Aegina Union Episode 1: The Fugitive Bearing Hope
With the mysterious death of the 31st king of Fantasinia, Yggdra was put up to the throne and conquered Bronquia after listening to Bly. All hope seems lost to Aegina until she met a certain wolf who stolen a certain sword…
(Note: For convenience of the story, position of Bronquia and Fantasinia are switched. I think you guys would understand, right?)
Disclaimer: I do not own Yggdra Union or any of the characters.
The Empire of Bronquia, located in the center of the continental world.
Times of peace and prosperity continued for many years under a kind and wise king, but this was not meant to last forever. The end came so suddenly…
During the rule of Gulcasa, Emperor of the Bronquia Empire, the Fantasinia Kingdom invaded. The Imperial Army mustered its forces to resist the incursion, but with loss after loss to the Royal Army's devastating offensive, the fortress of I fell. Nothing could stop Fantasinia from sacking the Imperial Capital of Flarewerk.
Yggdra, the Queen of Fantasinia, had defeated all who stood in her way and entered Bronquia. Queen Yggdra led her Royal Army personally into Bronquia, where after an earthshaking battle, she defeated Emperor Gulcasa and captured all of Bronquia.
-WE'LL NEVER FIGHT ALONE-
At the southernmost top of the continent is the land of Norn Valley.
Although this barren land of rocky mountains and red earth is Bronquia Imperial territory, it has become a haunt for thieves.
Through this wasteland runs a lone Valkyrie,
kicking up a cloud of dust as she flees.
Chapter 1: Fated Union
"Come on! She couldn't have gotten far! Find her!"
'Chee. They already caught up!?'
The lone Valkyrie thought as she ran through the bushes, gritting her teeth not at the cuts by the branches but the sacrifices her emperor, her friends, her twin sister made for her to escape.
"I found her! She's over here!"
"Damn! You will regret forcing me to action!"
Aegina cursed and sprung back, surprising the scout with her true Valkyrie-like speed and killed the scout in a clean slash. However Aegina knew that she was already too late, the Royal Army must have heard the scout. Even now, she can hear the trampling sound of the horses charging towards her.
Aegina did not run away, she knew fully well that there was no way that she could escape already. There was only one option left.
'Emperor Gulcasa…Emilia…Luciana… ..I won't let your sacrifices go in vain!'
She brandished her sword and removed her torn helmet and placed it on the ground. This helmet has accompanied her through countless battles and protected her since she became a Valkyrie. As torn as it has become after all those battles, Aegina gave a short silent thanks to the helmet for protecting her until now and left.
She headed for a wide clearing under a cliff. Strategic wise it was a wrong move because it would made her an obvious target for her pursuers. If they do not want her alive, she would not survive the rain of arrows if they have archers or assassins with them.
But at least she wanted to choose the way she died. She rather died fighting at her fullest than cornered in the bushes.
"I see her! Surround her and cut off her escape!"
From the shadow of the forest, two squads of fencer and bandit emerged and immediately surrounded her from both sides, leaving the middle where they emerged empty. Aegina tightened her sword. Sixteen men, approximately fifty of them have chased her squad and her when they left Bronquia. After her squad members decided to stall them to let their leader escape, out of fifty, only sixteen of men made it through.
Aegina resisted the emotion inside her, she does not know whether she was proud of her squad or sadden by their death. She touched the eye patch over her right eye. It does not hurt, she wished it would. Everything has become so confusing when Fantasinia invaded, she lost her friends, she lost her sister, she lost her Emperor …and she lost herself.
"You have nowhere to run left. Surrender now, Valkyrie Aegina!"
"Chee. Of all people, Sir Durant of the Royal Army…"
Aegina cursed when she recognized the leader of the four knights emerging from the forest into the clearing on their horses. Knight Durant of the Royal Army, more commonly called the Royal Knight for his unwavering loyalty and chivalry. Of all people of the Royal Army, he was the worst class who could stand in her way.
Aegina looked around her, a squad of eight bandits stood at her left, a squad of eight fencers stood at her right. Before her was the Royal Knight Durant, the Knight class being the greatest threat to her.
"I repeat once again, Valkyrie Aegina! Surrender now! Bronquia has fallen, this is the end of Bronquia!"
"No! As long as I am standing, Bronquia will not fall! Therefore I will not surrender, the spirit of Bronquia still resides inside me!"
"…I hope to end this without any more bloodshed…" Durant muttered under his breath, then he ordered, "Get her dead or alive, men!"
"Yes sir!"
'This is it.'
Aegina thought to herself as the fencers and bandits charged. In response, she waited.
"Don't let her escape!"
Aegina resisted the urge to chuckle, here she was standing still yet they still shouted to not let her escape. She was the one who should say that.
She would not let a single one of them escape after killing her precious Valkyrie squad.
"That's…" Durant's eyes lit up when he realized what was going to happen. He was too late.
Revolution
"O Valkyrie of the doomed rebellion…
In the depths of despair, sing us to victory."
By the time the faster forward fencers realized what Aegina was plotting, they could only stare in horror as the Valkyrie leapt up to the sky and delivered a crushing blow towards them. The slower bandits halted in their steps as they watched in wary of Aegina after she swiftly killed the last fencer leader.
Aegina kept her used card, 'Revolution' and glared at the enemy before her, as if threatening them if they dared to suffer the same fate as the fallen fencers. At first the bandits seemed to have fallen to their fear but…
"D-Don't falter! She just used her only card! Quickly get her before her card recharged!"
"A-ah! Charge!"
"Bandit fools."
Those were the last words Aegina said to the bandits before she finally made her move. She dodged the first bandit's head smash and bent down to cut his waist in half. She never stopped. She leapt forward, leaving the second bandit with surprise of the Valkyrie's speed as his last thoughts before he fell. The third bandit who stayed away from Aegina was not spared as Aegina did not even hesitate to pick up the axe and threw it, killing three in merely five seconds.
"Boss!"
"I-Impossible! Is she a monster!?"
"Three down, five left."
Aegina counted under her breath and plotted her movement. The bandits were in disarray after the loss of their leader. Another seven seconds was all she needed to cut down the remaining five. She was preparing to charge forward until the sound of the horses made her cursed at the final enemy remaining at the back.
Charging forward flanked by three knights was the infamous Knight Durant. As the Knights passed the bandits, Aegina made a scowl. Out of habit, she caressed the eye patch over her right eye and lit up the hatred inside her.
When they came into range, the scowl turned into a smirk. The hatred turned into a thirst for vengeance.
"This is for Luciana!"
Revolution
"O Valkyrie of the doomed rebellion…
In the depths of despair, sing us to victory."
Aegina leapt to the sky and channeled the power of the card to her sword. Filling it with her hatred, she fell down and smashed the ground, killing the three knights flanking Durant. Immediately after she kept her...no, Luciana's Revolution, she leapt away from the last knight standing.
"You…How did you have two cards of the same power!?"
"… …"
"… Even if you have another Revolution, it is meaningless now that I am alone! Do you dare to face me!?"
"Chee!"
Aegina cursed when Durant rode his horse and charged forward. There was no way she could outrun a horse. It was either she killed Durant or she died. Preparing for the worst, Aegina gripped her sword and charged forward.
She swiftly dodged the lance that was heading straight for her heart. She timed herself correctly and leapt to the side, carefully ensuring that she was out of the lance range before she chased after Durant from behind, preparing to end his life before he could control his horse to change direction.
But Durant was a known Knight who fought countless of victorious battles and earned the title 'Royal Knight'. He reminded Aegina to not forget about this by pulling his horse's leash, telling the experienced horse what to do. Unlike normal horses, Durant's horse stopped in time and managed to turn around fast enough for Durant to swing his lance to block Aegina's sword. While there was a look of surprise on Aegina's face, Durant never let his guard down and turned his horse around. This time he let out a loud cry with his horse and forcefully changed the direction of the lance from side ways to bring it up for smashing it down. While other classes would not have noticed, any knights would be impressed to see that someone was actually able to freely control the flow of the heavy lance at will.
But that only served to make Aegina looked more impressive when she charged forward despite the lance coming down upon her. Dodging the lance narrowly, she closed in on Durant and prepared to end it once and for all.
"Chee!"
"W-What!"
Aegina cried out in shock when her sword failed to reach Durant. In fact it was being repelled by another sword in Durant's hand. She realized that she had underestimated her enemy by assuming that he would panic when she dodged his attack head on.
But Knight Durant was the famous knight who even outmatched Knight Leon. He would not fell to simple tricks like this.
"This is the end!"
She was too close to Durant when it happened. The sword in Durant's hand batted her sword away while the lance in the other was swung. She had no time to dodge before the lance hit her sword.
Piank!
The sword in her hand broke in a sharp and clear sound, Aegina felt that it sounded like the end of her life. As she saw the sword broke, something within her was broken. Now that she lost her sword, she has nothing and no one to protect her anymore.
She has lost everything.
"This is the end!"
"…Forgive me….Luciana…."
Aegina silently muttered under her last breath when she saw Durant started to lift up his lance. She has fallen onto the ground and it would be too late to dodge. Even if she dodged, what could she do? There was no way she could outrun a horse, this meant the end of her.
The sacrifices her Emperor Gulcasa, her friend Emilia, her sister Luciana were all in vain. She should not have been the one who escape, anyone who sacrificed for her were more qualified to escape. She should not have been the one…because she-
"Ah…"
Her eye patch fell, after becoming loose when one of the fragments of the sword cut it. Even when the lance was about to be swung down, she still stared at the eye patch with both of her eyes, in her eyes, she do not see an eye patch, she saw a girl in red armor, she saw herself holding the eye patch.
Curse you, Fantasinia! How dare you hurt Luciana! As long as I wear this eye patch, I will live and-
"-I will avenger her!"
"Well said!"
A mysterious voice made Durant hesitated, slowing down his lance and letting Aegina made her escape. Aegina picked herself up from the ground and lifted up her head to see who was the one who distracted Durant.
Standing under the full moon on the cliff above her was a lone man. Under the moonlight, Aegina was only able to recognize that the man has white hair. In his hand was a large axe shaped like a crescent moon, in the other-
She was lost for words.
For an instant, she lost herself, she lost the awareness of everything around her, including even Durant and the man under the moon. In her mind was only the sword in the man's hand. She could feel it, she could feel the sword was calling out for her.
Then the man threw it-
"No!"
Aegina picked up her speed and dashed as fast as she could. She was not even aware of the knight pursing her, in her mind was only that sword. The sword that she hated, the sword she blamed for the birth of her sister's and her misfortune. The holy sword from the Kingdom that denied Luciana and her existence.
But now it was radiating under the moonlight, she want that sword, Gran Centrio, more than anything.
Just before the sword could reach the ground, Aegina made one final leapt with all her might and caught the sword. In that instant, she regained herself and remembered her situation.
"Hand over that sword now!"
The knight Durant shouted while closing in fast. With her instinct trained by countless of battles, she immediately understood her situation and charged forward with the holy sword in her hand.
Durant swung his lance, in response Aegina swung her new sword.
"What!?"
"I got you!"
Durant never managed to adapt to the situation fast enough when his lance was batted aside by the sheer power of the holy sword instead. The appearance of the lost holy sword of Fantasinia has wavered his concentration. Using that chance, Aegina closed it and swung the sword.
This time Durant never managed to block the sword, it never came for him, realization lit up in his eyes when he saw the sword cutting off the legs of his horse.
Even if he was a skilled knight, there was nothing he could do when his horse lost balance and fell. He managed to land on the ground with his feet and quickly drew his remaining sword to prepare to block Aegina's attack.
It never came.
"Oi oi, Durant. How long are you going to stay down there for? You are going to get yourself into trouble if you don't recover yourself soon."
Durant heard a familiar voice but he refused to believe it. It has been months since he last heard of him. There was no way, on this night when Bronquia fell, would he appear before him.
Atlas, his eyes could never turn away from the man standing before him.
"Sir…Milanor… Why… …"
"Sir Durant! You are hurt! We must retreat now!"
"Wait you-"
Durant was interrupted when one of the remaining bandits pulled him up and quickly dragged him away from the man. He wanted to tell the bandits to stop but his battle instinct that was built over the years refused to do so, it told him the most obvious course of action to do when he lost his horse and was hurt to fight a proper battle.
He ran, suppressing the anger and the shame he felt for fleeing before the man he once respected the most-
-and the man he now hate the most.
"That sword seems to have taken a liking to you, do holy swords only like girls with blond hair?"
When the man Durant called Milanor turned away from the fleeing Royal Army and faced Aegina, he found her wearing back an eye patch over her right eye. Even though he was tempting to ask what happened to her eye, the girl cut him off.
"Who are you?"
"Calm down. I am your ally."
Aegina's eyes lit up in surprise at the foreign word she have not heard from a stranger from a long time. Even so, she does not let down the sword pointing at the mysterious stranger.
"A-Ally? What do you mean?"
"Like I meant, as an Ally, I won't hurt you."
"… …Do you even know who am I?"
Aegina asked, she, for sure, never met him before. She would have remembered him if they met before as he has unique tattoo and white hair. She was pretty sure she never heard of anyone with those characteristic in the Imperial Army.
"Hmm…that's right…we don't know each other yet. I am Milanor, nice to meet you."
"W-Wha-"
Aegina was taken back. This Milanor guy not only told her that they were strangers to each other, he actually walked towards her and gave out his hand when she was still holding her sword at him.
"…Why should I trust you?"
Aegina asked in agitation. She never felt so confused in her entire life. Sure she was confused about why her life was turned upside down since she was born but-
She was plain clueless what to do. For a long time, she has been fighting to protect Bronquia and then running for her life. Then this Milanor appeared and tried to be friendly-
Friendly…when was the last time someone was friendly with me?
Aegina's eyes lit up in realization. She could not remember it. Ever since the invasion started, there was only panic and worry. Even her sister does not have time to be friendly and played jokes with her anymore after the Fantasinia's invasion started.
So much of her life changed after the invasion, so much of her changed as well.
"Then how about this, if you tell me your name, I will give you that sword, a fair deal, right?"
"How is it a fair deal? This is the infamous holy sword of Fantasinia, the Gran Centrio! Why is this in your hand!?"
"Ah, but the one wielding it now is you, isn't it?"
"… …"
Aegina was, for the third time, confused. There were so many questions in her head. Why does this Milanor guy had the Gran Centrio? Why did he help her? Did this guy know Sir Durant?
She tightened her grip on the Gran Centrio. The moment she did that, suddenly everything became very clear and easy to understand.
The holy sword in her hand was supposed to belong to Queen Yggdra, the girl she hated the most.
Because of Milanor, that very holy sword is now in her hands. Not in Queen Yggdra's, her hands.
Because of Milanor, what was Yggdra's is now hers.
How much joy did she feel when that fact actually entered her head? She knew that she was definitely overjoyed for she could barely suppress her joy before Milanor.
At first, Milanor tensed up, he thought that he really made the wrong move when he saw the girl smirked. He really sucked at making a move on girls. He was starting to regret his friendly move until the sword was slowly lowered.
"I am Aegina of the Twin Valkyrie of the Imperial Army. Nice to meet you."
Aegina replied with a sweet smile, she realized she has not smiled for a long time. For once, she felt that she was a bit happy just by remembering how to smile again.
For Milanor, the sweet smile almost captivated his heart-
-until the smile reminded him of the blond haired princess he used to love.
'…no…she is not the princess I love anymore…'
Milanor silently thought before the sensation of Aegina's hand snapped him back to reality. Aegina shook his hand and asked,
"Milanor, I am going to free Bronquia from Fantasinia's control. To do that, I want your help. Are you willing to join me to free Bronquia?"
"What can one soldier like you do? Do you seriously think adding one more thief like me will help you free Bronquia?"
Milanor questioned. The only reason he came was because he felt the holy sword wanted to come here. Then before him was a foolish girl who wanted to fight an army alone. He was not foolish enough to-
"Surely you came here to give me the holy sword, isn't it? Seeing that Sir Durant already recognized you and that sword, do you have any other choice but to oppose Fantasinia left?"
This girl is good. Milanor though. Now that he reflected on the situation, he really does not have much choice left.
"So?"
"… …what's the reward for joining the Imperial Army? I can always run away from the Royal-"
"Anything."
"…Excuse me?"
Milanor thought he heard wrongly or Aegina was joking. He asked again, this time he made sure he could hear clearly.
But Aegina was not Luciana who liked to joke around, Aegina was the serious one among the twin. So…
"Anything you want, wealth, positions-"
"If I say I want you?"
"… …"
For once, Milanor thought his plan to bail out of Imperial Army would work.
Then he remembered, he sucked at hitting on girls.
What he said could be counted as hitting on girls.
His mind already imagined one bad end for him with him in two pieces in three seconds.
"SorryIwasjust-"
"Fine."
"…Huh?"
Milanor stared at Aegina. However Aegina merely repeated.
"Fine, if it's me you want for joining the Imperial Army, that's a fair price."
"Wait-Whatareyou-"
"And so, for the promise for getting me when we free Bronquia, you are now mine to control."
"What the-"
"You got yourself a deal, let's go. Milanor."
"Wait! I didn't-"
Aegina turned her back towards Milanor and started to walk away without giving Milanor a chance to argue. She was slightly worried, if her stubbornness resulted a loss of a valuable ally, she would regret it for her life.
But then the footsteps following behind her reassured her that Milanor followed, she has just gained a strong ally who could steal the holy sword and gave it to her.
She smiled the third time for that night. It was truly a joyous night-
"Wait up, Aegina!"
She walked faster. She could not effort to let Milanor came close to her where he could see her face.
After all, which girl in the world would not blush when someone actually named the price for fighting a Kingdom just for her?
A/N: Hi, Sekai here. I have been a fan of Yggdra Union for a long time and originally wanted to write a fanfic where Yggdra killed the gods but Milanor died. She returned back to time so that she could meet Milanor again. But oh well.
I wanted to continue this fic in small chapters like at most 1,000 words but this happened to be long. I will consider writing small chapters to continue this story if I have at least two reviews to keep me motivated for every chapter. Well I know it's a bit shameful for me to say pay chapters with reviews when I can't even guarantee to continue but I will just say one thing.
I, like many others, like reviews and easily got motivated by reviews.
So please read and review!