I'm alive Internets! No, it's not a ghost. Well, even if I was, it doesn't matter because the new chapter has been completed at last. Feel free to reread the last few chapters if you get lost (I know I needed to).
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Well, that was quick. I've run out of things to say, so enjoy and review (or don't).
Chapter 45
(The Grand Shrine)
"Please calm down Laurenfrost-sama. You're being unreasonable."
"I shan't calm down until you let me speak to whoever is responsible for that farce of a broadcast!"
"F-Farce!?"
Deep within the Grand Shrine, a certain blonde-haired, emerald-eyed noblewoman was arguing with a pair of princess maidens in front of an ornately decorated door.
"L-Listen here, even if you're a noble I won't let your insult the hard work of—Hgggghk!?"
One of the princess maidens stomped forward before the other pulled her back in a punishing headlock.
"Ahaha, please pardon this girl's rudeness…" The girl said as the other struggled in her iron grip "But what she said does have some truth to it. The Divine Ritual Institute takes great efforts to ensure that nothing goes awry with the broadcast of the Blade Dance. I assure you that you're just imagining…uh, what did you say was the issue again?"
"Were you even listening!? I said the way Ren-san was fighting Luminaris-san was clearly suspicious! There wasn't even a hint of that infuriating attitude of hers!" Rinslet yelled.
"MMmpfff! Mmmfff!?"
"Suspicious? I haven't had much of a chance to view the Cross Fire round, but Ren Ashbell-sama seemed the same as always…"
The girl tilted her head in confusion as her partner desperately beat her arm in an attempt to break free.
"Like I've been saying, there must have been something wrong with the broadcast of the Tempest round as well! Stop wasting my time and let me through!"
Rinslet let out an impatient growl as she took a threatening step forward.
"Please stop there Rinslet-sama"
"Only officials from the Divine Ritual Institute are allowed beyond this point!"
In an instant, both princess maidens summoned forth their elemental waffe.
"Tsk!"
Considering they were able to go from their previous, entangled positions to combat-ready stances so quickly, the two were clearly no strangers to battle. However, Rinslet, who had faced all manner of powerful foes during the Blade Dance, was uncowed.
"I can't do that" Rinslet said resolutely as she summoned forth her own elemental waffe "If something has happened to Ren-san and everyone else, I have to help them"
"As we said, the Divine Ritual Institute has its best people managing the Blade Dance. If there's anyone who's trying to interfere with it, it's you!" One of the princess maidens accused, in a tone remarkably threatening for someone who was just being choked in a headlock.
*Rumble*
As the three glared at each other, the atmosphere began to shake with tension from their agitated spirit energy. It felt like a heated battle would begin at the slightest provocation from either side, but—
"P-Please stop Onee-sama!"
"I heard a disturbance, is there an issue?"
—Two events occurred to release the tension in the air. A certain young girl with identical blonde hair and glittering emerald eyes grabbed onto Rinslet's arm and a gorgeous woman dressed in ornate, ceremonial robes opened the door behind the two princess maidens and peeked her head out.
"Mireille!?"
"Lux-sama, p-please, its nothing!"
With their standoff interrupted, the three women quickly released their waffe and turned to face the two newcomers.
"Onee-sama, you've been acting really weird since you woke up! What is wrong with you!?" Mireille said with a worried shout.
"M-Mireille…I know I didn't explain well, but something really bad could be happening to the rest of Team Scarlet" Rinslet turned to her sister and said with finality "I have to know what is going on"
"Bad? Team Scarlet? Just what is going on here?" Lux, the Holy Queen, looked at everyone in confusion as she tried to understand the situation.
"Lux-sama, Laurenfrost-sama here is insisting that someone is tampering with the broadcast of the Blade Dance and she's demanding to speak whoever is responsible" One of the guardian princess maidens explained.
"…That's a very serious allegation Rinslet Laurenfrost. Do you have any evidence of this supposed tampering?" Lux asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"W-Well, Ren-san was behaving really weird a-and…" Rinslet stammered in return.
In contrast to just earlier, the pressure of being before the Holy Queen, one of the highest-ranking princess maidens in the world, was enough to leave Rinslet tongue-tied. It certainly didn't help that she didn't have any concrete evidence of the broadcast being hijacked.
"I should also mention that the people controlling the observation spirits and managing the Blade Dance broadcast are all people who I completely trust, in both ability and character" Lux went on, her tone becoming severe "If you are going to accuse them of something just because you are upset that you were defeated so quickly, then…"
"N-No, t-that's not…it can't…"
From Rinslet's weak reply, it was clear she was losing steam. Now that she was the one being pressured, Rinslet's outrage began to die down, replaced by growing doubt.
'N-No way, was I mistaken? M-Maybe the stress of losing so suddenly was making me see things? T-Then—'
"—Onee-sama would never do something like that!"
However, a sharp cry from her younger sister immediately cut through that doubt.
"Mireille…?"
Perhaps it was a boldness only allowed to children, but the young blonde girl bravely faced the Holy Queen head on without flinching.
"I-I'm still not sure what Onee-sama found strange, but s-she wouldn't lie about something like this just because she lost!" Mireille declared angrily "Please listen to what she has to say!"
"H-Hey, you can't talk to Lux-sama like—"
"—My apologies young lady, I didn't mean to take it that far"
Just as one of the princess maidens began to step forward, Lux bowed her head in sincere apology to the Laurenfrost sisters.
"Eh?"
"W-Wha?"
Both Rinslet and the two princess maidens looked at Lux, surprised by her sudden change in tone.
"My subordinates have been working very hard for the sake of the Blade Dance, so I was a bit incensed when you implied that one of them might be tampering with the broadcast" Lux said solemnly "However, that does not excuse my behavior. I watched the Tempest round and know Rinslet-san isn't someone who would lie just because she was defeated. Please forgive me you two."
"N-No, it's quite alright! I was being unreasonable too!" Rinslet said, flustered by the sudden shift.
"A-And I'm sorry for yelling at you" Mireille said sheepishly.
"Thank you…" Lux gave the sisters a grateful smile, then her face turned serious "…now, Rinslet-san. Please tell me what you found odd about the broadcast"
"Y-Yes, the thing is…How should I say it, Ren-san is acting too similar to the old Ren Ashbell" Rinslet explained.
"Ren Ashbell is…acting too similar Ren Ashbell?" Lux said in confusion.
"No, I'm not sure why, but the Ren Ashbell I've come to know is very different from the one three years ago. She changed a lot over the past three years" Rinslet said "The person I saw in that broadcast is not the girl I've fought beside until now. If anything, it was like I was re-watching the Blade Dance from back then"
"H-Hmm, are you sure? Maybe she just acts like that when she fights alone? If I recall, there were a few times that Ren-sama fought alone during the Tempest round as well. That might be why you think it so strange, seeing it for the first time like this" Lux said, offering an explanation. As she did, she ever so slightly tilted her eyes away suspiciously.
"T-That's—!"
Rinslet wanted to reply 'I know her better than that' as loud as she could, but…
'…Ren-san has definitely been hiding things from me, no, all of us. Could it just be that she's just scared of revealing a different, colder side of her?'
Once again, doubts filled Rinslet's mind.
"U-Uhm, I also felt that the Ren-Onee-Sama I met and the one in the broadcast seemed really different. But Father did say people can change during battle…Uuu, I don't know…" Mireille said uncertainly.
"If you're not totally convinced, I'll personally review the broadcast and make sure nothing is awry" Lux said reassuringly "It would be a big deal for us as well if something was going wrong"
"Would you really Lux-sama? Please—ugh!?"
"O-Onee-sama!"
As she asked the Holy Queen, Rinslet's body was suddenly wracked with pain and she stumbled backward.
"Poor thing, you must have rushed here as soon as you woke up. You shouldn't push yourself like that. Heal" Lux said worriedly as she cast a recovery spell on Rinslet.
"T-Thank you very much…"
"Don't worry about the broadcast. Leave it to me and just get some rest, okay? Young lady, help your sister back to her room" Lux ordered.
"Y-Yes!"
"P-Please tell me if you find anything…"
With that, the two sisters made their way back to their rooms.
"Whew! That was too close! I guess cutting corners by using recorded footage from the previous Blade Dance was a bad idea after all…" The Holy Queen said with a very inelegant sigh as soon as the two were out of earshot.
"That was very impressive acting Lux-sama"
"Yeah, I think you really convinced that Laurenfrost brat"
"Not bad"
So said the two princess maidens who were guarding the door. Or rather—
"Good job stalling her. Thanks for your hard work, you three"
—Indeed, stepping out of the shadows was a third princess maiden. Unlike the other two, this girl was not garbed in the uniform of the Divine Ritual Institute but wore black robes that concealed most of her body. Perhaps just as noteworthy, however, was her shining blonde hair and glittering emerald eyes.
"No need to thank me Lux-sama. I just watched after all" Ymi said with a shrug.
"Well, you were preparing to strike in case Rinslet-san made a move on me, right?" Lux said with a knowing wink.
"I was tasked with guarding by Cardinal, so I was just doing my job" Ymi said absentmindedly "Besides, it's not like that girl would have done anything, no matter how mad she got…"
"Oh? Are you acquainted with her? You do look remarkably similar…" Lux asked.
"Yeah, I…Do I?" Ymi suddenly looked down at her hands in confusion "…N-No, we've never even met but…somehow…."
Ymi pursed her delicate lips as she tried to explain herself while the other three looked at her curiously. As Ymi thought, the faces of the two girls who shared her hair and eye color flashed in her mind.
"…Somehow, the name 'Laurenfrost' makes my chest feel heavy"
(Megidoa)
*Rumble*
For the second time that day, the ground of the ancient capital shook from a massive outpouring of spirit energy.
"This time it's Rubia-sama, huh? Those two really have no idea what 'holding back' means…"
Lily Flame muttered thus in the depths of one of Megidoa's many ruined structures.
"Uugh…Aaah!"
Ellis let out a pained groan as she struggled against the thorny vines that were binding her limbs.
"It's only going to hurt more if you struggle" Lily commented as she watched from a safe distance away.
"Rrgh..Aaah!"
Letting out an angry growl, Ellis redoubled her efforts.
"Suit yourself…still, for that body of yours to be able to withstand that much of Titania's poison, the Acupuncture Assassin really does good work" Lily said with honest admiration.
Indeed, Ellis was being pumped full of enough toxins to knock out a wild beast every second. However, due to the modifications she received during the Tempest round, she was able to barely maintain consciousness.
"Well, in your current situation, that doesn't really change much. It's no different if you get knocked out now or in a few minutes. There's nothing you can do" Lily said with a twisted smile on her face.
'This little—!…no, calm down, calm down. I have to wait until she lets down her guard more if I want to use '
Contrary to what Lily believed, Ellis had not been fruitlessly trying to break free from her thorny restraints. She was testing the tension of each of the vines binding her in order to determine the best method to break free. However, something Lily said caught her ear…
"W-Wait…Y-You…H-How did you know…?" Ellis asked with a raspy voice.
…Namely, the fact that Lily knew her body had been tampered with. Not only that, she knew exactly who it was who had done it. Now that she had mentioned it twice, Ellis could no longer ignore it.
"Tee hee, I wonder? There are all sorts of ways to get information after all. Perhaps I paid off one of your teammates?" Lily said with a gloating smile.
'As if! Who does she think…no, I can't get worked up! To use those techniques, I need a serene heart. Just a bit more…'
Ellis repressed her outrage as she waited for an opportune moment to strike. However, this didn't go unnoticed by Lily.
'Hmm, she didn't rise to the bait. The girl's smarter than I thought. Though seeing as she's trying to fool me with that shoddy acting, I guess not that smart'
Lily was, of course, well aware that Ellis was plotting something while pretending to be furiously struggling against the vines. As she waited for Ellis to make her move, Lily had her Titania make preparations to attack the moment Ellis tried to escape.
'Aaand, done. Even if she weren't weakened by toxins, she wouldn't be able to avoid this. Now to make it look like I'm not paying attention anymore…'
As she thought that, Lily stretched her arms up and let out an exaggerated sigh.
"With this, one member has been eliminated from Team Scarlet. I guess I better focus on finding the rest of my team now"
With that said, Lily turned to face always slightly, towards the hallway leading outside. However, all the while she kept an eye on Ellis.
"Now! O Winds, free me from these bindings!"
Ignorant of Lily's plot, Ellis summoned forth countless blades of wind to slice apart her thorny prison.
"Just as predicted! Finish her, Titania!"
Instantly, a flood of spear-like roots shot out of the ground and shot toward Ellis from all angles. In response, Ellis—
"Haaaah…"
—Took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and took up a simple battle stance.
'T-That's—!?'
"What I desire, is that undefeated blade…"
This may seem random, but of everyone in Team Scarlet, Ellis was the one whose strength had grown the most over the course of the Blade Dance. She had received an enormous boost to her physical capabilities thanks to her battle with Rao Rin for one thing. But more importantly—
'Remember. Remember. Last time I failed, but that blade isn't out of my reach anymore. I just need to remember it fully'
—Ellis had been given the opportunity to train with the Strongest Blade Dancer and fight with her on the same battlefield. Among the members of Team Scarlet, no one understood Ren Ashbell's blade as well as she did.
Which was why…
"…Absolute Blade Arts Third Form—Shadowmoon Waltz"
*Slash*
Ellis' spear cut swiftly through the air, annihilating every single root as it danced and danced under Ellis' hands. With strength and speed unthinkable for a human, Ellis repelled, no, destroyed the incoming attack.
"Tsk! T-This much strain, and I only half-completed it…R-Ren-sama really is amazing to be able to use these moves all the time" Ellis groaned in pain as the backlash of her technique hit her.
"…She actually managed to replicate his blade…"
Astounded by Ellis' feat, Lily was so shocked that she couldn't even think to make a follow-up attack on the weakened Ellis.
'This is bad, this is bad, this is BAD!'
As much as she joked about Kamito being a cash cow for her, in reality Lily considered Kamito an unshakable pillar of strength, a monster whose strength was like a god of war. For her to suddenly be facing an enemy who could use his techniques filled her with blind panic uncharacteristic of her usual, scheming self.
"I-I'll retreat for now!" Lily shouted as she swiftly jumped towards the demon tree spirit she summoned out of the ground.
"I won't let you! Absolute Blade Arts First Form—Violet Lightning!"
Gritting her teeth through the pain, Ellis once again replicated her idol's technique. In a flash of purple light, she shot toward the retreating Lily.
"D-Damn, I won't make it—!"
"It's over!"
With no way to evade or defend, Lily could only close her eyes as that burst of violet destruction stormed towards her. It was her utter defeat—
*Shhnck*
"Eh?"
"Ghhk—!?"
—At least it should have been.
For some reason neither girl could instantly understand, Ellis had stopped a mere step before striking Lily. Or precisely, she had been stopped.
"T-That's—!?"
"T-This—!? N-No!"
Both girls gasped in surprise as they realized that Ellis had been impaled through the chest from behind. No, more than surprise at Ellis being impaled, they were more surprised by the shining silver blade that had impaled her.
'T-This sword…i-it can't be—!'
It was a blade they both recognized immediately. The legendary sword that had once killed the Demon King. A blade that Ellis had not once imagined would ever be used against her, the Demon Slayer.
'W-Why—!?'
"Hey, you okay there, Lily?"
As if to confirm Ellis' worst fears, the extremely familiar voice of a certain young woman echoed next to Ellis' ear.
"Jeez! You should have come and saved me sooner Senpai!"
"Look, even I have some reservations about doing something like this…"
"So you would have been fine with me getting defeated here!?"
"Come on, it's not like that…"
As Ellis' consciousness blackened, the conversation between Lily and her assailant began to fade away.
'This voice…? And, that was…Est, right?'
Ellis tried to piece together her fragmented knowledge into something that made sense for her.
'But, why? Just what is going—Ah…looks like time's up'
As she tried to think of an answer to the mystery that had been suddenly presented to her, she felt a familiar feeling run through her body. It was the feeling of being teleported through Leap magic. Looking down, Ellis realized her magic stone had been destroyed when Est's blade had pierced through her.
'I still don't get it…'
All manner of unanswered questions filled Ellis' mind. However, one question in particular echoed through her head before unconsciousness took her.
'Hey, Ren-san…? What…What kind of face are you making right now?'
Barely able to finish even that thought, Ellis' unconscious body was transported back to the Grand Shrine.
At the same time, another battle was reaching its conclusion. That is, if it could even be called a battle.
"Hmph…how meaningless"
Rubia glared coldly down at a pair of girls who were desperately trying to escape her sea of freezing flames.
"Tsk, to think a daughter of Elstein would fall this far…"
"Nee…sama…"
Rather, one was desperately trying to escape while the other lay lifelessly as she was carried by the former.
"Stop struggling Ortlinde. Your master has no will to fight. You stand no chance" Rubia declared as she sent another wave of ice-blue flames at the fire spirit.
"Khh!"
Unable to dodge since she was carrying Claire, Ortlinde tried to counter with a burst of scarlet fire.
"Ghhaah!"
However, her flames were easily consumed by Rubia's cold fire, and she let out a groan of pain as the fire's icy cold bit at her limbs.
'Without my master's support, I can't muster my full power! But…'
"…Nee…sama…"
Even as Ortlinde and Rubia battled in front of her, Claire could only stare blankly at her sister with lifeless eyes. Compared to her usual lively self, Claire's hopeless form was a sorry sight indeed.
'…No good. In her current state, she can't do anything. In that case, I have to end it as quickly as possible!'
Resolving herself, Ortlinde set Claire down beside a relatively stable piece of rubbles and summoned forth her crimson scythe of conflagration.
"Oh? In that case…"
Rubia's eyes narrowed in amusement at Ortlinde's decision and manifested a sword of icy flame in her hand.
'That stance…Rubia Elstein shouldn't know how to use a sword though!'
Ortlinde's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Rubia take a beautiful stance that even veteran martial artists would envy.
'Kamito really is close to becoming 'complete'. I haven't been able to recall this much of 'their' skill until now. We really might pull it off at this rate' Rubia mused as she kept a careful eye on the Scarlet Valkyrie.
Indeed, the current Sacred Queen felt an unfamiliar comfort as she held her sword of flames, a sure sign that things were going according to her plan. Perhaps it was because of that, but for a single moment—
"You're open!
*Boom!*
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
—Rubia let her guard down ever so slightly. Taking advantage of that, Ortlinde activated explosive fire magic at her feet to blast herself at Rubia like a rocket.
"What foolishness…"
It was a self-destructive attack that would likely leave Ortlinde too injured to move afterward, but for that single instant, the speed of her scythe was unmatched. Even after inheriting the combat skills of the former Sacred Queens, Rubia wouldn't be able to avoid such a swift strike.
That being said, things like dodging or blocking, those hadn't even crossed Rubia's mind.
*Whoosh*
"G-Gaakkhhh!?" Ortlinde groaned in pained confusion
And who could blame her? Though Ortlinde had clearly struck first, her scythe was stuck centimeters from Rubia's neck. In contrast, Rubia's blade of frozen flame had decisively pierced through the Scarlet Valkyrie's chest.
"…Did you forget about the terms of your contract, flame spirit of old? You can't intentionally harm someone of Elstein blood" Rubia declared.
It was common to include a clause in contracts with intelligent spirits to forbid them from harming the master. However, the original master of Ortlinde had taken it a step further, to prevent any of her family from ever being harmed by the Scarlet Valkyrie's great power.
"…D-Damn it…" Ortlinde cursed weakly.
"It'd be different if she were ordering you to kill me, but on your own, you can't touch me. Now disappear, fool!"
Saying that, Rubia conjured forth another sword of icy fire and stabbed Ortlinde with it.
"GUh!...F-Forgive me, master…"
Letting out a final regretful sigh, Ortlinde returned back to the form of a hellcat, having taken too much damage to sustain her humanoid form.
"…Seems that nuisance has finally been dealt with" Rubia whispered as she gazed down at the prone form of the hellcat.
"So she couldn't touch you because of a contract…Indeed, no one else would have a better chance of defeating her but you" Luminaris said as she approached Rubia from behind.
"What, you think I would have lost if I wasn't protected by the contract?" Rubia said in mock indignation.
"Not really. It might have helped the plan if that fire spirit managed to exhaust you…no, never mind. What do you plan on doing to her and her master?" Luminaris asked.
"We can't kill Cl—the girl just yet. However, this spirit might get in our way later" Rubia said with a shrug.
"Understood. Then I shall eliminate—"
"—Fireball!"
A roaring ball of flames suddenly interrupted their conversation.
"Hmph"
However, compared to the flames that had fought each other just earlier, this fireball was far weaker. Luminaris was able to casually swat the fireball away with her sword.
"…You should have just stayed down, Claire" Rubia said, turning to glare at her sister.
"I-I still don't understand why you're here…b-but don't touch Scarlet!" Claire declared with a trembling voice. It seemed seeing her contracted spirit threatened had snapped Claire out of her stupor.
"That's right. You don't understand anything. So you should just listen to what I say and not interfere" Rubia said.
"I-I can't do that! Not after so long…Just tell me! Why did you betray everyone!? Why are you pretending to be the Demon King!? Please! Something! A-Anything!" Claire desperately appealed to her sister.
"…I don't have time for this"
As Rubia said that, she picked up Scarlet, no, Ortlinde's unconscious body and threw it at Claire.
"A-Ah!"
Taken by surprise, Claire instinctively raised her arms up and caught the hellcat. And at that moment—
"Farewell"
"Eh?"
*Shatter*
—A precise gout of flame shot out of Rubia's finger and destroyed Claire's Magic Stone.
"N-No! N-Nee-sama! You still haven't told me anything—!"
Claire desperately tried to run to Rubia. However, before she could even make it half-way, her body was transported back to the Grand Shrine.
"Is that okay? Letting that flame spirit go" Luminaris asked.
"Yeah, she won't be able to interfere with our plans from the Grand Shrine anyway. More importantly, give the order to begin the ritual. It's a bit earlier than planned, but enough members of the other teams should be eliminated by now" Rubia ordered.
"Understood. Leave it to us"
Luminaris gave Rubia a salute, then left with her two remaining subordinates.
"…You've really grown Claire. When this is all over…definitely…"
Giving a last lingering glance at the spot Claire had been moments before, Rubia then turned around and walked away in the opposite direction as Luminaris.
"Still senpai, that was too scary! Why in the world would you teach that girl your techniques!"
After eliminating Ellis, Kamito and Lily began to walk towards the castle in the center of Megidoa, where Ren Ashdoll had once lived. As they drew closer, an increasingly powerful sense of nostalgia filled Kamito.
"It's not like I gave her any instructions or anything. She must have replicated my technique based on sight"
That being said, he was too busy trying to placate Lily to enjoy that feeling of nostalgia.
"Replicate based on sight? As if! Didn't even you need to be personally trained by the Dusk Witch to learn those techniques?"
"Well apparently the proper way to learn the Absolute Blade Arts is to have them be used against you until you learn them, so replicating based on site isn't that unreasonable" Kamito said with a shrug.
" 'Have them be used against'…M-My condolences senpai. That must have been rough" Lily said, giving Kamito a consoling pat on the shoulder.
"A-Ahaha…yeah, let's not talk about it" Kamito said with a nervous laugh "A-Anyway, how far has the first phase progressed?"
"Hmm, let's see…"
Saying that, Lily took out a scroll from her pocket. Unfurling it revealed a map of Megidoa that had several faintly glowing dots.
"Blue is Dracunia and Purple is Ordesia so…seems like two on each team left. No wait, you show up as purple too, so only one left for Team Scarlet. Seems like Luminaris lost one of her knights though…" Lily reported as she analyzed the map.
"That thing sure is convenient…getting the Queens on our side really was helpful" Kamito said admiringly.
"Sure was…ah, hold on. Someone from Dracunia seems to be rapidly closing onto our position from the East" Lily announced.
"East?...Ah, yeah, I see her" Kamito said with a nod.
Just as Lily had said, there was a massive red dragon with a uniformed girl on its back flying in their direction.
"Lindwyrm…so that must be Yuri El Cid, huh?" Kamito said, recognizing the dragon spirit.
"It doesn't seem like she's seen us yet. What do you want to do?" Lily asked.
"Eliminate the target" Kamito declared "Restia!"
"Of course~"
In Kamito's hands manifested a sleek black blade adorned with ebon lightning. With practiced movements, Kamito aimed the tip of the Vorpal Blade squarely at the flying drake.
"Vorpal Blast!"
An explosion of crackling darkness burst from the dark sword and struck down the dragon in one fell swoop. Without even having the chance to realize what had happened, Yuri departed from the stage of the Blade Dance.
"Destruction of the enemy Magic Stone confirmed. Nice shooting" Lily said, seeing that a blue dot had disappeared from her map.
"Right, right? Unlike a certain sword spirit, I'm useful at any distance" Restia declared as she returned to her human form.
"Uuu! I-If I wanted to, I could cut at that range too!" Est returned angrily.
"Yeah…if he threw you. At that point, you might as well be a rock on the side of the road!" Restia returned with a smirk.
"W-Why you—!"
"You really have to do this every time, don't you?" Kamito sighed, not even bothering to try to stop them. Secretly, he was just glad Restia was acting like normal.
"Restia I already kind of knew about but…for being the legendary Demon Slayer, Est-san is kind of…" Lily said in amazement.
"Yeah. No need to say it" Kamito said with another sigh.
"A-Ahem, w-well anyway, with only two possible hinderances left, everything seems to be—"
*Rumble* *Rumble*
Suddenly, the earth quaked at a magnitude incomparable to the two earlier instances. As it did, the roads of Megidoa were suddenly flooded by a dark, violet light.
If Lily and Kamito had been viewing the city at a great height, they would see massive amounts of spirit power flowing through the city as if through a network of circuits centered around the main citadel.
"They're starting the ritual already? Seems like Rubia's moved up the schedule" Kamito murmured "Lily, we're moving!"
"Yes!"
(A Bit Earlier)
"Hah…Hah…I give up! These tunnels are too confusing!"
With a plop, Fianna plopped on the ground in a decidedly unprincess-like manner.
After spending a considerable amount of time looking through the ancient records she had found, Fianna eventually remembered that she was supposed to be fighting in the Blade Dance and had been unsuccessfully trying to escape the maze-like caverns below Megidoa.
"Even the secret tunnels under Ragna Ys weren't this convoluted! Whoever designed them is an idiot! Idiot!"
Fianna threw her arms into the air in a tantrum, her dignity sharply declining.
"…"
Though mute, the dark-armored Georgios' cool gaze seemed to say enough.
"Ugh, I get it! But without some sort of clue, I'm just waiting my energy running around blindly!"
"…"
"As if it would be that easy! Geez, you've gotten more lip ever since you transformed!"
"…"
"Tsk, fine! We'll do it your way! I still don't think following the left wall is going to help…"
Naturally, Fianna managed to find her way to the city surface in less than 5 minutes after that.
"Oh, come on! You've got to be kidding me!"
"…"
"Not. Another. Word." Fianna grumbled, despite the fact that her spirit had yet to say anything.
"…"
"Mmm, right. Even though I managed to get out of that maze, I still need to meet up with everyone else. I managed to defeat that one knight by chance, but I doubt next time I'd be so—"
*Rumble* *Rumble*
"—W-Wha!?"
Torrents of deep purple energy flooded Megidoa, lighting up the city like a forest fire in the blackest of nights. However, this was no mere light display…
"N-No way…Are the leylines repairing? And this power is—Ugh!?"
Fianna groaned in agony as the spirit energy she had accidentally taken from Kamito ran rampant in her body with delight in response to the power filling the ruined city.
"E-Everything is returning to the way it should be…" Fianna murmured deliriously.
As she said that, Fianna watched in amazement as the violet light began to take shape as it washed over the ruins of Megidoa. Glowing, ghostly impressions of gorgeous mansions, shops, temples, and other architecture rose from the rubble. No more was the ruined wasteland; in its place was a glorious, empty metropolis which glowed with eerie beauty.
"…Wait, should be? Ugh…aah!…i-it happened again…"
Fianna whispered anxiously once she had regained her senses.
'Feeling things I shouldn't be able to sense or recognizing things I shouldn't know…it's been happening more often ever since I've arrived in Megidoa' Fianna thought to herself.
Though she had previously written it off as being caused by stress or exhaustion, it was beginning to happen too frequently for her to ignore anymore.
"No, right now I have to focus on what's going on with the Blade Dance!" Fianna shook her head and redirected her thoughts "This isn't a ritual that a mere team of five could pull off! Something of this scale would take dozens of top-class princess maidens. Someone is definitely interfering with the Blade Dance!"
That was correct. Though Fianna didn't know this, the numerous members of the Organization who had slipped into Megidoa were in the process of completing the first step of the ritual to revive the Darkness Elemental Lord. Namely, restoring Megidoa to the state it was before the Great Spirit War, during the reign of Ren Ashdoll.
"Whoever it is, that's an insane amount of power being thrown around. And this…necropolis…is probably just a side-effect. After all, most of the spirit energy is being concentrated to—"
"—Probably the castle in the center of the city. But what is their purpose?"
Even though the rest of the city had been resurrected by the ritual in mere moments, the ethereal citadel in the city's center was continuing to rise and rise, as if a giant sword was being thrust upward from underneath the earth. Also, unlike the rest of the ghostly structures, the castle was no wispy shadow. No, it was a gargantuan structure built of pure, materialized spirit energy which shone as if the moon had descended from the sky. The castle was so awe-inspiring that….
"I have no clue, but with how much power they've gathered up they could easily destroy a city…wait, who said that!?"
…it took Fianna several moments to realize she was no longer alone. Slowly turning around, Fianna found herself face to face with a uniformed girl with shoulder-length black hair and a white beret.
"I'd be offended, but I can't exactly fault you for being so shocked by that thing you didn't notice me"
That's what Leonora Lancaster said to Fianna with a wry grin.
"A-Aaaah!?"
With a strangled cry, Fianna jumped backward in fright. Georgios quickly took up a defensive position in front of her.
"Calm down. I have no intention of fighting you here"
As if to prove her words, Leonora held her hands up placatingly.
"U-Ugh…w-what do you want, Leonora Lancaster?" Fianna asked cautiously.
Even though Fianna was aware that Leonora could easily summon her waffe and cut her down before she could do a thing, the princess was unable to ignore Leonora's show of good faith.
"I want to create an alliance between Team Knights of the Dragon Emperor and Team Scarlet" Leonora declared.
"An...alliance? Fianna asked, eyes widening in amazement.
"Yeah, until we find out whoever is behind all this and crush their scheme, let's get along"
So said Leonora with a broad, predatory smile and blazing crimson eyes.
As always, that feeling of rust after not writing for so long was a pretty big hindrance for this chapter. Hope it doesn't show too much ha ha!
'You don't get to complain because you chose to not write and stay out of practice' you say? Why you little...fine, the next chapter will be delayed by 0.093 microseconds!
...Well, that stupidity aside, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. Writing from a bunch of perspectives was pretty fun, but there will probably be a lot less of that from the next chapter on.
That's it for me. Y'all better stay safe and I hope to see you next chapter too!
