“Upgrades are done, you like it?” Grimnir said as he finished helping Midirn put on the last piece of his armor.
The black dragonewt glanced down his bulwark of armor, making his silhouette far bulkier than before. It might make him look more intimidating, but the weight wasn’t slowing him down at all as he did jumping jacks and other rudimentary movements to warm up. He then jumped up to the ceiling, hanging on it like a spider before dashing around in the air, flying and gliding here and there.
As he landed, he wiped some black soot off his black, corrosive obsidian armor. He then stretched before nodding.
“Good. I would pay for this.”
“Glad to hear, dragonewt. Used up all the materials you gave me, so make sure not to destroy it before the last battle. Would be hard to replace the back side to accommodate your wings.”
“I would then use my own suit of armor. As long as this protects my life, I’m all right with anything.”
“Arrgh, bladdarg, just ‘cause I didn’t use any of your scales doesn’t mean you can wreck it! Bladdarg, get out of here!” Frustrated, Grimnir pushed the large dragonewt out of his smithy, causing the latter to release a hearty laugh.
This followed Yorshka teasing Midirn about what happened, leading to both talking about their past and how the latter got scolded by his father for his neglectful treatment of his equipment. Midirn seemed to be the type to treat them like tools, instead of partners like Yorshka and Farron.
Ignoring them, I turned around to see Grimnir going over to the saurians. Krim and Grazlahta were helping Akasht get into his new armor, making sure everything fitted him. Similar to Midirn and Yorshka, all the saurians also received an equipment boost from Grimnir using the materials we got from the event, assuring they would be outfitted for their next task.
“Okay, done. Looking good, Akasht! Haha!” Krim slapped him on the back, causing the sarcosilian to raise his arms in the air and roar. The saurians grunted with him, cheering and hyping themselves up.
“Oi, don’t break anything, okay? If you’re done, out! Still got work to do,” Grimnir gumbled, acting quite like his old self. I guess the stress must be getting to him.
Seeing him like this, I went over to him, asking if he was okay, but he waved his hands dismissively. “It’s my job, lass. Don’t worry about me. Lorena and Haati are keeping my schedule in tact, so I won’t keel over just ‘cause you kids are out of the house. I still got some spirit in me!”
I giggled, appreciating his joke. “Jeez, you know what I mean. Seems like you’re a bit lonely without Daichi and Ellaine.”
“Ha! More like I have to do all the jobs my apprentices are supposed to do. Took all the weights off my shoulders up until now and I have to go back to that? Pah! But I ain’t gonna complain; got work to do and you got a fight. We all gotta prepare.” He then stopped, looking up at a large piece of armor, hanging on some metal hooks.
It significantly dwarfed me in my dragonewt form, looking like it could be larger than a bus, or maybe it was more accurate to call it inspired by Akasht’s size. If somebody were to get into it, they could probably high-five the sarcosilian without any issues, nevermind carry around a giant chunk of metal to swing around … For example, a giant recreation of Grimnir’s blasthammer … which was laying before his main furnace.
I looked over at the old dwarf, inspecting and comparing him to the large opening in the armor. Mentally putting him inside it, I concluded he would perfectly fit. With the cogs and glowing mana wiring, there probably was a mechanism to open and close this opening, allowing people in and out without any issue … like a certain power armor we’ve been talking about.
“Grimnir …”
“My uncle deserved to get his head caved in by Saori, but he did bring my ‘cousin’ back to ‘life’ for one final moment of genius. I wouldn’t let that be buried in the dirt, right?” He smirked. “With Goddess Chihiro’s gift, I’ve managed to perfect the base construction of my blasthammer, and that means I can modify it however I want without it going boom! For example, make it larger, but my power gauntlets ain’t gonna give me the leverage to swing it around. No, I need to go larger as well.”
“Daichi will be soooo happy. No, I think all the boys will be, aside from Nishio.” Even I couldn’t help stop my grin.
“Ha! Who do you think pointed the ‘mechanoid’ out to me? It can’t be as large as the one my uncle fought in, since we don’t have the earth elemental emperor to act as the armor’s core, but I’ll get it to work. Ellaine and Daichi already did most of the pre-work before I began putting it all together.”
Excitement? Yes, this floaty feeling in my chest could only be described as joyful anticipation since I sure would have loved to get in myself. Dragons were soo yesterday’s news, mech operators were the new hotness!
Regardless, once everybody got outfitted, I joined them as we left the [Room], returning to the inside of our RV. Once Saori saw us, she took the runes and dived into the shadow, where she pulled Akasht out of the [Room] and shadow, letting him go outside so he wouldn’t destroy our carriage.
Yorshka, Midirn, Master, Kush, Grazlahta, and Akasht—those were the people we decided to have accompany the knight’s order to subjugate the demonkin. We couldn’t let Yorshka go alone, that was idiotic, but neither Fleindia or I could follow along since we were needed in the city. Well, it was also to assure Fleindia’s safety.
Two hours before lunch, Yorshka’s group joined up with the knights. Although they clearly showed animosity for yesterday’s “spar,” the Commander raised his voice, shutting everybody up with a thunderous roar and an aura so oppressive it felt hard to breathe. What a way to begin lunch hour, huh? The priests around us surely disliked it as I heard them complain about it.
Regardless, once the Commander and Vicar saw them off with speeches, the day just continued like normal. After lunch, I even decided to finally attend a lesson!
And it was the exact sorta lecture I had hoped to avoid, as it felt like the ones you see in those college movies. A large hall with multiple seats sorted in a bleacher-like manner, allowing everybody to see what was written on the board. Instead of your standard blackboard and chalk, the professors used mana pens with exchangeable mana batteries.
Sure, I already accepted that I couldn’t be turned into a proper priestess or scholar due to my personality and interests, but as Master always told me, seek knowledge! Also, it was better to have everybody think that I was giving a modicum of care for my public image … although, admittedly, I wasn’t really that interested in the church stuff after yesterday’s scolding from the Vicar. It just dampened my mood.
Although, what did interest me were the after-lecture talks with the guest shrine caretakers and maidens. I was actually pretty popular with them.
“The mages guild in the Empire is far stricter, probably since Aleistunum values access to the Empire’s population of mages quite a lot. It was a surprise when I heard the guild in the western actually supports their mages more. The stricter quality control helps prop up some extremely capable mages, but the number of people being forced into becoming hedge mages is pretty concerning.” One of the students told me after the lecture was done.
“You mean they turn to criminal activities?” I asked.
“Yeah, or they come over here and join Artorias and the other nations. Less pay, but you have a job. It helps that the western nations have a good demand on mages, since their good ones get swooped up in Aleistunum or the Empire as scholars, or are sent to war.”
No wonder Shaturein had so many wild mages. Or people who came from the Empire.
“Eh, not like that’s always the case,” another chimed in. “Some are just that, hedge mages. Unaffiliated and just living their lives without getting involved too much with the guild and their regulations. Vagabonds, making decent under the table money, and all that. Hah, they also don’t have to deal with the Empire trying to make their own money usable again, jeez.”
“Oh, shut it, you’re just jealous your border country can’t get to use it. The Auresi is a fine currency to use so we don’t have to depend on the dwarves for everything. You even get stuff for cheaper if you use it! Maybe apply yourself better once you get back home, or swear to the Goddess you would serve her.”
All of this did feel like filler, but our group had nothing better to do until Saori and the shadow pack uncovered any clues with the lead on Cardinal Wendell. It was somewhere in the city and I would prefer to not go around like a headless chicken, when I could rely on Saori’s nose.
Seeing as none of the shadow pack had contacted us, it meant I had to continue with the next bit on today’s schedule—preparation for tomorrow’s special event. It was a LightDay—the first LightDay on the first full week of the ‘Sun’ part of a season. That meant a Binding Festival!
In other words, marriage day for the citizens in Aureolis city. It felt weird celebrating people embracing their new lives together considering we came here for a fight, but happy days like these deserved to be held. It kept the ugly sides at bay, at least, for me.
Furthermore, Fleindia, Renee, and I were even the stars of the rituals since we were blessed. Asaka, as she revealed her actual alignment, was barred from entering since “Marsven’s shadows should stay out of Her light.” Sure, there was animosity but at least Asaka was happy about it.
“Haha, I don’t have to deal with all those people! Have fun with those stick-up-their-butts priests!” she cheered as she went back into her room on the next day, jumping onto her bed with a fat grin.
At first, I just sighed and shrugged as this was the expected outcome for her, but as the time came for the ritual my eyes widened as I understood the responsibility I was supposed to give. Apparently, on the day our party arrived, letters were already sent to inform villages and towns inside the Holy Capital that we would oversee the Binding Festival. Without our consent!
“I mean, you are Her blessed. Who is better or more qualified? The clergy might quarrel about you and what you said the day before, but it would be wrong to not allow you to take over,” High Bishop Rasheid told me before Theodore urged me to participate. To keep the peace, he argued.
Little did I know, by peace he also meant the unity inside the country since quite a few wealthy merchants and even visiting nobles couldn’t give up the chance to be wed by Aurena’s blessed. What honor! … Right?
The issue was that I wasn’t used to this. I always sang or congratulated the newly wed from the outside, never within the church. Yes, Fleindia and Theodore made sure to put me through a bootcamp yesterday to help me memorize the speech, the rites, and even the ritual’s choreography. With my parallel minds nothing was impossible, but when it finally came to it, I suddenly couldn’t focus.
The basilica was fully decorated from top to bottom, with the grand altar room filled with roses, banners with Aurena and her subordinate gods, and also sigils from the Folschreck Empire, almost as if to remind people the empire was a huge supporter of the Church of Aurena.
Hey, Kramps. You got a banner! I stared at the well-made depiction of Kramps, perfectly resembling him when I last saw him in his divine realm.
Well, looking at him was the only way for me to calm down since it felt awkward for me to see all the lovey-dovey couples happily smiling. Sure, I was a romanticist but this was too much for my maiden heart.
Suffice to say, Fleindia would lead everybody. She knew the ins and outs of this ritual and what to do, with Theodore telling Renee and me to simply copy his movements.
“I greet every young man and woman in these sacred halls of our beloved Goddess of Light. In her name, I, Saintess Fleindia, will humbly accept my duty to bind every lover’s fate with their chosen partner, blessing them under her divine eyes for their new start in life. As the Saintess of Goddess Erithia, allow me to present to you a gift made from our faith—”
And she continued her speech without reading off anything, unlike when I watched Theodore who had to read off the holy book. It was enrapturing to listen to, to say the least. The fervor and enthusiasm as she explained the festival’s purpose was genuine, as she strung her sentences together like a writer capturing the beauty and romanticism of pure love and loyalty. It didn’t sound rehearsed, not a single word felt out of place.
In fact, I felt out of place. I felt so stiff standing around and not being the one leading the performance, but this wasn’t my place, this was entirely Fleindia’s moment. I wanted to sing or show some showmanship, but my body felt … stage fright for the first time in a long time. Instead, I obediently copied everything.
Am I really fit to lead Aurena’s religion? This feels … like a gargantuan task. I have to learn so much and it’s already so much and I feel like a stranded fish. My bad habit of overthinking things resurfaced once again.
There were still two more rituals awaiting us after this one was done. The first belonged to the nobles, the second to the merchants, and the third to the normal citizens. They were segregated since each group would “donate” a certain sum to elevate the scale of the marriage. Repeating it twice more did not make me any more confident …
And Aurena wanted me to be a Saintess …
The rest of the day went by pretty quickly though as the city became jubilant until it turned to dusk and the noise quietened down a bit until it was midnight. Once morning came, those who came to the city for the Binding Festival left and returned home, letting me continue the day normally … until it was finally time.
[“I found them,”] Saori came personally during lunch break. [“They have been relocating during the last few days, but they have made a mistake and we managed to apprehend some of the people on the list Theodore got. A letter detailing the issue and how they have been torturing Wendell, trying to get him to explain how he botched the attack we had a few days ago. Here.”]
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Saori handed me the letter, making me raise a brow as I noticed how neat the handwriting was. Regardless, everything Saori told me was inside this letter!
This was it! Saori successfully got a lead that our target was inside the sewers, maneuvering within to get from one area to the next. Using the stench below it could mask scents from even a bloodhound, and that was how Saori hadn’t been able to make any progress.
Her shadow pack had surrounded entrances into their hideouts, meaning we had to hurry before the targets got away again. Considering Vifi managed to get into the city using the sewers, the perpetrators probably did as well, and once they realized they were about to be busted, they might execute Wendell, killing our chance to get some incriminating evidence for the Commander.
[“I already informed the Commander, so let us hurry,”] Saori said and I couldn’t help but agree.
Since grouping up would only alert our enemies, I left Fleindia, Theodore, and the students behind in the cafeteria while I followed Saori back into my room where I saw Neill, Tasianna, Ellaine, and the twins waiting for us. They were up to speed and were itching to start our own raid, yet I had to remind everybody that we also had to be ready for whenever Yorshka called us.
“Rajah’s siblings are waiting inside the subspace with Shoyi keeping the portal open within my shadow. We will know, do not worry,” Saori tried to calm me.
“I believe it would be more prudent that you and Lady Fleindia aren’t preoccupied, my lady,” Tasianna argued. “All of us know how to fight, but if the sin heir of envy were to appear, we will need you or Lady Fleindia’s help to equalize the battlefield. Whether he’s inside the city or at the raid location, it doesn’t matter.”
“You have me for this.” Sis smiled, poking her chest in a prideful manner. “Anybody below a sin heir should be easy to beat down without an issue.”
I frowned. “But that is my problem. Guys, let me remind you that we’re inside a city where the Prince of Envy rules. Even if the vampires’ intel is correct that he’s nothing more than a raving lunatic, we really shouldn’t—Ah!”
“Ah!” Saori shared my epiphany. Everybody else looked at us as if they had no idea, but we ignored them and immediately asked Belzac if he had detected any vampires in the vicinity during Saori’s search.
Sadly, our ingenious idea fizzled out as quickly as we thought of it.
[“I have not detected the taint of any of Goddess Edna’s descendants. Demonic, though. However, I have an idea of myself. Klea’Hatma—the demonkin’s goal, assuredly,”] he emphasized that point. [“If you wish to lure them out, bring her along. In fact, the barrier around the church area should detect pure demonic powers like her, right?”]
Since most demonkin were victims of their own emotions and sins, Belzac was right, but I still told everybody I would like to keep that plan in the back for now. We didn’t need to lure anymore out. We needed to go in quickly and rescue the Cardinal with the least amount of resistance.
Meaning, the final roster for this trip would involve our most able combatants. Fleindia, Theodore, Asaka, Daichi, Haruka, and Renee had to stay behind for their own safety, while we would split the group into three due to the different entrances into the sewers.
Neill would be accompanied by Shay and Beth, Saori would guide her students with Tasianna, since she could grant buffs, and Ellaine would go with me. We had considered bringing Grimnir with us, but we decided he needed time on his craft. Instead, we used some of his finished craft and outfitted the students up with their newest armor and weapons, evening the field between them and rank A adventurers far more now.
To keep our enemies as unaware as possible, Saori told me to teleport them with the nexus, as she had given her shadow pack the [Room] runes. I did just that before Ellaine and I left the basilica area as if we were taking a stroll. A Champion and her knight didn’t sound conspicuous at all.
[“Master!”] Rajah called out to me while poking out of my shadow. He would act as our guide for our part of the plan. [“I’ll send you the directions to our destination. Mother and Rajah will help you out!”]
[“Mistress, the part of the sewers we are entering reek quite a bit, so I would recommend you use wind magic or put on a mask for the rest of the trip,”] Varya added, which I acknowledged.
Seeing as it would be awkward if we stoically walked over there, I began some small talk with Ellaine, “It’s been a while since it has been only us, huh?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘only,’ but yes, actually. The only time really was after the lightning wyvern battle, no? Bad memories, but it still led me to become who I am now.” She giggled. “Certainly hasn’t been what I wanted, though. Not the knight I dreamed of … Although, it does make me fit in with our group.”
“Don’t say it like that! I think we just have our own quirks here and there, but what’s important is that we’re strong enough to survive anything. That’s important. Survival.”
“I still have your mantra memorized, Hestia, don’t worry. I will never forget about it … but it does make me wonder a bit about what a knight should be after being in this city. Aureolis always felt like such a wonder for me, but these last few days have made me feel … sad?”
“Disillusioned,” I corrected her. “I wouldn’t blame you considering what Yorshka did to the order … Just ignore Royce and his posse, all right? You still have Yorshka, Farron, and your father as role models. Yorshka might be sarcastic and sometimes too lax, but she takes her duty pretty seriously and you can see it in how she trained Tatsuya and the others. Holy knights are, after all, mortals. I’m a Champion, but would you say I am the perfect representative for a blessed of Goddess Aurena? No.”
“Yes.”
I flinched when Ellaine answered without a hint of hesitation.
Seeing my reaction, her brows furrowed. “And you thinking you aren’t also makes me sad, Hestia. Don’t let the cardinal vicar’s words affect you this much. You aren’t the best priestess, but you are a good Champion because you do what you think is correct. What your morals tell you should be done. You accepted V—Valeria and showed mercy when you had all the reason not to. I might be confused about my goals, but you have no reason to. If Saintess Eshe were here with us, she would say that as well, and you know it.”
Wait, I was supposed to make you feel better …
“It would be more accurate to say that you’re stressed out or overwhelmed. Come on, haste makes waste, but slothfulness is a sin. If we want to do something, we better give it our all to achieve it.” Without warning, Ellaine’s walking speed increased, forcing me to follow along until we reached our location.
There, inside a small house on the outer edge of the lower city would be our entrance. Varya explained Saori told her this was probably used as an entrance for earth and water mages to clean the sewers. However, the main entrance was moved to the upper side to avoid the extra stench created from the sewage flowing down. Meaning, this entrance was decrepit.
[“Master,”] Rajah gave me a warning, and I acknowledged it. I could feel signals around us. They knew exactly what we were planning now, but if Saori was careful enough, they should only be aware of us.
[“Alpha’s Mistress.”] I heard Song speak to me. [“Alpha led her group inside, with Quatre doing the same for your sister. I will be here to coordinate with you. Let us head in. Rajah, Varya, keep a watch of any foolhardy prey.”]
The moment we entered the house, it became clear why Varya warned me, as the sewage stench seeped out of it like a flood wave. The large, metal door and the lack of windows probably suggested they’ve isolated the icky smell by not having any gaps where it could flow out from, but that just made the “bomb” even more effective. It could have knocked me out.
Ellaine and I put on some dwarven mining masks, courtesy of Grimnir. Moving through the house, the spider webs proved how abandoned it was, but what made me raise my brows were the lack of dust clouds. Aureolis was pretty clean, aside from places like this, but I didn’t believe any cleaners would have entered this place without removing the spiders.
[“Did Saori enter?”] I asked.
[“No,”] Varya answered. [“The enemy probably did. Lord Belzac detected the demonic scent at the door’s entrance. Once we confirmed the location, Alpha rushed back to you.”]
There were no locks or other forms of blockades, making me wonder why we didn’t just take the sewer entrance we used to meet Vifi. My question was answered the moment we entered it, as to my left we could see a large makeshift house made from rotten wood. The fungus growing from the cracking walls made it seem like it would collapse anything now.
I detected some signals inside, but so did the shadow pack, as they warned me our stalkers had entered the house. A pincer maneuver, maybe?
Yet, all of my worry instantly disappeared when the entire sewer shook, as if an earthquake was happening. A mighty rumbling followed by the voice of a woman—Neill’s! Her warcry were as loud as always, and the echoes sent a chill down my spine as it felt like a vicious beast was chasing me down. That battle junkie sister of mine just had that effect, but if it scared me, what about our enemies?
Buffs up.
[Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Sanctified Blaze] [Various Spell Buffs] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]
The sounds of men and women erupted after Neill’s warcry, only for all of them to be drowned out by another explosion. Feral wolf howls followed afterwards before I could hear the students engaging the enemy next to the sounds of strong, blowing wind. The sewage water was rising up and down, almost splashing onto me.
Poor boots.
I took them off before casting [Panzer] to protect me, while Ellaine activated her rhytilic armor, covering up her entire body in a suit. As I noticed our enemies approaching us from behind, I threw caution away and cast [Hydra], using it in its giant blond form to bust through the building, demolishing anything in its way.
The multiple targets in front of me managed to barely dodge it by running outside the ruined house, allowing me to see four targets, all having drunk a black potion. They grunted as their skin began to turn pitch black like a darkened room, while horns made from water and wind appeared on their heads respectively.
Demonkin of wrath! I immediately noticed, before they began transmuting their elements into weapons, while two of them produced limbs made from them.
As I was about to play [My Darkest Thoughts], a flame beam burst through our entry point, reducing the wooden door into ash before five people in red robes appeared. Two of them produced a sword and spear respectively, using a fire spell to light them on fire, while the three in the back shot out [Inferno Beam]s.
Oi, you idiots! This is a sewer, fire will cause a massive explosion, you dumbasses!
That was the first emergency I could think of since an explosion from within the sewer could collapse the surrounding area, which included civilian residents. I shot my scales out, turning it into a shield and used [Wind Blast] to isolate the flaming spells as best as I could.
This ignorance would have nearly destroyed most of the place. Informing Ellaine about it, she rushed over my shield, engaging the warriors with her whipsword, keeping them in-check before eventually disarming them and then destroying their weapons with a good swing. I cast [Wind Blast], shooting Ellaine through the frontline and into the backline, where with the help of the shadow pack, she rattled and disabled their ability to cast anymore spells.
While she dealt with this, I cast more [Wind Blast] to blow the frontliners away, before getting close enough to extinguish the flames from their [Inferno Beam]. When I felt my [Foresight] activate, I snapped my head around and threw a kick, forcing one of the demonkin of wrath to defend himself.
“You get one chance to surrender, or I’ll eviscerate you!” My muffled voice escaped my mask.
He grabbed my leg, holding me up while I kept myself stabilized with [Air Walk]. He leaned forward. “Then cat—”
Hydra.
Without letting him finish, the giant blob of corrosive slime began to mold by itself, transforming into its “true” form of a multi-headed serpent like the creature it was named after. The demonkin was caught off guard, forced to create a shield of water, blocking the spray of acid launched at him, only to leave himself open.
Heating up my fingers, I melted the [Panzer] around them and pounced at the demonkin injecting him with the slime before ripping off his arm, releasing my leg. As he screamed, a wind spear flew past, giving the injured demonkin time to escape, only for me to have [Hydra] and a couple of [Banishment Beam] push them into the defensive.
Seeing no escape, they were about to fight back, only for a gale of ice to overwhelm them, freezing the two water users. Shay and Beth flew into the ruins of the house, blasting their ice breaths at our enemies.
[“Princess, the target. Go!”] Shay said.
[“I got this with Rajah and the others, Hestia. Quick, in and out!”] Ellaine reassured me.
The fighting on both sides hadn’t ended, with both the fire mage and demonkin side showing high resilience and endurance, but I accepted my allies’ decision and rushed towards the door at the end of the house.
This led me into a maintenance room with a ladder leading down. It was a one floor difference with a long tunnel with a door at the end of it, so I rushed through it with [Gale Steps], bursting through the door before I found our target.
“I-I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it, please!” A pudgy man in a ripped white-gold priest robe pleaded. Blood soiled both his face and outfit as I saw infected slashing wounds here and there on his body. “I didn’t give them the wrong information, please, please! I wouldn’t betray Lord Envy. I wouldn’t, ahaha, please!”
A pitiful cry for mercy that went nowhere as I wasn’t his capturer. Somebody had slit his eyes, blinding him, while I could see him missing an ear while the others were intact but he was bleeding out of it. My first instinct was to heal him, but I felt weird. He just admitted to working for the Prince of Envy to me, so I was thinking of him as an enemy right now.
“I swear, I didn’t do it! I didn’t do, krakaahaha!” He weeped. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t give them the wrong orders. I didn’t. I didn’t do anything.”
What’s this?
A letter, laid neatly under the torture chair. There was some spit and blood here, but nothing else notable. Such a conspicuous little object, placed here in the right moment? My curiosity got the better of me and I opened it, reading the letter.
‘One aberration of the Prince of Envy is left. You chose the wrong place. It is with the sin heir at the knight’s location! This entire place is a trap laid by the other sin heir! Run!’ … Huh?
My eyes widened before I heard Ellaine’s scream.
----------------------------------------
Meanwhile, in the middle of the day, snow began to fall from the clouds. The cold bit into the skins of the knights approaching a lone mansion in the middle of a prairie in the north of Aureolis, close to one of their leashed cities. It was normal for Knights of Aurena to patrol around the area if an investigation required it, but today was different.
“Dammit, I don’t care if you know this place better, human. We have enough numbers and power in this platoon to rival a normal country’s company. Everybody here is above rank B, but you’re trying to play the slow game?” Midirn, the future grand marshall of Loatryx, was currently arguing with the leader of this knight platoon.
Royce scowled. “Lizard, I know and have fought with all these brave men and women before, so what gives you the right to chastise me? You are here, requested by Knight-Commander Kuornig to aide us, but all you do is show this display of insubordination? You call yourself a knight? A soldier?”
They were fighting over the plan to lead the attack on the demonkin’s base. They had little information but they knew they had to be cautious, as the unknown was the true enemy of success. Although most knights here served Aurena, many took care to learn of the teachings of Yeostar, Istari, and Erithia, and it involved the manner a knight had to approach an operation.
Midirn argued they had to launch multiple reconnaissance operations into the mansion, acquiring as much information as possible, while Royce wished to create a sieging position, using their superior supply line and numbers to weaken and flush out their enemies. It wasn’t that either side was incorrect, the issue was due to both knight’s hot-headed natures clouding their judgments.
Many of the surrounding knights did not interfere, believing it would be better for them to keep watch for enemies and let their “leaders” think of a plan. On the other hand, the younger knights, those who were just squires two years ago came to look for Yorshka, eying her with this look she couldn’t refuse.
To her, a dragonewt, these squires she trained and kept watched over her years as a Knight-Captain were like children to her. Her pupils had to show once again what it meant to be a knight, although Yorshka felt her display was too rough. Too barbaric, too similar to the dragonewt training she grew up with, instead of the training plan she had devised to fit in as a “human knight.”
She walked up to the quarreling knights, only to tilt her head as saw something happening at the mansion. The knights on watch called out, warning everybody that somebody was coming out through the main entrance.
With her enhanced vision, Yorshka noted a man with a floating orb approaching. The closer he walked, the more his features became clearer to me. A clean-shaven face with barely any damage, framed by medium-long blue locks, giving him a rather decent appearance, if you ignored his hooked nose and slightly asymmetrical eyes. The short horns on his forehead and his long canines was what made it easy to differentiate him from a human face.
He was wearing a full suit with not a single piece of armor. His clothes resembled the habit à la française—men’s suits—French nobles in the baroque periods would wear, as it looked stiff, but lavish. His coat was long and unwieldy with loose embroidered fabric adding onto the opulence of the already fine clothes.
This was enough for Yorshka to understand the situation.
“Kushlek’zar, now!” she called.
The demonkin grinned, revealing a devilish smile. “Original Sin: Yalda—”
And with a snap, sound ceased to exist for the Knights of Aurena.