1
The summoned champion stood and brushed the stone dust from her clothes. An act that rather clashed with her demonic appearance.
“I’m nothing of the sort,” she said. “But, since I went out of my way to show my trump card now, how about you return the favor? What’s the trick? Where does that ridiculous power of yours come from? The last I checked, people couldn’t smash through solid walls without turning green first. And you would still call yourself human?”
“There is no trickery in what is plain enough to see,” Bramms said, leaning on his shield.
“Cut the crap, Bruce!” Izumi frowned. “It’s some kind of magic item, isn’t it? The shield. My theory is that the one holding it feels none of its weight, while it still works as it should for everyone else. That’s the only way to explain why you’d be able to lift such a stupidly heavy thing, and why it still hits so darn hard. Was I right?”
“You’re close,” the man replied. “But it’s actually the opposite of that.”
“The opposite?”
“The shield doesn’t make itself easier for the owner to wield. It makes its owner able to wield it. That’s all.”
“Ehh…?”
Had Izumi’s form not been hardened by Tauhirn, she would have no doubt felt a chill go down her spine.
Not a spell to change the equipment’s physical characteristics for the wielder’s convenience—but magic to elevate man into godhood, simply so that he may hold it.
What an absurd story.
And yet, the proof of its authenticity was before her eyes.
That ancient relic had bestowed Bramms the physical abilities that completely disregarded his natural limits as a human. And the subsequent years of field experience had shaped his proficiency with the surreal shield to the utmost limit.
Here, the union between a man and an object had evolved to a level well worth being described as “mastery”.
In that case, the countermeasure was simple. Simply break the man’s contact with the shield to negate its effect. After that, Bramms of the Grand Shield would be nothing more than a man once again.
But…
By what Izumi had seen up until now, it was clear that making Bramms let go of his ace was anything but an easy task.
“I don’t know who you really are, but the Empire doesn’t need dangerous elements like you,” he said.
Bending his knees, the man jumped. Pulled by the shield’s mass and momentum, he extended his leap and, using the armament to cover his fall, dropped on the buttress where Izumi presently stood.
Watching the human cannonball descend, Izumi had no choice but to get out of the way. With both Sifl and Gram active, she could make the jump to the next buttress, with a gap of roughly sixteen feet in between. Barely. Her abilities were both improved by the runes as well as hindered by them. With no time to practice and get a good feel of their appended effects, estimating exactly how much force she had to put into each move was guesswork. Additionally, Tauhirn had increased her mass more than she had imagined, and her leap nearly ended up too short. If her reinforced fingers hadn't sunk a bit into the stone arc, she wouldn’t have been able to hold on.
“Crap, this could be bad.”
On the other hand, the scale and geometry of the battleground didn’t appear to bother Bramms. Crashing into the stone-made pillar as if it were made of sugar, his shield pulverized it, knocking off the pinnacle completely. Regaining his bearings, he gathered strength and jumped again—or more like, threw his shield and let it drag him across the air—in pursuit of the woman.
In a hurry, Izumi climbed up and rolled out of the way right as the magic shield sank into the arc of the buttress, where she had been. Agile like a trapeze artist, Bramms lifted himself high in the air with one arm, cartwheeling over the edge of the shield. Landing firmly on his feet, he casually tore the disc off the stone and chased after retreating Izumi.
She wasn’t going to get away.
Therefore, she could only turn around and meet the attack.
Her body protected by Iron Hide, Izumi’s fighting chances were slightly improved. Slightly. Ducking to avoid the first horizontal blow, she diverted the next one with her arm. Carefully, with an angle as shallow as possible. If the kinetic force could carry through the protective coating, the way it had with Waramoti and his Divine protection, her arm bones would break all the same.
However, Gram complemented Tauhirn to an impeccable degree, reinforcing her muscles under the steely layer. Although just brushing past the shield nearly threw her off-balance, her limb withstood the contact without pain or injury.
An extended step forward, and Izumi was inside the man’s range.
By basic physics, the closer she could get, the harder it would become for Bramms to counter with the inconveniently huge weapon. In theory. Again, Izumi discovered her imagination had been unreasonably optimistic. Bramms drew the shield back into his hands, gripping the rim. Izumi discovered she had been left trapped between his arms, body, and the shield. He quickly pulled the shield towards his chest, to crush her neck.
Lowering her posture deep, Izumi evaded the metal edge and punched at Bramms’s unshielded gut. With her magical reinforcements, her fists were no doubt as dangerous as any metal weapons—but Bramms remained alert. Interrupting his previous move, he slammed down with the flat side of the shield, flattening Izumi against the arc before she could put her full force into the punch.
This IS bad!
Had she been without the protection of magic, her spine and shoulder would have broken. But although she had been downed, Izumi felt no such pain. Her bones were intact, she was conscious and able to move. Either Bramms had not been able to put enough strength into the quick counter, or else Tauhirn’s protection was better than she had dared to hope.
Either way, neither combatant was finished yet.
Bramms raised his shield, flipping it around in his hands like a coin, to drop the rim on the grounded enemy. Simultaneously, Izumi rolled on her back and kicked up against the edge of the shield with both feet, knocking the man back before he could bring the weapon down. Seeing an opening, she stood up to chase after him but was foiled once more. Skillfully absorbing the force, Bramms retreated a step and turned like a dancer, letting the massive disc go around him. Instead of aiming at Izumi, he struck down sideways, at the stone arc they stood on.
“Wah!”
The central blocks were broken away by the blow, right before Izumi’s feet. The part she stood on became loosened as well, and she stumbled back, as it disappeared from under her. It seemed the rest of the arc was going to follow the same way. Their footing turned too precarious, both combatants escaped at the same time, jumping onto the next arc.
As the heavier one, Bramms was there first, immediately sprinting along the narrow ridge towards the spot where Izumi would land. Cursing air resistance, Izumi gave up on trying to counter him and continued by leaping immediately for the next arc, right before her position was again destroyed by the enchanted orichalcum shield.
Izumi was starting to get the hang of controlling her jump distance, so following the motion seemed natural. Like this, the two ended up crossing all the way to the corner of the cathedral building, leaving a path of destruction in their wake.
What does it take to stop this guy?
Izumi was running out of options.
All she could do was keep evading the enemy, and it didn’t take a combat expert to tell that the fight would be lost if things remained this way.
Nevertheless, no openings presented themselves.
In a complex terrain such as this, Izumi should have had the advantage with her higher mobility—and yet, the truth of the matter was the exact opposite. Bramms appeared to be right at home here in the heights, where Izumi struggled just to keep her balance. His attacks rained on her like an endless chain, giving her no room to even breathe, let alone turn the tables.
If only I had my sword—Izumi thought for the thousandth time. Although, she knew just as well that it was pointless to complain about things nothing could be done about.
I can’t win this. I have to get down somehow and try to outrun him.
Resolving to make her escape, Izumi started to look for a path down to the ground level. Perhaps she could climb along one of the buttress pillars, grabbing straight onto the stone, the way she had done before...With such reckless thoughts, she reached the corner of the edifice and leaped for the last arc, Bramms close in pursuit.
But unfortunately for Izumi, while she made her plans, her opponent did the same.
Izumi thought she had managed to pull a safe lead on her rival, but in reality, Bramms had given her distance on purpose.
By the time she realized why, it was already too late.
Bramms threw the greatshield.
Estimating the point where she would drop, he jumped—and flung the disc in midair, sending it spinning after her.
His superhuman strength behind it, the shield passed the woman in a flash, and dug deep into the narrow stone bridge, right where she was going to land. Her footing blocked like this, Izumi made a difficult fall, clumsily tripping over the corner of the shield, and proceeded to roll around the arc behind it.
Catching the ledge in the nick of time, the woman was left dangling a hundred and fifty feet above the street, supported only by four fingers that barely preserved the delicate contact. Iron Hide had proved an impeccable protection—but like a gauntlet, it also removed the natural moisture and flexibility of her skin, which could have helped secure a better hold.
But if she canceled the rune now—it would only take a light step on her fingers to send her plummeting to her death.
At last, Izumi had been cornered.
Bramms landed securely nearby. Seizing the shield, he pulled it off the stone and stood above the woman, indomitable and handsome like a Greek sculpture. The fierce fight defying the laws of physics and common sense hadn’t even brought one bead of sweat to his brow.
“This is as far as you go, then?” he asked. “Out of respect for your efforts, I can relay your last words to a person of your choosing, if you so want.”
“I suppose surrender and cooperation aren’t an option anymore?” Izumi asked.
“No. As said, you have proved too dangerous to be kept alive. The fight could’ve gone either way. Fortunately, it seems you aren’t yet accustomed to your magic. It would be stupid of me to give you a second chance. Which is why...this is goodbye.”
Bramms lifted the massive shield once more, to send Izumi down to certain death.
In her eyes, that shield was no different from the hammer of God.
There was no way out. No conceivable way to stop that blow.
No escape.
She could barely hold onto the edge. If she tried to climb up, she was liable to only slip and fall. Not that there was such time either. She would get the greatshield in her face in the effort and drop like a rock.
Her luck had finally run out.
A month in another world—what a pitifully short time, even if a lot had happened.
As hostile as this world was.
As hopeless as this world was.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
As bleak and dangerous as this world was.
She would’ve liked to see more of it——
“…?”
Feeling something cold and tight around his ankle, Bramms looked down.
Izumi had grabbed hold of his leg.
Of course, there was not much meaning in the effort. All she had succeeded in was shifting the spot she hung on. Even with her runes, she didn’t have enough strength to harm him simply by squeezing his leg, as long as he was in contact with the shield. Neither did it stop him from striking her down. She had to have understood as much.
That vain, desperate struggle to survive looked pathetic to him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked in disgust. “You’ve lost! Accept it. Face your end with some dignity and grace. What would your ancestors think, were they to see you now?”
“...Don’t screw with me.”
“What?”
“Like hell I’ve lost!” Izumi shouted. “So what if it’s not graceful? I don’t care who’s looking! Don’t my ancestors have anything better to do!? I’ll drag myself through mud and goo if I have to! My hands are dirty enough already! I’ve humiliated myself so many times by now I have no pride or dignity left. And I’m not dead yet! I’m not giving up——Not while I have even one person out there who needs me!”
Her hold tightened.
Bramms frowned. It was difficult to estimate exactly how durable the woman’s unnaturally hardened form was. If the hit wasn’t hard enough to knock her out, it might not break her hold either. No, there was a chance he could lose his balance and get pulled down along with her. But if he moved away, he would only help her back up with him.
The situation had become troublesome.
“Have you gone mad!?” the warrior shouted at Izumi in anger. “What good would it do for us both to die!? It won’t change your fate! No one will reward you for mutual defeat! Neither of us will be left to celebrate victory! Instead of one death, there’ll be two. What consolation will that bring you, once you’re dead and gone?”
“Well, I won’t feel as lonely on the way, I guess.”
Pulling her knees up, Izumi kicked off the stone arc, hanging tightly onto Bramms’s ankle, and dragged him over the edge with her. The large shield in his hands, he failed to get a hold of anything to save himself.
In the next moment, both combatants were left in the mercy of gravity, the cold, harsh pavement below approaching at a staggering velocity. The air resistance tore at them, still powerless to halt their descent. The sense of weightlessness and all it represented was nauseating.
True enough, Izumi’s stunt hadn’t improved her situation one bit.
Not even the runes could protect her from such a fall.
Rather, in the worst-case scenario, they would keep her alive, but leave her body horribly mangled, at the mercy of the Imperials. It was not the kind of ending she had wanted, but now that it was fast on the way, she realized she felt no fear. In fact, her mind was in total disarray.
What should she do, what should she try, she couldn’t come up with anything. It simply couldn’t be helped.
However, her opponent was different.
“I’m not joining you in death!” Bramms grunted, turning his shield behind his back and taking cover behind it. Besides improving its holder’s physical qualities, the greatshield also excelled in its original purpose—absorbing impacts. He wouldn’t escape unscathed, but, with luck, he would survive. And time would heal broken bones. As a hero, he had the best care in the Empire to look forward to.
Izumi watched him fall, like a chick taking cover in the broken shell of its egg.
“There’s some idea to that,” she noted.
Sticking her arms along her body to speed up her fall, the way she had seen skydivers do on TV, Izumi caught up with Bramms and grabbed him.
“What do you think you’re doing? Unhand me!” he yelled at her.
“Two pillows are better than one.”
“Ha—!?”
Recalling the invaluable ways of breaking fall, taught in the many martial arts courses out there, Izumi pulled her arms and legs together, her chin tightly against her chest, with both the greatshield and the muscular body of the warrior under her. Moreover, the runes remained active.
Regrettably, in the process, Bramms was left between Izumi’s reinforced body and the orihalcum shield, like a tomato between a hammer and an anvil.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA——!”
BOOM. The touchdown was less extravagant than one might imagine. No large craters or showy explosions. It was only about as impressionable as dropping a heavy, hard object on the pavement could be.
As expected, the shield withstood the impact impeccably, the meager mass on it unable to leave even a dent on its beautiful form. After all, the mineral called orichalcum was second only to a certain blade in durability.
The same couldn’t be said of its owner.
Despite the chestplate on him, Izumi felt the man’s body give in, in a way that couldn’t be called healthy. The light armor was bent and his rib cage and lungs had to have received critical damage. An obscene burst of blood was instantaneously forced out of his nose and mouth, making it evident that parts vital to human life and functionality had been obliterated.
Izumi momentarily blacked out because of the impact, unconsciously dispelling the runes’ effects. Shaking her head, she soon stirred and examined herself, but, disregarding the fatigue from the battle and a few bruises, found herself otherwise unharmed.
The warrior under her laid crushed and still, the red mist of his expelled blood raining down on the two.
“Was I that heavy? Sorry if it hurt, but better you than me—wah!”
Suddenly, large hands seized her neck.
Bramms abruptly revived and opened his eyes. His red-dyed face distorted by agony and rage, he exerted the last of his strength to take revenge on his enemy. How dreadful was the vitality lurking in that body, to keep him alive even after enduring such horrible damage? His grotesque tenacity left Izumi at a loss, gasping for air. Even near death, his fingers had enough power to snap her neck, and that pressure was rapidly increasing.
A chilling roar of rage erupted from the ruined hero’s throat, thick blood pouring through his teeth, as he put his everything into crushing his final foe.
“RRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH—!!!”
The runes were inactive.
With not even enough air left to whisper, Izumi was powerless to defend herself.
She had managed to cheat death this far—only to have her life squeezed out of her by those vengeful hands. Her neck bones were creaking, starry mist clouding her vision.
“Gh...ha...hn…!”
What are you doing, move, move, move…!
Adrenaline surging through her, the approach of death forced her clouded mind to work again. The survival instincts laying dormant in each and every one surfaced, forcefully restoring her mental faculties. Why had she resigned already?
He wasn’t holding his shield anymore.
At the moment, they were both only human.
Only a man and a woman.
With a clear, wide gap in strength, yes. But it was to overcome such differences that various techniques of self-defense had been invented.
“...Hn…!”
Izumi moved her hands and sought the thumbs digging into her jugular. Forcing her fingers under those clumsy, root-like stumps, she twisted them outward and down, slowly forcing his hold to open. No matter who it is, ten fingers will be stronger than two. After the first half an inch, she had opened her windpipe enough to get air in her lungs again. And with oxygen, her strength was rapidly restored.
Applying more power, Izumi forced Bramms’s large hands further apart, and as soon as the gap was wide enough for her neck, she slipped away from his hold.
Freed, the woman leaped back up to her feet like a frenzied cat. Overtaken by a primal blend of rage and terror, she grabbed the rim of the greatshield, and yanked it from under the man like a rag. Briefly lifting the vast disc above her head, she tore it back down, slamming it edge down on his throat. The shield dived a third of its width into the pavement, decapitating the imperial champion and ending his suffering in an instant.
“Haa...haaa...haa...”
For a moment, Izumi stood over the body of her opponent, heaving her shoulders, coughing, trying to catch her ragged breath.
It was finally over. Somehow, she had survived once more.
The woman looked around, disoriented, trying to recall where she was and what she was supposed to do. Even this late at night, there were citizens walking around. Those closest to the scene of murder shrieked in terror and fled at once as they saw her.
“AAAA! A DAEMON! A MONSTER—!”
Izumi touched her face, wet with the blood of her mauled foe. She looked behind and up, seeing the badly damaged exterior of the ancient cathedral.
More loud yelling turned her head again.
Along the street, guards were fast approaching, alerted by the screams and noise of combat. Knights on horseback among them.
“Seriously, give me a break, guys…!”
Of course, they would give her nothing of the sort. With no more time to gather her strength and thoughts, Izumi dashed the other way, towards the dark waves of the river Thuleios.
2
The Emperor’s carriage reached the palace gates. The man climbed out without a word, Yuliana following after him. They hadn’t spoken a word the whole way back from the Cathedral. Her hands trembled. She felt sick. What was going on? What had happened to Izumi? Why had the Divines appeared at the Cathedral? Everything was so weird.
Before the open palace gates, a squad of Imperial guards awaited to receive them. In the middle of the yard, between the soldiers’ ranks, stood an elven woman in a black dress. Yuliana faintly recalled having seen her sometime before. That’s right, on the night of their arrival, she had stood by the throne.
“Any news?” The Emperor half-heartedly asked the elf.
“The soldiers are in pursuit as we speak,” she responded. “But it seems the target has fled into the river to elude them. Guards are sweeping the shores, but it will take time to arrange for boats and hounds. It is unlikely they will be able to pick up the trail before morning.”
“I see. What of Bramms?”
“Deceased. Nothing could be done.”
The Emperor closed his eyes, shaking his head.
“...So it all went as predicted then?”
“Not quite,” the unknown woman replied. “But to a sufficient degree, I suppose.”
“Then I am done,” the man said.
“I believe it is too soon to declare so.”
“Come on. We both know that is a lie. I know well what awaits me. No need to sugarcoat things now.”
“I’m sorry,” Yuliana interjected, stepping forward. “Could someone please tell me what is going on in this city? Because I’ve about had enough of being treated like someone’s toy in a pretentious game.”
The Emperor gave her a dreadfully tired, blank look, as if he couldn’t even recognize her.
“It’ll be all right,” he told her after a pause, as if comforting a small child. “Don’t be afraid, your highness. Carmelia will show you back to your quarters. You’ll be safe. I shall see you another time...if fate so allows.”
His voice was disconcertingly monotonous and without spirit. Not saying anything else, the Emperor walked through the gates, escorted by his knights.
What a shame, Yuliana thought. Amid all those guards, he looked more like a prisoner than any real prisoner the princess had ever known.
Meanwhile, the elven woman turned to the princess with a friendly smile that only had a hint of sadness to it.
“Your highness, pardon my late introduction. I am Carmelia, one of the five Court Wizards of the Empire. I understand the events of tonight have been shocking to you, but I assure you, all shall be made clear in due time. Not now, for I fear that openly stating certain facts could give you a misleading impression of the situation. I will have to request that you bear with the ignorance for a while longer until certain matters are resolved. There is no reason to be alarmed. I am confident that no danger is directed your way at present.”
“I see,” the princess said with slight reservation. “I am honored to have finally met you, Lady Carmelia. I have heard good things about you from our mutual friend, my master Marafel. Because of her words, I shall trust in yours, even when my reason and experiences compel me to doubt them.”
“My, I am fortunate to be rated so highly,” the sorceress smiled. “Wherever the good Colonel goes, my blessings shall go with her.”
“Thank you,” Yuliana said. “But I know the master well enough to tell she’ll be all right, blessed or not. On the other hand, I know certain other people who can’t seem to ever stay out of trouble, no matter how you tell them to be wiser.”
“How amusing. I have recently come to know some such people myself. It appears to be a common characteristic among you humans. Then again, you also seem to carry most uncanny amounts of good luck with you. Therefore, you should have faith in your friends and go in peace from here.”
“...If I am to understand you correctly, then so I shall,” Yuliana nodded. “Thank you. Meeting your grace has been a pleasure.”
“I should say likewise,” Carmelia bowed her head. “And look forward to our next meeting. Which will not be far off, if I am not mistaken.”
Feeling slightly easier, Yuliana let herself be escorted away, back into her lonely tower. Her future looked almost unbearably uncertain, but after meeting the Court Wizard, she found that she could still bring herself to have hope. Believe that things would turn out for the better, eventually.
But in that hope, she was slightly mistaken.