A Summoner's Journey
Chapter 10: World of Radiance
Team for this chapter: Ryoma, Robin, Minerva and Priscilla
The ultimate banner. The best summoning banner in existence just flew through the lobby this morning. Opening it up, I found out the banner was called "Hero Fest", featuring Ryoma, Hector, Azura and Takumi, some of the strongest heroes at the moment. But the real treat was that the heroes featured on the banner have a higher chance of being summoned into Askr. Basically, they had an "increased focus rate" according to the book "World of Heroes and Askr" I found in the library. I quickly gathered all of my orbs and headed towards the summoning ruins, bringing Robin, Lyn and Jeorge along to be my "bodyguards"
"Pray that the goddess of luck blesses me" I grinned as I continued walking towards the ruins "Everyone on this banner can benefit our army a ton and plus…"
I glanced at Lyn and winked "I could reunite you with Hector"
"That would be nice" Lyn smiled "It's been too long since I saw him. I'm starting to miss him…"
"Hector would increase Askr's strength tenfold as well" Robin said "I faced him thrice, once in Embla's invasion of Askr, a second in the World of Blazing and a third time in a voting gauntlet battle. All the times I fought him told me he's a ferocious fighter"
"His Distant Counter skill and his legendary axe, Armads form a scary duo" Jeorge nodded in agreement "Hector can fix our lack of axe knights in the army"
"He can fix our lack of knights in general" Lyn laughed "All we have is Draug and Gwendolyn"
"I swear, that Gwendolyn looks exactly like an Ostian knight I read about once" Robin said, fidgeting with his coat "The knight's name was Wendy and she had pink hair, wore red armor and was the first female knight of Ostia. Everything that Gwendolyn says she is"
"Maybe Gwendolyn is Wendy's twin sister" Jeorge offered.
Robin scowled "There isn't any mention of Wendy having a twin sister. She DID have an older brother named Bors though"
"That's strange. Maybe Gwen just wasn't mentioned in the history books" Lyn shrugged "Or she is actually Wendy, but changed her name"
"Why would she need to do that?" I asked "Does she need to hide her identity? Robin said she was a "knight of Ostia", not an "assassin of Ostia""
"It's hard to know unless we ask Gwen ourselves" Robin spread his hands "But that's a topic for another time. We've arrived at the ruins"
"It's time to Hero Fest" I snickered at my own joke and inserted the Hero Fest postcard into the banner slot. The five orbs embedded onto the wall glowed in different colours, two red, one blue and two green
"No chance of Takumi in this batch" I sighed, but began loading orbs into the Breidablik regardless. I pointed at the red stone in the lower right and clicked the trigger on the Breidablik. The stone glowed bright red and the orbs on my gun disappeared, followed by a strong flare of light. When the flash cleared, a man dressed in red samurai armor stood in front of me, with very long spiky black hair that went down to his waist. On his side was a white scabbard and in his hand was a golden katana bustling with electricity. Ryoma has arrived.
"I am Ryoma, high prince of Hoshido and he who has inherited the Raijinto. I will give it my all, however dire the times" Ryoma said. His voice was controlled, smooth and commanding. Ryoma sounded like a great leader and a strong combatant.
"Pleasure to meet you Ryoma. I'm glad that you've come here" I smiled and shook the swordmaster's hand "I have the Corrin twins here to introduce you to Askr"
"Ah, the two Corrins are here too. That's good" Ryoma smiled "Me and my siblings were frantic after Corrin disappeared. Prince Xander of Nohr reported to us that Corrine suddenly disappeared too"
"I'm sorry to have caused you grief and sadness" I apologized "But rest assured, the Corrins are safe here"
"Thank you. I'll be seeing them later" Ryoma nodded, then joined my other heroes behind me as I continued summoning. The other orbs didn't give me any 5 stars. I got a 4 star Eirika, 4 star Catria, 3 star Arthur and a 4 star Barst. I decided to stop summoning as Caeda came flying over to the ruins to tell me that Embla is invading Askr and I needed to report back to the castle immediately. I quickly rushed my new heroes back home.
"Lucian! We have an emergency on our hands!" Anna cried as I entered through the Askr lobby.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Embla's forces are invading Askr! They've broken through the border and are closing into Askr castle. All the border guards have been killed!" Anna said frantically.
"A-again? When did she have the time to muster more enslaved heroes?" Sharena's eyes were wide with shock "Last time I remember, we destroyed half of her army the last time she attacked us. She couldn't possibly grab more!"
"I don't know how she did it, but the person leading the Emblian force is the real problem" Alfonse said, his posture tense "Embla has recruited the strongest of all heroes. The Radiant Hero named Ike"
Ike. One of my mains in Super Smash Bros actually back in my world. I was really excited to have him on our team, but I blew all my orbs on Hero Fest. I pushed thoughts of excitement aside and got down to business.
"I'm going to take a team of heroes to meet the force head on" I said "Where is Ike's army currently?"
"According to Caeda and Minerva, Ike's army is at an western Askrian outpost" Anna informed "I'll send an Askrian knight unit to hold off the Emblians while you deal with Ike"
"Alright then. Thank you" I turned my head to the entrance, where Minerva and Caeda were just coming back from the scouting mission "I'm going to take Ryoma, Robin, Minerva and Priscilla to meet Embla on the battlefield"
"I'll go grab Priscilla from the library" Sharena hurried off to grab the troubadour. While my heroes were preparing, Ryoma headed to the training yard to quickly loosen up and get himself ready to fight. Half an hour later, all of us were ready to engage Embla and Ike.
"Good luck. We'll be defending Askr while you're gone" Alfonse clapped me on the back and Sharena hugged me goodbye. The Askrian knight unit assembled shortly after and trailed behind us as we walked on the lush Askrian plains to meet Ike on the field of battle. Finally, the outpost was within sight and Emblian soldiers patrolled it, watching for intruders. The Askrian knights charged and distracted the Emblian patrol men while we sneaked inside. We found Ike and his tactician, Soren at the back of the outpost, with many Emblian guards.
"So this is the Order of Heroes" Ike heaved his legendary sword, Ragnell off his should and got into battle stance "You don't seem like the royal armies I've fought before. The Greil Mercenaries are bound by our contract with Princess Veronica and we always finish what we start. If you don't have the courage to fight, you better run"
A thin red shield flickered over Ike's body and I zoomed in on a strange dark red badge on his breastplate. Were they one of the new "Sacred Seals" I heard about? I decided to ignore and looked Ike into the eyes.
"We will not run. We will stand our ground and force all of you out of Askr. Let's fight!"
"Let's get on it then" Ike pointed his Ragnell at me "Emblians! Engage the Askrians!"
All the Emblian soldiers charged towards us, weapons ready to strike. Ryoma slashed apart two Axe Fighters at once with his Raijinto, then darted away as a Red Mage Cavalier attacked with Fenrir. Robin destroyed all the swordsmen and archers, killing each and every one with one or two hits. Minerva soared as high as the ceiling world allow her and did her usual hit-and-run strategies, sky-slamming enemy soldiers out of nowhere with her Hauteclere. But no matter how many enemies Ryoma, Robin and Minerva cut down, more of them appeared from the outpost's doors. Me and Priscilla stayed far away from the carnage, hiding in a hole on the wooden floor.
"Robin! Attack Ike!" I commanded. I assumed that taking down the enemy leader would cause the enemy to surrender, but Soren wasn't having any of that.
"Rexcalibur!" the mage summoned a tornado beneath Robin's feet and blew him away, making him fall hard on his back. Ryoma countered with a bolt of electricity from his Raijinto, then dashed up to Soren with lightning speed, slicing the mage in half with his sword.
"I will finish you!" Ike came at Ryoma with his Ragnell, but the samurai blocked the heavy sword with his katana and fell back, trying to attack Ike with his lightning bolts. Ryoma sent a spark of electricity towards Ike, but the red shield generated around Ike and completely negated the damage. Ryoma quickly switched tactics and went into a defensive stance, attempting to block or evade Ike's swings. Meanwhile, Robin and Minerva were taking down the Emblian reinforcements, trying to keep them away from me and Priscilla. Robin fell back to where we were hiding and Priscilla healed his wounds inflicted by Soren with her Rehabilitate staff. How were we supposed to win this? An endless amount of Emblians were coming into the room and Ike seemingly couldn't be killed. What could we do?
"May your blood crust my blade!" Ryoma dodged Ike's strike by sidestepping to the right and slashed his Raijinto over Ike's neck. But as usual, the red shield generated and Ryoma's sword bounced off harmlessly. While Ryoma stumbled back, Ike swung his Ragnell in a wide arc, tearing at Ryoma's waist. The samurai collapsed to the ground, but his grip on his Raijinto was tight. Ike swung his sword downwards to finish off Ryoma, but the samurai lunged and tried to run his sword through Ike's stomach. Ike saw this and blocked the hit with his giant blade, but didn't see something else coming.
"Blarraven!"
A swarm of ravens exploded out from the ground and pounded Ike hard. The mercenary staggered backwards, holding his Ragnell so tightly as to not drop it. Somehow, Robin's Blarraven pierced Ike's red shield. Before Robin could launch a follow up attack, Veronica warped onto the battlefield and blocked Robin's magic.
"Veronica!" I was shocked for a moment, then my instincts took over "Take her down Ryoma!"
"Not so fast" Veronica touched Ike's arm and warped herself and Ike away, avoiding Ryoma's attack.
"I've shared our ward with you, but it won't last forever" Veronica told Ike.
"Yeah, that thunder mage over there managed to pierce it" Ike rubbed the back of his neck in pain with his free hand.
"Let's retreat for now. Soon enough, the seal's power will return and we'll strike" Veronica smiled sinisterly "Again and again. Over and over. No matter how long it takes"
Veronica touched Ike's arm again and warped him out of the outpost. The sounds of battle died down and the remaining Askrian knights came inside to check on us.
"We… managed to fend them off at least…" Robin panted as he sat on the ground and rested while Priscilla healed everyone's wounds.
"Just barely. That man… Ike… he's stronger than he looks to be" Ryoma sheathed his Raijinto and took a deep breath to steady himself. Priscilla's staff stitched up his waist, but the samurai still twitched with pain occasionally.
"His skills speak to a life spent training for battle and no one can match his tenacity… overcoming him will be a challenge" Minerva landed on the floor and gave her wyvern something from the pack on her saddle to eat "Needless to say, I think this battle taught us something"
Robin snapped his fingers "You're right. Even with the huge advantage they had, they still decided to retreat. That means…"
"The seal Ike's using to protect himself doesn't last very long" I nodded in agreement "Robin, your attack managed to pierce his shield when Ryoma's couldn't. Maybe the shield wore off at that moment"
"Whatever happens though, they'll attack again" Ryoma crossed his arms "We better head back to Askr, heal and fortify our defenses"
"Good plan Ryoma. Let's hurry back" Robin urged.
On the way back to Askr castle however, we encountered more Emblian soldiers on a bridge over a large river. Two Lance Fliers, a red mage, a cleric named Mist and an Axe Cavalier named Titania were waiting for us. We needed to head back to Askr quick, so I sent Robin on the right to deal with the Lance Flier and red mage. The red mage fired a wave of Rauðrraven+ towards Robin, but the tactician deflected it effortlessly with his own raven storm. Minerva swooped down and sliced the mage in half with her axe. The Lance Flier tried to attack Minerva with her Killer Lance+, but the wyvern rider easily destroyed the Lance Flier too. Meanwhile, Ryoma and Priscilla were on the left side of the bridge, fighting off Titania, Mist and the second Lance Flier. Ryoma defeated Titania and Mist in the matter of seconds thanks to their weak defenses, but the Lance Flier's Sapphire Lance was giving Ryoma a lot of trouble. The samurai backed up and continued to block the soldier's lance while Priscilla healed him. Luckily, Minerva came fast and slashed the flier by the waist, killing her.
"We gotta hurry before Embla resumes their attack!" Robin called and we rushed ahead towards Askr castle.
We ended up in a forest in the outskirts of Askr castle, but something felt odd about the place. It's like someone else was around. More people than my group.
"Be on guard. I sense a presence around here" Ryoma drew his Raijinto and held it in front of my stomach to protect me. Suddenly, the air shifted and I heard rustles in the leaves nearby. Robin must of sense it too, because he twitched slightly.
"Everyone move back!" Robin yelled as tall ice blades burst from the ground, which would of impaled me if Ryoma didn't throw me back. As the ice magic faded, the enemy revealed himself. A tanned man riding a white-armored horse with a enigmatic mask on his face. His snow-blue tome was glowing with white energy. It was him. The masked knight we fought back in Askr.
"I WOULD thank you for warning us of Veronica's attack on the summoning ruins, but I retract that now that you tried to kill me" I said, locking my hands together in front of me.
"You wanted to thank me? Hah. You don't understand a thing, do you?" the masked knight laughed lightly.
"What do you mean?" I glared at the knight, my heroes growing more and more tense as the conversation went on.
"I'm just trying to keep things interesting. If my sister conquered Askr, she'd steal all the glory" the knight said it all casually "Who wants that?"
"Your… sister? You mean Veronica?" I asked.
The knight flashed a smile "That's right. Veronica is my little sister. My name is Bruno. Speaking formally, you'd call me Prince Bruno of the Emblian Empire"
"Hah, nice to meet you then. I'm glad you revealed your identity to us Bruno" I smiled sinisterly "Because we have to kill you. Everyone! Attack Bruno!"
"Foolish" Bruno galloped away as multiple Emblian soldiers jumped out of the trees and bushes to intercept us. Ryoma and Minerva cut them down like wheat, but more came coming. A Sword Flier snuck up from behind and landed a hit on Priscilla, but the troubadour smacked the flier backwards with her staff and Ryoma finished the flier off. A Lance Flier came rushing towards us from the front, but Minerva easily cut her down.
"Are you ready to die?" suddenly a tornado of wind burst beneath Minerva's feet, blowing her several feet into the air and cutting her wyvern's wings. Minerva fell back, getting healed by Priscilla who also healed herself thanks to Live to Serve. The Rexcalibur+ tornado blew under Minerva again, but she dodged it and set her sights on the attacker. Soren was preparing to launch another Rexcalibur, but Ryoma stabbed him in the back and ended the green mage. Bruno's Valaskjalf caught Ryoma off guard and he was forced to pull back. Minerva soared high above the forest and was about to dive bomb Bruno, but Titania jumped in front of Bruno and took Minerva's attack. Minerva's Hauteclere bounced effortlessly off of Titania's red shield.
"It's that shield again…" Minerva murmured as she dodged an Emerald Axe swing from Titania before taking a Slow spell from Mist, preventing the wyvern rider from retreating.
"This matter is closed" Bruno's Valaskjalf sparked with golden electricity and he shot it towards Minerva, electrocuting her in a violent line of lightning.
"GURRAHHHH!" Minerva screamed as the Growing Thunder blasted her backwards into a tree. Minerva tried to get up, her hand barely managing to grasp her Hauteclere.
"Valaskjalf!" Bruno cast his magic and encased Minerva in a cube of ice, before willing it to explode, sending the wyvern rider sailing into another tree with a sickening crunch. The princess of Macedon collapsed on the ground, fading away along with her wyvern rider.
"Minerva!" I yelled, then surveyed the battlefield. More and more Emblian soldiers were coming out of the trees and Ryoma and Robin couldn't hold them off forever, even with Priscilla's healing. The only option was to retreat.
"Heroes, retreat!" I cried "We need to find another way back to Askr castle!"
Ryoma and Robin finished off the last Emblians they were fighting then dashed out of the woods from where we came from. I quickly asked if I could ride on Priscilla's horse with her and she obliged, scooting over to make space. I grabbed the troubadour's waist as she spurred her horse forward, galloping out of the forest with Emblians hot on our heels. While we were retreating, Ryoma and Robin were firing ranged attacks at our pursuers to keep them off our trail.
"Here's how it's done!" Robin unleashed a flood of ravens empowered by Ignis and toppled another line of Emblian soldiers. Ryoma thrust his Raijinto into the air and called down another lightning bolt to incinerate an Emblian. Finally, we reached Askr castle through the backdoor with a whole battalion of Emblian soldiers on our feet. The Askrian guardsmen parted when they saw me and we barreled through the backdoor into the mess hall.
"An Emblian battalion is heading towards the backdoor. Any Askrian guard or hero, guard the back entrance from any Emblian attacker!" I called and the guards stirred, picking up their weapons underneath their table to guard the back entrance. As Eliwood passed me, he tapped me on the shoulder.
"Sir Lucian, Caeda saw a group of Emblian soldiers heading towards the front entrance. You know what you need to do" the cavalier said grimly.
I nodded "Thank you for telling me Eliwood. Stay safe"
"You too"
I rushed towards the lobby with my heroes, grabbing Michalis to fill in for Minerva. I passed Minerva in the infirmary, receiving treatment from Maria, Serra and Clarine. I gave her a solumn nod and mouthed "Sorry" before leaving towards the portal courtyard. We just made it outside as Ike stepped into the courtyard. Standing beside him was Titania and Soren, along with a handful of Emblian soldiers. I wasted no time talking and gave the command for my heroes to charge.
"Emblian soldiers! Engage the Askrian heroes!" Ike called as his own soldiers rushed forward. A Blue Mage Knight cast Elthunder onto Ryoma, but Ryoma somersaulted backwards to dodge and retaliated with a lightning strike from his Raijinto. While the mage knight was stunned, Ryoma dashed forward quickly and stabbed the mage in the chest. Robin deflected an arrow from an archer with Blarraven, then took down the archer with a single blast of lightning. Soren summoned a tornado with Rexcalibur and blew away Robin, making him slam against the castle's wall. Michalis swooped from the air and grabbed Soren with his wyvern's claws. He dragged the mage over to a castle wall and slammed him against it, making blood run down the side of Askr castle. After a few slams, bones began to fall from the sky.
"Michalis! Stop it! He's dead!" I shouted, but Michalis continued his brutal assault.
"MICHALIS! I ORDER YOU TO STOP!" I screamed and the wyvern rider stopped, dropping Soren's mangled corpse to the ground. Luckily, it faded before I could puke my guts out. Meanwhile, Ryoma blocked Titania's Emerald Axe with his sword and slashed the axe cavalier across the chest, taking her down. Ike dashed forward, Ragnell in hand to engage Ryoma. The samurai blocked the first hit, then used his speed to get under Ike's guard and stab him in the waist. However, the red shield appeared over Ike's body and Ryoma's katana bounced off, leaving him vulnerable to Ike.
"I will finish you!" Ike pointed his Ragnell at Ryoma, then tossed it into the air "Aether!"
Ike slammed his Ragnell onto Ryoma's head, then stabbed him in the chest before returning to his original position, all in supersonic speed. Ryoma collapsed onto the ground and faded into light. Now we only had Robin, Michalis and Priscilla to stop the oncoming waves of Emblians.
"Time to tip the scales!" Robin shouted and blasted a wide stream of Blarraven enhanced by Ignis into the mob, knocking down Emblians like bowling pins. Michalis swooped down and picked up a poor Emblian soldier with his wyvern's claws before doing his slam-against-the-wall assault, but I ordered him not to go overkill.
"Ugh, it's going to take a while to scrub the blood off of the castle walls" I groaned as Robin took down wave after wave of Emblians with Priscilla continually healing him. Ike continued his assault on Robin, but while Triangle Adept blocked most of Ike's damage, Robin couldn't make a scratch on Ike in turn. Ike's Aether attacks broke through Robin's defenses and Priscilla had to heal the tactician with twice as much power, so much so that Priscilla's Rehabilitate began to smoke.
"I am the end of you!" Michalis's Silver Axe sparked with red electricity as he body slammed a group of Emblians with Blazing Thunder, turning the soldiers into ash. Robin fired Blarraven at Ike, but as usual, the red shield completely blocked Robin's attack. Ike retaliated by swinging the Ragnell over his head, shooting a blue shockwave towards Robin. The tactician took the shockwaves well, but Ike pointed his Ragnell at Robin, signifying an Aether.
"Run while you can!" Ike threw his sword into the air, leaped and caught it, sky slamming Robin into the ground. The attack was too much and Robin faded away, defeated. All was left was Michalis and Priscilla. In desperation, Priscilla rose her Panic staff into the air and chanted the incantation written on it. A wave of panic pulsed from the staff, turning my nerves to jelly. I suddenly had the urge to cry out in panic and run back into the castle, screaming. The wave of panic affected the Emblians too and they ran out of the courtyard, before running back inside in confusion. Ike flinched from the Panic spell since it was directed on him, but he didn't show any signs of damage. Michalis swooped down, bringing his Silver Axe onto Ike's head, but the shield held and Ike retaliated, killing Michalis in one hit.
"It's over" Ike said, pointing his Ragnell at me and Priscilla "Surrender your weapons and you can keep your life"
"There's my opening!" suddenly Sharena attacked Ike from behind with Moonbow, shattering the shield into pieces and impaling Ike on her lance. Ike snarled and pushed her back, dislodging the lance, but he was clearly very wounded. From inside the lobby, Odin called a thunderbolt from the sky, but Ike sidestepped it and launched two shockwaves with his Ragnell, knocking Odin to the ground. Ike pointed his Ragnell at Niles and unleashed his Aether attack, killing the outlaw and healing the wounds Sharena gave him. We all stood around Ike, careful to not be in range of his sword. The mercenary stared at us for a moment, then slowly walked backward towards a portal, silently gesturing the Emblian reinforcements to join him. All the invaders eventually left through the portal. I could finally breathe after that.
"We managed to hold them off and force them to retreat but…" Alfonse stared at the portal Ike and his army left through, his posture tense. I grabbed Lyn, Nino and Catria to replace Ryoma, Robin and Michalis, as all of them were too injured to continue.
"We have to find a way to turn the tide but how…" Anna stroked her chin thoughtfully, but jerked her head towards me as I began walking towards the portal "Lucian! What are you doing?"
"Clearly, whatever is protecting them wears off overtime" I said, itching closer to the portal "If the protection is now gone... "
"You… you want to chase them? That's crazy Lucian!" Sharena cried "You'll be caught in enemy territory!"
"But it's our only option to defeating Ike" Alfonse said "We have no idea what's going to happen in there, but this is our only chance. Lucian, we'll reinforce you if necessary. Good luck in there"
"Thank you Alfonse" I nodded and took Lyn, Nino, Priscilla and Catria into the World of Radiance.
We landed outside an old looking fort, where Ike, Titania, Soren, Mist and a Lance Cavalier were waiting. The Lance Cavalier didn't look like an Emblian soldier though. He had light green hair and wore green armor. His eyes were only slits and he held a Sapphire Lance in hand. I never had any idea how people like that could see.
"You made your way here, even knowing the risks. I applaud your bravery" Titania smiled, then heaved her Emerald Axe "There's just one problem: we can't afford to lose. You're going down today. Not us"
"Hold back and let them charge into the encampment" Ike commanded "We'll take them down one by one"
"Understood" his troops nodded.
I scanned the battlefield and saw that Ike, Mist, Soren and Titania were all positioned on the left side of the fort while the lone Lance Cavalier was on the right. I silently told Nino to hide behind a wall, then ambush the cavalier with her magic. Nino attacking should aggravate Ike and his soldiers to attack us. Nino did as I instructed and hid behind a fort wall, slowly itching her way towards the Lance Cavalier. The cavalier noticed nothing and by the time he did, it was too late. Nino sprang from her hiding spot, opening her tome.
"Gronnblade!"
A giant magical blade burst from Nino's tome and pierced the cavalier right through. The blade exploded, leaving the cavalier on the ground, dead. The others noticed and Ike gave the command to attack. Titania was the first to leave their encampment and charged towards us, with Ike providing support from behind. Lyn stepped in Titania's path and clashed with the Axe Cavalier, Sol Katti to Emerald Axe. Lyn pushed Titania's axe away and was about to strike her in the chest, but Ike's Ragnell came out of nowhere and shattered Lyn's Sol Katti.
"Oh you gotta be kidding me!" I slapped my forehead "He has Swordbreaker?!"
Lyn retreated and drew her backup Silver Sword as Titania continued her assault. However, Lyn was forced into a defensive stance as Ike's Ragnell loomed behind Titania, waiting to ambush any swords coming the axe cavalier's way. I told Catria to fly into the air and distract Ike so Lyn can defeat Titania. The pegasus knight disappeared into the air as Lyn parried an axe attack from Titania, but couldn't take advantage of her open guard due to Ike stepping in front of Titania to protect her. Luckily, Catria came fast and rocketed down from the skies onto Ike, stabbing her Killer Lance into the mercenary's chest. Ike retaliated with a swing of the Ragnell, but Catria darted backwards to dodge it, then spun her lance as a bright crescent moon burned into the air.
"No matter the cost!" Catria charged at Ike again, her lance empowered by Luna. The pegasus knight stabbed Ike in the stomach, piercing his natural defenses. As Catria dislodged her spear, Ike dropped to one knee, using his Ragnell as support before slumping over, fading away in defeat. With Ike out of the way, Lyn was free to defeat Titania in one fell stroke. Soren and Mist came from the fort afterwards and begun their attack. Soren summoned a tornado with Rexcalibur and defeated Catria in a single hit while Mist slowed Lyn's advance with her Slow staff. Nino tried to attack Soren with Gronnblade, but the mage dodged the magic blades and launched a counterattack. Nino dodged it as well and began to recast her spell, but a gush of water burst from under Soren's feet, knocking the magic out from Nino's hands. My eyes widened. I remember someone doing something similar before. But it was in the World of Shadows and he used wind instead of water…
"He has the same skill as Alm. But instead of Windsweep, it's Watersweep!" I realized, then I told Nino to not engage Soren. The mage nodded and focused her attacks on Mist instead. The cleric fell not too long after. With the Slow spell broken on Lyn, she dashed towards Soren with lightning speed and stabbed him in the chest with her Silver Sword, killing him in one strike. At last, we defeated Ike.
Ike reappeared in a flash of magic as usual, his Ragnell resting on his shoulder.
"We lost. But I have no regrets" Ike acknowledged "You showed your strength. We're not enemies. Someday, somewhere...we might just meet again. I look forward to it"
And the mercenary left the fort without a word or look back.
"Great job everyone. Now it's time to head back to Askr" I faced the portal, but it flickered momentarily, suddenly going red for a second.
"What was that?" Priscilla asked.
The portal flickered red again, shrinking a little.
"The portal! It looks to be closing! Come on everyone! We have to go!" Lyn shouted and all of us went into the portal as it grew smaller. I was the last to leave, but someone's voice stopped me. Someone… familiar.
"Hello again Lucian" Veronica smiled at me sinisterly "This time, it's just you and me. Your bratty little friends are on the other side of the gateway"
"What do you want Veronica?" I glared at her.
"Why, I'm here to fulfill the promise I made!" Veronica's grin grew wider as she pulled the tome Elivagar from her robes "I'll pop your head right off... just like I used to do with my dolls. It's time for you to die!"
Before Veronica could invoke the spell, a javelin flew from behind and hit Veronica in the leg, disrupting the attack.
"What the- Who dares!" Veronica growled, as if the javelin didn't bother her.
"Run Lucian! Towards the light!" an unfamiliar male voice shouted behind me "Just go! Trust me! I'm Zacharias! Alfonse and Sharena's friend!"
Taking advantage of Zacharia's distraction, I leaped through the closing portal. Zacharias's voice continued ringing in my head.
"Keep going! You're almost there Lucian! Watch out for Alfonse and the others for me!"
Finally, I landed in the portal courtyard with Alfonse, Sharena and Anna breathing a sigh of relief.
"Lucian! There you are! I'm glad you made it back!" Alfonse grinned.
"Thank goodness you're back. When we took longer to get out of the gate than Lyn, Nino and Priscilla, I thought you were lost forever!" Sharena hugged me affectionately.
"Please don't do that again. We were worried sick" Anna said.
"I couldn't have gotten out of the situation without Zacharias's help though" I said and Alfonse, Sharena and Anna stepped back.
"Wait… Zacharias helped you?!" Alfonse and Sharena asked in unison, both utterly shocked.
I explained what happened with Veronica and Sharena begged Anna to allow us to go back into the World of Radiance, but Anna refused.
"The majority of the Emblian army along with Veronica herself is in there. We're exposing us and Zacharias to more danger if we go in" Anna said sternly "I'm sorry, but we can't go back"
"I-I guess we just have to…" Sharena sniffed "We have to let Zacharias handle himself for now. I hope he's safe"
"We all are Sharena" I said "But for now, we should rely on him to keep himself safe"
"Y-yes of course" Sharena wiped her eyes, then reached into her pocket, giving me a notice "This came into the mail while you were gone"
Opening it up, I found a new summoning banner titled "Battling Xander" along with the postcard needed to fight his Grand Hero Battle.
"Guess we'll take on Xander tomorrow" I said "I need to get some sleep"
"Yes, you should" Alfonse nodded "Go to your room. We'll guard the World of Radiance portal while you rest"
"Thank you Alfonse" I smiled before heading back into the castle.
Later into the night…
"...And Midir is pronounced as "MI-DEER" not "MI-DUR" Nino" Robin said as Nino read a book about Jugdal history to him.
"Oh I see. Why is that Robin?" Nino asked, gazing up to the man with innocent blue eyes.
"I don't know the exact reason why, but the man himself claimed his name to be pronounced that way" Robin shrugged.
"Wait… you said the man himself. You met this Midir?" Nino stared at Robin in confusion.
"Well… in my world, there are these magical cards called Einherjar" Robin explained, pulling a faint blue card from inside his coat. The card depicted the Queen of Crimea from Tellius history, Elincia. Robin often used it back in his world to send messages quickly without sending off his own forces.
"With the right incantation, I can use the Einherjar card to summon the hero depicted on it to my aid" Robin continued, pushing the Elincia card closer to Nino for a closer look "I can even talk to them"
"Oh! So you managed to get a Midir Ein-har-jer?" Nino tried to pronounce Einherjar, but failed miserably, making Robin laugh.
"Einherjar Nino. Say it with me. Ein…"
"Ein" Nino repeated.
"Her"
"Her"
"Jar"
"Jar"
"Einherjar"
"Einherjar" Nino perked up "I got it!"
"Ha ha, you sure did Nino. Good for you" Robin ruffled Nino's head, making her smile fondly.
"You know Robin… I've come to really enjoy your company and I'm so glad to be one of your friends" Nino said "I didn't want to say this earlier because I thought you might revolt at it but…"
Nino took a deep breath.
"You're like an uncle to me"
"An uncle? I think brother would make a little more sense" Robin laughed.
"No, no, you're older than me Robin. That makes you my uncle" Nino insisted and Robin's laughter died down "Mind if I tell you a story?"
"Tell me if you need help grabbing one from a high shelf" Robin said, but Nino shook her head.
"No Robin. I'm going to tell you MY story" Nino said and Robin relaxed himself, staring into Nino's crystal blue eyes. Like water on a lake.
"Are you sure Nino? You look like you're about to crack already" Robin said, reaching over to stroke Nino's green hair playfully.
"I'm going to tell you because you deserve to know after you did so much for me" Nino took a deep breath then began. After she was done, Nino was crying and even Robin was too.
"Now you understand" Nino said as tears fell to the library floor like raindrops "You're an uncle to me because you're like all my precious friends and family I had before. Lloyd, Linus, Legault, Canas, my father…t-they all left me or died"
Nino choked up and continued to cry, with Robin passing her a tissue to dry her tears while drying his own.
"So please Robin… you're the only family member I have left besides Jaffar" Nino hugged Robin and sobbed into his chest "Please don't leave me!"
"I never plan to and I never will Nino" Robin said, patting Nino's back "The others may have passed on, but I won't. I will always be here for you Nino"
"Promise?"
"I promise. Now please dry your tears. It's almost bedtime"
"Y-yes, thank you" Nino let go of Robin and used the remains of her tissue to dry her eyes. Robin led Nino to her room and tucked her in, shutting the door behind him. As the tactician walked down the hallway, he thought of Nino's story.
"All this pain, grief and loss is being pushed onto a young 14 year old girl" Robin murmured to himself "Oh gods above, why must the world be so cruel…"
As Robin was about to push open the door to his and Robinne's room, he made a silent vow.
"Nino needs friends and companions in her life. She suffered enough and never needs to go through more. She deserves a happy ending. I'll be one of the people who will grant her that ending"
And the World of Radiance is cleared! Coming up next is Xander's Grand Hero Battle followed by the Male Mages vs Female Mages Voting Gauntlet (Yippee) But following that is another story chapter: The Rite of Shadows, so that's something exciting to come. Also at the end of every chapter, I'm going to have a "Later into the night" segment where I focus on two heroes talking to each other and bonding. For the last chapter, it was Eliwood and Zephiel. Now it's Robin and Nino. This sets the stage for when the support system comes out later. As always, thank you for all the kind reviews, favorites and follows. Until next time fellow summoners!