Individual [Sunfang Dragonewt, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] has switched her Main Job to [Incandescent Blaze]
Main Job benefits have been updated due to Job change
Incandescent Blaze Level: 0/30
“Jeez, and just like that, thirty floors have been passed. Dungeons and subspaces, in general, are so interesting, aren’t they?”
“Correction, Princess. 38 floors. Those with the blood of Assurfel who chant the entry phrase are allowed up to floor 38 by the dungeon master, the Griffon King himself.”
“But, still, King Drangleic, Lady Hestia is not wrong with what she said. Large, established dungeons are most intriguing for any scholar. The floor count even increased after the esteemed Assurfel took over the dungeon; although, shouldn’t he be able to increase the floors even more due to his power?”
It was the day after the duel, and, as planned, I was meeting up with King Drangleic and Muraina inside the Griffonpeak dungeon. I was only accompanied by Saori and Tasianna.
Ellaine didn’t want to meet the griffon king, as she thought she wasn’t worthy. It was a momentous affair for Artorian nobility, since the only times you were allowed to meet the griffon king was when you were being knighted as a member of the Lionheart order or became a royal guard. As such, she didn’t participate in this meeting, and went with her parents to the Greenveil manor to discuss the future of their business alliance.
Grimnir, on the other hand, didn’t like these sorta events. He didn’t participate at the ball and neither would he participate here. He explained that dwarves in general are content people when it comes to politics or official meetings. If they trusted their leaders, they would leave such business to them solely, believing in a “too many chefs in one kitchen” mentality.
He trusted me, hiehie.
In any case, he was currently working on Saori’s weapon that she could use with her catalysts. He focused solely on my weapon for the duel, which meant that he still had to apply the finishing touches and the runes on hers.
After we met up at the royal palace, King Drangleic along with his two advisors — Political Advisor Ulquint Myrrdin and Military Advisor Armado Lifcio — guided my party and Muraina to the second entrance of Griffonpeak dungeon. The one used by the Lionheart knights and the royal family.
After we entered it, I was amazed by how the dungeon had shifted completely for the last set of ten floors. When I entered the dungeon through the front entrance, the whole place was just a prairie with a large mountain to scale, which acted as the floors from two to 29. Apparently, it was made to resemble the Kirkantos plains in the east of Griffonpeak, over the mountain.
The floors from 30 to 40, on the other hand, were created like an ecosystem similar to the bottom floors of the Cedaraille dungeon. A vast area of a mountain range, filled with flora and fauna, a haven for any griffon or hippogryph. It was the home of the A rank griffon king, Assurfel.
“My ancestor said that this was enough for him. He could increase the floor count even more, but what kind of sane man would wish to challenge a level 57 A rank griffon?” King Drangleic questioned rhetorically. “Besides, floor forty is where my great-great-grandmother and great-grandfather were laid to rest. Our ancestor did not want to change nor open the graves of his lover or his daughter’s husband. After grandfather and father also passed into Goddess Ilsaphone’s realm, it suddenly became the royal family’s graveyard.”
“Beastmen with the heritage of strong monsters also inherit some of that monster’s extended lifespan. Neither the history books nor public knowledge spoke of this, but you are talking as if your great-grandmother is still alive, King Drangleic,” Saori pointed out as we boarded a griffon carriage to the top of a mountain.
“That is correct. Ancestor Assurfel’s only child with a human woman — Liazehn var Artorias. Great-grandmother was raised as a humble child before she gave birth to grandfather, and while she did support his claim for the throne, she never really involved herself in anything you would expect from royalty after our kingdom was founded. As such, she secluded herself with our ancestor here in his dungeon, only coming out to meet with her family privately.”
A father and daughter living together inside a dungeon, secluded from the world around them, only coming out to meet family. Sounds like the perfect setting for a sitcom.
The path to the top of the mountain was made only for arvisians and flying creatures in mind, making it impossible to get up here without wings, since even climbing was treacherous. While King Drangleic, Tasianna, and I could fly up, the remaining members of our group had to use a griffon carriage.
Once we arrived at the top, we were greeted by a beautiful grassland with plenty of flowers and a couple of fruit trees. A graveyard could be seen from the sky, surrounded by a wooden fence. The only other landmark was a small countryside house and its garden. Both points of interest were well-maintained.
After we landed, the king led us to the house, knocking on it before waiting politely for a man to answer back. As the door opened up, a towering man with a pair of white-blue wings and a feathery mane similar to King Drangleic’s appeared. His clothes, on the other hand, were simple and dirty like that of a farmer.
He gave us a welcoming smile as he spoke, “Drangleic, you came earlier than expected. Lia, I must be off.”
Hearing that, a white-blue feathered arvisian woman came running out of a room, coming into view for me to see. Similar to the king and the man before us, she had wings on her back, bird talons on her hand, and lion-like legs and tail.
Unlike them, she did not have a feathered mane. Instead she had long white-blue feather strands running down her back, reminding me of King Drangleic’s daughters. Contrasting her middle-aged appearance, she had a few silver strands mixed in between her brown hair.
“I should have our meal ready when you come back, father. Drangleic, sweety, don’t take too long with him.”
“Of course, great-grandmother, I shall only take a short moment of Ancestor’s time. Oh, and mother told me to tell you that she and Filene will be meeting you next week with more of those pastries you liked.”
So, these are the two huh? They honestly seemed pretty normal.
The arvisian man closed the door before moving his finger in a circle. “Let me hurry this up,” he said as wind began to circle around us, increasing in speed rapidly before we began to levitate. As my party started to get alarmed, King Drangleic told us to not worry.
The arvisian man’s wings flapped, lifting him to the air. The moment the wind around us turned into a sphere, the man turned his head around and he blasted off, disappearing into the distance while only leaving behind a strong tailwind.
In the next second, the wind sphere shot forward with us inside. I looked around as the landscape changed from the grassland we were just in to the bottom of the mountains and then immediately into a forest before we finally ended up at the tallest mountain and most windiest in this area. All of this happened in what felt like five minutes.
He can fly faster than me!
This place was not small. It felt as if we began in a grassland, hopped into a military plane and flew through the grand canyon before ending up at our stopping point. I thought my flight service was fast, but this one was faster and more comfortable.
Next time I have to speed up like this, I’ll copy this idea. Just surround the Engel wings with an air bubble and it should be more comfortable.
As we were landing, I was worried that the hurricane rampaging at the top of this place would blast us away. Seeing as how it was tearing cracks into the ground, I couldn’t help but question the decision of that arvisian, but in the next moment, our wind sphere began to expand, pushing the twisters back.
As I was fascinated by this phenomenon, Saori tapped my shoulders and pointed my attention towards the sky, where a giant blue fog was growing and growing, before it shrank to reveal the giant entity underneath that cloak.
Four giant white wings flapped the remaining mana fog away, slowly being covered with wind like a cloak. The shrill “Kyrouuuuh!” erupted from an eagle’s head, fluttering its white blue feather mane as wind congregated around them and turned them into long locks with more than a bit like tendrils.
The monster that appeared before us was undoubtedly a griffon, but instead of making me feel intimidated by the sight, the aura it exuded instead calmed me like a cool breeze on a summer day. Once wind began to naturally surround it, the creature looked even more regal, as if it was the sovereign of this wind-covered place.
M-Mana Eyes.
Information blocked
It was like an instinct. I murmured the skill activation in my head as if I had to do it, only to come out empty-handed.
[“I am the A rank [Tempestral Sky-Winged Griffon], Assurfel, princess of the Kargrxymor bloodline and scion of the Belzac bloodline. Drangleic had told me you children were with good manners, but such rudeness… Then again, instincts rule us apex predators, correct?”] A voice entered my head, heating up my cheeks in a manner of seconds.
“Princess Hestia?! Miss Saori?!” King Drangleic looked at us incredulously, but all I could do was facepalm myself.
“I-I apologize. We didn’t do it maliciously, I promise!” Saori tried to defend us, but King Drangleic still frowned, massaging his head as if he had a headache.
“I understand that, but I had warned you of how—”
But before King Drangleic could scold us, Muraina chimed in.
“Enough, King Drangleic. Even I had to hold myself back from using my [Identify]. Strong beings are naturally wary of each other, and our griffon king here was not holding back with his boasting.”
[“The elf is correct, Drangleic. The throne has weakened your instincts more than you think, my descendant. Dragonkin and Gryphonkin have never gotten along since Kargryxmor’s time, and Belzac was known to protect his forest from even griffons. It is only natural for the young to be warier of the old and experienced.”]
‘Never gotten along?’
“U-Uhm, I would like to sincerely apologize for our actions. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, my name is Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor. B rank,” I curtsied, trying to not seem like a ruffian of a teen.
“As do I, Griffon King Assurfel. For coming into your territory and showing such discourtesy, that was horrible out of place for us,” Saori followed up. “It is a pleasure. My name is Saori Segawa.”
In the Belzac forest, Saori and I learned that if we wandered into another monster’s territory, fighting was pretty much an assured thing. Nobody liked intruders, especially aggressive monsters.
Our survival instincts made us act on what we had learned there, and gathering information was usually the first thing we did. Just like when I first met the leviathan’s tentacle or those wyverns. I had to force that habit out of myself when we came to Firwood, but if you had been there, if you had seen a monster in the form of a typhoon appear before you, you would have done the same.
Muraina bowed. “Griffon king Assurfel, as the representative of the Saelari for Artorias, I am honored to finally be able to meet the former ruler of Avitor peaks. I am Muraina Yvette Groveshield, a Haireti general of Saelariel.”
When Assurfel landed on the ground, the whirlwind around him ripped through rock and any vegetation around him. It looked like nothing could enter his zone of influence. Upon getting a better look at him, I saw that he was even larger than my dragon form. If he had transformed back at his home, the wind around him would have definitely destroyed all the grass and flowers.
How thoughtful.
[“Good to meet all of you, my guests. Now, with the introductions over, let us speak about the rats sneaking around inside the kingdom. Drangleic, begin,”] Assurfel ordered.
“Yes, Ancestor,” Drangleic bowed, gesturing to Ulquint and Armado to start. The griffon king orders his descendant to do something and he delegates that job to his advisors. Sure enough, that’s ruling for you.
“Princess Hestia, after we received information from you that the demonkin were responsible for the sabotage, we increased our search to the point that we rooted out several conspirators of the accidents around the kingdom. Most of them had relationships in some way with a certain person from the Empire,” Armado explained.
“However, as you might have heard, all the dukes, aside from Duke Greenveil, had to promptly return to their duchies last night. This might be the worry of an old man, but I don’t think this is a coincidence,” Ulquint stated, something I nodded too. “Something is happening, my ladies, your Majesties. And aside from Duke Greenveil, whose most worrisome problems were solved by you, Griffonpeak had to wish six of our seven dukes a safe trip.”
“That is more than a coincidence, really. Have you heard anything about the Lycerepth, Lord Ulquint?” Saori asked in my stead.
“Yes. In fact, after they routinely went to Shaturein to gather information on this Hamil, we found out that some of them have been meeting up with Cardinal Bennard. In particular, Judge Pestrodus and a few of his assistants.”
Pestrodus? Then again, he is the leader of the whole group. But was he really the person? He seemed too loyal to the Empire to be a demonkin, although, Klea’Hatma had warned me demonic mana was around him.
“I concur, but I presume you haven’t been able to find any evidence on him?” Muraina assumed. Saori had already told her about Klea’Hatma’s information after the Shaturein trip. “My trip to Shaturein was slightly more fruitful. Hamil Czecsics — born and raised as a merchant’s son in Giernich’s capital Zharlgharlein. Since it bordered the Folschreck Empire while the empire was still expanding its borders, it was one of the first countries to be conquered. Shaturein’s pillars had done their research, you see.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Muraina explained that the possible reason why Hamil came to Artorias was to flee his parent’s enemies, who conspired and killed his parents using the influence of a few aristocrats. Artorias was the perfect place for him to hide, since not only was the Empire’s influence weak in the kingdom but there was also a vast undercity in Shaturein — a haven for a refugee like him, and a brilliant location to begin his revenge.
After joining the former pillar’s guild and rebrand it into International Desires, not only did the former guild master die but his business boomed into a huge success through his Empire-based connections, though they were mostly shady ones. However, what was interesting was the fact the pillar’s death coincided with a visit of the lycerepth.
“Oh, I remember that one,” King Drangleic interjected. “The Empire was launching a campaign to retake the forts taken over by the Beastmen Alliance. It was during my father’s rule. They ‘requested’ that we ‘donate’ recruits to the cause. Since we were vassals, under heavy scrutiny too, there was never an option to refuse.”
Ulquint nodded. “The lycerepth and a representative were sent to speak with us about the details. Many young men and women never returned from that campaign, and those who did come back, told us of how they were sent in like fodder. I regret to this day how I urged King Vendrick to accept those demands.”
“Weakening us by eliminating our younger soldiers and mages. Dishonorable methods, but it reminded our Kingdom that we had to push the alliances with the dwarves and elves,” Armado explained.
If they hadn’t accepted the terms, their disloyalty would have been proven and they would have been persecuted. However, when they accepted it, they lost many lives as a result. This whole situation was just despicable.
Muraina continued, “My information broker assumes Hamil had been in contact with a lycerepth agent since then. Do you remember the agents sent during that time, Lord Ulquint?”
“Pestrodus and his team were the ones who came at that time, Lady Muraina. I cannot forget that day, and I cannot forget the faces of the Empire representatives sent to give us that ultimatum.”
“Hmm, coincidences are funny, huh?” Muraina then pulled out a parchment from her satchel. “Saori, here is a list of residences Hamil could be in. His public and hidden ones. We will strike at them to extract the worm. Lord Ulquint, here is a list of people Hamil has been conspiring with, including a very important person — Cardinal Bennard.”
“Are you serious, Lady Muraina?!” King Drangleic exclaimed.
“Hamil burned most of his documents, but before he could burn everything, Mister Blackreach’s executives broke into his house with multiple enforcers. My information broker charged me a high price for all of this information. Here, use it well, and take it as a sign of my goodwill, King Drangleic.”
“Haha,” King Drangleic laughed. “I will, may the Goddess’s light bless you, Lady Muraina. Lord Ulquint, there are a significant number of nobles on the list. This Hamil has also noted the people the cardinal has been interacting with. This will be problematic, but I presume you can handle this?”
Nobles? I guess Charleslyt would count, too, huh? I mean, the whole situation at the arena was because of those two.
“After the stress they are facing in their own territories right now, the dukes will surely aid us. It shall be done, My King.” Ulquint bowed.
But the real issue was still before us. Even after we got rid of all the human conspirators, there was still the biggest hurdle before us.
“Then, what should we do about the lycerepth? How will we lure the demonkin out and how should we fight him? That person is a demonkin of envy, somebody who can transform their appearance. We don’t even know how strong he is,” I brought up.
[“Your worry is unnecessary for a dragon, Princess Hestia.”]
The sound of turbulent wind increased the moment Assurfel flapped his wings, as if he was showing his powers off. He looked down and spoke, [“A nuisance in my domain shall be destroyed. This land belongs to my family and I, and I shall pluck off the serpent’s head as it brandishes its fangs. Bring the blight to me. Destruction is their only destiny.”]
“Ancestor, a normal demonkin might be naturally stronger than a human, but they aren’t almighty like a demon. This one is most likely not as strong as a prince of sin. The Lionheart order is enough,” King Drangleic argued.
[“Foolishness, Drangleic!”] Assurfel replied with a scornful tone. [“They have caused harm to our domain and are scratching onto our post like a spiteful rat. That faefolk incident was caused by demonkin influence. Now another ant dares to harm us, now with its master by its side. Crush them with your full might, send the enemy a warning.”]
The griffon then turned his away from Drangleic and towards Saori and me. [“So did Kargryxmor. So did Belzac. Bring them to your heel, would you not agree, scions of, oh, great beasts?”]
“You speak as if you know them, King Assurfel,” I responded.
[“I am not of that era, Princess Hestia. However, stories have been passed down my lineage. About the story of how Kargryxmor defeated my ancestor, a great SS rank ruler of the sky. The blood feud between dragonkin and gryphonkin started then when the black tyrant took down his rival. Might is all there is in our world, my fellow beasts.”]
I remembered Antonio, a hippogryph knight, mentioning how his mount didn’t like wyverns in general and that it affected its liking for me. If Kramps really went around killing rivals to his status as the Black Tyrant of the Sky, it was hardly surprising that some species would dislike dragonkins.
“I-I’m sorry about that. I—” I wanted to apologize but Assurfel interrupted me.
[“You do not need to apologize. You weren’t the one to do any of that, Princess Hestia. Miss Saori is a spawn of Belzac’s blood but she wasn’t the one to kill my ancestors when they tried to challenge for hunting ground. We may be their descendants, but we are our own beasts. Old rivalries has no bearing on the present, and regardless of the era, we must fight to preserve what we love and desire.”]
If it were for my friends and family, even if they were gods, I will not allow myself to lose them.
“You would defend Artorias with everything, right?” I asked.
[“With my life. This is my lover’s, my daughter’s, my grandchild’s, my descendants’ home. The storm wind will strike all who endangers them, while blessing my allies with swift winds.”]
I nodded then turned to King Drangleic. “Better safe than sorry, King Drangleic. Have you fought a demonkin before?”
“Hmm, I acquiesce, Princess Hestia, haaaa,” King Drangleic sighed before straightening his back. “Then we should move. The early birds catches the worm. I shall lead the Lionheart knights to arrest the lycereptors and Cardinal Bennard for conspiring with a criminal. Lady Hestia, you will lead your party with Lady Muraina to capture Hamil. If you can, bring as much evidence as you can find.”
“Your Majesty, I know the urgency of the situation, but if we were to arrest Judge Pestrodus and his lycerepthors, that would mean going against the Empire. We will face serious consequences, even if it is justified,” Ulquint pointed out.
“Enough with your worry, Ulquint,” but Lord Armado intervened. “If we can expose the demonkin for everybody to see, even the Empire cannot punish us so easily. Even if they would try to silence us for knowing this, we can then fall back on our allies. If,” here the lord paused, stressing the word before looking to the sole elf representative, “your word holds true, Lady Muraina.”
“Do not worry, Lord Armado. In fact, an action like this would probably garner you some favor from the rest of the Saelari. The dwarves, on the other hand, would appreciate you keeping your word. There will be some help, I’ll make sure of that,” Muraina spoke with full confidence, even giving me a thumbs up for some reason.
With everything sorted out, the only thing left was to execute the plan. It was time for us to—
“King Drangleic! Your Majesty!”
We were fast, but it seems that we were not fast enough.
“Lord Ulquint! Lord Armado! I have an urgent message!”
From underneath this mountain top, a loud shout echoed through the area, drawing everybody’s attention. Assurfel noticed this and used his cry to signal the griffon the knight was riding on, letting him know where we were.
“Your Majesty! An emergency!” The knight and griffon were completely out of breath, as if they had flown to this place without taking a break. “An emergency! Griffonpeak is being attacked!”
“““What?!””” The three nobles exclaimed.
“Speak, Lad!” Armado ordered.
“A giant monster is attacking farms and slums at this very second! Deformed monsters suddenly emerged from the ground within the lower city’s red-light district, swarming to the residential and market district!” the knight announced. “Reports have also arrived that among the monsters were also the undead, Sire!”
14 human and beastmen followers lost
Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 2764
O-Oh no…!
My eyes widened in terror. Our enemy had taken action before we could.
[“It begins. Drangleic, bring everybody out of the dungeon and defend the city. I will join once I secure Lia’s safety. Storm’s winds to your wings!”] Assurfel’s wings flapped and in a blink of an eye, he flew away.
At the same time, wind began to surround all of us in a bubble, flying us towards the exit of the dungeon. There was no time to take a breath. Once we were outside, I cast [Unheilige Engel] to help Saori and Muraina fly with Tasianan and me. King Drangleic and the others, on the other hand, had to visit the knight in order to mobilize the troops.
As we soared into the sky, from there, we saw the devastation Griffonpeak was experiencing.
Monsters, similar to the ones Davison had, were released into the city, ravaging ordinary people by the seconds. Zombies and skeletons fought against adventurers and soldiers, destroying each other and dwindling their numbers. The undead were not regenerating, but their resilience made it hard to kill them.
57 human and beastmen followers lost
Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 2707
No, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, this can’t be fucking happening!
But that was not all. No, these were just the footmen. Once the knights and mages arrive, these monsters would stand no chance. However the real threat was the monster looming over the walls, a bloodcurdling scream issuing forth from its mouth as it trampled on everything with its four legs.
A centaur, or something like that. Four spider-like legs armored in carapace crushed buildings like lego pieces, while its shield-like pincers swept things from its sight. A giant scorpion stinger in the form of a needle was on its tail, reminiscent of certain monsters, as it sundered the earth with every strike.
“G-Geisenlarg king,” Muraina uttered. “B-but how? We destroyed the whole nest! This isn’t possible!”
But what was worse about this creature was its appearance. Unlike the green shell of a geisenlarg, this creature’s carapace was pitch-black like the night and adorned with a mana veil like a king’s cape. The most horrifying part was the bone antennae protruding from its head, holding up the disfigured skull of a bird.
78 human and beastmen followers lost
Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 2629
“P-People are dying,” I let out, horrified at how the death of everybody was made even more pronounced through the constant System messages. As if they were taunting me for letting them all die like this.
“Hestia!”
“Lady Hestia!”
In the very next second, I felt two hands shaking my shoulders. When I turned my head around, I saw Saori and Tasianna giving me a firm glance — telling me to calm down. I clenched my teeth and nodded to them.
This wasn’t the time to cower.
“That geisenlarg is A rank. I don’t know how all of this happened, but it seems we all need to hurry this up.” Muraina summed up as she stepped off my [Unheilige Engel], using [Air Walk] to stand on air. She then whistled, summoning her Whisperia to her side from a nearby dungeon entrance. “Let Krymdar and me handle this for now, everybody. I don’t think our jolly fellows would be very surprised that an attack would come today.”
I nodded. When I saw her nock an arrow on her bow, her eyes looked like she had experienced battles like this before. From her long age, this probably was true. This was not a time to argue.
“Saori. Tasianna. We need Aurora back together! Find them and let’s rendezvous at the red-light district. I need to make sure Eshe is alright in all of this,” I issued my orders to my friends, before looking at all the monsters on the streets. “And… destroy every single one of these damn monsters!‘
“Hai, Hestia Oujo-sama! (Yes, Princess Hestia!)”
“By your will, Lady Hestia!”
----------------------------------------
“Hrmm, hrmm, hrmm, hrmm.”
The sound of metal and fire. Calming as always. Ha, Bleidla, once I’m done with this thing, my only wish will be to see your damn face! Hahahahaha!
The anvil is my home. It has always been my home. The hammering of metal and the flicking flames inside the furnace. Music to my ears. This is my passion, and I am honored even more than I can provide my skills to my benefactors.
Saori’s weapon should be done soon… Hmm? An intruder?
Nonetheless, a blacksmith cannot work in peace forever. The peace would usually be interrupted by the cheerful voices of my newest companions. Who would have thought that a dwarf like me would have the luck to travel with young adventurers nowadays? It was only all the more surprising that all of them are young lasses.
But not right now. What interrupted my focus wasn’t my party members, but a couple of unwanted guests. I etched a rune on my wagon to warn me if somebody intruded into it, giving me enough time to prepare.
And today, I will face some of them.
“Haaaa, bladdarg. Better clean this up before the lasses come back.”
I put on my armor and swing the memento of my cousin on my shoulders. After putting on my helmet, I was about to leave my smithy when I stopped my steps and turned around. I went over to Ellaine’s workbench and picked up something from it with my spare hands.
Why not bring this out for a test run. Hahahahahaha!
A dwarf is at his strongest at home.
----------------------------------------
“Thank you, Josine. Now, go and tell father and mother that I need to rendezvous with Lady Hestia and the others!” I ordered Josine, my personal maid.
“Yes, My Lady. Please, be careful.”
Call it a gut feeling, but was I ever glad that I told Josine to bring my armor with us when I decided to help father and mother with the yeast bakery. They thought I was being paranoid, but honestly, I was now ready to join the others to fight against the threat happening inside Griffonpeak.
As I was about to leave, however, somebody suddenly greeted me in the hallway — it was Amelia.
“Ellaine, you’re going out?” she asked me.
“Yes, Amelia. As you can see, those things are attacking the city and I need to join up with Lady Hestia and the others of my party. They will most likely want to fight the invaders back and I have a duty to defend the capital of our Kingdom,” I answered. Every word coming out of my mouth was true.
“…” But Amelia frowned, looking at me as if I was crazy. “Ellaine, you aren’t a knight. Why are you endangering your life like this? Just like when we were young, you would always act like this.”
I was stunned. I had not expected Amelia to suddenly bring up the past. A past I regretted being unable to live up to anymore.
“Is this your new hobby? Running around to face some unknown threat like you're trying to prove something to everybody? You are just like your brother, but I’m not sure if you got it from him or he got it from you.” Amelia held her palm on her face, massaging it to hide the frown she was showing.
Now it’s about brother?
“…”
I didn’t know what was going on with Amelia, but from the look of it, it was likely that she was worried about me. Me? The one who abandoned her because of my own low self-esteem? I didn’t think I deserved it anymore due to how bad of a friend I was, but if she was worrying about me, then I couldn’t let that continue.
“Amelia, do you remember what I told you when we were small? That I wanted to become a knight just like my father?” I reminded her of how I admitted that to her. “Although Father did stop training me, I didn’t want to give up that dream. I did some training by myself afterwards, trying to copy the moves that Father taught to Brother, but when I didn’t show any real progress, I gave up. When I joined up with Lady Hestia, you could say that I was trying to prove my self-worth. But…”
“But what?”
“But I eventually learned that all I was doing was tormenting myself. I was so caught up in an endless cycle of self-hate that I wasn’t able to move on. I still think I am trying to prove that point to myself, to prove my dream of a knight could still happen. Maybe my sense of justice is just that, but to find that out, I need time. I need time to figure it out.”
“And that’s why you’re jumping into this fight, knowing it might kill you, Ellaine?”
“I was a bad friend once, I won’t do it again, Amelia. I betrayed you, I don’t want to commit that same sin once again with Lady Hestia and the others of Aurora. Besides, I have the strength now to protect father and mother… of course, you too, Amelia.”
“E-Ellaine…” Amelia closed her eyes, breathing in deeply before opening them up again. “Ellaine, I need to tell you something before you go. Your brother, Jonathan. He and I—”
But in that single second, two voices blocked me from hearing the rest.
[“Ellaine watch out! Behind you! Use [Musclemass] now!”]
“Sorry, kid, your head is the only thing not protected.”
My skills activated, warning me to respond right now. But when I tried to turn my head around, something heavy pushed against the back of my head. A headache erupted and I noticed the ground coming closer and closer.
Bam!
“Grugak!”
The headache intensified. Red fluids shot out of my nose and mouth — blood, my blood. It streamed out of my nose like a river, creating a red puddle where bits of my teeth got washed away by it.
“Kyyyyyyaaaaaaah! Ellaine!” A scream. I moved my eyes.
[“Ellaine, stay still! I protected your head from the impact, but you need to stay still! Regena— Dammit, Aurena! Released that power, already! The girl needs that power right now! She needs to regenerate! Aurena!”]
‘Hyuk! W-Who are you?! Answer me!“ Amelia was flustered. She trembled as she saw a man approach her. Somehow, this man looked familiar to me despite how wobbly my vision was.
Who is—? Shaturein? Who is he?
“A matchmaker, apparently. Sorry, kid,” the man answered. His voice too was familiar.
“Wha— Ghagk! No…” A swift punch to her stomach, knocking Amelia unconscious. The man picked Amelia up effortlessly with one hand before turning back to me.
Move. Move. Why can’t I move myself? Move, please!
“Sorry, a job is a job, kid. Even if this one sucks, haa. Sorry.”
And with a swift stomp, darkness came for me.