Chapter 4:

Marigold walked to the designated spot silently. Her golden eyes took in her opponent. The knight must have been the biggest of the Royal Shield Order. Not only was he standing at more than two meters tall, the width of his torso and limbs hinted at the bulky musculature under his armor. He seemed even larger in front of Marigold’s waifish figure.

And it wasn’t taking into account the warhammer he was wielding, of which the head was as big as his upper body. Anyone with the faintest of Mana sensing capability could feel the Earth Mana exuding from both the weapon and wielder.

“Let us have a great match, lady Hero!” A joyous and very loud voice echoed from behind the helmet.

Marigold gave a nod and she nudged her familiar.

From the horned girl’s shoulders, the white cat jumped. Mid-air, it began to grow. By the time it landed on the ground, it had become a white tiger big enough to look the towering knight in the eyes. Baku, the Ice Elemental, crouched, ready to pounce on his contractor’s foe.

“Marigold, Chosen of Malika against Count Anderson Fortrook. Begin!” Captain Lloyd Marsh gave the starting signal.

The Count raised his humongous hammer, and dropped it with all of the ease of a farmer plowing the earth with a hoe.

“Quagmire!” The knight roared.

From the point of impact, the earth softened and turned muddy. The effect spread towards Marigold and Baku, aiming to lock them in place.

The icy tiger responded with a breath of freezing air. The ice-natured Mana hardened the mud before it could reach him or his mistress.

Anderson had used the time to step up, and reared his hammer back for a blow to the distracted familiar.

“Lightning Bind.”

A bolt of lightning curved around Baku and struck Anderson, reminding him that it was a two-on-one. He soon noticed that the lightning numbed him more than it should have. Baku swatted the knight with a paw while he was paralyzed.

“Haha! Good teamwork!” The giant man approved of their tactics, acting as if he hadn’t been slapped aside by a paw as big as his warhammer.

Baku pounced, ignoring the words. Count Fortrook then showed that he wasn’t all brawn by slipping under the leaping feline and then pushing upwards with the haft of his weapon.

“Up you go!”

The tiger’s momentum and the knight’s added strength culminated in Baku taking a long flight across the training grounds.

“Now, it’s between us, Lady Marigold!” Anderson brandished his hammer and charged at the young woman.

Marigold frowned at seeing baku being sent flying like that. It would take a few moments before he came back. Still, she wasn’t defenseless. Frost and sparks gathered in her hands.

“Icicle Fangs!” She casted and threw one hand forwards. A barrage of frozen missiles appeared behind her and shot towards the charging knight, who had no choice but to stop his advance to bat away the sharpened icicles.

Preoccupied as he was by the ice spell, he almost didn’t react to the following one as it was cast silently. Only instinct saved him as he felt a chill down his spine. He rolled away just before a lightning bolt fell on him.

The Royal Shield recovered fast and continued his charge after his evasive maneuver. However, he heard a sound coming from behind and spun around, managing to block Baku with his hammer an instant before the Ice Elemental could bowl him over.

The knight and the tiger engaged in a struggle, Baku trying to shove his claws down on Anderson, and the heavy-armored noble shoving back with all of his strength.

The contest ended when chins of ice wrapped around Anderson, courtesy of Marigold who had been free to cast once Baku drew attention. She controlled the chains to drag Anderson back, making him stumble.

This left an opening for Baku who opened his jaw, a pale blue light gathered inside it.

“Blizzard Howl!” The Elemental roared, Ice Mana bursting from his mouth in a cone of light that covered the knight.

Where the beam passed, ice formed. When Baku ended his technique, Anderson was revealed to be encased in a cocoon of ice.

“Winner, Lady Marigold!” Captain Marsh announced. He then looked at Marigold. “Can you free him?”

“Of course.” She nodded. Baku answered his mistress’s silent order and started thawing the ice.

“Bwaah! Cold!” Count Fortrook yelped once his head was uncovered, and started to shiver from the unexpected freezing he just experienced.

He walked up to Marigold and offered a hand. The white-haired girl grasped it and was surprised at how softly he shook her hand.

“It was a magnificent battle. Both your magic and teamwork were impeccable.” Anderson praised.

Marigold lowered her head, humbly accepting the compliment, while Baku, who had turned back in his cat form in the meantime, preened.

With that, the match between the Chosen Heroes and the Royal Shield should have ended. There was no one in the order who believed themselves above the Rotten Flower Lich or the Hand of Steel.

Yet, a new armored figure walked in front of the Royal Shield formation. Her figure was slender and the shape of the silver chestplate hinted at a feminine form. A long, white, armored skirt covered her lower half. Silver greaves and gauntlets covered her limbs. Filigrees of feathers and eagles covered the armored plates.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Her head was hidden behind a beaked helmet of the same silvery metal. The back of the helmet also widened behind her head to form metallic feathers. A small opening let a ponytail of red hair flow down her back.

The slits in the helmet revealed green eyes that glared at the heroes’s party, more precisely, at Ira.

“The Heroes have proven their strength as the chosens of the Archons.” A strong female voice declared. “However, this mercenary needs to prove his strength, no matter his reputation.”

Ira almost rolled his eyes. They let Hwarang and Rosetta pass because of their reputation, but he had to prove himself because he wasn’t publicly acknowledged as a Hero. He caught the King looking at him, and figured he had to play his role.

“Very well, then.” He said and walked to the arena at the same time as the armored woman.

He drew his black katana while the knightess drew a basket-hilted rapier. Keeping in her theme, the basket was made to look like feathers spiraling around the guard while a longer one curved down to reach the pommel.

“Ira Lughwhein facing Princess Cordelia Hilltak. Begin!” Captain Lloyd Marsh lost no time in starting the match.

And the princess lunged forward the instant the words left the captain’s lips.

“Fast!” Ady exclaimed, seeing the knightess blur.

Ira stepped to the side and moved his blade, letting the rapier slide against it and the princess glide behind him.

She turned around, rapier flashing in a blinding series of thrusts.

Ira parried and weaved his head to avoid the rain of blows. He stepped back as Cordelia gained momentum, her sword going faster and faster.

Suddenly, the Beastkin dived under a thrust, stepping inside her guard with a rising slash.

Cordelia jumped back, the black edge scraping against the beak of her helmet.

Ira smiled and advanced to keep up with her. Unlike the thrusts of the princess that had focused entirely on his head, his blade flowed from horizontal to vertical slashes, from low to high.

Cordelia avoided the sword falling down on her head, and readied herself for a counterattack, but wasn’t ready for the shoulder bash that followed the sword slash. The following horizontal sweep was blocked, but she felt how much heavier his strikes were.

She swung her sword in a silver flash, hoping to make space. Ira took a step back and watched the tip of the rapier fly past his nose. Then he thrusted. The black katana intercepted the rapier and the tip entered a gap inside the basket hilt. With a flick of his wrist, he disarmed the princess as her rapier went flying. A single step forward and his blade scythed through the air.

There were gasps amongst the crowd as Cordelia’s body folded over Ira’s single-edged sword, before she was flung away.

Mid-air, she balanced herself back and landed on her feet, holding her surprisingly not bleeding side.

Ira held his katana up, revealing that he was holding it in such a way that the back of the sword was the one that hit.

“I wasn’t going to kill a princess. I’m not stupid.” He said, looking over some of the knights who had been halfway into drawing their weapons.

Cordelia didn’t seem to appreciate his consideration as wind suddenly wrapped around her.

“Don’t underestimate me!” She screamed as a miniature tornado surrounded her. She extended a hand and her rapier flew back to it. “Storm Mail! She called out as the wind surged even more.

Ira raised an eyebrow as the spell took hold. He raised his guard just in time to block the wind-wreathed blade. The Storm Mail spell seemed to increase her fabulous speed even more. And then, the wind that also covered the blade exploded, sending Ira back. It also increased her power by compressing air around the blade and releasing it for close-ranged blasts.

Ira slid back from the explosion. He hummed to himself as his Essence spread through his body, reinforcing his body.

“Finally taking me seriously?” Cordelia asked, seeing the blue glow beginning to surround Ira.

The blue-haired Beastkin took a step forwards, the earth cracked under his foot. The next instant, Cordelia blocked high on instinct and was driven to her knee by the weight pressing down on her sword.

Ira had shrunk the distance between them so fast that she barely had the time to react even with Storm Mail enhancing her speed. And the strength behind his swing threatened to crush her.

gathering her Essence, she pushed back as hard as she could.

“Raaaaaaaaah! Ah?!” She stumbled mid-battle cry as Ira let go of his katana.

Since she was pushing up, she was now standing straight, her sword raised, leaving her midsection open for when Ira drew the longsword on his waist, and slammed the pommel in her guts, knocking the wind out of her.

She recovered and whipped her sword-wielding arm. Ira parried with his longsword that was glowing the same blue that covered his body. The wind blast was countered by a burst of pure Mana.

Gritting her teeth, the princess grabbed hold of the mid-air katana and swung it at its owner. Or at least, she tried to. Mid-swing, she faltered and let go of the black-bladed sword, and jumped back.

“What the hell is wrong with that sword?!” She shouted after taking some distance.

Ira picked up the discarded katana with his right hand, his longsword being in his left.

“Thanks for asking. I like to brag about my creations. This is Demon’s Burden.” He said holding the katana up. “And I made it to purposely be a pain to wield. The gravity enchantment on it triggers at random points and time, sometimes making the blade heavier, sometimes lighter, shifting the center of weight to the tip of the blade then to the pommel. In addition, the activation matrix is always on, constantly draining the Essence of anyone wielding it.”

“Why though?” Adeline was the first to ask.

“To train obviously.” The wolf-haired man threw Demon’s Burden up. “The constant draining exercises both the amount of Essence you have and the output in the long term. The constant gravity shifts make it so that you have to be aware of the weight and flow of power as you swing it.” He caught the blade between two fingers and started twirling it like a baton. “It also can be used to train one’s Mana sense as you can try to predict the way the enchantment will activate.”

He finished his sword’s presentation and threw it in the air once again. His now free hand went to his right hip to tilt the katana’s sheath. Demon’s Burden fell perfectly in its home.

“Now, Princess, shall we continue?” Ira brandished his silver longsword at Cordelia.

“And what tricks does this sword possess then?” Cordelia asked. “Another handicap to humiliate me?”

Ira wanted to roll his eyes.

“Don’t see this as a slight, Lady Cordelia. I have been wielding Demon’s Burden for the last two years, and few opponents have forced me to discard it. And to answer your question, Iron Star is only enchanted to be as durable as possible.”

Cordelia seemingly accepted that answer and resumed the fight with another stabbing lunge. It was avoided, but she knew now that she was no match in raw strength, so she jumped in the air. Just above ira’s head, she directed the wind to push her down and stabbed at the crown of his head

The Beastkin warrior twirled aside like a dancer.

Wind gathered around Cordelia’s feet as she crouched mid-air.

Some of the Royal Shield knights gasped, recognizing the technique she was going to use.

Mana gathered from the atmosphere and turned into wind. Not only was Cordelia using her own Essence, she was also manipulating the surrounding Mana to increase her power.

Warriors tended to use the Mana from their soul, their Essence, as it was easier to manipulate in the middle of a close-ranged fight. Mages could permit their manipulation of the atmospheric Mana when they were in the backline, and had time to cast and focus.

Cordelia was showing expert control as she exploded in the direction of Ira, in the form of a horizontal tornado.

“Sylphsong Arrow!” Her voice proclaimed above the roaring wind.

The training ground was getting torn up as the gales upturned the earth.

Ira jumped up more than twenty meters in the air. However this wasn’t enough to dodge the attack as Cordelia veered around, aiming once more for the airborne mercenary.

“The Sylphsong Arrow isn’t so easily avoided.” One of the knights bragged.

Just before she could land a strike, he suddenly disappeared.

“Uh?!” Cordelia was so surprised that she stopped mid-air dispelling her special technique to hover in the air. She looked around and only caught sight of Ira when she looked at the remparts of the castle.

The blue-haired swordsman was standing on the stone wall, looking back at her.

This time, he was the one to crouch and jump at her.

She readied her rapier. In the sky like that, she was ready to intercept him. This was her domain.

She swung for a parry, and he disappeared from her sight with a booming sound. The noise repeated itself two times before she felt an impact on her back that sent her back down to the ground.

From the audience’s perspective, they saw as Ira changed direction mid-air, got above Cordelia and two more quick movements down and to the side let him hit her back with a kick.

“Good Air Steps. Quite noisy though.” Hwarang commented.

“So, that was what you were talking about earlier.” Ady realized. Marigold also stepped closer to hear the explanation.

“Hm.” The veteran Hero nodded. “Movement techniques are diverse but most can be classified as speed or mobility types. You have the Quick Step, which is the basic technique to move in a singular burst of speed. Clearly a speed type. Mobility techniques are things like water walking or the far more advanced Air Step. As you saw, Ira used both Quick Step and Air Step to move through the air at high speed. Most schools call that Void Step.”

Both Heroines nodded their heads and consigned the information in their heads. Ady for reminding herself about learning that later, and Marigold to prepare countermeasures against flying opponents.

Back to the fight, Cordelia got up, but she was clearly feeling the pain of being introduced to the ground at high speed. Yet, the wind picked up once more. She looked at Ira, standing in the air, feet supported by platforms of his Essence.

“It isn’t over!”

Before she could leap at Ira, the Beastkin raised his empty hand and pointed it at Cordelia.

“Born from the earth. Smelted in fire. Imprison the wild beast. Rising Steel Cage.” He intoned as he too grasped the Mana in the air.

The Princess froze as sharp blades erupted from the ground, blocking all avenues of movement.

Ira fell back on the ground, and looked at Captain Lloyd.

“I think this is over.”