indeed, it is quite the conundrum...”
We all had thoughts on the plot, but no solutions.
“Furiae,” I asked the silent woman. “Do you have a plan?”
“Yes. I can undo the curse. I have the skill Moon Magic (God Rank).”
God rank... Apparently, that was the highest rank anyone could achieve.
“This is my condition for doing so,” Furiae stated, looking my way. “Hero of Roses—become my guardian knight.”
“Wha?” That came out of nowhere. She wanted me as a guardian knight?!
Princess Sophia was the first to react. “What are you saying?!”
“Lady Furiae...please explain your reasoning to everyone,” Fujiyan requested with a knowing look. He’d probably read her mind.
“Well,” she began, “if I help, the future will change. There will be no chaos in the town, and I won’t be able to escape. So, I need a hostage, right? And a guardian knight has to protect their priestess.”
“S-So by hostage...” Lucy trailed off with an unhappy look.
I still wasn’t following the logic. “How does being a guardian knight make me your hostage?”
“A guardian knight will lose half of their lifespan if they abandon their priestess. If their priestess dies, they lose all of their skills,” Princess Sophia explained.
“Don’t just tell him the disadvantages,” Furiae complained. “Becoming a guardian knight will also endow you with a blessing from the Goddess of the Moon.”
“That’s dark magic, right?”
“Possibly. It could also be Curse Magic or Necromancy.”
Dark magic’d be great—if I could pick at least.
“Why Makoto, though?!” Prince Leonardo demanded.
“Right! You could pick someone else!”
Furiae just smiled at their protests, offering no other answer. Still, I was sure it wasn’t me she wanted as her guardian knight.
“Furiae, don’t you want Sakurai to be your guardian knight?” I asked bluntly.
“D-Don’t be foolish! That’s not possible. Ryousuke’s the Hero of Light!”
Yup. I was right on the money.
“Hero Makoto...” Princess Sophia whispered to me. “Does she have feelings for the Hero of Light?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “That’s why she picked me. I’m close to him and it keeps the connection there.”
“Wh-What a decision...” she murmured, pressing a hand to her forehead.
“So, what will you do?” Furiae pressed.
“Makoto...”
“Takatsuki...”
Everyone was looking at me with concern, and I fell deep into thought.
Will you become the guardian knight of Furiae, Priestess of the Moon?
Yes
No
What to do? I hadn’t expected to see it as an RPG Player choice.
Furiae looked unhappy, so she could probably see it.
Makoto, are you gonna go through with it? Noah asked.
Are you against it?
Not really... she replied. Naya isn’t on the planet anymore, so you might not get much of a blessing. Also, that priestess...will struggle on the southern continent.
So Naya was away... Plus, no one seemed particularly eager for me to do it. Hmmm...
I looked at Furiae again. She was beautiful and didn’t look anything like a cursed priestess. Though, she didn’t seem like the luckiest either.
Then, I noticed it.
Is she shivering?
Her hand was shaking just a little. Though she looked the very picture of confidence, was she actually holding everything in? She’d told me that she didn’t have any allies in this world. Besides...
Sakurai asked me for help.
“What will you do, Hero of Roses?” Furiae asked again. Her voice was calm and no fear showed on her face. However, looking straight into her eyes, I could see that they were watering...
And I’ve got a weakness for that kind of thing. I made my decision.
“All right, Furiae.”
Will you become the guardian knight of Furiae, Priestess of the Moon?
▶Yes
No
“I’ll become your guardian knight,” I said, offering my right hand to her. She looked taken aback for a moment, then hesitantly reached out her own. I guess she hadn’t expected that I’d accept.
“Th-Then it is settled, my knight. Also...call me Princess Furiae. I want to make our positions clear...is that acceptable?”
“You want me to call you...Princess Furiae?”
“I do... Thank you.”
Hmm, I suppose she’s just fussy about that?
Well, that’s typical Makoto, I heard Noah comment wryly.
“Hero Makoto, you...”
“Makoto... Well, I pretty much expected that.”
“Just like you, Takatsuki.”
Princess Sophia and my other party members didn’t exactly sound thrilled. Had they been expecting me to decline?
“So, how do we do this?” I asked.
“Kneel in front of me and kiss my hand,” Furiae instructed.
“R-Right...”
That’s kind of embarrassing... Oh well.
I knelt and took her hand, bringing the sculpted fingers toward my lips—
“W-Wait!” Princess Sophia interjected. “You just need to make the contract while your hands are connected!”
“Oh, is that so?” Furiae asked.
“Really, Princess Sophia?” I asked at the same time, both of us turning in unison.
“Why? Did you not know?” Princess Sophia asked regretfully.
Furiae just cleared her throat and continued. “Take my hand, then... I propose a contract with thee as my knight, under thy name... What is thy name?”
Come on, at least remember my name! I’m supposed to be your guardian knight.
“Makoto Takatsuki.”
“Oh, right... Under thy name Makoto Takatsuki. I appoint thee as guardian knight of the Priestess of the Moon. I place my faith in thee, and bless thee. As long as thou shalt live, you will be my shield, my sword,” she declared solemnly.
Man, that’s cool.
I was just absently listening when she gave me a doubtful look.
“Excuse me, your answer if you would?”
Oh, so I needed to reply?
“I’ll work hard and do my best.”
“That...is a strange reply,” she said after giving me a steady glare. “Well, no matter.”
Well, what was I supposed to say?
Just then, my body started glowing faintly. I only had time to think, Wait, what the?! before it stopped.
“And now you should be my guardian knight,” declared Princess Furiae. “Check your Soul Book.”
“Oh, let’s have a look.” I opened it. Something new was indeed written there: “Guardian Knight of the Priestess of the Moon.”
My skills...hadn’t changed. Maybe it’ll take a while?
“Then, the contract’s complete,” I said to her. “I’ll leave tomorrow’s curse-breaking to you.”
“Indeed. I’ll unravel their shoddy spells,” Furiae announced, puffing up.
“Wait a moment,” Princess Sophia interrupted. “There are tens of thousands of beastmen in the city. How will you release all of them?”
That was a good question! Nina was nodding as well.
“Hmm, I suppose my voice would be the best vector for so many people. To unravel the curse, I can roam the city and sing,” she mused, a hand on her chin.
Right, so the cursed beastmen would just need to hear her.
“That could take hours’h...” Nina countered, her voice glum.
“Hundreds of people will probably lose their lives...” Chris added.
Okay...so we couldn’t avoid losses? Wait a minute...
“Hey, Fu—Princess. Can you use anything other than your voice?” I asked.
“I could break the curse via touch or sight, but that takes even longer.”
“Using the voice as a medium is the most efficient way of casting magic on a large, unknown number of people,” Princess Sophia confirmed.
But...
“What about this?” I asked before explaining my idea.
◇
“R-Reporting! The violence is gradually receding in the seventh district!” a soldier informed the people.
“Likewise in the eighth!” another added.
“What...was that...?” the archbishop asked blankly.
Ha ha, what a shock for you, I chuckled mentally.
“Archbishop Isaac of the Snake Sect. The riots will be under control shortly. Symphonia will not fall today,” Princess Noelle declared firmly.
“Our princess!”
“How?”
“It’s a miracle from Althena!”
“D-Don’t mock me! This plan is a decade in the making! It cannot fail!” The panicked voice of the archbishop cut across the cheers of the Highland soldiers.
“Answer me, Princess! Those reports were false, weren’t they! It doesn’t make sense otherwise. Even Sun Magic (God Rank) couldn’t remove a curse from that many people at once!”
Isaac spread his arms. Was he after sympathy?
“He’s freaking out,” said the Grandsage with a harsh smirk.
“He is,” I answered with a grin of my own.
“Still,” the Grandsage continued. “Using Synchro with the moon priestess and spreading the curse removal through the rain... That was inspired thinking.”
“It’s a good way of doing it, right?”
“It wouldn’t have been a possibility under normal circumstances,” she scoffed. But then, she stretched. “Controlling the weather is tiring. I won’t do it again, even if you’re the one asking.”
“I gave you my blood for it, didn’t I?”
“Weather magic is worth two servings,” she griped. “Hand over the second.”
“Right, right, okay.”
Getting my blood drained kinda hurt, but oh well.
“The Priestess of the Moon!” Isaac suddenly exclaimed. “No one is more skilled at curses than the Snake Sect, except her! That whore is helping you, isn’t she?!”
Oh, he was a sharp one.
“Don’t be foolish,” the pope refuted. “Highland would never ask for the cursed priestess’s aid!”
Princess Noelle remained silent.
“Reporting!” announced a soldier. “The violence has settled! There are still some revolting, but they are few in number.”
“Thank you,” Princess Noelle said to the knight. She then turned to the archbishop and coldly addressed him. “Did you hear that? Archbishop of the Snake Sect, it sounds like you spent a large amount of time on your plan... A shame.”
“Impossible... Impossible...” murmured Isaac madly. “Fine! In which case...”
Suicide Magic: Fire Storm.
Crap! He was desperate!
“This is pointless,” the Grandsage commented, thrusting out a hand and chanting, “Wood Magic: Ivy Prison.”
Isaac’s stolen body was instantly surrounded by vines. They wound around his arms, face, and the rest of him, preventing him from moving... Uh, could he breathe in there?
“Noelle, you can deal with him,” scoffed the Grandsage. “I doubt that this clown has much information since he was being controlled by the archbishop.”
“Thank you,” she answered with a bow. I was confident it would be dealt with.
“Grandsage!”
“Impressive as ever.”
“Her Highness was splendid as well!”
“Filthy-blooded plebeians are capable of little else...”
Those words, along with other yells, came from the Highlanders. Well, it was a good thing that humans didn’t end up in a civil war with the beastmen.
“Princess,” the pope spoke gravely. “There is something that weighs on me—the claim that we took the Priestess of the Moon’s aid to break the Snake Sect’s curse. Of course, I believe it to be nothing more than the ramblings of the filthy-blooded, but—”
Princess Noelle turned to him and spoke. “I acquired her aid to minimize casualties.”
“What?! Unthinkable! Our city is protected by Althena... Why would we request aid from filth of her ilk?!”
His face had gone red with rage. I’d thought of him as a nice person since he’d previously been against executing the beastmen! Now, he was kind of scary.
“Silence!” cried a voice. “Filthy blood this, filth that! Do you truly hate cambions so much?! It is thanks to my magic that the rebellion was suppressed!”
Damn, she’s snapped! She has a really short temper.
“Th-The Priestess of the Moon!”
“S-Seize her!”
“How? We can’t touch her!”
“She sure is beautiful...”
“Almost otherworldly...”
In moments, we’d been surrounded by soldiers. Had she already charmed some of them? They gradually grew closer to stop her from escaping.
However, Princess Noelle raised a hand to stop them. “I will say this—she is the reason that the brainwashing curse was removed... It was all thanks to Furiae.”
“Wh...at...?”
“Really?”
“So...we should let her go?”
The soldiers and nobles alike stirred in shock.
“I proclaim here, by my name, Princess Noelle, that Highland will forget its past enmity and work with the Priestess of the Moon to defeat the Great Demon Lord.”
Her face looked calm as she made her proclamation, but she hadn’t been entirely certain when we’d explained the plan yesterday... Eventually, she’d ended up capitulating to Sakurai’s persuasion, but she’d been against it to begin with.
Why did Highlanders hate Furiae so much?
“Impossible! How can you say that?!”
“Princess Noelle, you cannot make such decisions without His Majesty being present!”
“This is clearly illegal! Even you cannot get away with this!”
That sounded like the princes and prime minister, I thought. The five Sacred Nobles were just watching calmly.
“Father—His Majesty the King of Highland—has already assented to this. This is a document to that effect,” Princess Noelle said, exaggeratedly pulling out a piece of paper.
“His Majesty agreed?!”
“Impossible! He has said nothing of that!”
“How can you claim that?!”
Not everyone seemed on board, but if the king had already given the okay, things would probably be fine. Honestly, I was shocked that she’d managed to arrange all that in a single evening.
When I glanced over, I saw that Furiae was wearing a pout and had folded her arms, while Sakurai was looking on worriedly. I met his eyes—neither of us had a say in politics like this.
“I trust that will be all,” Owain said, projecting his voice over everyone’s complaints. “Symphonia is currently being approached by a vast array of monsters. We need to repel them first.”
At those words, everyone fell silent. Nice one, commander!
I’d just started to relax as everyone shut up, but then Owain approached me. “There are blighted beasts with the monsters. Even among Highland’s knights, very few soldiers have ever fought against them. I would greatly welcome the cooperation of you heroes.”
Gah, so that’s what he wanted... I honestly didn’t mind.
“That sounds entertaining,” the Grandsage commented, hopping up onto my shoulder and joining the conversation. “I will join as well.”
“You will join the battle personally?!” Owain asked in shock. “Do you not need to preserve your strength until the Great Demon Lord’s return?”
Oh, so that was why? I had wondered why she’d refrained from taking a frontline position.
“I will be supporting. My apprentice will be fighting. Isn’t that right, Redhead Mage?”
“Wha? M-Me?” Lucy asked in shock.
Wait, Lucy was her apprentice?
“She’s the great-granddaughter of Johnnie from Springrogue, and the Crimson Witch’s daughter. I personally guarantee her abilities.”
The Highland soldiers all cheered. That was a nice reaction, and all from mentions of her great-grandfather and mother’s names. Apparently, her mother was a famous mage, and they’d certainly recognized the names.
But...
“Are you okay?” I asked Lucy quietly.
“Y-Yeah. I’ve managed to get my proficiency up, more or less...” That hesitancy was making me worry.
“We’ll be helping too,” I told her. “Right, Sasa?”
“Yup! Good luck, Lu!”
“Your Grace, Archdukes, I am temporarily taking command of the Temple Knights and the Four Cardinal Knights,” the commander in chief told them. Owain then assigned groups of soldiers to each location.
The north gate would be manned by the Soleil Knights (the first and second divisions, at least), the North Cardinal Knights, and the Heroes of Roses (including me).
The south gate would have the Soleil Knights (third and fourth divisions), the South Cardinal Knights, and the Grandsage, plus her apprentice (Lucy).
The east gate would have the Soleil Knights (fifth and sixth divisions), the East Cardinal Knights, and the Temple Knights.
The west gate would have the Soleil Knights (seventh division), the West Cardinal Knights, and the Hero of Light.
Wait, hang on a minute.
“I’m at a different gate than Lucy?” I asked.
“What? No way!” Lucy said, meeting my glance.
“Are you going to come with us as well then, Elementalist?” the Grandsage said, her tone inviting.
H-Hmm... I glanced toward Princess Sophia and Prince Leonardo. We made up the Heroes of Roses, so only I would be separating off. And, most importantly...
“Leo...be careful,” Princess Sophia said worriedly.
“I-I will!” he replied, even more nervously.
“We will protect Prince Leonardo! Am I understood, you louts?!” the geezer bellowed.
“Yessir!” his subordinates responded.
I’m worried about him... I thought. Back in Horn, he’d been overrun by a single blight monster.
“No, I’ll stick to the north,” I decided. “By the way, where’s the Hero of Lightning going?”
“Gerald...vanished while under house arrest,” Archduke Ballantine—his father—answered with a sour look.
Come on, Gerald, where’d you go?! It’s your time to shine!
“I heard that Highland had three other heroes...” I said, trailing off.
“The others are currently away from the capital carrying out other duties. You are the only heroes present...”
“I-I see...”
If we were backed by the strongest military on the continent, we’d be fine! Well...probably.
“To your posts,” Owain commanded. “Godspeed.” He would apparently be taking command of everyone from the castle.
With those final words ringing in our ears, each of us headed off toward our own battlefields.
◇ Symphonia — North Gate ◇
A dust cloud was approaching the city. The ground shook. A swarm of huge monsters trudged forward as one, kicking up dust in their wake as they moved toward the north gate. According to the reports, there were around five thousand of them.
The Soleil Knights, the North Cardinal Knights, and the allied forces of Roses were waiting to face the onslaught—it would be around ten minutes before we met.
As our troops marched to the north gate, the various commanders introduced themselves.
“I am Ortho, leader of the first division of the Soleil Knights. Well met, Heroes of Roses.”
“Leader of the second division, Stora. Let us fight together.”
“I am Berg, sub-leader of the North Cardinal knights. Good to meet you.”
We Heroes of Roses then gave our own introductions.
“I’m Leonardo, first prince of Roses and the Hero of Ice and Snow. It’s good to meet you.”
“I’m Makoto Takatsuki, the Hero of Roses,” I added to round things out...even as I felt somewhat overwhelmed by the other burly leaders.
I glanced around and noticed that someone was glaring my way. She was a beautiful knight clad in golden armor, with blonde hair and slanted eyes. I was sure that this was the first time we’d met, but she looked somewhat familiar.
Oh, she’s coming over here.
“I am the commander of the first pegasus division, Janet Ballantine,” she stated coldly. “I hear you were involved with my brother recently.”
“Umm...”
Oh, she’s the Hero of Lightning’s little sister! They look just like each other!
Uh, wait...that means the North Cardinal Knights...
I remembered the sub-leader apologizing and explaining that Gerald, the North Cardinal Knights’ commander, would normally be here... So these were his knights! It almost felt like their frigid gazes lowered the temperature of the air by a few degrees when they looked at me.
Owain, why?! Why would you put us here?! Is this bullying?! Is it?! Ugh, this is awkward...
There was no more conversation as we traveled.
◇ In Front of the North Gate ◇
The monsters weren’t approaching quickly but were taking their time with an inexorable advance. Perhaps it was due to some mage controlling them, but all of the monsters seemed uncomfortably orderly.
It was like...they were conserving energy so they could rampage at the gate.
“They’re getting closer, Makoto...” Prince Leonardo murmured, face pallid. He was shivering slightly.
“There is nothing to fear!” exclaimed the bodyguard. “The monsters number only around five thousand! Our forces are greater than ten thousand strong!”
Well, the geezer certainly seemed energetic. Actually, he was officially a guardian knight as well, wasn’t he? Maybe I could ask him about the ins and outs of being one.
“Why are you getting high and mighty?” someone sneered, mocking the geezer. “You’re just knights from a piddling kingdom.”
“That’s right, don’t get in our way.”
“It’s not like your soldiers will be any help, is it?” cackled a third voice.
I looked up to see who’d spoken.
The pegasus division?
A group of female knights was centered around that Janet woman from earlier, and they were all riding pegasi. They were all beautiful, and that combined with the grace of the pegasi, well...it looked like they could have been a painting come to life.
But...
They don’t seem like the nicest of people. I’d rather stay away from them.
“Hero Makoto of Roses, I trust you will prove that your defeat of my brother was no mere fluke,” Janet said harshly. I’d just have to ignore her... It wasn’t like I could do anything about it.
“Do we have any strategy?” I asked, turning toward Ortho.
“According to the scouts, the group approaching us contains no blight monsters,” he replied.
“Oh, so they’re just a diversion?”
Phew, no strong monsters here.
“It would seem so. Do not let your guard down, though.”
“We will have the mages bombard the monsters before they arrive,” declared someone else.
“Indeed,” confirmed the commander. “We believe that we should be able to almost halve their numbers with magical attacks alone.”
I let out an impressed noise. Around us, there were more than a thousand mages all chanting spells. From what I could hear, they were all high rank as well. That should make a good initial salvo. And the monsters were all grouped together, so it seemed like it’d be effective.
I still would’ve rather been near the ocean, I thought.
There weren’t many water elementals here. But the gate closest to the ocean was where the Snake Sect’s main forces would attack, so Highland had directed the most firepower there. In other words...
Just as I was musing, my eyes were scorched by a bright flash. I peered back and could see a huge cross of light shining in the sky by the western gate.
“That would be the Hero of Light,” commented a Soleil Knight.
“His legendary Sword of Light skill is always overwhelming.”
“There must have been a blight monster...”
I listened to their commentary. Sakurai’s skills were all so flashy. However, it looked like the bulk of the enemies were on that side.
“It seems that the battle has started at the western gate.”
“The fighting will reach us soo—hm?”
The chatter was suddenly cut off by a screech similar to the cry of a keening raptor.
“What is that?!” The geezer pointed toward a huge bird made of fire that’d just appeared. It soared in the air near the southern gate.
“A fire phoenix... That’s Fire Magic (King Rank). I’m shocked we have someone capable of it,” commented a Soleil Knight. I was surprised too.
But then...I recognized the feeling of the mana in that spell.
It was Lucy.
“She can use king rank magic now...”
The battle hadn’t even started, but my eyes were already watering. Back in Macallan, I’d spent a long time training Lucy’s fire magic with her. I’d honestly started to think of her king rank skill as more of a fashion accessory than anything else. Since then, she’d grown so much...
Sometime soon, I’d have to get her to demonstrate up close.
“Th-That’s Lucy’s spell?!” the prince asked in shock.
“Incredible!” the guardian geezer added.
Sasa was with her too—I’d felt bad about leaving Lucy on her own, even if she was with the Grandsage.
“A mage from Roses? Hm...impressive.” Even the sub-leader of the North Cardinal Knights was impressed. Hearing praise heaped on my friend certainly put me in a good mood, but something was worrying me.
“The weather cleared up...” I complained.
I wasn’t sure if it was because of Sakurai’s skill or Lucy’s spell, but the rain I’d gotten the Grandsage to conjure was now gone. There were still clouds, but the drizzle had stopped.
Would I be able to use my water magic? I looked back at the approaching monsters and could see their large forms distantly.
“They’re here,” I said.
“Indeed,” replied a commander with a nod.
Then, my RPG Player skill activated.
“Hm?”
The choice was a disconcerting one.
Will you fight the ancient monsters?
Yes
No
Ancient, huh? That...worries me.
“Does anyone here have an Appraisal skill? Ultra rank if possible,” I called, looking around at the various knights.
“I do, Hero,” someone answered with a raised hand. They looked like a mage.
“What more do you need to know?” The pegasus division had started up their jeering again. “Are you scared, Hero of Roses?”
“Perhaps the monsters have made him lose his nerve.”
I ignored them and spoke to the mage. “Can you check to see if any of the monsters are ancient...over a thousand years old?” I asked.
“You think there are ancient monsters in the group?”
“Probably...” I muttered.
“Wait a moment.” Everyone’s attention was gathered on the mage and me. After what felt like ages, the mage spoke again. Their voice was shaking. “I-I’ve confirmed it.”
“So?” asked one of the soldiers. “Are there?”
“Are you quaking in your boots there, little her—”
“They all are!” the mage interrupted.
Everyone collectively emitted a shocked gasp.
Ack, damn it... All of them? Monsters a millennium old...they’ll definitely be stronger than the norm.
“Every single one... All of them. The five thousand monsters coming toward us are all remnant beasts from a thousand years ago!” exclaimed the mage.
“I-Impossible...”
“It cannot be!”
Everyone’s expressions changed completely.
Uh...are we in more trouble than I thought? Isaac, you schemer!
“Mages, fire now!” Several thousand flashes of light burst into being at Ortho’s command. The spells struck the monsters, causing blasts and detonations. “Start your next spells immediately!” he commanded. “Our enemies are all ancient monsters! This wave alone will not defeat them!”
I might’ve been imagining things...but the roar of the approaching monsters seemed to almost answer the commander’s words. The beasts burst forward through the initial blast of spells, and...
I couldn’t even see a single corpse?! What happened to defeating half of them? Though, I suppose that calculation must have been based on the strength of normal monsters.
“Can we win?” I asked the sub-leader.
“With our current forces...likely not. I have called for reinforcements.” His voice was tense but calm. If he’d called for backup, then there was only one thing we could do.
“Let’s buy some time,” I said. “Prince Leonardo, give me your hand.”
“R-Right! Hyah!” he yelped girlishly. Even though I felt bad, I carried on.
“Synchro. Also, elementals, lend me your strength!” I called, combining the mana from the prince and the elementals. “Ice Magic: Ice wall!”
There was a rumbling as I generated a wall of ice—it rose up between us and the monsters, as thick and tall as I could make it.
“W-Wow.”
“H-He created a wall of that size without even chanting.”
“So much mana.”
The knights all stirred, but my barrier would only buy us time.
“Earth mages! Reinforce that wall!”
“Those at the wall, kill the monsters as they reach it!”
“Mages, fire your next volley past the wall! Keep firing until you’re out of mana!”
With those commands, violent combat began on both ends of the wall. The mages rained down magic beyond it. But then...
“Griffins!”
“Wyverns too!”
Flying monsters had started rushing over the wall! They weren’t like any wyverns or griffins I’d ever seen before—their bodies were entirely pitch-black, and of course, over a thousand years old!
Right, let’s do this! I thought, readying my dagger.
“Listen! Protect the heroes! We cannot lose them to a battle like this!”
“Sir!”
Uh? Hang on, what?
The Soleil Knights had suddenly taken up a formation around the prince and me.
“Princess Noelle gave the orders. We are to prioritize Sir Leonardo and your own lives as heroes of another nation,” someone explained.
“Is this really the time for that?” I asked.
“Thanks to you, we know about their ancient status ahead of time, and you created defenses as well. The rest is up to us!”
“Please, fall back.” Even the sub-leader implored us to do so, and he stood in front to shield us.
The knights were fighting, but they were falling one after another.
Each of the monsters was uncommonly tough, and even when one seemed defeated, it would stand back up again. The ice wall holding them back was starting to crack, and I could hear huge thuds of monsters ramming into it from the other side.
If it breaks, the land-bound monsters will attack en masse...
We were on the ropes already... It would spell our doom if we were overrun like that.
“Look up!” someone screamed.
“A red dragon!”
Above us, a knight riding a pegasus was locked in fierce combat with a flying dragon.
“Water Magic: Ice Spear!”
Just before it could close its teeth around her, I fired a spear into its eye.
The beast roared in anguish.
“Thank you!” the pegasus knight shouted down at me.
“It’s still coming!” I yelled back. I’d only distracted it, and the dragon’s roar had transitioned to an angrier tone as it readied its fire breath. “Water Magic: Ice Spear!” I yelled.
Using the last of my mana, I pierced its other eye.
The dragon’s fire breath seared across the sky...away from the knight.
Elementals...elementals... I chanted in my mind.
But there was no response. Water elementals preferred peace, so they probably hated the chaos of a battlefield. There weren’t many of them here to begin with, and now, I couldn’t hear any. Conjuring the wall had used up all the mana I’d borrowed.
What should I do? The monsters weren’t decreasing in number, and they pressed ever on. Even with Calm Mind dialed up, I was getting uneasy and twitchy.
But then, I heard something.
Sun Magic: Thunderbolt!
A massive bolt of lightning struck the red dragon, knocking it and some adjacent wyverns from the sky. Wind buffeted us.
The Grandsage?!
“You call yourselves the strongest Cardinal Knights in Highland?! Look alive!” shouted a gleaming figure. He wore golden armor and had shining blond hair. His aura made him look like a living lightning bolt as he strode forward.
It was Gerald, the Hero of Lightning.
Perfect timing! The hero’s always late, after all.
“Yes, Sir Gerald!” the Cardinal Knights roared in unison. The Soleil Knights looked relieved as well. We were counterattacking then?
Suddenly, the ice wall broke with a sharp crack! Monsters poured in through the fissures.
“Take this, you beasts!” Gerald leaped into the fray, then headed directly to the spot where the monsters had breached the wall.
Whoa, was he pulling a kamikaze run?! He sure was a hero.
“M-Makoto,” stammered Prince Leonardo, “does Gerald know that they are ancient monsters from a millennium ago?”
I suddenly realized the severity of the circumstances, and the commander by my side seemed to as well. “Ah...” we said simultaneously.
D-Damn it, we have to warn him!
“Hey, Gerald!” I yelled.
“Lord Gerald!” called Ortho.
“Drop dead!” Apparently, in the midst of his charge, Gerald couldn’t hear us. He kicked up dust as he rushed the monsters.
Uh, he’ll be okay, right? I looked worriedly over in his direction, but I could see the golden knight fighting energetically.
“Oh, they’re pretty strong!” he cried out as he sliced through beasts.
Phew, guess he was safe. Every time he swung his crackling (and probably) magic sword, enemies were torn apart and scorched. Even these ancient monsters were no match for him.
“He seems okay!” I shouted.
“Indeed! That’s our Hero of Lightning!”
The Soleil Knights breathed a sigh of relief as well, but not everything was solved.
“Aid Sir Gerald!”
“Brother!”
The sub-leader and the pegasus division, led by Gerald’s younger sister, all rushed to assist him. It was a good thing too—the burden of slaying ancient monsters would have been too much for the Hero of Lightning alone.
“Mages! Cover fire!” ordered the leader of the second division.
“Sir! The mages are beginning to run out of mana!”
“Curses. The knights and clerics are still hanging on, but...”
The knights were covered in a violent aura, but the clerics supporting them from behind looked exhausted. Fatigue infused Symphonia’s defenders. In comparison, the monsters were throwing their all into the attack. That must be how monsters act when controlled... It certainly wasn’t one of the nicer tactics that the Snake Sect had used.
Where do we even go from here? I wondered.
I glanced at Prince Leonardo to find him staring back in worry. “M-Makoto...at this rate...”
We’ll be overrun before reinforcements arrive. If the gate fell, then hundreds of citizens would die. I could feel eyes on me. The Soleil Knights and Roses’s troops were all looking our way.
They think we should be able to do something because we’re heroes, huh? Actually, is this how Sakurai feels all the time?
I didn’t cope well with attention, and Sakurai managed to fulfill the role of the savior’s reincarnation. We’d need to go out for a drink at some point. Before that, though, I needed to deal with the problem in front of us.
What can I do? I asked myself, setting Calm Mind to 99%.
I was out of my own mana, and it would take some time before I could use the elementals again. Prince Leonardo didn’t have much mana left either, so I couldn’t borrow any more from him.
If Princess Sophia were here—no, the battlefield is no place for a princess. I shouldn’t rely on things I can’t have.
Something... Anything... Just some kind of trump card.
“Elementals, help me,” I said, unconsciously slipping into their language and reaching a hand out. There was a little blue elemental floating in front of me, and it flew right through my hand. Guess I couldn’t touch them. I’d considered using Synchro with the elementals, but that wouldn’t happen if I couldn’t actually hold onto them...
“If there’s anything...anything I can do, I’ll do it,” I pleaded in the same language, arm still outstretched.
There was no answer.
Just as I slumped in defeat, I heard something.
“Hey, do you need a hand?” a voice murmured into my ear.
This...wasn’t the usual childish voice that the elementals spoke in. I turned around to see a beautiful girl with completely blue skin. With one glance, I could tell that she wasn’t a real person.
“An elemental?” I asked after a pause. I’d never seen one that looked so...human.
She almost looked like Noah.
“You have a familiar scent,” she said in the language of the elementals.
“What?”
But the elemental in the form of a girl didn’t answer—she placed her palm in mine, engulfing my hand in a chill.
Sh-She’s touching me? Can I use Synchro with her?
◇ The Hero of Lightning’s Perspective ◇
I didn’t know how many monsters I’d cut down. When I hit the tenth, I stopped bothering to count. I just wanted to focus on defeating them.
“Sir Gerald!”
“Brother!”
My Cardinal Knights and my younger sister were coming to offer reinforcements.
“Don’t get too close!” I yelled. “Focus on support!” I was currently fighting them, so I knew that these were no ordinary monsters. Even an average, higher-tier knight would be no match for them.
As I fought, I glanced around to get a perspective of the battlefield. I saw that the Cardinal Knights were fighting in the center and the Soleil Knights were off to the sides. The pegasus division and the mages were attacking the flying monsters.
But...it’s not going well.
We were being steadily overrun. I cast a sidelong look at the hero from Roses.
What are you playing at?! Use the spell that defeated me!
However, he didn’t show any sign of casting.
“Damn it! That coward!” Was he scared of these things?!
I’d just redirected my attention back to the monsters when suddenly, it happened. An overwhelming chill enveloped me, snaking up my back. I froze.
I remembered fighting a dragon when I was young.
I remembered challenging that old hag and getting trounced.
I remembered an otherworlder showing up and stealing my childhood friend and fiancée.
The chilly, dreadful sensation was similar to what I’d felt during those moments in my life. I whirled around.
“Wh-What in the world?”
“Magic...?”
“R-Run! We’ll get caught up in it!”
The knights at the north gate were in a panic, and as I turned, I could see why.
A giant was breaking the skyline...one made of water.
“What...in...the...”
The soldiers weren’t the only ones scared of it—even the monsters seemed terrified. The giant looked down at us before slowly swinging a massive arm at the ground in front of it.
“Ahhh!”
“H-Help!”
“W-We’re gonna die... Wait?”
“Nothing happened?”
The blow had looked like an indiscriminate attack, but in the end, it had only struck the monsters. In one swipe, the giant’s water limbs engulfed the enemies on the ground and those in the sky. They were trying to escape, but it looked like they couldn’t. An impressive spell...
Everyone watched agape. When the giant seemed to contain all the monsters within its watery form, it pivoted and began to lumber toward the sea.
I turned toward our dazed soldiers and spotted the familiar brat. Immediately, I dashed over to him. “You! Did the Hero of Roses cast that?!” I shouted.
“He did!” the kid confirmed with sparkling eyes. “It was Makoto!” He seemed overjoyed.
“And you’re okay with that?” I asked, scoffing. “He’ll end up as Roses’s representative hero at this rate.”
“Makoto is amazing!” The Hero of Ice and Snow had a face flushed like a maiden, and I didn’t feel like pressing him any further.
“Tch, if he could do that, he should have done so from the start...” I felt like an idiot for rushing over.
“Oh,” commented a voice from behind me. Out of nowhere, someone had suddenly appeared. “So the reinforcements have arrived, but for what? The battle is already over.”
“Grandsage!”
“Don’t just appear, old hag,” I said.
“What was that?” she replied, hitting me. Oww. “What an ill-mannered student you are. That spell is strange, though.”
She was looking upon the giant with admiration.
“What the hell is it?” I asked. I could only feel a piddling pool of mana coming from the hero, so how’d he do it?
“I don’t know,” replied the Grandsage.
“What?”
Don’t lie—you know everything.
“It’s like the elemental magic that Johnnie used...” she continued, “but I cannot use it myself.”
“And your only point of comparison is the legendary mage Johnnie Walker?” That was one of her party members from a thousand years ago. Saying that this spell was similar to his magic... Those otherworlders were all the same.
“Gerald. The elementalist is probably out of control. Go help him,” the Grandsage instructed.
“What?” What the hell did she mean? Earlier, his attack had only hit the monsters. How was that not in control?
“The giant is swaying,” she explained. “He might not be using the magic consciously. It’s dangerous for him. He pushed himself too far to help you Highlanders.”
“Tch...” For real? That was unconscious? Don’t screw with me.
“Off you go,” she said, kicking me in the back.
“Ow, you damn hag!” I yelled back. But I followed her direction, using flight magic to pursue the giant. What a pain!
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
The monsters were all suspended in the water that made up the giant’s body. I didn’t know what I would do with them now, but I’d decided to take them out to sea.
I feel awful...
Things felt strange, like when I’d had too much to drink. This was the first time it’d happened to me, but at least I knew what was happening—I was manasick, drunk on mana, like Lucy was quite often. Plus, there was a gorgeous elemental next to me.
“Are you having fun?” she giggled. The cute, blue-skinned elemental smiled at me. She’d told me her name earlier: Arch Elemental of Water, Undyne.
Essentially, she seemed to like me, so she’d helped. I was currently Synchro’d with her, and mana gushed forth from her form like water. Elementals possessed infinite mana...or something. It wasn’t like Princess Sophia or Prince Leonardo where there was a limit; with Undyne, I didn’t know when to stop. I was heading toward the sea, and after that, what would I do...?
“Hey, won’t you play with me forever?” the girl that looked like Noah offered with an inviting grin. It was a tempting proposition...
Hmm? Something was coming this way? Who was it?
Oh. That blond guy with the nasty look. He’d flown into my giant.
“Get it together!” Gerald yelled, hitting me.
“Guh!”
He grabbed hold of my collar and shook me vigorously back to my senses. Suddenly, the giant lost its shape and all the monsters were expelled. Some of them drowned, others swam out into the open sea, and so on. Not one of them headed back toward Highland, though.
Undyne had vanished.
Should I leave those monsters be? I wondered.
Most of them had escaped into the water... I could give chase and finish them off, I thought vaguely before my wooly mind made a connection.
Hang on. I’m in midair, aren’t I?
“You!” shouted an angry voice from above me. I peered up and saw Gerald holding me up in the air. “Back with us?”
“Y-Yeah.” Whoops. Apparently, the Hero of Lightning had come to save me.
“The hag made me come get you. She said your magic was out of control.”
“Ack.”
That was the second time it’d happened. This was bad—I’d be on the Grandsage’s menu again.
“We’re going back. Can you fly?”
“I cannot.”
“Why not?!”
Flight magic was a mid rank spell. A mage apprentice couldn’t use it.
“Damn it. Hold on,” he spat, carrying me back toward the shore.
“Uh, thanks, Sir Gerald.” He was an archduke’s son, so I figured I should be careful with my words. Even if it was a bit late...
“Don’t bother with the ‘Sir.’”
“Uh, Mr. Gerald?”
“Or that. Just use my name.”
I wasn’t fond of addressing people casually when I wasn’t close with them.
“Jerry?” I suggested.
“I’ll kill you.”
Eep.
“Thanks, Gerald.”
Silence.
He didn’t even respond!
There was no more conversation after that, but he took me to the north gate where the others were waiting.
“Makoto!” the prince cheered, hugging me.
“Hero! Your spell was outstanding!” said the guardian geezer. It seemed that he was safe as well.
“That was splendid, Hero Makoto.”
“You ended up saving us,” said a pair of Soleil Knights with awkward smiles.
“Is everyone else okay?” I asked.
“Thanks to you. The heavily wounded have been taken for treatment.”
That was good news...though I didn’t know how many people we’d lost.
“Reporting! All four gates have successfully repelled the monsters!”
“Did you all get that?! We won!”
In response to their commander, a great cheer rose up from the men.
Right, guess we finished it. That was good.
The celebrations continued for a while, and then someone approached me. They wore golden armor and had hair that shined in the same color. He looked at me, and the soldiers of Roses around me, then turned away.
Uh? Did he not want something?
“Hero of Roses, you saved the North Cardinal Knights,” Gerald proclaimed without turning around. “But don’t misunderstand me! You’re stronger right now! The next time we fight, though, I’ll win!”
“R-Right...”
But I don’t want to fight you...
“You saved us. Thanks.” And with that, he left.
What was he, a tsundere?
“Makoto, let’s go back to my sister,” Prince Leonardo suggested. “I’m sure she’s worried.”
“Yeah, let’s.” I wanted to see Lucy and Sasa again too. They were safe, right?
“It is finally over,” remarked the guardian geezer.
I nodded. “Well...let’s get going.”
I’m so tired...
The chaos facing Symphonia was over.
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