Chapter 5: Rescue
Roughly one hour before Liselotte was invited to the meeting room, Rio, Aria, and Aishia had arrived in the Holy Democratic Republic of Erica alongside Saint Erica’s return. Rio was carrying Aria in his arms while overlooking the capital city below; they soared in the skies above the south side of Ericaburg just past noontime.
Rio and Aria were both wearing cloaks on top of their combat clothes. Rio’s favorite black wyvern coat had been repaired in the spirit folk village, but walking around in it would attract too much attention, so he wasn’t wearing it now.
Aishia, go after the saint to locate Liselotte. Contact me as soon as you find her. Plan A is to check where she’s been confined, if it’s possible to escape by using an invisibility art, and to rescue her right away if so. If it seems difficult to get away, we’ll come up with a Plan B depending on her confinement conditions.
He had come up with a rough outline of the plan with Aria while they were moving, so once he came within range of communicating with Aishia, he gave her a short summary of what they had decided on.
Got it. The saint has descended in the heart of the city. She’s going into a building. I’ll contact you later.
Thank you. Aria and I will check the state of the city in the meantime.
Rio could see the saint’s griffin descend in the noble district with his own eyes. He then ended his communication with Aishia.
“She’s entered an official building. Aishia’s going to follow her and check whether Liselotte is inside,” he said to Aria in his arms.
“Okay. From what I can see from above, the entire city is under repair. It must be the aftermath of the revolution. The buildings past what looks like the noble district are all ruined, and there’s nothing but a pile of rubble at the very back...”
They could see workers laboring away at the ruined city—a rather heartrending sight.
“Position-wise, that should be where the castle stood, I’m guessing.”
“Perhaps. Just how could this happen, though...” Aria stared down at the destroyed castle. It was no small feat to crush something so thoroughly into a mountain of debris.
“I can’t imagine the castle turning into a pile of rubble just because the revolutionary army came near. Either the Saint used her Divine Arms, or another ancient artifact was used to attack...”
The attack had to have been of a substantial scale to create such a phenomenon.
“The land south of the capital is also ruined. Perhaps the revolutionary army approached from the south and faced the royal army there.”
It wasn’t as simple as the troops marching through—the land was gouged open, protruding in various places.
“The terrain is only ruined on one side. The revolutionary army may have had a one-sided victory.”
In reality, the revolutionary army ten thousand strong had marched from the south, led by Erica. The royal army of two thousand awaited them.
However, the two armies never engaged in combat. Erica had wiped out the two thousand soldiers of the royal army in under a minute. That gave the masses that marched into the city afterwards the momentum to charge straight into the noble district.
“There was something strange about that saint. She was incredibly resilient. If you ever have to face her, please be extra careful,” Aria said with a bitter expression, having faced defeat in Amande.
“Yes, I’ll remain vigilant...” Rio nodded, staring down at the capital city with a severe gaze. They had been following one step behind this entire time, but—
“Let’s check the interior of the city next. It’s our turn to make a move.”
Rio began his descent to the deserted exterior of the city as he carried Aria.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, someone was following after Rio—Reiss. He had just caught sight of Rio and Aria stepping into the city on foot.
“...”
Reiss observed the capital of Ericaburg below him just as Rio and Aria had done so earlier. He gazed upon the ruins of the utterly destroyed castle.
It seems the saint has mastered her hero powers after all. All that’s left is to check if she can materialize one of those, and her awakening as a hero is confirmed. The only thing else to be done is pray that she hasn’t awakened...
Reiss sighed tiredly, imagining the worst if that were to happen.
For now, the Black Knight should be pitted against the saint to check whether she’s awakened. I doubt he has a chance against her if she’s really awakened, but he shouldn’t have a problem with fleeing if he needs to.
He had already prepared a plan in anticipation of Rio making an attempt to escape. The only issue was how to get Rio and the saint to crush each other for sure, and what to do from there on. He needed to confirm whether the saint was an awakened hero as soon as possible.
The humanoid spirit’s snuck to make the rescue while the Black Knight and head attendant wait outside as backup diversions, I guess.
Skilled spirit art users could change the refractive index of the air to become invisible, but that didn’t change the fact the user was physically there.
Sending Aishia to infiltrate in her spirit form was clearly the safest option. Their obvious goal to rescue Liselotte made it easy to predict their movements.
Someone as skilled as him would easily be able to retrieve Liselotte Cretia in secret, but I’m afraid I’ll be using this opportunity to have him fight.
With a faint smile, Reiss began his descent into the city.
◇ ◇ ◇
Haruto. I found Liselotte.
Shortly after Rio and Aria entered the capital of Ericaburg, Aishia contacted them with notice of Liselotte’s discovery.
They were currently in an urban area, on a main street with lots of citizens walking by. Business wasn’t booming by any means, but the expressions of the pedestrians were bright and full of life. They were in the middle of scouting the area before the rescue plan went ahead.
“Aria, come down this alley for a second. Aishia sent a message.” Rio stepped off the main street as he called his traveling companion towards a deserted back alley.
Thanks. How is she?
Safe and sound. She’s been summoned to a meeting that’s about to happen. Her guards are with her right now.
In that case, wait until she’s alone before making contact with her. Continue watching the situation for now.
Got it.
I’m in town with Aria. We’re going to scout the area, then try to sneak as close to your building as possible. If anything strange happens, use your own judgment to make a move. But inform me right away.
Okay.
Like that, Rio gave Aishia the necessary instructions and ended their communications once again.
“It seems she’s found Liselotte. She hasn’t made contact yet, but she seems to be doing well,” he informed Aria.
“I’m glad to hear it...” Aria bowed her head, overcome with emotion.
“She still needs to be saved. We’ll do what we can as well. Let’s go,” Rio said gently, prompting her to move. The fastest escape route after securing Liselotte would be to fly away, but moving vigorously would lift the invisibility art cast on them. Thus, if they wanted to rescue Liselotte without anyone’s notice, it would have to be on foot.
When they rescued her, they’d want to walk to somewhere isolated before taking off into the skies. In order to do that, they needed to have a clear understanding of the city’s layout. They’d also have to enter the former noble district.
“Right.”
The two resumed their exploration of the city.
◇ ◇ ◇
Around an hour and a half later at most, the trial-like meeting had concluded, and the congress had finished their verbal attack on Liselotte.
“Here you are...” Andrei opened the door to the room where Liselotte was being confined, prompting her inside.
“Thanks.” Liselotte nodded and went through the door obediently. There had been no conversation between her, Andrei, and Natalia on the way back to this room.
There was no way of telling what she was thinking from her expression and tone of voice. On the other hand, Andrei seemed to have some thoughts after the meeting that had just happened, and had been watching Liselotte with a conflicted face this entire time. Because of that, the air around them was rather heavy.
“Thank you for joining us in the discussion today. Please rest for a while.” Erica’s attitude was completely different compared to the earlier meeting, as she spoke out of consideration for Liselotte.
“I will. Excuse me,” Liselotte replied without turning around to face Erica and marched into the room. Erica and Natalia turned to leave the room as well, but Andrei remained frozen, watching Liselotte’s back.
“...”
Just as he was about to say something, Erica spoke up.
“Let’s go, Andrei,” she said to his back.
“Right...”
Andrei nodded with a drooping head, following Erica and Natalia out of the room.
“Andrei. You may vent those conflicted emotions of yours to me directly,” Erica said once the door closed behind them.
“Saint Erica...” Andrei’s head drooped further as he clenched his fists. “Honestly... I’m disappointed. Despite understanding the injustice of the noble class, she chose to remain a noble. At the end of the day, even someone as wise as her prioritizes their status. She doesn’t give the future of the people any thought. I’ve misjudged her,” he confessed.
“You poor thing, Andrei... You believed in a future where you could work together with her. You are a very pure person, so you’re hurt by having your expectations betrayed. But you still have some expectations left, don’t you? That’s why you didn’t vent your negative emotions to her. You wish for her understanding.”
“That may be true...”
“Andrei, humans can be strongly hurt when they are betrayed. Don’t forget these feelings of yours. Your essence as a human is tested by how you stand up against that pain and despair. That’s why this is an opportunity for you to grow. How will you interact with Liselotte the next time you see her? Give that question some thought by yourself.”
“Okay...” Andrei nodded stiffly.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, immediately after Erica and the others left the room...
“...”
Liselotte sat down, stifling her vexed emotions. She had been abducted to a foreign country and forced to receive one-sided abuse in a public beating. The reality of that was finally setting in this very moment, and tears welled in her eyes. The feelings swirled in her chest, ready to explode—but she held them back.
“Someone...save me...” Liselotte mumbled hoarsely, pleading for salvation.
At that moment, Aishia materialized in the empty room. “Liselotte.”
“Yes...”
“You okay?”
“I don’t think so.”
Liselotte was in such a daze, she replied to Aishia without thinking. Perhaps that was why she showed a weak side of herself she usually kept hidden.
“I’m sorry. I watched the whole meeting happen, but I couldn’t do anything to help,” Aishia apologized regretfully.
“It’s fine... Wait, what? A-Aishia...? Is that you?” Liselotte finally noticed whom she was talking to.
“Yup.”
Why was Aishia here? How did she sneak in? She just said she watched the whole meeting, but how could she do that? All kinds of questions filled her head, confusing her more and more.
“Wh-Wha?!” She let out a rarely heard sound of clear astonishment.
“Quiet. I came to save you.”
“W-Wait a minute. What’s the meaning of this?” Liselotte asked quietly.
“I was waiting for you to be left alone. That’s why I’m here now. We’re going to sneak out of here together.”
“You came out...of where? How long have you been here?”
“I’ll explain the details after we get outside. Haruto and Aria are waiting.”
“Huh? Sir Haruto and Aria are here too...?”
They had come to save her... Realizing that filled her with an indescribable happiness. Could this be a dream? She pinched her cheek as though to check.
“It’s not a dream.”
“So it seems...”
“I’m here. You’re not alone.”
“A-Aishia...”
Unable to hold herself back any longer, tears spilled from Liselotte’s eyes.
“Don’t cry.”
“Sorry...”
“Don’t apologize. Wait, I’m contacting Haruto right now.” Aishia held up her left hand to tell Liselotte to wait.
“What...?”
What was Aishia saying? Just how could she contact him from here? Liselotte cocked her head in confusion.
“...” Aishia stood in silence for a moment.
“Haruto gave the okay. The preliminary investigations are done, and they’re ready to go. All that’s left is for me to bring you out of here.” It seemed as though she’d really managed to contact him.
“O-Okay?”
What was going on?
“I’m going to neutralize the guards outside the room. Wait here a moment.” As soon as she said that, Aishia turned into particles of light and disappeared.
“Huh...?!” Liselotte’s eyes widened in shock. Mere seconds later, the door to the room opened with a click.
“I knocked them out.” Aishia came back into the room, having knocked out the male guard. She closed the door behind her, laying him down on the floor.
“A-An explanation. Please give me an explanation... It doesn’t have to be right now, but later.”
Liselotte fell speechless for a moment, then gave up on thinking for now. She asked for an explanation later and steadied her nerves for whatever shocks might occur from this moment onwards.
“Sure. I’m going to make us invisible now. Don’t let go of my hand, and don’t make any loud noises.”
“Okay!”
She can turn invisible? Wow! Simple thoughts raced through Liselotte’s mind as she gave a short but delighted reply, holding onto Aishia’s left hand tightly as directed.
“...” Aishia opened the door with her right hand and silently activated her spirit arts. A soft wind wrapped around them.
The next moment, Liselotte could no longer see her surroundings. It was as though she was separated from the world by a layer of fog. Aishia, who could visualize magic essence, didn’t have an issue seeing outside the fog. At the same time, anyone outside the fog wouldn’t be able to see them within it.
What...? This isn’t magic?
The confusion in Liselotte’s mind was overwritten by amazement. There’d be no end to it if she acted shocked by everything that happened.
“Don’t touch the fog you can see. The space will shake and it’ll undo the illusion.”
“R-Right.”
There was one thing she understood: Haruto, Aishia, and Aria were the strongest people in the Galarc Kingdom right now. And the three of them were currently risking themselves for her. She’d suffered alone since being brought to this country, making her all the happier that the three had come for her. They were so reliable, she couldn’t suppress her elated emotions.
“Thank you very much.” Instead of replying loudly, Liselotte gave Aishia’s hand a firm squeeze.
“No worries. All that’s left is to walk quietly to Haruto and Aria. Let’s go.” Aishia pulled Liselotte by the hand, leading her towards a bright future.
◇ ◇ ◇
At the same time, Rio and Aria were waiting in a deserted alley roughly five minutes from the building where Liselotte was being held captive. They were ready to execute their rescue plan, so Rio was wearing his black wyvern coat.
“They’ve just left Liselotte’s room. We’ll be able to meet up with them in five minutes at the earliest. It’s finally time,” Rio informed Aria. They were to act as diversions and guards if something were to happen, but if Liselotte and Aishia were able to leave the room in an invisible state then they shouldn’t have any issue getting here.
Once they met up, the plan was to either continue on foot if no one noticed Liselotte’s disappearance, or take to the skies and speed away if a commotion was stirred up.
“Hopefully they’ll be able to reach us without any issues...”
“As long as the invisibility art is up, it’ll be hard to detect them without having extremely sharp senses. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“If I may ask out of curiosity... What does it actually look like when they disappear?” Aria asked hesitantly.
“Would you like to see for yourself?”
Rio activated his spirit arts. A gentle wind wrapped around his body. From Aria’s view, the air where Rio stood distorted for a few seconds before he completely vanished. An empty space without any distortion remained. No matter how you looked at it, there was no sign of anyone standing there.
“I see... That’s impressive. You become one with the background in a matter of seconds.” Aria’s eyes widened.
“It only makes you invisible to the eye, so voices can still be heard and presences can still be felt. The illusion only removes visual information. Vigorous movement will undo the invisibility, and anything that touches the barrier will make the air shake. Anyone who can visualize magic essence will notice that abnormality. It’s not an almighty trick, so it can’t be trusted too much...” Rio said, listing the demerits of invisibility arts.
It wasn’t as though they disappeared from this plane like when a spirit turned into their spirit form, so it was hard to use in combat. Against a spirit art user who could visualize essence, it was little more than a party trick.
“It’s still plenty useful, I believe. It’s extremely hard to detect your presence from afar. Anyone who doesn’t know about the trick will be completely fooled. We’re able to make such a bold rescue plan because of it too,” Aria said, impressed.
It was at that moment that they heard it.
A booming explosion roared from the direction of the official building—several times in succession. Immediately afterwards...
I’m sorry, Haruto. Someone saw through the invisibility art.
A telepathic message from Aishia reached Rio.
◇ ◇ ◇
Shortly before Rio showed the invisibility spirit art to Aria, Aishia and Liselotte were marching through the mansion.
We really can’t be seen by anyone... Amazing.
They passed numerous soldiers patrolling the building, but not a single one had noticed the two of them.
The only problem was the guard in front of Liselotte’s room going missing—if anyone noticed that and checked inside the room, they’d see she had gone missing. But it was unlikely for that to happen in the time it took them to leave the building. There was no sign of anyone hurrying through the corridors either.
However, the real problem happened just as they were about to leave the door and go outside. They were walking through the courtyard towards the gate, when...
“Hey, the hostage is trying to run! It’s Liselotte! Liselotte Cretia is running away!” someone yelled loudly.
Aishia hadn’t dispelled their invisibility. She cast her sharp gaze around their surroundings.
“I’m going to carry you.” She suddenly picked Liselotte up in a bridal carry. The moment she did so, the invisibility art was canceled. No sooner had she done that—
“Aah!”
Orbs of light dozens of centimeters in diameter came raining down where she stood. Boom! an explosive sound roared.
It wasn’t a single orb that rained down—a second, third, fourth, and fifth shot in short succession. Each one had quite the power behind it, and they fell at a moderate speed. With Liselotte in her arms, Aishia took light steps to evade each shot. Each orb landed with a heavy explosion, gouging open the land. Aishia looked up at the sky, watching out for a follow-up attack, but the barrage seemed to have ended. However, the succession of attacks had sent a roar through the city. Naturally, the guards around them had noticed the abnormality and were closing in on them.
I’m sorry, Haruto. Someone saw through the invisibility art, Aishia immediately reported to Rio.
Plan B. Fly away immediately and prioritize Liselotte’s safety. I’ll back you up from the skies, Rio replied promptly.
“Liselotte, we’re going with Plan B.”
“P-Plan B?”
Liselotte looked bewildered at the first mention of a Plan B.
“Here goes.” Aishia kicked off the ground, leaping up. She gained more and more altitude, just as the guards of the estate gathered outside the building. Erica, Andrei, and Natalia were among them.
“W-Wait... What? What?!”
They had easily jumped several meters high. The jump was seemingly made with no destination in mind, so Liselotte wondered where they were jumping for at first. That thought was then followed by the realization they weren’t falling—they were rising higher and higher against gravity instead, making her eyes widen.
Liselotte had decided not to feel shocked at everything anymore, but the consecutive events that surpassed her common sense left her astonished.
Just then, orbs of light passed over Aishia’s head in a gentle arc. They were smaller than the ones earlier, but there were many more of them, and much faster in speed.
“Guh...” Aishia suddenly dropped her altitude, slipping under the rush of orbs. If she had continued rising as she was before, she would have taken the attack directly.
In the next moment, more orbs rained down. This time they weren’t raining downwards to suppress her flight, but directly towards her. It was an attack clearly calculated to control her movements.
“Hold onto me tightly.”
“R-Right!”
Aishia took off in a zigzagging burst. But even as she dodged the orbs, more were fired at her without end.
Haruto, there’s an enemy firing long-distance shots to prevent me from gaining altitude. A skilled spirit arts caster. The same person who saw through my invisibility, I believe.
Aishia contacted Rio while evading the attacks. She would have been able to handle the situation alone, but it was hard to make fine movements and increase her speed while carrying Liselotte.
Got it, Rio replied. At the same time, Saint Erica burst up from the ground towards Aishia, who was flying at a low altitude of five meters or so.
“You’re not getting away.”
She swung her bishop staff, seemingly attempting to knock the two of them back to the ground by force.
We’ve arrived, Rio’s voice echoed in Aishia’s head as someone leaped down towards Saint Erica. It was Aria.
“Huh?!”
Erica noticed the shadow over her and braced her staff above her head. It immediately clashed with the sword Aria swung down with all her might.
“Haaah!” Aria used the momentum of her fall to add to the physical strength of her enhanced body, swinging her sword vigorously. Having braced herself late, Erica was hit with the attack.
“Guh...” Her body was knocked down, and she slammed heavily into the ground. She was unable to make a safe landing and bounced fiercely, rolling across it. Aria landed after her lightly.
Meanwhile, Rio fell down beside Aishia and swung his wind-clad sword, slashing away the orbs of light raining at her.
Aria... Sir Haruto! Liselotte looked between the two of them, overcome with emotion.
Aishia. Another change of plan. Aria and I will take over here. You fly out of the city like this. Don’t worry about the long-ranged shots. I’ll block them all.
As soon as Rio sent that message, he created dozens of orbs of light himself. They were less than ten centimeters in diameter, and there were just enough of them not to block his vision.
Okay. Aishia nodded, then accelerated towards the perimeter of the city.
“D-Don’t let them get away! Go! Go after them! Someone, assist Saint Erica!” Andrei, who had been dazed by the series of events unfolding, snapped back to his senses and gave the nearby guards orders.
“It’s fine. I won’t be defeated by something like this.” Erica slowly got to her feet, then raised her voice to declare her safety. She brushed the dirt off her clothes in annoyance, seemingly having taken no damage at all.
“Saint Erica!”
“Oh, Saint Erica!” Those watching on spoke in awe. Erica lifted her staff as though to respond to them.
She was slammed into the ground with that much force and got up without a scratch. She’s as tough as Aria described her... Rio observed Erica below him and swallowed.
“I was wondering who was causing this commotion, but I see now. And the boy above you is the one from the Galarc Castle. So you followed me?” Erica looked between Aria standing before her and Rio floating above her, then sighed tiredly.
“Leave the saint to me!” Aria yelled at Rio. Part of her intention was probably to have Rio stand on watch with his abilities to cover the sky and ground, but she must have had her own emotions towards Erica after what happened in Amande. The intention and resolution to end Erica’s life if the situation called for it could be seen in her eyes.
“Got it... I won’t let anyone interrupt.”
Not the soldiers on the ground, nor the spirit arts user hiding to provide long-ranged support. Rio cast his attention across the area with his sharp gaze.
“These people are servants of Galarc nobles that have come to retrieve Liselotte Cretia! I shall inflict divine punishment upon them!”
With that declaration, Erica raised her bishop staff and charged at Aria. At the same time, Aria stepped forward to close the space between them. Once they were within reach of each other, they swung their weapons and began a fierce exchange. Erica had more physical strength, but Aria stood up to her with superior maneuvers and combat techniques.
Aria said that Saint Erica has a powerful physical body enhancement, but her movements are still those of an amateur. I agree—as long as no one hinders them, this match will be Aria’s.
Rio observed Erica’s movements from above and judged it safe to leave it to Aria.
“S-Support Saint Erica now! Apprehend that insolent woman!” Andrei ordered the soldiers gathered at the estate, attempting to block Aria’s movements with their numbers.
“Raaaargh!” The soldiers started charging at Aria from every direction. At this rate, the battlefield would become a disorderly mess.
Foreseeing their movements, Rio scattered the orbs of light he had set up around himself, raining them down on the soldiers from a height of ten meters. None of the orbs had enough force to kill unless they hit critical points, but they had enough force to send a large man flying several meters with a direct hit.
“Guh!”
“Whoa!”
Every single orb hit its mark, knocking the soldiers unconscious. In the span of a few seconds, more than a dozen soldiers fell to the ground. There were still soldiers on their feet, but...
“Eek...”
They faltered at the sight of their comrades being blown away by the rain of light that appeared out of nowhere. Once they realized that approaching Aria meant coming under Rio’s fire, their legs stopped. Rio replenished his light orbs as soon as he fired them, so their will to fight was whittled away.
“Wh-What are you doing?! Fight! If you can’t approach that brazen woman, aim for the man flying there. Release your spells, your arrows!” Andrei ordered the soldiers around him anew.
“Ngh...”
“Glacies Projectilis!”
Several people with the means to attack at a distance fired their bows and chanted spells for low-level attack magic, aiming them at Rio. He twirled in the air, spinning to get a 360-degree look at the ground. Once he confirmed where the scattered attacks were coming from, he sent all of his light orbs shooting off at the same time. The orbs darted erratically, as though they had minds of their own, as they chased down each attack spell and arrow. Some extra orbs even went to make a counterattack on the soldiers, knocking them unconscious.
“Wh-What is that man...?”
“How can a human float in the air?”
“What are those balls of light?”
Rio had gained complete control of his surroundings. Sensing that, the remaining soldiers on the ground lost their will to fight.
“Is there nothing we can do but watch...?” Andrei fell to his knees in despair.
With no one to interrupt them, the battle between Aria and Erica had grown more intense. Erica was still the stronger one in physical abilities, but it seemed like Aria had the winning edge. Her combat skills had allowed her to take the lead with counterattacks.
The fight was leaning in favor of Rio and Aria. If they continued like this, the outcome would be clear in a matter of minutes. But for some reason, the Saint was yet to enhance her physical body. Her hidden strength was still unknown.
Something’s strange. I’ve had control over the air this entire time, but the person who shot at Aishia hasn’t made any attempts to attack me.
Unlike when Aishia tried to escape with Liselotte, all aerial attacks had ceased. Rio had taken position in the air since he had been the most wary of the mysterious spirit arts user, so he found this quite strange.
“It seems I am at a disadvantage here after all. I can’t fight with all my strength.” Erica suddenly came to a stop on the ground.
“Refusing to accept your defeat?” Aria said, cautiously pausing.
“I cannot exert my power to the fullest. The citizens I should be protecting have fallen around me, writhing in pain. If I were to use my power under these conditions, they’d be killed. This man in the sky may seem like a gentleman, but his methods are rather cunning,” Erica said as she looked up.
Aishia, how are things over there? Anything strange? Rio asked, ignoring Erica.
Nothing yet. I’ve reached the southernmost edge of our communication range. In other words, she was roughly one kilometer south of Rio—a short distance out of the city, most likely.
All right. The spirit arts user that obstructed you has stopped attacking here. They may have gone your way, so be careful. We’re about to wrap things up here.
Okay.
With that, their transmission ended.
“Pretending I don’t exist? What a cold man,” Erica lamented from below.
“I don’t see the person that interrupted your escape before we arrived. I have a bad feeling about it—let’s retreat soon,” Rio said to Aria below as he ignored Erica’s words yet again.
“Understood,” Aria replied.
If she had to choose between fighting Saint Erica and securing Liselotte’s safety, she’d prioritize the latter. She wasn’t about to forget that through her hatred. Aria was still as calm as ever.
“Oh? Did you think you could escape so easily after making such a commotion on enemy grounds?” Erica raised her staff, grinning in defiance.
“You were the one who started it in our kingdom. You have no right to be criticizing others,” Aria snapped back immediately.
“Hehehe...”
Aria raised her sword, ready to stop Erica at a moment’s notice. But in the next moment, Rio launched all his light orbs at the ground, surrounding Aria in a cone shape. The wall of orbs separated Aria from Erica, and in that single instant Rio descended to the ground to pick Aria up in his arms.
“Let’s go.”
He rose into the air once more, continuing to an altitude of ten-odd meters high.
There still aren’t any attacks preventing our escape...
At the same time, there were no reports of a surprise attack from Aishia. Why? Rio racked his brain for a reason as he hurried to meet up with Aishia and Liselotte. Meanwhile...
So she can’t use her power fully with people around. But if she lets them leave the city, she’ll be helpless... What will the Saint do now, hmm?
From far above in the skies, Reiss was watching everything unfold.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, in the estate garden immediately after Rio and Aria left, a dismal mood hung in the air. Everyone in the garden had just tasted what despair was like. It was their first defeat since the revolution, and it seeped into them like a poison. The Holy Democratic Republic of Erica was lacking in any real combat experience; most of the battles that took place during the revolution were won with Erica’s power—they were victories unachievable without her. Thus, the soldiers were far less proficient compared to the armies of other kingdoms. Their opponent this time was a bad matchup, but he had provided them a vivid lesson. They were completely underprepared. Utterly powerless.
“Aah! Oh, Saint Erica! Forgive me, forgive us! We were helpless against him! We were unable to do anything, leaving you to fight alone!” Andrei was as shaken as a man sinking in a swamp of despair, apologizing to Erica with everything he had.
“It’s all right, Andrei. Everyone else too. You all fought courageously.”
Erica gave them a kind, motherly smile and shook her head.
“Saint Erica!”
“Saint Erica!”
“Saint Erica!”
Everyone called Erica’s name, seeking salvation.
“Liselotte Cretia is a witch after all! A witch! She brought misfortune to this country! She is the symbol of disaster!” Andrei’s face twisted with murderous fury as he declared Liselotte’s existence as evil itself.
“I’m sorry. I was the one who brought her here. This was all because of my poor judgment.” Erica suddenly adopted a sorrowful look as she admitted her own mistake.
“No! Not at all! Who could have known? Who could have known that her gentle, saintlike demeanor hid her true face as a witch! She sympathized with the people and recited impressive words at us to win our hearts! That woman is a cunning witch!” Andrei insisted that Erica wasn’t to be blamed by expressing contempt for Liselotte.
“Those who invaded us today are the powers possessed by the evil noble class of a major nation. The evil we defeated through revolution was tiny in comparison. As long as huge nations like theirs exist, our country will always be in danger.”
“Oh, oooh! We were so ignorant, truly! How could we have been so foolish?!”
“You must not become conceited, Andrei. I’ve always reminded you—humans are foolish creatures.”
Andrei gasped, then looked even more regretful. “I was truly, truly foolish... How could I have been so blind...”
“But you must not forget this either: humans are only able to face their true selves when they face their despair. So face it! Learn, without running away! About yourself as a person, about your emotions that remain after the despair. Then use those emotions as fuel to step forward! Do you still have the will to keep moving? Democracy won’t progress without utterly crushing the noble class of the continent. You should be well aware of that. Will you let that stop you?! Do you still wish to make a world for the people?!” Erica raised her bishop staff high, fanning the emotions of her audience with her questions.
“I-I want to move forward!”
“We want to keep going!”
“But how can we?!”
“Do we have the power to do such a thing?!”
Those listening to her raised their voices.
“You do! I said this to them: did you think you could escape so easily after making such a commotion on enemy grounds? So don’t worry—you have me with you! Can you believe in me? In me, and in the miracles I’ve performed until now?!”
“Of course!”
“Without question!”
“I believe!”
“We’ll believe in you!”
“Me too!”
The voices gradually grew more lively.
“In that case, I shall show you another miracle today! I was planning on saving my power for invading the major nations, but it cannot be helped. A major nation has trampled all over our soil!”
With the bishop staff in her right hand, Erica spread her arms wide and looked up at the skies.
“Protector of the weak, the people, this nation! The greatest divine beast, the guardian beast, shall protect the people and slay all evil! Now is the time for judgment! I summon thee, beast of the land!”
A giant shadow immediately covered the inner courtyard like a cloud.
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