Chapter VII: Inglis, Age 15—Orders to Defend the Hieral Menace (7)
Breaking the hall’s stunned silence, the Steelblood Front’s cannonade fired through the hole in the wall—the same hole Ivel had left after Inglis had launched him.
Baaam!
A cannonball landed near King Carlias, smashing a hole in the floor next to him. He was the first to recover from the sound of the impact, and he raised his voice.
“Harrumph...! All of you, this is no time to hesitate! They’ve made their intentions clear, so we will destroy the Steelblood Front here and now! Accomplish such a feat and Highland will look fondly on us! Reddas, your duty here is done. Take command of the counterattack!”
“Yes, Your Majesty! Then, you must take shelter! We’ll leave a force to keep you safe—all others, sally forth! Attack!”
“Haaa!” A spirited roar of acclamation arose from the knights, whose expressions showed that they preferred a fight with the Steelbloods to enduring Ivel’s behavior.
Reddas added, “And Rafinha! Please, continue healing His Majesty’s wounds!”
“Yes...!” Still focused on healing King Carlias’s wounds, Rafinha was sweating heavily from the strain of her Gift. However, thanks to her effort, the king’s arm was returning to normal.
“No, wait. Rafinha’s coming with me,” Inglis announced.
Reddas paused, taken aback before he said, “Huh?”
He probably didn’t expect anyone to object, Inglis thought. But this is a battlefield. I’d be worried leaving Rafinha anywhere out of my sight. She’ll be safest somewhere I can keep an eye on her.
The healing of King Carlias’s wounds, Rafinha’s safety—if Inglis were asked which was more important, she’d have no hesitation in choosing the latter. In this life, she’d chosen to pursue what was important to her, and she knew what she valued more.
Reddas weakly protested, “But His Majesty’s wounds...”
“Yes. We’ll be done with that in a moment.” That didn’t mean that she was going to leave anything undone. Inglis approached Rafinha close enough to hug her and gently touched her shoulder. Then, synchronizing her own mana with Rafinha’s, she let it amplify Rafinha’s mana wavelength. It was the same technique she’d used when healing Silva’s wounds. “Good work, Rani. Let me help.”
“Thanks, Chris...!” The healing light emanating from Rafinha’s Artifact shone even more brightly. King Carlias’s arm, which had been connected but still had a bloodless pallor, regained its healthy color as everyone watched.
His fingers twitched. “Ah! It moves!” the king exclaimed. He clasped his hand. He opened it. He bent his arm, stretched it. He repeated the motions over and over. He seemed to be fine now.
Reddas and the knights cheered.
“H-His Majesty’s arm...!”
“It’s healed! That’s amazing!”
“Thank you both! Thank you so much!”
“I’m sorry, both of you... That must have taken much effort. But as you can see, I’m fine now.” King Carlias bowed his head.
“Ah, no...! We—” Rafinha began to speak.
“We only did what needed to be done,” Inglis finished. Rather, I did what needed to be done to take Rafinha along with me without making waves. “Then, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll turn our attention to defending everyone from the Steelblood Front.” She bowed politely.
“Us...? Chris, I’m tired. I could use a quick break...”
“That’s a bad idea. Being anywhere but by my side is dangerous. Let’s go. If you need to rest, you can rest near me.”
“Won’t that mean I’ll be in the midst of the fiercest fighting...?!”
“It’ll be fine! C’mon, c’mon, let’s go!” Inglis said excitedly. The black-masked man of the Steelblood Front was waiting for her aboard that battleship floating in the sky.
Inglis gripped Rafinha’s hand tightly and pulled her along. Finally, a rematch with the man in the black mask! This is the perfect chance to see how much I’ve progressed!
“Okay, okay...! Then, pardon me! I’ll be going!” Rafinha said.
“All right, then! We’re off!”
“Eeek! Chris, stop pulling me so hard!”
In the blink of an eye, Inglis, with Rafinha being pulled by the hand, flew through the hole in the wall. Many Flygears flitted through the sky like flying insects in a chaotic dogfight.
“Over there! Let’s go!” Inglis pointed at the Steelblood Front battleship, which was closing in on the Highland battleship.
“There are Flygears! We need to find an open spot somewhere...!”
“Well... We don’t have time for that! Let’s go, Rani!” Inglis held onto Rafinha’s hand tightly and leaped high. Her destination was the closest low-flying Royal Guard Flygear.
Thud!
She landed precisely on the edge of its hull, just as she’d planned.
“Whoa?! Wh-What...?!” a person inside yelled.
“Sorry to drop in. We’ll be gone in a moment,” Inglis said.
“Sorryyy!” Rafinha added apologetically as Inglis pulled her upward to another Flygear higher up.
Thud!
“Whoooooa?! Wh-Where did you come from?!”
“From below. Pardon us.”
“Hello! Goodbye!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
They leaped higher and higher, using Flygears as stepping-stones.
“Wh-What’s that?!”
“It’s a maid! A maid is flying!”
“She’s fast! How’s she moving like that?!”
Gasps of surprise arose from the fighting knights each time the pair jumped from ship to ship, until finally Inglis and Rafinha reached the deck of the Highland battleship.
“Mm. That was a good workout.”
Rafinha gasped for breath. “I knew it! You’re not going to let me rest—”
“C’mon, Rani. The Steelblood battleship is right there.”
“I knew it! We’re on the front lines...”
“Indeed. Isn’t it fun?”
“Ugh, Chris...! You really need to chill!” Rafinha objected as loudly as she could.
“We won’t get many chances like this, so why not enjoy it?”
Just then, the Highland ship began returning fire, and the battlefield got more and more chaotic. This tumult, this ambiance—this is a battlefield. I can feel my blood boiling.
“I wouldn’t call this fun, but...!” Rafinha pointed down at the city surrounding the palace. Stray shots from both the Steelblood Front and Highlander battleships crashed down. The cannon fire would obliterate a house without a trace.
“We need to do something about that! If we don’t stop it quickly, more and more innocent people will be caught up in it! So let’s do this, Chris!” Rafinha’s gaze tightened.
This is Rafinha’s sense of justice. She can’t ignore powerless average civilians being caught up in this. “Oh. Looks like you’ve got your enthusiasm back, Rani.”
“After seeing that, of course! I’m going to try to stop that cannon fire!”
“How?”
“Like this!” Rafinha forcefully drew her white Artifact bow. An arrow of light condensed in her hand. “Fly!” When the light reached its brightest, Rafinha let loose the arrow into the sky. “Burst! And swallow that ship!” The huge arrow of light split into countless smaller arrows, each leaving a trail, not striking the ships but instead swarming around their turrets.
“I see... You’re blinding them.”
She’s using a swarm of arrows of light as an ersatz smoke screen. As long as she doesn’t let them impact, she’ll be able to keep them on station for a long time, continuing to interfere.
“Yep! This way, they’ll probably have to stop firing.”
“But you’re also keeping the arrows from impacting. That’s pretty impressive.” Inglis noticed the rate of fire from the battleships had slowed in confusion at the light whipping around them.
“Ha ha ha. See, I’m getting better too! Anyway, I’m gonna keep shooting these off to keep them from firing. Chris, you stop the Steelblood Front battleship!”
“Yeah. Got it!” Inglis moved further forward, and stood on the tip of the prow. Then, she thrust her palm toward the Steelblood Front ship. In her palm, the pale blue light of aether swirled, condensing. The light swelled and swelled, quickly forming into a gigantic bullet of light. “Aether Strike!”
Blammmmmm!
It would strike the bow of the Steelblood battleship and then tear through from front to back before blasting out the stern—but that’s not what happened. As it pierced the bow, it was met with another pale blue light.
Fwoosh!
Inglis gasped. As a result of the two forces struggling, the Aether Strike deflected upwards from its path through the Steelblood ship, scraping off the ship’s cladding as it disappeared into the sky. “I can’t believe you deflected that...”
There was only one person who could achieve such a thing. Inglis stared at the newly exposed lower decks of the ship. There, on what must have been the bridge of the ship, stood a man with a black iron mask and a black outfit, including a matching cloak.
“I knew it...!”
Their leader, the black-masked man! Sistia and Leon don’t seem to be nearby, though...
He was surrounded by men who seemed to be his subordinates, all pointing at her.
“That girl did that?!”
“A maid from the palace?!”
“How is a maid that powerful?! What’s going on?!”
Inglis decided she was in the mood to play along. “Welcome! It’s my duty to provide you hospitality, isn’t it? That was just in place of a greeting.” Inglis smiled and curtsied to the men.
“H-Hospitality?!”
“That was in place of a greeting?! What kind of maid are you?!”
“No way! That could’ve taken the ship down!”
The black-masked man held back the panic of his crew. “Be careful, everyone. The prettier the rose, the sharper its thorns. And look, isn’t she beautiful?”
“Y-Yes...”
“She is...”
“To be honest, she’s cute...”
“Precisely,” their leader said. “Be careful, or she’ll eat you alive.”
They fell silent.
“I’m the only one who can stop her. Stick to the plan. I’ll hold her back.”
“Yes!”
Upon hearing his men’s response, the black-masked man leaped forth, landing on the Highland battleship near Inglis. “Well, well. I thought I’d leaked that information to you so you wouldn’t interfere. Is your plan to save the hieral menace going well?”
After a short pause, Inglis answered, “The principal and the other students are doing their best.”
“Too bad for you! I’m not gonna let some guerillas’ plot go off!” Rafinha shouted from the other side of him.
“If we let the attack go off without doing anything, it would look like an inside job. So Rani and I are here to protect His Majesty and the Highland ambassador.”
“Hmm. Here I’d thought the knights’ academy would stay out of things due to its relationship with the prince,” the black-masked man mused.
In fact, Principal Miriela had considered that. However, factional politics had never been a priority; she only hoped that her split forces would succeed.
“Surely, by splitting your forces, there’s a danger that both operations will fail,” he continued.
“I don’t think so.” Inglis quietly shook her head. “If I clean things up here before they finish, I’ll be able to be in both fights. Best of both worlds.”
“Well, well. Brave words. While you’re at it, would you mind telling me where the Highland ambassador went? If you’re so sure you’ll win, it shouldn’t bother you at all.”
“My apologies. I don’t know.” That wasn’t a lie. After all, she’d kicked him too far away to see where he had landed.
“I see. That’s a shame.”
“That doesn’t even matter! He wasn’t here to—” Rafinha began to protest.
“Wh—?! No, Rani!” Inglis activated Aether Shell and circled as fast as she could behind Rafinha before covering her mouth.
“Mmph?!”
Inglis knew what Rafinha wanted to say. Ivel had had no intention of negotiating to begin with, so attacking to prevent the ceding of land to Highland was pointless. The black-masked man’s initial read on the situation had been wrong. They could point out that his plan had been a swing and a miss. They could, but—
“No! You can’t say that!” Inglis insisted.
If the masked man knew the truth, he might lose his will to continue his mission and leave. That couldn’t happen—not until she had fought him.
“You’re fast. I see you’ve gotten even stronger since we last met.”
“I don’t know to what extent I have, but I know how to find out. You’re just the man for the job.”
“So would you take me as your measure?”
Inglis grinned. “Putting it that way makes it sound a bit rude, but if you don’t mind.”
“If I must.” The pale blue light of aether enveloped his body too.
◆◇◆
Before Inglis began her battle with the black-masked man, the Royal Guard knights deployed to the knights’ academy noticed the commotion at the palace when the Steelblood Front used magicite beasts to attack.
“H-Hey! Something’s going on at the palace! It’s on fire!” a knight yelled.
“Wh-What?!” another cried, pausing to ascertain the situation. “Oh no! It really is!”
Assigned to work with them, Silva urged on the knights. He had been helping prepare for the transfer of Ripple to the Royal Guards at the palace, planned for later that night.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but it looks serious!” he said. “We’ll be fine here, so your forces should probably return to the palace. I’ll keep myself stationed here!”
Silva was the younger brother of their commander, Captain Reddas. They couldn’t ignore his words—and he was right, in any case.
“You raise a good point. Understood, Silva!”
“Yes! We can’t take Lady Ripple there without being sure it’s safe!”
“If you’ll excuse us, then! Please take care of the rest!”
The knights boarded their Flygear and flew toward the castle.
As he watched the aircraft disappear into the distance, Silva felt a nagging guilty conscience. I tricked them. I didn’t tell them what’s actually happening, and I’ve prolonged this as long as possible so they wouldn’t take Ripple back to the palace until today. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry—but it’s for Ripple’s sake. I had to do this.
“All right! I need to hurry!” he said, shaking off his worries.
He soon met up with Principal Miriela, Ripple, and the other students assigned as guards. They had gathered in a large lecture hall in the school building; it was the room where Principal Miriela had first gathered her best students, those assigned to protect Ripple. Other than Inglis and Rafinha, who had been sent to guard the castle, all of their available forces were present.
Leone and Liselotte were among them, seated with tense looks on their faces. Nearby, Yua cradled her cheeks, rocking back and forth as if she were about to fall asleep.
“Principal Miriela and Lady Ripple, I apologize for having kept you waiting! Let’s get started! There’s no time!” Silva said as he entered the room.
Principal Miriela nodded with a serious expression. “Yes, let’s begin. Everyone, I don’t know what will happen during this operation, so I’ll say this again—you may sit this out if you so choose. Please don’t push yourselves too hard.”
Miriela expected no one would actually take her up on her offer. She proceeded on to the next part—wait, but one person had stood up.
“Ah... Then I’ll leave, I guess,” Yua announced, bleary, beginning to make her way to the door.
“Whoa! Wait! Wait, please, Yua! We need you here!” Miriela protested.
“Huh? Principal, didn’t you just say we could choose to sit this out?”
“I know I said that, but I didn’t actually mean it! It’s just a cliché!”
“A cliché?”
“When an authority figure says people can stay back to protect themselves, no one’s supposed to go along with it! You’re just supposed to feel grateful! It’s for getting you fired up, ready to take on what’s ahead! Right? Am I wrong here?”
“I dunno...” Yua crooked her neck, expressionless. No one could guess what was going on in her head.
“The principal may have said that, but as far as you’re concerned, participation is mandatory,” Silva said. He bowed to Yua. “We need your help. Please, lend us your strength.”
This is all for Ripple. Submitting myself before her does not bother me—not when it’s for Ripple.
Yua, unaware of what he was so concerned about, could only find Silva’s behavior extremely unusual though. “Four-Eyes, do you have a fever?”
“No! I feel perfectly fine!”
“Ah, yep. You’re still prickly like usual.”
“That depends on who I’m talking to!”
It was Ripple, not Principal Miriela, who interceded. “Now, now, calm down. Yua, I’d also appreciate it if you helped in this operation.” She bowed alongside Silva.
“Lady Ripple?” Silva thought that was unusual; Ripple’s attitude was different. She always put on a cheerful face during normal situations, but in the current situation with the magicite beasts, she tended to keep her head down and listen quietly.
“Ripple...is something wrong?” Principal Miriela asked. She had also noticed the change in Ripple’s demeanor.
“Yeah... Up until now, I thought I had to just accept everything going on about me. After all, a hieral menace who can’t protect others isn’t worthy of being a hieral menace, but...everyone’s trying so hard to help me, right? Well, except for one kid who’s just here to enjoy the ride...”
“Ha ha ha, yeah, there is that one—of course, we won’t say who it is.” Principal Miriela chuckled wryly.
“I’m sure the hairs on the back of her neck are standing up right now.”
“Yes. I’m sure of it.”
Leone and Liselotte nodded to each other. There was no need to name her. After all, everyone could tell.
“But with all that in mind, looking at everyone—my homeland where I was born is pretty much wiped out, but this country is now my...” Ripple paused briskly before smiling brightly. “I’m really moved. I understand how I feel now, so... I don’t know if a hieral menace is supposed to think this, I know it’s going to cause you trouble...but I still want to stay with this country’s people. Knowing that, it’s only natural for me to ask for your help, right?”
“Lady Ripple...” For some reason, Silva felt oddly at ease. For the first time, it felt as if Ripple was relying on him fully.
Not just on him—on everyone, really. But it still felt good.
“So, Yua...” Ripple began.
“Please, for Ripple’s sake...” Silva followed.
“Yua, if Ripple’s going this far...” Principal Miriela was the last to appeal to her.
Everyone’s gaze turned to Yua, whose breathing was the steady, comfortable sort of someone sleeping.
“What’s wrong with you?!” Unable to stand by and watch, Silva slammed his red long gun down toward Yua’s head—and her hand shot out to grab it.
Her reflexes were impressive. “Violence is wrong.”
“That depends on the person’s attitude! And yours deserves it!”
Yua scurried behind Ripple and hid herself. “Scary. Save me, Lady Dog-Ears.”
“Now, now... Yua, will you help us defeat magicite beasts?” Ripple asked.
“I do that all the time.”
“There’ll be a lot of them this time, and I think they’ll be strong. Can we still count on you? If it goes well, I’ll treat you to something, okay?” Principal Miriela offered.
“Rather than food, I’d like you to introduce me to someone,” Yua countered.
“Huh? Well... What kind of person?”
“Someone cool like Four-Eyes—”
“Wh-What?! Flattery at this point...” Silva couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered.
“But I could go without his temper.”
Turns out Silva had been imagining things. Yua was incapable of flattery.
“Someone not as weak as Four-Eyes either.”
“Why you—! You’re just making fun of me!” I really don’t get along with Yua. We’re never in sync, he thought.
Principal Miriela raised her voice. “Argh! Let’s get started before this turns into any more of a mess! Leone, please split us off into the sub-dimension!”
“Y-Yes, ma’am! Here I go!” Though she was taken aback by the sudden turns the conversation had taken, Leone immediately focused. Her new dark greatsword Artifact had a Gift that would transport everyone to a dark dimension.
“That’s it!” the principal encouraged. “This is much smoother than before! You’ve gotten good at this in no time at all, Leone. That’s wonderful!”
“Thank you.” The praise took Leone by surprise, but it was true that she’d gotten used to the Gift; the speed of its activation, the strength of the dimension, and its size had all stabilized.
“Let’s begin! For Ripple’s sake...let’s work together! Not only for her, but surely for the sake of this country and its people too!” Principal Miriela announced.
The students answered in unison. “Yes!”
Silva explained the plan. “The principal and I will let Lady Ripple drain our power to summon magicite beasts! Everyone, we’re relying on you to handle them! Now, Ripple, go ahead!”
Silva extended the barrel of his charged Artifact gun to Ripple. At the same time, Principal Miriela also held forth her Artifact staff.
“Ripple, leave this to us! My students are talented, it’ll be fine!” Principal Miriela assured.
“Yeah... Thanks, everyone. Good luck!” Ripple nodded before placing her hands on the offered Artifacts. As proof that she was absorbing the mana of each, the glow surrounding them disappeared.
Vwoom!
The usual dark sphere surrounded Ripple’s body, signaling that the magicite beasts would arrive soon. While supporting the now-unconscious Ripple as he laid her down, Silva gave orders to the other students. “Everyone, form a circle around Lady Ripple! We don’t know how many enemies there will be! Support each other as you fight!”
“Leone and others with dimension-slipping Artifacts, to the center of the circle! Step back and let the others take the lead!” Miriela instructed.
“Yes!” The elite students reacted quickly, moving at once.
As they did, a number of vortex-like distortions appeared around the circle. From them, demihuman magicite beasts appeared. They were powerful magicite beasts, comparable to the transformed Rahl or Cyrene. The students had to be wary of these foes, which could severely wound even Silva if a blow struck true. Five of them had appeared, spreading out to surround the students circled around Ripple.
Leone gasped. “Five of them?! They’re starting out strong!”
“But we’ve got to do this! If we pull this off, we can help protect Ahlemin and Charot!” Liselotte reminded her.
“Yes! Let’s go!” They nodded to each other intently.
“Um... Ah, enemies. But, uh, we all do this together?” While everyone else was wrapped up in a sense of urgency, only Yua was left behind, unsteady.
As the leader of the second-year students, Morris yelled, “Yua! You don’t worry about anyone else, just beat the enemy in front of you!”
Yua was talented, but she wasn’t the kind of person suited to coordinating things. Someone else was required for that role, and Morris was well suited for it. He was open-minded, and his relationship with Yua wasn’t bad.
“Beanpole...”
“My name is Morris! But whatever, go wild!”
“Okay, but if they get mad it’s your fault, Beanpole,” Yua mumbled as she lightly rushed to the nearest magicite beast.
However, those light footsteps weren’t lazy at all. In fact, from the others’ viewpoints, Yua’s footwork was exceptionally swift and sharp.
“Gotcha.” It was a palm strike that seemed gentle enough to be a caress.
Bash!
Nonetheless, the magicite beast flew away and twisted unnaturally.
The students involuntarily gasped in astonishment. Even the magicite beasts seemed to freeze for a moment. Were they shocked by the overkill?
“Better to just leave her to that, right?” Morris asked, turning to Principal Miriela and Silva.
Silva nodded. “Indeed. I don’t mind!”
Yua was not the cooperative type. Better to set her loose than try to coordinate and fail.
After sending one enemy flying, Yua turned to face another. But the group of them was spread out.
“Rrroooaaarrr!”
On the other side of the circle from Yua, a beast roared. Specks of light began to converge around the creature—it was going to let loose a scattered heat ray! When the students were assembled in a tight formation like this, it was hard to deal with large-scale attacks from a distance.
“Not on my watch!” Liselotte, with her Gift of white wings, flew through the air at full speed toward it in the nick of time. Her halberd’s thrust combined with her own momentum deeply pierced the magicite beast’s neck; the heat rays it had been condensing dissipated.
Liselotte removed her halberd from the enemy. “I shall go forth and leave the enemy in disarray! If I may?”
Miriela nodded. “Don’t push yourself too hard! Just disperse the enemy’s attacks!”
Liselotte’s Gift of free mobility would be far more effective when used to move around and leave the enemy in disarray than if it were bluntly incorporated into a formation. Since Yua alone wasn’t enough to play the decoy, having Liselotte do so as well was best.
Liselotte kicked the magicite beast’s body down as she took to the air again, charging toward another foe farther away, which was also charging a heat ray. “You too! I won’t allow it!” The ax-head of her halberd slammed into the magicite beast, with all of her momentum behind it. The concentrated power faded. When the creature went to strike, she used her white wings to fly to safety.
She danced through the air to and fro, interfering with the enemies’ big attacks. She thrust forward once more, and then her foe tensed its muscles, trying to keep her from pulling out the tip of her halberd.
“Ugh...! Too clever by far!”
Another beast approached her from behind. Magicite beasts were unintelligent, but in battle, they coordinated surprisingly well. Liselotte wondered whether she should drop her halberd for a moment or twist around and respond with a kick, and as she hesitated, a dark iron blade stretched out from the edge of her vision.
“Liselotte, I’m here!”
Leone’s sword was there in a flash. She used an attack that combined a fierce thrust and the Gift of extending the blade, gaining speed from both. It had worked even on Leon. From far away, she stabbed the magicite beast in the back as it tried to close in on Liselotte. Skewered, it stopped in its tracks.
In the meantime, Liselotte had freed her Artifact and managed to escape. “Thank you, Leone! I see you can use both Gifts at once now!”
“Yeah, I’ve been practicing!” Leone smiled.
“Amazing... That’s great, Leone!” Principal Miriela couldn’t hide her surprise as she watched.
Leone had just used a Gift while already controlling another. Miriela had hoped Leone would eventually be able to use multiple abilities simultaneously, but for it to be so soon... She was amazed. She had expected Leone would have to focus exclusively on maintaining this dimension, so this was a pleasing development.
“All right, let’s keep it up and wipe out these magicite beasts!” Miriela said.
Ripple, enveloped in the dark sphere, continued to absorb mana from Miriela and Silva. More and more enemies would be summoned.
◆◇◆
Sounds rang out atop the flying battleship, high above the palace.
Bammmmmm! Clannnnnngggg! Rrrummmble!
Ear-splitting clashes echoed all around Rafinha from the fight between Inglis and the black-masked man. They were in a fierce close-quarters battle, moving so fast that Rafinha could only occasionally make out their forms, and both wrapped in a pale blue light as they flickered in and out. When she couldn’t recognize who was whom, she had no way of knowing which attacks might hit her like stray gunfire.
Normally, a person in that situation would be terrified and want to escape, but Rafinha stood unflinching, continuing to impede the two battleships with the arrows from her Artifact. I need to do this. If I stop, things will get even worse in the city. I have to stay. And besides, I believe in Inglis. She’ll protect me, no matter what.
Rafinha caught the occasional peek of Inglis, who had a completely out-of-place smile on her face. Inglis was truly enjoying this battle. No smirking, just a broad grin with a hint of danger behind it.
But that was normal for Inglis. And if things are still normal for Inglis, I can definitely count on her to keep me safe, Rafinha reminded herself. That had been true of Inglis for their whole lives.
Suddenly, Inglis flitted into her vision again, delivering a backhand blow so forceful that her opponent’s arm raised in defense was swatted away.
Clang!
Rafinha heard the sound a moment after she saw Inglis’s attack. Another moment later, Inglis disappeared from her vision again.
“There!” came Inglis’s shout.
Ker-thonk!
“Gwuh?!”
Rafinha hadn’t seen what happened—had only heard their voices—but Inglis reappeared in a flash a second later.
Inglis appeared again, crouched as if she’d just rammed into him with her shoulder. The masked man flew like a bullet toward the other ship.
“And there’s more!” Inglis leaped forth for a continued attack. But suddenly, the pale blue light around her body disappeared as she spun toward Rafinha, that same light converging on her raised index fingers.
Rafinha gasped. “Chris?!”
“Don’t move!”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Twin beams of light shot past Rafinha on either side.
“There she is! She’s the one getting in the way of— Gahhh?!”
“Get rid of her! Otherwise we can’t return— Ughhh!”
They were soldiers from the Highland battleship. Realizing Rafinha’s barrage of light was acting as a smokescreen, they’d come to get rid of her.
“Watch yourselves,” Inglis warned. “If you hurt Rani, I’ll show no mercy.”
“I don’t think they’re listening, if they can even hear you,” Rafinha said.
Inglis’s shots had precisely pierced between their eyes. They silently slumped from the deck of their Flygear, slid off the battleship, and fell to earth. All that was left was a pilotless, hovering Flygear.
“Rani, you may as well take that Flygear. It’s safer there.”
“Y-yeah... I will.”
Inglis is right. It feels a bit creepy to be taking it from the recently deceased, though...
Breaking away from her thoughts, Rafinha added, “You should get on too, Chris!”
“Well, I’m still not quite done here.”
Inglis turned her focus back to her target.
The black-masked man who’d been blown away regained his balance midair and rocketed back toward Inglis by kicking off the hull of his own ship. “Sorry, but I’m not done yet!” Thrusting his upper arm forth, he prepared to respond in kind.
“No, no! You’re welcome anytime!” Inglis replied.
It’s rare to find such a worthwhile foe. I’ve always wanted the chance to fight him, Inglis thought.
Inglis again activated Aether Shell and swung her leg up, trying to kick her foe away. But before that, she realized something: He’s bringing his shoulder forward to hide his body. And I feel another flow of aether, different from the one wrapped around him. Are his movements hiding another aether technique?
“Haa!” Inglis immediately leaped up, somersaulting backward with all the force she’d been putting into her kick.
Vvvoom!
Too quickly for Rafinha to see, a light-blue sword, glowing brightly, swung through the space where Inglis had been.
“An aether sword?!” Inglis gasped.
The black-masked man’s shoulder rush was hiding an aether sword from my vision. That’s certainly a fascinating technique, even if I did figure it out in time!
He had condensed aether and manipulated it to take a physical form. Inglis did the same to turn ice into blades, but his skill was on a completely different level.
Controlling aether was far more difficult than controlling mana. Even so, the man in the mask had manipulated aether while keeping up his own Aether Shell-like technique—that made two major aether techniques he had used simultaneously.
When they’d met before, he’d said that Inglis was the superior in raw power but he had the upper hand in technique; Inglis supposed he was right. A combination like that was still impossible for her.
“So you see how things are now... Sorry, but I’ll be finishing this!” Before Inglis could land, the black-masked man readied a follow-up slash.
He’s caught me flat-footed. And even with Aether Shell up, a sword like that will do some serious damage. I can’t let it hit an arm or a leg. No matter!
Inglis let out an assertive cry. “I don’t think so!”
Clink!
Inglis formed a blade of ice in her hand. With Aether Shell active, these ice blades would shatter in a single blow. They couldn’t handle the strain that aether put on them.
But in this situation, a single blow is enough!
Shoom!
As Inglis twisted in midair, her weapon struck against the masked man’s own.
“Ugh...” Inglis’s blade took the brunt of the blow. While it parried his slash, it also shattered to pieces in the process. But that had given Inglis time to land and recover her footing. That was enough.
“A weak blade like that is nothing next to mine!” He followed up with another fierce slash.
“Indeed. That’s fine, though.”
As long as it got me through the moment where I was vulnerable—I just need to keep up my footwork, dodge his sword, and strike with my fists!
The black-masked man grunted. “Is this—?!”
Every time he swung his sword, it missed, and every time it missed, Inglis came closer and closer. He couldn’t land his blows. She advanced with small, precise movements through the rain of slashes, as if each and every one of his moves were at her will. Even though he was the one on the attack, he was being forced back in order to keep his distance.
Anxious thoughts raced through the black-masked man’s head: I know she’s faster than me. I know she’s stronger with aether, but that’s why I’m using two aether techniques at once. So why is this happening? This isn’t just a matter of aether control. I can feel an overwhelming sharpness from her predictions. She possesses vast knowledge of combat, as if she has a lifetime of experience.
Just what is this girl?
“Haaah!” Inglis had made her way completely inside the black-masked man’s defenses; she delivered a palm strike to his gut.
“Guhhhh?!” The blow flung him backward. He fell to his knees but somehow didn’t completely collapse. “Ha... Ha ha ha... It seems like things are getting completely out of hand. I don’t remember you being this strong last time.”
“You seem to have been quite busy, but I’ve been focusing on my training.”
“I like to think I’ve been working hard for the greater good. Though I’m not childish enough to insist that ‘justice will always prevail’ or anything.”
“Justice, injustice—power doesn’t care. Strength is talent, training, experience. Isn’t it unfair to tie ideology to strength?” she challenged.
Whether for good or ill, power used for a cause becomes the means to an end. Even if you realize those ideals, your power becomes meaningless to you in the end. That sort of mindset doesn’t respect power itself. If you desire true mastery, you need to be more sincere. Let go of ideas, let go of reasoning, and reach for power without needing a cause to guide you.
“Ha ha ha ha! Beneath that dainty appearance rests a true warrior!”
“It’s the only way I can live my life. Now, you must be hiding something else. Show me.”
He repelled the Aether Strike I fired at his battleship. I’m sure of that—but that’s impossible with what I’ve seen from him. His aether shouldn’t be powerful enough for that. There has to be something else going on... And if I’ve got the chance, I’d like to find out.
The black-masked man feigned ignorance. “Hiding something? Like what?”
“My attack on your ship. You must have been the one who repelled it. I’d like you to show me how.”
“Hmph. You’re sharp, aren’t you...? But I don’t think the answer will particularly interest you.”
“I won’t know for sure until I see it, now will I?”
“How persistent. Very well. Allow me.”
The color of the aether around him changed from a pale blue like Inglis’s to a golden tinge.
Inglis gasped. It’s aether. I can tell that much. But I’ve never seen golden aether. Not even in my past life.
Even the goddess Alistia, who had made Inglis a divine knight and demigod, had been wreathed in aether of the same pale blue. Even the other gods of that pantheon had.
“Is that the spirit of a demon?!” Inglis shouted.
Demons were the enemies of the gods. They had existed in her past life, but she had defeated them, thus becoming recognized by gods and mortals alike as a hero, leading to her kingship. Demons’ spirits were characterized by a golden hue.
“But that can’t be it...” she murmured.
The power wrapped around him was definitely aether; it wasn’t ominous like a demon’s. All aether was the same at the end of the day, but it flowed with very different wavelengths.
He seems to be able to control the nature of the aether itself, Inglis thought. Astonishing control over it, really. I never would have thought this was possible. But is this color just coincidence?
Now that I think about it, what even were “demons”? Inglis began to have belated doubts.
But more importantly— This is so exciting! A power I don’t know, and techniques I don’t know!
“So you did have something hidden.” Inglis chuckled. “This is a lot of fun.” She beamed at the black-masked man, her smile as beautiful as it seemed innocent.
“I wonder why... Such words from a young lady, yet I feel no joy,” he mused aloud.
“I wouldn’t mind if you enjoyed yourself.”
“That I cannot do. I’m different from you—I’m just a misguided fool dedicated to my cause. I don’t have time to fight all the time. So, come!”
“Very well, then!” Inglis rushed forth at full speed, her fists at the ready. First, see what happens. Head straight in and strike. No twists, no tricks, but no mercy. A punch with all my might. Her arm surged toward her opponent and the golden aether covering him.
Voom!
She felt a strange sensation as her fist swung off-target. “Wha...?!”
She tried again, then again. But a strange power kept her from touching the black-masked man. “Then—!” She raised her leg high for a kick.
Vo-voom!
Even that failed to connect. It practically slid away from him.
What is this? The closer I get to him, the harder it pushes back—I can’t touch him! I’m being repelled as if we’re two of the same magnetic poles approaching each other.
“What is this?! Is this how you repelled my Aether Strike?!”
“It is, indeed. By transforming the nature of my aether, I can make the forces repel each other. Thus, they will never meet, and I cannot be hurt. It’s a matter of quality, not quantity.”
“So it functions both as an absolute defense and the complete nullification of any offense from either of us?”
“That’s right. There can be no more conflict between us, only peace.”
Inglis took a moment to pout in frustration. “That’s boring.” That means I can’t fight him!
“I told you it wouldn’t be of interest to you.”
“I suppose that limits my options here.” Inglis sighed.
“I’m glad you understand.”
“Yes, I understand completely—understand that this is my only option!”
Clink!
The Aether Shell surrounding Inglis faded as an ice blade appeared in her hand. Aether techniques can’t touch him, so I have to turn my aether into mana and fight him that way. His aether won’t be able to push away mana.
Incredulous, the masked man said, “And yet you still want to fight? Even though dropping your power places you at such a disadvantage?”
“That’s the thing—creativity is also a part of fighting.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you go so far?”
“Because life is short. I can’t afford to waste a single moment.”
He sighed. “My, my. So young, yet in such a hurry. Then I suppose I must continue to take you on...” He got into position.
Rafinha’s voice interrupted the atmosphere of their duel. She called out from the Flygear, “Chris! Something’s coming! Be careful!”
Something wrapped in light was flying toward Inglis and the black-masked man.
Booooom!
Something had landed by them with an explosive noise.
“Wh—! You’re—”
“Ha ha ha! Did you think that would be enough to kill an archlord like me? Too bad!” Ambassador Ivel had returned from Inglis’s kick that had sent him far away.
“Lord Ivel! I’m so glad you’re safe!” Inglis’s face gleamed in joy at his survival.
“That’s an obvious lie! You’re the one who kicked me!”
“It isn’t a lie. I really am glad you’re safe.” Inglis was being genuine; after all, the more fights with strong foes, the better. With Ivel safe, she could fight him again.
“An archlord...” the masked man said. “That would mean you’re high among the Highland generals. If you’re here, that means you were in charge of the negotiations, right?”
“Hmph. So, what, you’re the leader of the Steelblood Front? I’d heard you were a man in all black, but this is truly a terrible way to disguise yourself. Let me guess, you’re self-conscious about your ugly face?”
The black-masked man sighed in exasperation. “Well, it’s true that I’d feel uncomfortable in anything else. Nonetheless, taking down the Highland ambassador is our goal—I don’t take pride in harming a child, but I’ll complete our objective.”
The tension between Ivel and the masked man heightened. Inglis cut through it, stepping between them. “Fall back, Lord Ivel. He aims to take your life.” Then, she turned to the black-masked man. “Lord Ivel never had any intent of working with our country. You don’t need to worry about the king and the ambassador negotiating over Ahlemin and Charot.”
Inglis’s mind was moving fast. I don’t want the two of them to face off. If they hurt each other in a fight, that will result in fewer people for me to duel. That would be a waste. If they do choose to engage, I’ll have to protect Ivel. At the moment, he’s far weaker.
“Hmph! Things are going exactly to plan! Now that the Steelblood Front has stuck its neck out, we can swat you down like a pesky fly! I’ll crush its leader here!”
“Dealing with your thorns now is better than letting you take root later!” the black-masked man said. “Taking the head of an archlord has its own value!”
Inglis interjected, “Wait, you can’t fight! Sheath your weapons! Peace is vital!”
“What nonsense is coming out of your mouth?!” Ivel and the black-masked man replied in unison.
“I do not wish for anyone but me to be involved. If either of you wants to fight me, you’re welcome to.”
“That’s absurd!” Ivel snarled. “It would be pointless!”
The black-masked man concurred. “Unlike you, we don’t fight for fun.”
“Then you leave me no choice.” Inglis faced the black-masked man and activated Aether Shell once more. First, she needed to protect Ivel.
Just as Inglis made her decision, a single Flygear darted out from the Highland ship and flew toward them. Aboard was a familiar face. She was a hieral menace with long, lustrous red hair—Sistia. “Sorry to keep you waiting! We’ve taken the bridge!” she called.
“Well done. Get the captured ship out of here!” the masked man replied.
“Yes! I’ve already given the orders!” Just as she’d said, the Highland ship began to drift away.
“You bastard! You’re trying to steal my ship? You thief!” Ivel yelled.
“In future battles, we will make the most of what we have gained today. We increase our strength whenever the opportunity arises.”
Was this perhaps their objective all along? Inglis wondered. If not, why would Sistia try to take the bridge? No, they were trying to fly to the palace to encounter Ivel. That must have been the main objective.
The Steelblood Front had discovered Ivel was no longer at the palace, probably from a Steelblood sympathizer who reported back. As a result, they switched their main objective to taking the Highland ship.
A clever, resourceful move.
Ivel sneered. “Well, no matter. I can kill you here and take it back!”
“How insolent! Who do you think you are?!” Sistia demanded.
“That’s the Highland ambassador, Sistia,” the black-masked man filled in.
“Eh?! Then we should take him down before we get out of here! It’s an excellent chance!”
“Yes, that was my plan.”
“I won’t let that happen,” Inglis declared. “I can’t have you all hurting each other. That would be a shame.” Especially for myself, Inglis thought.
The masked man laughed. “We seem to have gotten ourselves into quite the mess, Sistia.”
“Yes, you’re right. Not to mention Leon’s—”
“Indeed. At times like these, it comes down to power. Alone, I can protect myself but not overwhelm her. So I’m forced to borrow yours.”
Sistia gasped. “Yes, then I’ll—” She nimbly leaped from the Flygear and lined up next to the black-masked man. Her body glowed from within. “My existence, my power... Use it as you will. I offer it all to you.”
Wait, is this—?! Inglis thought. “A hieral menace’s transformation into a weapon?!” I really want to see this!
Sistia, enveloped in bright light, reached out her hand to the masked man. He took it, and she began to glow even brighter.
“So bright!” So close to the light, Inglis struggled to keep her eyes open. All she could see was a shadow that transformed into a long, thin weapon—a spear. It was hard to know that for sure from her vision, but she could sense its power. Inglis focused as hard as she could. She understood what was happening.
This is—
“Amazing...” was the only word that came from her lips.
She could sense Sistia in her weapon form taking his aether in and amplifying it. It wasn’t mana—it was definitely aether. That came as a shock. Even an upper-class Artifact would shatter when infused with aether, like when Inglis had broken Leone’s upper-class Artifact.
But a hieral menace does more than handle aether safely; they can take that aether and amplify it incredibly. Five, no, maybe ten times, Inglis observed. Even an Aether Shell with all my might couldn’t possibly stand up to an attack like this. Hieral menaces really live up to their reputation as the ultimate Artifacts.
Inglis could understand a hieral menace handling mana, but aether as well...
This is on the level of the holy sword, a weapon of the gods, from my past life. Yet now, it’s born from human hands, even if they are from Highland. Inglis had to admit to herself that she was dumbfounded. The world has moved on so much from my past life. It’s wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Everything I’d want from a foe.
“Ugh...! Is this the same power as that maid’s?! But the hieral menace is responding to it!” Ivel said.
“Please, escape, Lord Ivel. It’s too dangerous,” Inglis said. With Ivel out of here, I can experience that power to the fullest.
However, Ivel rushed the black-masked man himself. “I don’t take orders from you! I know, I’ll take it out while it’s still transforming!”
“No! That’s rude!”
Attacking a foe rather than waiting for them to reach full strength showed a lack of respect. Inglis leaped after Ivel, but she had no time.
Sistia had completed her transformation into a weapon, and a golden spear appeared in the masked man’s hand. It looked like a longer and more impressive version of the golden spear Sistia had used. He thrust the spear forward with one hand. Even to Inglis, who had activated Aether Shell, the tip of that thrust was just a flash of light.
The spear pierced Ivel’s shoulder—and his shoulder and upper arm disappeared without a sound.
Inglis gasped.
The flurry of thrusts flashed aggressively. As each blow landed, Ivel’s torso, hips, legs, and head each disappeared. In the end, there was nothing left. It was all over in the blink of an eye.
“What?!”
Skreee-skreee-skreee! Vwoom!
Inglis heard the spear pierce the air multiple times, resonating with the masked man’s aether.
Then another series of sounds followed.
Bssh-bssh-bssh-bssssshhhh!
Ivel’s body burst apart, each body part exploding. It had all happened so fast that Inglis hadn’t heard the sounds of the masked man’s assault until after it was over.
But now there was something else headed her away.
Whoosh!
The fierce aftershock of the spear’s thrusts fell upon Inglis. “Ugh?! It’s too strong!”
Unable to stand against it, she found herself blown away—and where she was flying to, there was no floor. The blast had thrown her from the ship into the air.
“Oh, I’m falling,” came her realization.
Well, then, how do I get back? was not a question she had to think about.
Rafinha brought her Flygear below Inglis. “Chris, grab on!”
“Thanks, Rani!” Inglis twisted to adjust her trajectory and landed aboard the Flygear. “All right, now back up over the ship! I’m ready for a big fight!”
“A-Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Rafinha was understandably uneasy now, having seen the power of a transformed hieral menace.
“I don’t know. But that’s what makes it so exhilarating, you know?”
“Th-Then isn’t it okay if we leave now? I’m worried about Ripple, Leone, and the others too...”
As if he’d overheard, the Steelblood Front leader said, “The Highland ambassador has fallen. Their battleship is ours. Those are sufficient results for us. If you wouldn’t mind, we’d prefer to leave.”
“I cannot allow—” Inglis began to shout.
Boooooom!
The huge sound did not come from the center of the capital, where this battlefield was. A pillar of light rose high into the sky. The pair of students recognized that location.
“Chris, that’s—”
“Yeah. That’s from the knights’ academy.”
The pillar of light faded, and a gigantic humanoid form appeared in its place. It was a demihuman magicite beast, far larger than any Inglis had seen before. It seemed as tall as the palace. Gems were shining on its body in all the colors of the rainbow, meaning...
“It’s a Prismer!” Inglis and Rafinha exclaimed together.
“Wow, it’s amazing... Hey, Rani, you see that, right? It really is a Prismer.”
“Y-Yeah, it is...”
It was different from the frozen, birdlike one they had seen in Ahlemin, but still, Inglis had longed to fight one of these powerful creatures for a long time. A Prismer was the ultimate magicite beast, said to be strong enough to destroy an entire country. Only a holy knight wielding a transformed hieral menace could supposedly be its match in a fight.
Ever since Inglis had heard of them when she was little, she had trained with the pursuit of defeating one.
At last, I’ve found one that’s still moving! Now I can fulfill the goal I set for myself back then! How could I not tremble in excitement?
“To be precise, it’s still not complete,” the black-masked man interjected. “Only half of its body is covered in those rainbow stones. But if left alone, it will become a full Prismer sooner or later.”
He was right. Half of the demihuman Prismer’s body was speckled with colors rather than with the full rainbow sheen. It reminded Inglis of a larva, but she could sense an enormous amount of power within it.
“Ahh... I can’t decide, which one do I wanna fight...” Inglis’s eyes glittered as she looked back and forth between the black-masked man and the growing Prismer. Fighting the black-masked man means fighting him and a transformed hieral menace, so he’d be a great enemy too. So many choices! This is a grand battlefield; there are so many powerful foes!
“Get a hold of yourself, Chris!”
Rafinha’s fingers tugged on Inglis’s cheeks sharply. “What are you thinking?! That doesn’t matter! We need to get back to the knights’ academy! Leone, Liselotte, Ripple—everyone needs us there!”
“Vuh! R-Rahi, vuh...”
“What?” Rafinha let go of Inglis’s cheek, unable to understand.
“Everyone’s there, so that means they should be fine for a while. See?”
A large ward appeared to isolate the larval Prismer, likely the work of Principal Miriela; the ward was powerful enough for them to see even from far away. There were other impressive people there too. Principal Miriela wasn’t a holy knight but had a special-class Rune regardless, and there was Silva with his own special-class Rune. Leone and Liselotte were there, and most importantly, Yua was probably helping too, although Inglis and Rafinha had no way of knowing how seriously she was acting. The depth of Yua’s strength was unfathomable.
They won’t be taken down that easily, Inglis thought.
“A ward...?! Ah! But still, it’s dangerous!” Rafinha said.
Spots of light appeared all over the larval Prismer’s body, scattering rays in all directions.
“It’s okay!” Inglis insisted. The ward held the rays back, preventing them from leaking out. The city surrounding the knights’ academy was untouched, and the ward was holding up.
Rafinha sighed in relief. “Good. The city’s safe...”
“See? I told you they’d be okay. You need to believe in your friends.”
“Or maybe you just want time to fight the guy in the mask first? Knowing you, you want to fight them both at the same time—”
“Why, of course not. I’m just thinking of the circumstances. If we let him go, who knows what he’ll do after we leave? Worst case, he might even go after His Majesty.” Inglis inwardly cringed, but kept her face as if nothing had happened.
“But he said he just wanted to leave?”
“What are you saying? He’s a bad guy. A guerrilla. We shouldn’t trust him. After all, we’re supposed to be on the side of justice.”
“Well... I think you’re about as trustworthy as he is...”
“Huh?! Why?!”
“You, talking about justice? Sounds fishy to me. I know you’re up to something!”
“But don’t you like justice, Rani?”
“It’s fine when I talk about justice! My pure heart is honest about it!”
A disdainful voice interrupted their squabble. “My goodness, what a troublesome pair. Get out of here. We don’t have time to play with you,” Sistia said. She was back in her hieral menace form.
“Wait, don’t change back! I still want to fight you!” Inglis said.
“Silence! I’m neither a circus act nor your plaything!”
“Sorry, but she’s right,” the masked man followed. “I’m also worried about the strain on her. Example is better than precept. We’ll be taking our leave. Let’s go, Sistia.”
“Yes!”
“I won’t—” Inglis began to yell.
“Wait, Chris! It’s fine. Let them go!” Rafinha insisted.
Suddenly, something moved within the ward at the knights’ academy. It was as bright as the sun and filled the ward with a dazzling light.
“Wh—?! That... That’s the same light we saw when the hieral menace transformed into a weapon, isn’t it, Chris?!”
Inglis knew Rafinha was right. “Looks like it.”
“Meaning, Ripple probably returned to normal and turned into a weapon! Hooray!” Rafinha cheered. “They might be able to beat that Prismer! All right. Then we can capture these two—”
“No! Not allowed! We need to get back to the knights’ academy. It’s dangerous!” Inglis yelled. True, that light had resembled the light from Sistia’s transformation, but it had still been different somehow. Completely different.
“Right, right. The real danger is that they might defeat the Prismer, right? And you want to fight it first?”
“You’re not quite wrong, that’s fine, but we need to hurry to the knights’ academy!”
The man in the black mask spoke up as if he could see straight into Inglis’s thoughts. “That’s for the best. If you don’t hurry, you may not make it in time.”
“It’s a shame,” she responded. “I wasn’t able to fight you as much as I wanted—then, until we meet again. Pardon us.”
“Just as well. There’s no gain for us in fighting you—only a great threat.”
There seemed to be no more time for conversation.
“Come on, Rani, let’s go! Hurry!”
“G-Got it!”
The Flygear carrying the two flew off at full speed toward the knights’ academy.
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