Chapter IV: Inglis, Age 15—Squire and Captain (1)
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” A rough male voice echoed through the stately, serene audience chamber of the royal palace in Karelia’s capital, Chiral.
“Ah, Reddas. As lively as ever.” King Carlias sighed from his throne. “So you have returned. Excellent work. Were you successful? Had I not ordered you to find Inglis and send word that she should proceed to the Prismer’s location? I do not see her here.”
“Yes, Your Highness! Lady Inglis was pleased to accept your orders! She asked me to send thanks that you would pit her against a strong foe!”
The king laughed. “To think she’d be so pleased to face the scourge of all the surface! Such a valiant, daring girl! Then, has she proceeded directly to Ahlemin?”
If time was of the essence, that was the proper choice. King Carlias would have liked to meet with her and see her reaction, but he could not protest. As king, the fate of his country swung in the balance now that the Prismer had awakened, and although an unusual amount of worry and impatience weighed on him that Inglis’s presence would likely alleviate, he had no choice but to command the greater war effort from the palace.
“No, Lady Inglis will be arriving here shortly. She sent me ahead to inform you and make preparations.”
“Hm? Preparations for what?”
“The ceremony to name the new captain of the Royal Guard. Lady Inglis will accept command, which she previously declined, before taking part in the decisive battle! However, she insists that she merely be the acting commanding officer, and that she be allowed to continue as a student at the knights’ academy.”
“I see. That’s well enough. If we truly can employ her in an emergency like this...”
In that case, their arrangement went beyond a spoken promise to cooperate when a powerful foe appeared; it represented the acceptance of royal authority. It was a step forward. A salary and the like would be necessary, but that was no object. It was a small price to pay to put so much power at his disposal.
“Then, Your Majesty, you give your approval?”
“Of course. It was our request to begin with. Inglis will be arriving soon, I expect? Given the circumstances, it will be a simple one, but prepare for the ceremony all the same!”
According to reports on the Prismer’s movement, it would reach the outskirts of Ahlemin in a few days. They would need to prepare for the upcoming battle there once Inglis arrived, but a day or so spent in the capital should present no problem.
“Yes, Your Highness!” King Carlias’s retainers hurriedly sprang into action.
As the king watched them scatter from the corner of his eye, he asked Reddas, “Just how did Inglis come by her change of heart, though? Did you say something in particular to her?”
“Lady Inglis said that, if she is to fight the Prismer in place of the Paladins, the holy knight himself, and the hieral menaces, she should have a fitting rank in order to gain the loyalty of our forces. That would ensure the smooth success of our mission...as well as the preservation of the Paladins’ reputation.”
“She’s right. She has good senses.” King Carlias realized that Inglis likely intended to keep the forces currently in Ahlemin in reserve while she fought the Prismer alone. However, even if Inglis—a first-year student at the academy with no rank or title—were to appeal to the royal command, it would be inevitable that she’d face pushback, if not have her orders flatly ignored.
The rank of Royal Guard Captain—and thus the role of colonel when they were acting as a war regiment—would make her command much more persuasive to the chivalric order.
That was the role of ranks, so to say.
The weight words carried depended on their speaker. And even were she to defeat the Prismer—the question of what would follow remained. The Paladins, after their failure, would surely resent that a mere student at the knights’ academy had stolen their glory. But if it were credited in name to the Royal Guard and its captain, that pain would be dulled. The Royal Guard was one of two grand orders, its captain every bit the equal of the holy knight who was the captain of the other, the Paladins. Even if their aid was necessary to defeat the Prismer, the Paladins would be less preoccupied with their own shame and more interested in celebrating the heroics of their peers.
That was the effect rank had. And it must have been on Inglis’s mind as she had accepted the offer. The fact that she was considering the aftermath of the war also showed that she showed not the slightest expectation of losing her life in battle. That in itself was quite encouraging.
“So brave, yet with a keen eye for the situation—she’s such an unusual girl,” King Carlias pondered. Her prowess in combat defied expectations, yet talking to her, he’d been amazed at her clear judgment and thoughtfulness. He could sense the seasoned strategic eye hidden behind her vivacious, pretty appearance. One almost too seasoned for a girl of her age—she truly was exceptional. If she’d had her true due, she may well not have been satisfied submitting to his rule. He could only be thankful at the fortune that she had chosen to lend him her strength for Karelia’s sake.
The awakening of a Prismer brought tragedy. Whether or not it was defeated, the holy knight that wielded a hieral menace against it would die. That was the inescapable truth of the surface, where the Prism Flow fell. That was the way of the world, which had gone on since long before King Carlias’s birth. That was what had happened when the Prismer now approaching Ahlemin had been frozen in ice. A holy knight dead, another scar on the hearts of the hieral menaces. It was something he could not forget.
Maybe Inglis could shatter the law of that cycle of sorrow.
Though, in the long run—nothing would change.
Human lives were short, and even if Inglis could change the way of the world, those changes would not survive her. Hieral menaces, and holy knights, would still be necessary. To overcome a crisis once, that was something that could be done by the right people—but to find a stable resolution to a recurring crisis, you needed a system, not individuals. By fitting people into that system, the same stable results could be expected each time. The hieral menaces and holy knights were just such a system.
But still—just once, an exception would be good. He wanted to see that for himself. Whenever humans overturned the way of the world, King Carlias would laugh heartily.
“Lady Inglis also said, ‘To be human is to self-criticize—that self-critique must then be developed to its fullest.’”
“Hmmm...did something happen in Alcard?”
“Well—”
Before Reddas could answer further, a member of the Royal Guard rushed into the room. “Your Majesty! Sir Reddas! A ship is approaching from overhead!”
“Has Inglis arrived?” King Carlias asked.
“I believe she said that she wanted to avoid making a scene...” Reddas replied.
Inglis was aboard a ship of the Steelblood Front. Landing that in the royal palace of all places would no doubt cause problems; Inglis surely knew that. Last Reddas had heard, she’d been planning on having it wait some distance away while she visited the palace.
“I’ll go look!” he insisted. He left the audience chamber and looked up. “What?! Whose ship is that?!”
It bore the crest of no country or order. At first glance, he couldn’t determine who it belonged to. However, it was definitely not the Steelblood Front battleship that Inglis and Rafinha were aboard—that he was sure of.
“Ready for interception! We don’t know who’s aboard!” Reddas’s voice boomed, and the knights of the Royal Guard tensed. Many of their forces were still deployed to the northern border, and others had been sent as reinforcements to Alcard, so the defenses of both the capital and the palace were—to be blunt—lacking. A foe could be trying to take advantage of their current weakness.
The palace was suddenly abuzz at Reddas’s command.
“Yes, sir!”
“Prepare to intercept!”
“Scramble the Flygears! Form a defensive perimeter!”
“Whose ship is that? It doesn’t seem to be the one carrying Inglis!” King Carlias said.
“Your Majesty?! It’s dangerous to be out here! That is definitely not the ship carrying Lady Inglis!” Reddas answered.
“Then, someone must be making an attempt on my life amidst the chaos caused by the Prismer’s awakening and our weakened defenses!”
“But who?! The Steelblood Front’s cooperating with us...”
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
The ship unleashed a volley of cannon fire. It rained down upon the palace, crushing roofs and smashing walls.
“Gaaah?!”
“Ahhhhhhhh?!”
The stately, serene atmosphere of the palace had transformed into a battlefield. Knights went down one after another from the sudden attack.
“Stop those cannons! Flygears, close in and disrupt them!” As Reddas barked orders—
Bang!
Part of the enemy ship’s outer metal plating suddenly blew off, though not from an attack. It appeared to have been deliberately purged, revealing...
“Wh—?! Venefic’s ensign?! Is that a Venefic ship?!”
“How bold to invade this far!”
The false pretense had paid off. Karelia was in a confused state of emergency as it strove to respond to the Prismer. King Carlias had heard that even the Steelblood Front was cooperating to protect the towns and villages in its path. Amidst all of this, no one had the time to look twice at a battleship of unknown origin flying overhead. Even if someone had suspicions, it could easily be written off as a Steelblood Front ship.
And the fact that they were now openly flying Venefic’s war ensign—that meant that they considered themselves assured of their victory. At the same time, it was surely meant to show that Venefic had taken Chiral.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” A Flygear squadron took off from the Venefic warship. At its lead was a knight with a laugh as booming as Reddas’s. “King Carlias of Karelia, Your Majesty! It’s an honor to meet you—but now I must bid my farewell! I am Ross Rochefort, a general of Venefic! I will take your head as my trophy from this battle!”
“General Rochefort?! So that’s the man who wielded a hieral menace against our forces—so that’s a hieral menace as a weapon?!” Reddas gasped.
Rochefort’s hand gripped a gigantic golden shield around as tall as he was. They could see its divine radiance.
“It must be...” King Carlias said. “But those are bold words from someone who uses such heavenly blessings for mere burglary! Bolder than your deeds permit!”
Rochefort pointed at his own head. “Strategy, strategy! I don’t care what anyone says, this is for the sake of the girl I must protect! No one else amounts to anything! Now die! Die! Die, die, dieeee!” He leveled his shield at King Carlias and prepared to charge.
“Form up! Become a wall to protect His Majesty!” Reddas ordered. “We don’t need to take down the enemy! We just need to buy time!”
If they could make the fight stretch on long enough, perhaps Rochefort, wielding a hieral menace, would burn through his power. Reddas had heard that Rochefort had wielded the hieral menace even during his battle with the Paladins on the border. He couldn’t last long using even more power here.
“What about you, Reddas?” King Carlias asked. The king seemed to have guessed something about the situation from Reddas’s orders.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I heard from Lady Inglis...”
“So she saw even that far ahead... Truly unfathomable. Yes, though! If we buy time, she shall arrive! We must hold out until then!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Reddas and the surrounded knights nodded in assent. Their ranks knitted tightly as they pulled into a defensive formation.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! That won’t help you!” Rochefort leaped from his Flygear, firing light backward from his shield to propel himself forward through the air, and charged toward the knights standing in his way.
“Aaaaggghhh!” Screams arose as wrecked Flygears fell from the sky.
“Thanks for clumping up like that for me! It makes my job easier!”
“Ugh...! Spread out! Spread out and distract him!” Reddas ordered.
“That won’t save you either!” Rochefort replied, as light shot out from the gems on his shield, cutting down the soldiers around him.
“Aaaah, no!” The screams continued. In the blink of an eye, the number of knights protecting King Carlias had been halved.
“Ha ha ha ha! You fools! You’re throwing away your lives! The very idea that a few lunks like you could stop the true form of a hieral menace is foolhardy! Outrageous! The height of insolence!”
“Ugh...! Don’t get cocky!” one knight grunted.
“But his power is overwhelming!” another cried.
“This is what’s supposed to be used against a Prismer! How are we supposed to...”
The knights’ faces betrayed their realization of the danger they were in. Their morale weakening, Rochefort called out to them, his tone suddenly changed.
“Heyyy. Why don’t you stop throwing your lives away? Drop your weapons, stand back, and watch. Karelia will fall, but you all will have your place as knights of Venefic. A new lord needs his new vassals. Just a different boss. Nothing much will change. How about it, hmm? If you realize what’s at stake, drop your weapons and stand back. No one will blame you. Stand back, stand back—” Rochefort waved his hand, as if to shoo the knights away, and gave them a moment to think.
“That’s impossible!”
“Are you kidding me?!”
“Don’t mock us!”
“I’m not mocking you,” Rochefort continued. “It’s because we need you that I don’t want you to throw your lives away. Your local knowledge will be necessary in Venefic’s new lands.”
“Don’t listen to him!” Reddas thundered. “They’ve chosen to attack our palace at a time when the Prismer has revived, instead of protecting their own people! They have no right to stand over ours!”
But King Carlias quieted him. “That’s enough, Reddas! Stand back. All of you, stand back and watch.”
“Your Majesty?! What are you saying?!”
“Do not question your king!”
“Wh—?!” Shocked at his firmness, the knights took several steps backward.
“He is correct,” King Carlias continued. “At this rate, you’re throwing your lives away—such is the power of the ultimate Artifact.”
He took one step toward Rochefort, then another, his hand reaching toward the dirk at his waist. “And...those who follow his words, even if they do survive, must then be punished, lest they set a poor example. But I have no intent to do so—and thus, I order you to step back.”
If everyone stepped back, loyal and disloyal alike, then those who would follow Rochefort could not be distinguished. In the current situation, that was for the best.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
“If we only need to buy a little time—I will do so myself!” One wielding a hieral menace as a weapon could not endure long. And Inglis would soon arrive. For both of those reasons, they needed to hold on for only a little.
King Carlias drew his dirk. Its softly glowing blade was translucent like an azure gem, its hilt sculpted in mimicry of the legendary dragons—this was Dragon Claw, the paired Artifact of Dragon Fang, which had been entrusted to the holy knight Rafael.
“Ah, an Artifact like the holy knight Rafael’s... So, the special-class Rune on your hand is no mere decoration, then?” Rochefort asked.
“I, Carlias, may not have a blade that can stand against the heavens, but I have claws with which to defend myself! You will not take my head so easily!”
“Ohhh, do you, now? You’ve got spirit—let’s see if you have the strength to back it up!” Rochefort raised his shield before himself and charged straight toward King Carlias. It was a simple, straightforward attack, but it was blindingly fast.
“Haaaaah!” King Carlias shouted, and his body began to glow. Immediately, Rochefort’s aerial charge struck down where the king was standing.
Ker-thuuud!
The impact blasted around him, blowing away pieces of the ground, and a massive cloud of dust obscured the view of the onlookers.
“So powerful!”
“Taking that head-on...”
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty?!”
As the knights shouted in dismay, Rochefort smirked. “Oh my. Shattered by a single blow? What a pity.”
An azure flash rained down upon him. “Eyes on the fight!”
Rochefort grunted in surprise.
Claaang!
Rochefort swiftly reacted to the attack from above him and repositioned his shield overhead to take Carlias’s strike. King Carlias, clad in a winged suit of azure armor, had flown up into the sky, then slashed down at him using the dust as cover.
“Well, now. The same Artifact awakening as that holy knight, Rafael—it seems you’re different from the royals in my country, who are content to bark orders as they hide behind their throne.”
“No, I’m no different. Even now, I send a young man with a promising future to fight the Prismer while I remain here in the safety of the capital. My Rune cries out to me—because of me, it cannot shine, cannot fulfill its duty!”
Special-class Rune or no, Carlias was king. He could not abandon that duty in order to wield a hieral menace and fall in battle. So had it been for the battle where the Prismer once kept in Ahlemin had been encased in ice. To fulfill the duty he held as king, he could not take up the duty to wield a hieral menace and fall in battle. He had had no choice but to leave it to those dear to him he wanted to protect, those with futures that should have been longer than his own.
“Then rejoice! For today its cries will cease! Since its bearer will be dead!” Rochefort fiercely kicked off the ground and flew forth.
The sudden momentum threatened to blow the king away. Smashing into the palace walls or the ground would be painful. He grunted in surprise and twisted away from Rochefort’s onslaught, leaping up with the power of his azure wings.
“Too slow!” Rochefort sneered, firing beams of light from his shield into the king’s path. Several of the beams grazed him as he shot upward.
“Ugh...?!” Carlias banked sharply to his left. However, another beam immediately sprang into that path as well. “Then—!” Then...I shall do a complex maneuver at high speed, inserting precise directional changes. He began to fly at a speed that the average person’s eyes couldn’t keep up with.
“More, more, more!” Rochefort taunted. Even still, the light of his shield precisely followed the king. Little by little, the azure armor provided by Dragon Claw was taking hits and being whittled away.
“Ugh...! Even with Dragon Claw, I cannot escape... He’s too strong!”
“Try as you might, you’re just an old man who’s been away from the front lines for too long! The holy knight Rafael did far better with a similar Artifact! You’re so excited to be in a real battle after so many years that you’ve made mistake after mistake since you first came at me! You should’ve used the cloud of dust to flee! That’s what your knight Rafael did! That would be the proper choice, understanding your own power versus mine!”
“Just an old man... Well, that much may be true!” King Carlias’s flesh was weaker than it had been in his prime, and his combat senses had dulled as well. That was true enough, but where did Rochefort’s high spirits come from? In the battle with the Paladins at the border, and here again, he had wielded a hieral menace’s strength with abandon, yet he showed no signs of weakening. His life should have been burned away by now.
“Hurry up! If you don’t hurry up and flee, you’ll take a direct hit!” Rochefort taunted.
“Curses! If this keeps up...” If Carlias fell here, then even if Rochefort was defeated, even if the Prismer was defeated...
“Grahhhh! Your Majesty!” One of his knights suddenly let out a battle cry and rushed toward Rochefort, his full weight behind his sword—it was Reddas.
Crrraaaccck!
But as the sword fell on Rochefort’s back, it rang as if striking a sturdy wall and shattered.
“Were you trying something?” Rochefort turned and smirked.
“Ah...! Then...” Casting away his broken sword, Reddas tried to grapple with Rochefort. It was the act of a man sacrificing himself to buy even a little time.
“Ugh, I’m not the type to welcome another man’s embrace.” The back of Rochefort’s hand flashed forth, striking Reddas in the face and sending him flying. Yet Reddas quickly rose to his feet, blood streaming from his broken nose, and again approached Rochefort, looking to grapple.
“Reddas!” King Carlias yelled. “Halt! Stay back!”
“No! I can’t stay silent and use Your Majesty as a shield!” Reddas roared.
“That’s right! Why are we just quietly watching?”
“Follow him! Follow Captain Reddas!”
“Just buy some time! Lady Inglis will be here soon!” Dozens of knights poured forth behind Reddas, swarming over Rochefort.
“How dismal!” Rochefort swung his shield in a broad arc, sweeping away the knights. They were knocked down into a crouch and slammed against the palace wall. “Very well,” Rochefort said. “If you’re going to interfere, I’ll begin with you!” The gems on his shield glowed, ready to fire more beams. He leveled it at Reddas and the other knights pressed against the wall.
“Stay right where you are!” Carlias rushed toward Rochefort with his blade at the ready, trying to stop him.
But Rochefort saw it coming. The blade caught only air, and he slipped behind the king. “Disappointing! I thought I’d taught you a lesson—that fleeing when you had the chance was the better strategy!”
Whack!
His golden shield smashed into King Carlias, sending him plunging like an arrow toward the palace wall. Unable to regain control midair, he smashed into the wall.
“Your Majesty—?!”
“Ugh... They say there’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle...but perhaps I’m just too old...” Blood dripped from King Carlias’s brow as he sprawled on the floor. The trembling and pain rushing through his body meant he wouldn’t rise again soon.
“A beautiful display of fealty—but now it means your doom! Even a dragon’s fang or claw is meaningless in the face of a hieral menace! Powerless, powerless, powerless! Now, you can all be together when you go!”
King Carlias, still lying on his back, suddenly began to laugh.
“Huh? What’s so funny?” A gigantic shadow swept over Rochefort’s head.
“But how about a dragon tail?”
“Wh—?!” Rochefort’s eyes snapped up to an incomprehensible sight—swinging down at him was a strange tail dozens of times longer than he was tall. The person behind the attack was a girl with silver hair, and he could see a dark-haired girl clinging to her back and screaming.
Rochefort’s shout of astonishment and the dark-haired girl’s panicked shriek overlapped.
“Whaaaaaat?!”
“Eeeeeeek!”
Slammmmmm!
An ear-piercing noise filled the air, and the palace shook as though there were an earthquake. Inglis had descended from the Steelblood Front ship, swinging Fufailbane’s tail with all her might. Rochefort was nowhere to be seen afterward.
Inglis smiled as she bowed to the crowd. “Sorry to keep you waiting. How are you this fine day?” Then she turned to the side. “Rani, are you okay?”
“I am very not okay! That was terrifying! I can’t believe you’d jump from that high!” Rafinha jabbed a finger toward the Steelblood Front ship floating high above.
“Well, I mean, time was of the essence. And it was a good time to unload the cargo anyway, right?”
King Carlias laughed. “As incredible as ever—every time I see you, you manage to astonish me in some new way!”
“Your Majesty...are you all right?” Inglis asked. “That’s a wonderful Artifact. I wonder if at some point you’d like to—”
“Ugh, Chris! Save it for later!” Rafinha interrupted. “His Majesty is hurt!”
“As if I could stand up to...you...” King Carlias rasped, his injuries becoming more evident.
Reddas gasped. “Oh no! His Majesty’s wounds are grave! Rafinha, heal him with haste!” he pleaded.
“Yes, I’ll do my best! But unlike last time with his arm, now he’s in mortal danger!” The king’s whole body, especially his head, was battered, bruised, and bleeding. Rafinha wasn’t confident that her powers were enough to save him.
“Don’t worry, Rani. You’ve got this. But listen to me for a second, okay?” Then Inglis whispered something in Rafinha’s ear.
“Hm...? O-Oh...okay, I get it!” Then Rafinha faced King Carlias and summoned forth her healing powers.
I can leave that to her, Inglis thought, turning her eyes toward the dragon’s tail.
“L-Lady Inglis...do you think that finished him off?” Reddas asked.
Inglis quietly shook her head at Reddas. “Of course not. Why would it have? I would never do something like that to someone it could defeat. Taking them out with an ambush would be such a waste.”
A good fight that ended in one sneak attack would deny her the chance to experience her foe’s full power. Inglis Eucus fought by taking on her opponents at their strongest. That, after all, was the best for her own development.
No matter what, she wouldn’t change that—couldn’t change that. “I just wanted to drop off my luggage and say hello as I was passing through. I’m sure he’s fine.”
“Of course I am!” The dragon’s tail dragged against the ground as Rochefort pushed it aside, appearing from underneath it. He was covered in dirt, but he didn’t appear to be seriously injured.
“See? Fit as a fiddle!” Inglis announced.
“Huh?” Rochefort asked. “I’m not sure you should be happy about that...”
“Well, I’m overjoyed! If I can’t take down a holy knight wielding a hieral menace, I won’t be able to take down a Prismer—you’ll be perfect to prove this sword upon.” Inglis chuckled and looked down at her sword made from Fufailbane’s scales. It was a mighty sword as long as she was tall. Smiling, she ran her finger down its blade. Some time had passed since she’d made it, and now she finally had the chance to test her work. Of course she was happy!
Rochefort laughed as well. “To see a wielded hieral menace and smile—you are either a fool or mad... Who are you, my dear?”
“Sorry for not introducing myself. I’m Inglis Eucus, and soon I’ll be taking emergency acting command of the Royal Guard—but for now, I’m an aspiring squire studying at the knights’ academy.” Inglis bowed politely to Rochefort.
“A squire?!”
“Yes, as you can see.” Inglis brandished the back of her right hand, clearly lacking a Rune.
“You’re Runeless? No, that matters not. Your dainty appearance aside, the blow you struck from above with such a huge piece of meat is unquestionable. I was honestly shocked. I am Ross Rochefort, a knight entrusted by my homeland Venefic with a hieral menace. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Rochefort’s bow was just as polite as Inglis’s.
“Thank you for your courtesy—and thank you, especially, for giving me the unexpected opportunity to fight a transformed hieral menace here.”
“Hmm? This is the first time I’ve been thanked for that. It was your own countrymen who protested at the use of a hieral menace in a battle between humans, was it not? King Carlias here, the holy knight, your own hieral menaces—but the ‘emergency acting commander of the Royal Guard,’ as you put it, has no objection then?” He even took care to use her exceptionally unwieldy title.
Inglis found him intriguing. “It’s a part-time job, one that requires I subdue the powerful enemies who threaten Karelia. It’s only natural that I thank those who keep me employed. If you had fought the reborn Prismer and fulfilled your duty, I’d have had no one to fight at all. But thanks to your choices, I get the chance to fight both you and the Prismer. A blade—even one that protects humanity—has nothing left if it has no job.”
“‘A blade which protects humanity,’ huh? Your noble words don’t match the glimmer in your eyes or the fierce smile on your face. It seems to me more like you just want to fight for your own enjoyment.”
Inglis laughed. “I can’t argue with that.”
Rafinha sighed as she continued to heal King Carlias. “Chris, it’s nice that you’re so honest, but I wish you’d try to argue... This hurts to watch...”
“Ahem,” Inglis began again. “For the greater good, I will defeat you! Knight of the evil neighboring country, taste the blade of justice!” Inglis furrowed her eyebrows as she attempted to play along with Rafinha’s comment.
“Wow... That was incredibly obviously an act...” Rafinha sighed quietly. The words were right, but they sounded so wrong coming from Inglis. Rafinha felt a creepy chill run up her spine.
“However, I’d like to fight you over and over,” Inglis continued, “so I’d appreciate it if you could run away at the right time and then attack me again later!”
“There’s the Chris I know,” Rafinha grumbled. “Not that that would be any better... Ugh, whatever, just do your thing! We need to get to Rafael!”
“Understood, Rani!” Inglis faced Rochefort again with a ladylike smile. “So, since neither you nor I have much time, I’d like to proceed to our battle.”
The Steelblood Front had kept Inglis informed on the Prismer as they traveled, and currently it was only a few days away from Ahlemin. Counting the time to reach Ahlemin and the preparations necessary once she arrived, she had only around a single day to spend in Chiral. Not much time at all. Normally, she’d want to dedicate several days, and several sessions, to such a powerful foe, but if that was impossible, she’d like to enjoy the short battle intensely.
Rochefort grinned at the contrast between her words and her demeanor. “I don’t know what your deal is, but it seems you’re another outlaw like me who’s strayed from the path of chivalry. Perhaps the gods will smile that we crush each other here!”
“No, I don’t think I’ve strayed from that path. After all, you can’t depart from something you were never on to begin with. And the goddess would never say such things. She wanted me to live as I please—she is quite generous.”
“Ha ha ha! So perhaps you’ve strayed further than even I have!”
“In that case, you must recognize that you have stepped away from the path that holy knights entrusted with hieral menaces must walk, and yet...you use the few moments you have left to struggle toward some goal. You seem to be an unexpectedly good person.”
“Perhaps I’ll capture the villain before me! I’ll put a stop to your degradation—after all, you disgust me!” Rochefort laughed haughtily. “I will punish you! With all my might! Don’t complain if I mess up that pretty face such that you’ll never be able to seduce a man!”
“Yes, go right ahead! I’ve never planned on doing such a thing, so don’t hold back! Oh, but I do enjoy looking at myself in the mirror, so I’d appreciate it if you avoided scarring my face in particular.”
“If you insist!”
Skreech!
A sublime, sparkling light shot out from one of the gems decorating Rochefort’s shield.
“Ooh?!” Inglis exclaimed in surprised admiration. This light isn’t magic alone!
Rochefort’s hieral menace was sublimating his mana into something completely different. Specifically, the inherent inefficiency of mana seemed to have been almost completely eliminated by the intervention of the hieral menace.
Mana was a far less efficient source of power than aether. It formed the basis of magic, but essentially, when a person expended mana, twenty or thirty percent would go into the actual effect of the magic, and the rest would merely dissipate. Evel’s Mana Refine technique could bring that up to maybe fifty or sixty percent actual effectiveness, but what Inglis was witnessing here far surpassed that.
In Rochefort’s case here, not a bit was wasted—no, it actually went further than that. The wasted seventy or eighty percent was converted by the hieral menace into something else, something that took the same output but gave it a kick. It even rivaled the power of aether. However, if one were to ask whether it was aether, the answer was no. Aether was the divine essence that underlay all things. Inglis primarily used it for combat, but it was by no means limited to this; it was truly universal.
Meanwhile, Rochefort’s power can only be used for war, and only through the intervention of a hieral menace, Inglis thought. It lacks the universality of actual aether. It’s similar to aether yet at the same time unlike it—maybe I can call it “dusty aether.” In any case...
“Wow...that’s fascinating!” Even as Inglis determined the nature of Rochefort’s power, her body sprang into action. “Haaaah!” She swung her dragonscale sword into the path of the light.
Clooonk!
The sword deflected the light, succeeding in changing its trajectory, but the force of that intense light broke Inglis’s stance, causing her to stumble backward. “Ah...!” Her arms had gone numb.
The light, missing the mark, slammed into the ramparts. Their collapse left only wreckage in the light’s wake.
Crrraaassshhh!
“Such wonderful power!” Inglis praised. Truly what could be expected from the ultimate Artifact. It left nothing to be desired.
“Oh, drop the act!”
Skreech! Skreech!
Rochefort fired two more blasts at her torso.
In her present state, it would be hard for her to intercept them as she had before. Even when she had been prepared, she’d felt the knockback and nearly lost hold of her sword. She’d have to take a different approach.
“Haaaah!” Inglis used the momentum of her backward stumble to flip backward, kicking the incoming blasts of light skyward.
Smack! Bam!
Their trajectory changed abruptly, soaring up into the sky.
“What?! The sword didn’t work, but your feet—?!”
In truth, it wasn’t that complex of an explanation. Inglis had taken Rochefort’s first attack having only released the enhanced-gravity magic she typically kept on herself as a training aid. Since it had forced her sword back, she’d activated Aether Shell and kicked the shield’s blasts of light away. She had wanted to keep going longer before resorting to Aether Shell, but the destruction wrought by the shot she’d failed to fully deflect showed that too much persistence might result in the loss of the entire palace. Worse yet, if things went poorly, Rafinha could be in danger. Inglis had to reluctantly give up and give it her all.
However, the follow-up shots she’d repelled with a kick had also gone not entirely where she’d expected, and her legs were still a little numb. A challenge, then—there was still enjoyment to be had in this fight.
“Next, I’d like to try deflecting with my sword again, if you will.” Inglis brandished her dragonscale sword. The point where the previous blast of light had impacted it full-on showed not even a scratch. The light was not merely mana—it was dusty aether, on a scale comparable with actual aether. That technique was somewhat like Aether Pierce or Aether Strike. The sword took that hit without a scratch on it, though—it might even hold up to the full power of Aether Shell!
“As you wish! I’ll even make this one extra special! No need to thank me!” Rochefort leveled his shield, adorned with six gems. This time, all six gleamed and produced rays of light. If each gem could be considered one cannon, this was a full barrage. Six rays sprang for Inglis, changing their trajectories slightly to separately target her head and torso, both shoulders, and both arms.
“No, no, I simply must give you my thanks!” Six shots of such intensity—powerful enough that they couldn’t be blocked, impressive enough that they would be a waste to dodge. She’d have to face them head-on!
“Haaaah!” Inglis stepped into the incoming fire, swinging her sword up from her right hip to her left shoulder.
Clang! Clong! Claaang!
The shots aimed at her right leg, torso, and left shoulder were deflected into the sky. But the other three were already upon her. Repositioning such a large sword in time to slash at them again, even with Aether Shell active, was impossible.
“Useless!” Rochefort grinned, unaware of what was to come.
“Are...!” Inglis used the remaining momentum from her slash to somersault backward. The speed and distance of her leap opened up only a little room between her and the remaining shots, but that was enough time for another swing of her sword.
“You...!”
Clang! Clong!
This time, a mirrored slash handled the shots aimed at her left leg and right shoulder. Using the momentum, she backflipped again. When she landed, she thrust her sword straight at the shot aimed at her head.
“Sure?!”
Claaaaaang!
The last shot bounced off into the sky with the loudest noise yet.
“Hmmm, wonderful! It’s like you’re dancing with that sword of yours! How absolutely lovely—”
Boooooom!
A large explosion suddenly rang out behind Rochefort. “What?! What’s going on?!” As he spun around, he saw the engines of the ship the Venefic forces were using as a carrier ablaze. The blasts Inglis had deflected had struck true on its engine room. Having lost control, it crash-landed in the large canal leading to Lake Bolt. From the looks of it, though, it wouldn’t explode—at least he hoped so.
“Ohhh! You aimed for there?!” Reddas shouted, incredulous.
“A-Amazing! I didn’t need it proved to me again, but she’s definitely special!”
“W-Well done, Lady Inglis! Your movements were so fast I couldn’t even see them, but their strength! Their beauty! Just seeing it makes me shiver!”
The knights around him nodded in agreement.
Rafinha laughed. “The Royal Guard likes you, Chris.” She was busy healing King Carlias, but the excited cries were overwhelming enough to momentarily break her focus.
Inglis wanted to object, to point out that if the knight hadn’t been able to see her, how could he determine the beauty of her movement?
But now was not the time. Clearing her throat, she smiled and called out to Rochefort. “Wow, those were really strong! So strong they sank a ship!”
“You bounced them back into the engines?!”
“Honestly, I wanted to only strike a glancing blow so I could capture it. My aim was a little off. Hmm, that’s gonna be tough to repair, isn’t it? I need to keep practicing.”
The blasts of light from his shield had been so powerful that she hadn’t had full control of them. Those last ones had remained as powerful as those she’d kicked away; she was fortunate in that she had managed to aim them somewhat.
Inglis laughed to herself. “Looks like I’m the one letting my weapon down,” she chuckled, smiling and stroking the sword. It was the kind of thing she hadn’t said even once since starting her new life as Inglis Eucus. But just once, she’d wanted to.
Every weapon she’d taken to hand up until now had, when she fought fully shrouded with Aether Shell, been unable to handle the strain and shattered, but the sword forged from the dragon Fufailbane’s scales showed no sign of doing so. It complied with her strength. As she’d just said, if she herself were stronger, she would have been able to perfectly redirect the shield’s fire.
This was important. It meant a huge leap in her overall strength in combat. After all, up until now she’d been fighting barehanded, but now she had a weapon.
“I don’t know what you’re so happy about—our line of retreat is now cut off!” Rochefort snarled.
“I suppose you hadn’t planned on such an eventuality?” Inglis retorted.
“Of course not! You’d need to have a screw loose somewhere to think of a plan like that!”
“I think it’s a shame that someone as strong as you is so convinced you need to live fast and die young—but I suppose you’re stuck in your ways, correct?”
“Wh—?! Just what are you? A new type of hieral menace from Highland?! The Steelblood Front or whatever’s secret weapon?!”
“Neither. Just an aspiring squire—soon to be emergency acting commander of the Royal Guard.”
Rochefort laughed. “Not a very nice person, making fun of a man whose back is against the wall! But cruelty from a beautiful woman has its own appeal.”
“You seem to have some very specific tastes.”
“In any case, I will not die for nothing! I will claw my mark onto this world!”
“Yes, I’m hoping so.”
“Ha ha ha! You’re a poisoned apple, indeed!” The gems on Rochefort’s shield gleamed, even brighter than when they had fired before—the glow covered the entire shield, then all of Rochefort himself.
Skreeeeeeeeeech!
The high-pitched ringing sounded almost like a scream of ecstasy from Rochefort’s entire body. At the same time, the ground began to shake where he stood, then collapse into a pit under intense pressure.
Meaning, his attacks before were just a distraction. Just how strong of an attack will he bring out? Inglis found herself wondering with bated breath. And how well will this dragonscale sword stand up to it? An unknown enemy and a new weapon—there won’t be many battles that make my heart dance like this!
“I’m going to make you cryyy! I swear it!” he bellowed.
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it! Please do!” Inglis smiled with a twinkle in her eye as she raised her sword and responded to Rochefort.
“Here I cooome!”
Smaaash!
A simple stomp of his foot produced an explosive rumble and pillar of dust. Looking back on her own experience, Inglis recalled something similar when she’d used her aether techniques at full power. Meaning...he’s all the opponent I could ask for. His ferocious momentum is gouging a rut in the ground as he rushes toward me—it’s a head-on attack!
“Then, you’d do best to prepare as well! Haaaaah!”
Smaaash!
Inglis also stomped her foot and charged toward Rochefort.
“Huh?! They disappeared?!”
“I-I can’t see! I can’t see anything!”
“Be careful, everyone! Keep your feet planted firm! Something big’s coming!” Rafinha called out to the knights.
Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!
Without missing a beat, an ear-shattering noise rang out. Suddenly, the onlookers could see Inglis slamming a sword as big as she was into Rochefort’s shield. At the same time, the shock wave from the impact hit them.
“Whoa!” The knights were knocked onto their backs, just as Rafinha had warned.
“Don’t stand up! It’s better to keep low!” she instructed as she covered King Carlias, who she was still healing. She couldn’t let him be knocked away from her.
“Got it!”
“I will! Thanks!”
“Rafinha! How is His Majesty’s condition?!” Reddas asked as he helped support the king.
“He’ll be okay! I did what Chris said, and it worked wonders! He’ll definitely be fine! We just have to wait for her to kick that guy’s butt!”
Inglis had to win—she already had her schedule booked. Saving Rafael and taking down the Prismer was the real fight, and that still awaited her. It wouldn’t be like Inglis to miss a fight, nor to miss the chance to obliterate anything that might make Rafinha sad.
That was why Inglis wouldn’t lose. She couldn’t lose. If she couldn’t overcome a holy knight and a hieral menace, then it would also be impossible to defeat a Prismer. She would win. She would win, smile, and say something like, Now that was a good fight, not realizing how worried people were about her.
That smile, that charm, would secure Rafinha’s forgiveness no matter what happened. It had always been that way. Rafinha couldn’t imagine that ever changing.
The shock of Inglis’s clash with Rochefort pushed them both back farther away from each other. They stomped deeper into the ruts they’d left as they came to a stop simultaneously.
“I see...! We’re evenly matched!” Rochefort snarled.
“Perfect! Then—”
Then, once again!
Sma—smash!
The sound of two stomps overlapped.
Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!
Once again, the impact bounced them both apart.
“That shock must be hard on those slender arms of yours,” Rochefort taunted. “It’s okay. You can avoid it! With your agility, you should be able to slide right by!”
“No, I’m going to meet you head-on!” Inglis Eucus fought by overcoming her opponents when they were at their best. Plus, there was the matter of testing the strength of her sword. She wanted to keep banging and banging on that supreme shield that a hieral menace had transformed into.
Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!
“Don’t be stubborn, now!” Rochefort yelled.
“You neither!” Inglis snapped back.
Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!
“Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Heh heh heh heh!”
Over and over, Inglis and Rochefort collided head-on. The shock of each impact shook the entire palace, making it creak. It was starting to crumble and fall in places.
The knights were in a frenzy. “I-If this keeps going, the whole palace is going to collapse!”
“I can’t tell who’s going to win, or even when they’re going to stop!” an incredulous knight said.
“I can’t even see them move!” another shouted.
“No, wait! Chris is pushing him back little by little!”
To be honest, even Rafinha couldn’t completely grasp their movements. Inglis and Rochefort flickered in and out of her vision over and over, disappearing before reappearing with a monumental crash. Each time they collided, it was at the same spot, hence the circle of devastation it left. Slowly but surely, that circle was extending into an oval, pushing farther and farther back on Rochefort’s side—meaning Inglis was pressing forward.
Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!
“Guhhhh?!” Rochefort was beginning to lose his balance; his knee touched the ground for a brief moment. “Why?! Why is she pushing me back?! Where does that slender form hide such strength?!”
Inglis quietly shook her head. “No, you misunderstand.”
“What?!”
“I’m not pushing you back. You’re simply being pushed back. Haven’t you realized?” Inglis gently gestured toward her mouth, an extremely disappointed, pitiful look on her face. It was rare to see her show such melancholy in combat.
“Ah?” Rochefort wiped his mouth—and his hand came back dripping with sticky red blood. Inglis’s strikes weren’t responsible for that. Their clashes were still sword on shield. The real fight was just beginning, but there was only so much time left.
“Ngh!” Rochefort grunted and waved his hand in disgust, scattering the blood.
“Th-This...! He’s...?!” Reddas began.
“W-Wait! Will this happen to my brother too?!” Rafinha gasped.
Their meanings weren’t clear, but Inglis could tell what they were thinking—that this was the side effect of using a hieral menace, that Rafael would end up like this were he to wield Eris or Ripple. That must have been what they were thinking.
“No. It’s not like that, Rani. He was like this to begin with.”
“Huh?! So he’s always been like...”
“Yeah. He’s...not well. I’m amazed he’s still alive.” Just standing must have been taking a toll on him. Fighting this fiercely must have left him in incredible pain.
His physical, and especially mental, fortitude kept him going when the average person would already be in a coffin.
He may as well have been dead, and yet that was exactly why the hieral menace’s sapping away of his life was ineffective. A walking corpse had none to give. Whereas the Steelblood Front’s masked leader used aether to block the hieral menace’s effects, Rochefort simply wasn’t affected by the hieral menace, even through an extended fight.
Inglis hadn’t known such a thing was possible. It was a miraculous coincidence. Rochefort, stricken by a fatal disease and with little time left to live, had taken a hieral menace in hand and stood forth on the battlefield. Inglis didn’t know what his beliefs or goals were, but this was the first battle she’d ever fought in such circumstances. It was rare. It was valuable...but she still had this to say: “I admire your perseverance. But I believe you’ve reached your limits. I suggest that you take a break now.”
Rochefort cackled. “Cruelest of all is that you see my state and still offer such words! The reaper will not wait for me! To stand still is to accept a meaningless death! That will not save Arles! Do not hold back! The battle con— Groork!” Rochefort coughed up an alarming amount of blood and slumped to his knees. He clutched the shield that was a hieral menace and barely managed to keep himself from collapsing. He truly was at his limits.
Inglis quickly walked toward him. “Of course, I understand your condition. That’s why I’m suggesting we pick this back up after a break.”
Rochefort, wordless, looked at her quizzically.
“Rani! Could you bring me some of that?” Inglis asked, motioning in the direction of the dragon meat.
“S-Sure! Got it!” Rafinha brought forth a skewer. It looked positively delicious.
“This is the meat of an ancient dragon. The strong life force it contains will cure whatever ails you. See, look.” Inglis looked forward to King Carlias, who was sitting against a palace wall, being looked after by Reddas and the knights. His wounds had brought him close to death, but he had recovered enough to regain consciousness.
The meat of an ancient dragon wasn’t just tasty; it also had medicinal effects. Some said that the better the medicine, the more bitter it was. That didn’t apply to dragon meat, though. It was also said that dragons weren’t of this world, and ancient dragons were near their peak. This world’s common sense didn’t apply to such uncommon beings.
“Ah...!” Rochefort gasped. “So...I failed to take his head?”
“We don’t know that for sure yet. Now, go ahead. Have some.”
“Taking pity on me, are you? Even if you ask in return that I stop fighting and surrender—” Rochefort had absolutely no intent to do so.
He truly didn’t, but not everyone felt that way.
Whoosh!
His golden shield shone a bright white, and shifted to a human shape. A demihuman like Ripple, with the ears and tail of an animal. Her apparent age was around twenty, just like Ripple, but the impression she gave was quite different—mature, ladylike, and graceful. This was the enemy hieral menace, Arles.
Desperately, she appealed to Rochefort. “Ross! L-Let’s stop this! If it’ll save you, I’ll—!”
Rochefort glared at her.
“Who said we’re stopping the fight?!” he and Inglis replied in unison.
“You said that too?!”
“You said that as well?!”
The shouts didn’t completely match each other this time, but the meaning was the same.
“O-Oh! W-Weren’t you trying to help Ross?” The hieral menace seemed to be a close friend of Rochefort’s. She probably hadn’t expected his fierce rejection of her earnest request, but Inglis’s reaction came as a complete shock to her.
“Yes, indeed,” Inglis replied.
“Then, shouldn’t you stop fighting? Give him his life in exchange for surrender?”
“What would that accomplish?”
“Wh-What do you mean? Well, you’d win, the fight would be over, and the danger would be gone...”
Inglis shook her head quietly in response. “That’s not what I’m looking for.”
“What?! Then what are you—?”
“I want him to eat this so we can resume our battle. I do not wish for his surrender. I’d be in a rather unfortunate position were he to give up.”
“Ah...! You’re—”
“A gesture of respect, huh?” Rochefort grumbled in obvious pain. If he didn’t hurry, it would be too late.
“No, I’m not just doing you a favor. What you’re talking about is a good deed for its own sake. I want something in return. Specifically, I want a thoroughly enjoyable battle with you.” There was, surely, nothing remarkable about paying for experience. Inglis could say that it was no different from the training provided at the knights’ academy in exchange for her tuition. This time, with her prospective foes an enemy’s holy knight and hieral menace, the experience she was looking to buy was a match at full intensity. “So please, help yourself. It should get you back on your feet.”
Rochefort responded by laughing in her face. “You’re crazy! You could have just killed me easily while you had the chance, but instead you want to drag my corpse around because you’re looking for a fight! Your madness may well be the end of your country!”
Inglis smiled. “As long as it all works out in the end, it’s okay if I have a little fun—and I’m sure it will be fine.” In her mind, there would be no problems so long as she won—and she didn’t intend to lose. Therefore, it would be fine.
“Well, it would be nice if things worked out that way...” Rafinha sighed in response.
“Ah, Rani. It’s okay, right? Can I please do this? C’mon, wouldn’t you just feel terribly sorry for him if it ended before he could do his thing? This is a warrior’s compassion—”
“It’s...complicated. And I don’t particularly enjoy the idea of your beating up a sick man. I think we should only give him the meat if he surrenders.”
“I agree as well...” Arles hesitantly agreed.
“C’mon, Rani! That’ll be a waste!” Inglis complained.
“Arles! Don’t ruin the fun!” Rochefort’s blood-smeared mouth twisted into a grimace as he rebuked the hieral menace before speaking to Inglis. “Ha ha ha! I think I like you! I’ll eat that meat! Give it here!”
“Here you go... Is it tasty?”
Rochefort took the meat and tried to bring it to his mouth, but his hand was shaking so hard that he almost dropped it. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was already so weak. His willingness to fight Inglis head-on in such a state showed his indomitable fighting spirit. If she had encountered him in her past life, she would have wanted to develop him into a general who could spearhead her armies.
“Ross! Don’t push yourself too hard! I’ll—” Arles drew close to Rochefort and supported his shoulder. Taking the skewer from his hand, she brought it to his mouth. It was a gallant effort. “No matter what, as long as you live, I’ll be by your side...”
“Ah... U— Gwrk?!”
Again, Rochefort coughed up blood, staining Arles’s armor.
“Ross?! Hold on! Eat this!”
“Ugh! Dammit!”
His body no longer has the strength to chew... This might be too late! “Do your best! You only need a little!” Inglis cheered.
“If he can’t eat, chew it for him! If you can just get it in his mouth, he’ll be fine!” Rafinha quickly instructed Arles.
“O-Okay! Understood!” She quickly chewed the skewer, then brought her lips to Rochefort’s, and tenderly dropped the chewed meat into his mouth.
“Ugh...” Somehow, he managed to swallow.
It had been a close call with not a minute to spare. Now all they could do was watch over him.
“Did we make it in time?” Rafinha asked, full of worry.
“I think he’ll be fine thanks to eating at least some of the dragon meat. Good thinking, Rani. Any later and he might have been in trouble,” Inglis replied.
“I guess. We needed to do that for the king just a little earlier, after all,” Rafinha said.
“Huh? Whaaat?!” Inglis yelped in shock. “What in the world did you—” I was so absorbed in the fight that I didn’t even notice! I can’t believe that she did that while caring for King Carlias!
But Rafinha crooked her neck in confusion. “Huh? Why are you so surprised? His Majesty’s life was in danger. Even feeding him the meat and then using my Gift at full power barely did the trick.”
“But, but...I didn’t mean you should do that! I mean, he is the king, he is a very important person and all—”
“What are you talking about? It doesn’t matter if he’s important or not. Doing my best to help anyone I can is my duty as the holder of such a Gift.” Rafinha puffed up with pride.
“Rani...” Her noble spirit is wonderful, Inglis thought. It’s deserving of admiration, something to be proud of. However, she’s just about the age when cutting those hopes and dreams down to size may save a lot of trouble in the future. Maybe, at least.
What is this? I’ve never felt a shiver like this before. It’s not excited anticipation of battle. It’s loneliness, regret... Inglis flicked her eyes to where King Carlias was resting by the wall, watching the battle. She didn’t know what expression was on her face, but—
“C’mon, Chris, don’t glare like that!”
“I wasn’t glaring! I was just staring!”
“Don’t lie to me! You looked like you were about to attack him!”
“I would never!”
As her gaze struck him, King Carlias moaned. “Ugh... Aghhhh! I...I feel cold...”
The Royal Guard knights around him were in a panic.
“Your Majesty?!”
“He looks so pale!”
“I thought his condition was stable!”
“Rafinha!” Reddas called. “His Majesty... Please see to His Majesty!”
“On our way! Sheesh, Chris, it’s because you glared at him like that!”
“But—!”
“He may still need more!” Reddas said. “Then, I’ll do it again! My apologies, Your Majesty!” Reddas chewed the dragon meat, and fed it to King Carlias.
“Ah!” Inglis’s eyes lit up as she clapped. From what Reddas had said, he must have been the one to feed the king! Two burly men sharing food in such a manner wasn’t her thing at all, but right now, it made her eyes light up. “H-Hey, Rani! Did Reddas do it last time too? He did, right?”
“Yeah. Why? Ohhh... Well, I mean, his life was on the line, there’s no reason for you to get upset about it even if I had done it!”
“But you’re too young for such close contact, Rani!” Inglis chided her cousin while grinning and waving to Reddas. He did well. That helped a lot. Her gratitude was overflowing.
“Sheesh!” Rafinha began. “Well, I’m a bit grateful too... I want my first kiss to be with someone I love...” Her face turned red as if she was imagining something.
“No! No funny business!”
“You’re right, this isn’t the time for that! I’m going to go see to His Majesty!” Rafinha rushed to King Carlias’s side.
Inglis, regaining her composure, turned to Rochefort and Arles. “How’s it going over there?” she asked after an awkward pause.
“He ate the meat you gave us! But if there are any other healing Artifacts here, I’d appreciate their attention!” Arles desperately appealed to Inglis.
“I see. I don’t know how effective it’ll be, but...” Rafinha’s Gift was for healing trauma—that is, wounds—not necessarily illnesses. In the case of King Carlias, heavily injured in battle, the Gift and the meat had a synergistic effect—but in the case of Rochefort, the Gift’s effects might be limited. But Inglis did understand Arles’s heartfelt concern for him.
“Just a moment! I’ll be right there!” Rafinha, checking on King Carlias, called out to Arles.
“Y-Yes! Thank you!”
But as if to drown out those words, Rochefort, who had been resting his head on Arles’s knee, rose with a start. “I don’t need it!” He cackled once more. “Ha ha ha ha! Kept you waiting, didn’t I? Well, I’ll keep my promise! Let’s continue the fight!”
“Yes, thank you.” Inglis grinned as she nodded.
“W-Wait, Ross! You’ve only recovered a little bit—don’t push yourself. Wait until you’re fully healed!”
“I can’t feebly sit around! We don’t have time!”
“He’s right,” Inglis added. “If we don’t hurry this up, I won’t make it in time.”
Both Inglis and Rochefort’s being pressed for time left Arles puzzled. “Eh? If you recover, you’ll have plenty of time, won’t you? Why do you have to rush like that, and push yourself so hard? Such an effective medicine needs to be given time to do its work!”
“That’s right, it’s a miracle cure. My body may as well have been a corpse, but I can feel vitality returning to it, slowly but surely—eventually, I should recover. And—if I do, I won’t be able to wield you for long!”
“Yes,” Inglis agreed. “It’s a miraculous level of mental strength that you were able to fight in such a physical condition. Like the last flickering of a candle before it goes out forever...”
“Ah...I-I see...” Arles began. “If he recovers too much, then... Then, I’ll...”
Then, as a hieral menace, she would do what hieral menaces did. That is, absorb Rochefort’s life force, causing his demise. That wouldn’t be a disease or a wound, so the dragon meat would likely do nothing to stop it.
“So, unfortunately, if he recovers too much, he’ll die in the end.” Even Inglis couldn’t demand a fight in which her opponent was sure to lose their life. Not only would she feel bad about it, it would be a waste. It would be far better to face him, unaided by a hieral menace, over and over. Even without Arles’s assistance, it was not every day that she met someone as strong as Rochefort. He had proved himself a match for a holy knight—for Rafael, specifically. Even if she couldn’t use aether or her dragonscale sword at full power, he would still be a suitable opponent.
But if she could continue to fight with all her might for the short time that he hadn’t fully recovered and was still able to avoid the effects of a hieral menace, there was no reason not to. That short window was what she’d wanted to buy with the dragon meat. “So there isn’t much time! Hurry up and turn back into a shield! C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!”
“You heard the lady, Arles! Hurry it up!” Rochefort barked.
Arles was clearly bewildered as the two urged her forward. “W-Wait! If I do that, I’ll eventually... It’s dangerous!”
“I’m sure you can read his life force before the worst happens... You can, right?” Inglis recalled the hieral menace Tiffanyer perceiving the life force flowing from her wielder when they fought in Alcard. She’d even realized that when that flow had stopped, Inglis had been drained of her power. Arles was also a hieral menace, so Inglis concluded she was capable of the same.
“I...I can’t really... Ross is only the second person who’s wielded me since I became a hieral menace...” Arles shook her head in fright.
“I see.”
So, Arles is relatively inexperienced as a hieral menace, Inglis thought. That makes sense. Her wielder can’t fight for long and ends up burning away so quickly that even she doesn’t really understand what’s happening. Hieral menaces are made, not born, after all. They’re originally human women from the surface. Tiffanyer must have a long history as a hieral menace to be able to recognize others’ life force.
And I’m sure Eris and Ripple can perceive that too. They’re carrying so much sorrow for what their wielders must go through because of them.
Inglis wasn’t sure what they’d gone through in the past, and she didn’t want to pry, but all the pain that had come from those experiences was why they were counting on her now to break that cycle. Naturally, Inglis was extremely grateful that they were calling on her to fight a strong foe.
“Calm down and focus. You can do this,” she said to Arles. “If the flows feel any different, that’s the sign to stop. You’ll be fine. Believe in yourself—”
“D-Don’t act like this is no big deal! Ross is finally cured! If anything happens to him, I...” She turned to him. “You don’t have to fight so hard!”
Rochefort brushed her off. “No complaints, Arles!”
“Ross!”
“I’ve made the deal, so now I must pay the price! Responsible adults don’t break their promises, do they?”
“B-But—! That isn’t—”
“Plus...even if my life is saved here, my next foe is the Prismer. We may even have caused it to awaken. We can’t ignore it. If Karelia is to become part of Venefic, then Karelians will be our subjects—we cannot abandon them.”
“Ah! Th-That’s...”
“Do you understand? What you’re so fixated on now is just a detail.”
“Y-You’re right... It really is... I’m sorry...”
“So, will you let me enjoy your power for this one moment? As a warrior, my arms are crying out for action! A Runeless who would alone face a holy knight wielding a hieral menace! She’s a rebuke to how we think the world works! She’s fascinating!”
“Ross! I...understand. If that’s what you wish...” Arles nodded, determination in her eyes.
Inglis wanted to applaud Rochefort for a job well done, but she kept that to herself out of a worry it might change Arles’s mind. For all Rochefort’s feigned bloodthirst, he was actually intelligent and well spoken. What a fascinating human being he was.
“Sorry to keep you waiting! I’ll serve as your opponent!” Rochefort announced with a chuckle.
“Yes, please do.” Inglis grinned and bowed in response.
As she did, Arles’s body glowed dazzlingly and transformed.
Again with the golden shield in hand, Rochefort leaped backward to open a gap. “We have no time to waste! Let’s finish this in one blow! I’ll settle this with all I’ve got!”
“Then I’ll do the same!” Inglis responded. We only have a short time to fight without worries. I’ll go all out!
“Graaaaaaaahhhh!” With a booming shout, Rochefort lifted his shield to the heavens. Its shine became even brighter, and the overflowing light covered him in a dome. As it expanded, it reached the nearby walls.
Slammm! Rrruuummmbbbllle!
And under the intense pressure, they crumbled like toy blocks. But this was just a shock wave. The vast majority of the dusty aether focused in the shield. It was stronger, more intense, than when Inglis and Rochefort had just clashed, and it was still growing.
“Rani! Everyone!” Inglis shouted. “Get farther away! If I mess this up, the palace is gonna be blown to pieces!”
“G-Got it! Be careful, Chris! As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters!” Heeding Inglis’s call, Rafinha and the knights boarded the Royal Guard’s Flygears.
Reddas bit his lip in disappointment. “Ugh...! But what of the captain’s uniform cut to suit Inglis, or the food we’ve prepared?!”
“Wait! Did you hear that?!” Rafinha corrected herself. “There’s food! And a cute outfit! You have to protect those both! If you get hurt doing it, I can heal you!”
“You don’t have to change your mind that quickly. But I get it! Leave it to me!” Inglis responded to Rafinha, taking a deep breath and readying her dragonscale sword. “Then, here I go! Haaaaah!”
Through her grip on the dragonscale sword, she sent aether into the blade. When she fought using Aether Shell, some also found its way into the sword, but that was just a side effect—something that couldn’t be avoided if the sword was in her hands at the time.
But this was different. She intentionally focused aether into the dragonscale sword and condensed it. The blade, infused with a large amount of aether, took on Inglis’s pale blue glow and lit up brighter and brighter. As bright—no, even more blinding than Rochefort’s shield. Brighter than even her Aether Strike or Aether Shell. It was on a level with the explosion created by her most powerful technique, Aether Breaker, during its culminating moment.
In other words, the sword had already been imbued with an immense amount of aether. Although aether underlaid all things, it was a difficult power to control. For Inglis, the maximum amount of power she could unleash at one time was Aether Strike. Seeking yet more destructive force, she had developed Aether Breaker. That forced more power into the mix by combining an Aether Strike with an Aether Shell-powered blow.
But with a weapon like this sword that could endure aether, there was no need to go to that trouble. The sword itself could accumulate aether. Since it was focused in one place, it would diffuse less, and should be less effort than Aether Breaker while drawing forth the same level of power.
No, that wouldn’t satisfy her. She wanted more! All the aether!
Inglis laughed to herself. “A good sword, if I do say so myself! Built to take everything I have!”
Rochefort grunted. “I suppose that means I should bring more too!” As he poured more and more energy in, the shock waves spread farther and farther.
“If you try to put the energy into your body, the excess power will diffuse outward. If you think of the shield as part of your body and focus the energy into it instead, I think less will be wasted,” Inglis advised.
Unlike Rochefort, whose overflowing power was destroying the palace, Inglis was having far less of an impact: just some cracks in the ground by her feet. It wasn’t because what she was doing was less powerful, but because the aether was condensed into her sword, limiting the waste.
“Ha ha! Another gesture of respect, huh! You sure like doing that, don’t you?!”
“No, as I said before, this isn’t a good deed for its own sake. I only want to fight strong foes—the stronger, the better.”
“I see—how about this?!”
Rochefort’s shield shone even more brightly. At the same time, the dome of light covering him shrank. It was proof that he’d focused the dusty aether into his shield. And thus, the destructive power of the shield had increased in proportion.
“Yes, that’s it! Great job!” Inglis encouraged.
“It’s still too early to praise me!” The gems in Rochefort’s shield began to glow different colors. He wanted to fire a barrage of light and follow it into the fight while his opponent was preoccupied—and he was able to do so, now that he wasn’t wasting his power.
Inglis was pleased her advice had helped him so much. Now it would pay her dividends.
He cackled. “So much power! I can’t wait to see what happens when we clash!”
“Yes, indeed!”
“Are you ready?!”
“Yes! Let’s levy our full power at each other!”
Rochefort leveled his shield at Inglis, and Inglis raised her sword, ready to crash down on Rochefort. “Here I come!” His shield flashed blindingly.
Booooom!
Both the white light from the shield itself and light of different colors from the gems all mixed together in a blast as beautiful as it was huge, several times the height of a person. There was no doubt that Rochefort had put his all into his attack on Inglis.
“You’ll get me at my best as well! Haaaaah!”
Swiftly responding, Inglis pumped as much aether as she could into her dragonscale sword and slammed it downward. The aether released from the blade formed a huge crescent-shaped wave along the flash of its arc.
Rrrrumble!
A mass of aether just as grand as the light emitted from the shield, it was a single blow with almost all the aether of several Aether Strikes put together. It plunged toward the light of the shield, carving into the ground in its wake.
Boooooooooom!
The shield’s light, the sword’s flash...
As they collided with a thundering roar, a pillar of light shot up from where they met, digging a crater in the ground. The destruction wrought by this clash was so intense that it completely obliterated the traces of the earlier fight. If it continued, not a trace would be left of the palace.
“Well?! What will come of this?!” Rochefort swayed on one knee as he watched the result of their attacks. He had put every bit of mental and physical stamina he had into that one blow, to the point that he was unable to move.
Inglis was the same—that had taken almost all the aether she had. She felt exhausted. Her legs wobbled like noodles.
But no matter how I feel...
“O, Dragon Lore!” she called.
I still have the power I got from Fufailbane!
Inglis’s sword, poised for a horizontal sweep, was now filled with the energy of a dragon rising in pale majesty.
“What?! How can you still go on?!” Rochefort exclaimed.
“This is my full power! Haaaaah!” Inglis focused the dragon lore into her sword and slashed sideways. The wave of dragon lore which followed her blade formed the shape of a huge dragon tail and shot toward where the aether and dusty aether were colliding.
Having a weapon that could serve as a vessel for aether, she no longer needed to resort to desperate measures like Aether Breaker to increase her destructive power. She could just pour all her power into the sword—and let it rip.
Nonetheless, the process of adding more force to a previous technique to make it explode was effective. This was a reflection of that: pouring all her aether into her first strike, then detonating it with dragon lore. She had to be careful not to let her first attack fizzle before her dragon lore took effect—but the aether she released stayed at the point of impact!
A flash of light brighter than those before suddenly filled her vision completely. The pressure of the dragon lore changed the flow of the collision, pushing it toward Rochefort as it exploded.
“Aaaaaah!”
Boooooommmmmm!
Rochefort’s scream was drowned out by the explosive burst of light swelling from the collision toward him. Its force blew away the walls in the direction Inglis faced, leaving a gigantic crater—one so huge that the entire palace could have fit inside.
“Ohhhhh!”
“T-Tremendous! As expected from her!” The knights were all slack-jawed, overwhelmed. The damage had been fearsome—but luckily, it had been confined to the gardens and walls, as well as a part of the canal connecting to Lake Bolt. It was because of the lay of the terrain that Inglis had been able to do this. The palace buildings were still intact.
Water from Lake Bolt had already begun to flow into the crater. It was like a waterfall too deep to see through. Looking at it now, Inglis had wrought destruction on a massive scale. However, as the water flowed in, it would cover most of the damage, with nearly half the palace grounds converted into a new canal both wider and deeper. That would not pose much of a problem.
Inglis stood at the edge of the crater, nodding with a brisk smile on her face. “Yeah. Not bad for my first try.”
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