...

"They're in a siege?"

"Yes, according to our report. Humans and Orcs under the banner of the Realmic-Empire had surrounded the capital."

"How on earth did they get past us?"

"That... we're still quite unsure. But from the reports gathered prior to the siege, numerous shadows seldom, if not often, covered the cloudy sky. From the size of those shadows, it is believed that they managed to get some help from the Frost Dragons. But we didn't really believed this because it was too far fetched."

"What? Those old freaks? Why did I not heard of this report? Did we not send cohorts of scouts into the far distance?"

"We did. Unfortunately, those said cohorts returned and found no suspicious activity around the area where they were deployed. Two of which were sent near the mouth of the valley where the dragons lived, but they reported nothing suspicious."

"I'm so confused. How did they... Wait a second, do they have supplies for the prolonged siege?"

"We saw a large amount of supplies stationed just to their west. However, other than those, we are unable to see other loads of supply. This led us to speculate that they're under limited time. Since winter is approaching, we suspected that they intend to cripple the capital quickly before winter has arrived."

"...I have an idea."

"Signals of Hololive 3: The Legend of IRyS"

CHAPTER 7: Retaking the Loss

Ayer was in a difficult situation against Vector. He was a mage user, so this was his first time using a sword, but thanks to the constitution of the body of Caliber, he could control the sword as if he knew how to control it in the first place. Still, his conscience got the better of him, making him feel unsure if he was doing it right.

He then remembered that Caliber was a magic swordsman. If the sword he was holding was the same sword that he let the world know, then he could win this fight. He poured ice magic into his sword and clashed once again with Vector. This time, however, they got the dark elf hero by surprise, who immediately got his hands with his sword frozen intact.

Ayer took this opportunity to land a decisive blow against Vector, who recoiled greatly from his attack. Both of them were tired, but Vector was in worse condition. For some reason, the 'boy' had yet to see the dark elf hero use his magic power before, so he had to be extra careful now that he thought about that.

The dark hero got what he was thinking and simply laughed at him. Caliber tells Caliber that ever since birth, he has had no potential for using magic. Even if he tried, it would result in his body being crippled or worse, death. He can only use non-magic abilities like strengthening his body.

So what Ayer was battling right now was an underrated Vector. If both of them had the same stature, then Caliber at this point would definitely lose without a doubt. They then proceeded to clash.

As every few seconds passed, Ayer could see how Vector was enjoying the fight. The 'boy', too, felt a boost to continue fighting him. But it was odd, since at this point by now, shouldn't Caliber have already won? Mora told him before that he brought her father home to their village, broken. And then Caliber's voice appeared out of nowhere and answered his question.

Apparently, Caliber was furious at this point that he did not prolong the battle long enough and immediately destroy Vector. He did not enjoy fighting the dark elf and was focused on annihilating him. His hatred clouded his reasoning and an inhumane thought was created in his mind: cursing his generation.

Yes, he lost his sister, and he even forgot that Blizz was alive. But Vector lost his own family and everyone else he had come to know. In perspective, Vector had suffered more than him, and the hero felt like forgiving him was not enough to compensate for what he had done.

The boy had no words other than to tell the hero to leave this fight to him.

The battle lasted until an hour had passed. At this point, he was exhausted and so was Vector, but in worse condition. The dark elf hero then dropped on his back, quietly announcing the victory of the fight. Though he suffered wounds, it was nothing to be concerned about for the moment. He then thought, how does this event correlate with Chill, who was unconscious?

However, he did not dwell deeper into the question when, out of nowhere, a blizzard appeared.

...

Back to the original world, everyone was concerned to see Ayer shaking in his position. He looked like he was in pain, especially Riss. The sage firmly told them not to touch him or else their consciousness would transfer as well to where the unconscious girl's consciousness was at. And judging by how Ayer was reacting to it, it was clear that he was in a predicament.

Riss got worried and prayed that, hopefully, nothing bad would happen. However, her prayer was not answered when a wound across his arms suddenly appeared. The girl lost it and quickly reached out for Ayer. The sage tried to stop her, but it was too late when Riss's vision was covered in bright light.

...

The girl found herself in the blizzard and snow-covered ground. She was thrown off guard and was not prepared as she was pushed back and dragged around by the cold air. Her attire did not match the condition of the surroundings, as cold winds shook her exposed skin.

But it did not bother her as she called out Ayer's name in the blizzard. She stood up and tried to fight against the strong yet cold winds as she hugged herself. She looked around and found nothing in sight except for white snow. She trudged forward and continued walking, calling out Ayer's name again and again.

Half an hour had already passed but it felt like she was walking forever. Her body, especially her feet, felt numb from the cold. She was still walking forward when she bumped into something. She then noticed it was a white fabric when a beautiful and soothing voice talked to her.

She bumped into a tall woman dressed in white. Because the vision around Riss was white, she didn't notice the woman asked what she was doing here, and the girl answered that she was looking for Ayer. For some, Riss found the woman so beautiful and mesmerizing. The blizzard around her does not seem to affect the woman in any way.

And the woman told her that she saw a boy and pointed her in a direction. Riss thanked the woman for being her guide. But before she continued, the woman threw a large, warm coat over her. Riss thanked the woman again for the coat, but the woman mysteriously disappeared. She was just beside her. But nonetheless, she continued to walk forward. This time, she will probably last a long time with the coat on.

...

He found himself facing the girl known as Blizz - the one he knew that was unconscious back in the real world. He asked what was going on, but Blizz replied that it was her fault. She was originally a weapon created to destroy the God of Inferno. But due to Caliber's care, that role was gone. and instead, was replaced by his powerful armor.

And because of that, Caliber lost his title and instead lived in peace. But she did not like that. She wanted Caliber to live and die as a hero and to completely destroy the existence of the Deity of Blaze. That was her purpose, but she was happy when she was treated as a human being, not a tool.

But because of that happiness, it led to many tragedies, and the Deity of Blaze is still existing. She refused to wake up as a human and instead kept her consciousness deep in her mind, and so once she completely severed her consciousness from her body, she would turn into a sword for Ayer to use in order to destroy the Deity of Blaze.

She was Caliber's biggest secret. It was only known that he had a natural talent as a magical swordsman, but in reality he was just a powerful warrior, not a mage. Until her appearance, he became the famed magic swordsman. She wanted to keep it that way until he used her to destroy the Deity of Blazs.

After Caliber's fight with Vector, she was thrown to the side like she was nothing. And later on, Caliber killed himself. Because of this, she lost her will to continue and remained as a sword on the ground. unmoving and still.

But when she felt that Caliber's soul had returned, she searched for him. And then she found Ayer in the forest. That day, she found her purpose again.

Now, unless Ayer accepts her as a weapon to destroy the Deoty of Blaze, she won't leave the place. Because of this, the blizzard around them got stronger and wilder, but Ayer stood on his ground, holding himself strong. He did not know what to do. He obviously wanted to save her, but if he accepted her demand, then everything would be for naught.

When suddenly, he saw a figure behind Chill. He called her out to watch out, but the figure had her arms around her already. It was Riss, and they were shocked to see her here. Chill asked her to let her go, but the older girl refused, not unless she returned to sort this out. She won't let a young girl like Chill become a tool, not to mention, she was the one who saved her.

Chill squirmed and struggled, but to no avail. Riss appeared to be much stronger. But because of Riss's hug, a soothing warmth invaded Chill. That warmth reminded her of her good times when Caliber took care of her. She did not like it because if they did not use her, they would meet the same fate as Caliber.

And then Caliber's voice echoed around them. This made Chill shocked as the three listened to him. Caliber told them that he once had a backup plan to completely seal off the Deity of Blaze, but because of what happened before, he wasn't able to. However, now that there's a chance He told them that they must collect all the artifacts and send them to the far north, where they must bury them, and then the Spirit Kings of the Cold will seal it off there.

Caliber told the young girl, Chill, to go back. Back to where she would be happy. She's still smiling when they're still alive. They can do this together. Chill was overwhelmed by their care. As for Ayer and Riss, they had just met each other but it felt like the two were her new dear family already. She started to cry, but Riss comforted her. The blizzard around them slowed down until it all stopped, revealing a plain of snow.

And Caliber's voice was no more.

Riss asked the little girl if she was fine, and Chill meekly nodded. She asked if she could be her big sister and Ayer her big brother. Chill smiled tearily at this as the girls giggled. Ayer could only smile at them before looking around and asking if they would go back now.

Chill then told them to just close their eyes and she would throw them out of her head. She promised she would come back, so Riss and Ayer will wait for her return. The two kids did what they did, and they suddenly felt something shift.

But for Ayer, the moment he closed his eyes, he saw Caliber in the darkness of his 'gaze' smiling at him. And then the hero thanked him and gave him his blessings before Ayer's consciousness was suddenly thrown out.

...

Riss and Ayer gasped as they woke up. They found themselves lying on their respective beds. There, Ghastly was sleeping nearby. It appeared that she had been watching them, but she ended up falling asleep. The two kids looked between them and saw Chill still sleeping.

Before they could think of anything else, a loud welcome was presented by the sage Gund. This gave the two kids, even Ghastly, a sudden heart attack at what they presumed was a jump scare.

This gave the old sage a smile but quickly turned into pain as his apprentices pinched his sides. He then apologized for scaring them.

Then Ayer asked what happened, also correlating how Riss entered her mind. The sage explained the situation. It was normal for one person to enter another person's mind, but having two or more could cause the host to go into a chaotic shift in their consciousness. It is more likely to result in brain loss because it cannot carry two or more consciousnesses within its mind.

Riss nervously laughed as Ayer looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Then the sage told them that after that, the two kids broke off from Chill and they suddenly went to sleep in an instant. Their bodies were probably exhausted and forced to sleep. Gund, the sage, asked Ayer and Riss what they found and what the situation was.

The boy decided to explain it to the sage and told the old man the important things, such as how to deal with the God of Inferno. Gund was well pleased to hear that news and decided to help the boy in his mission. He ordered his apprentices to get the map of a certain place.

The two mages obliged as they left the room, and returned with a scroll in hand. The sage then gave it to Ayer and told the boy that it was a map to a secret elf village. The boy should ask the elder there to guide him to the place where they will find the Permafrost Spirit King. The boy got the message and decided they should return home now.

The sage let them go as he told the mages to guide them out, with Ghastly following suit with the two kids. But before Ayer could leave, the sage asked the boy if he lived in Lowee Village. The boy nodded, perplexed as to how he knew where he the boy only saw a sad expression plastered on the sage's face. After that, the sage told them to continue. After safely guiding them out of the cave, they gave their farewell and proceeded to go to their place. Unbeknownst to the man, he was near the cave and spotted Ayer before deciding to follow the boy.

The group of Ayer had their fill of interactions, especially with Riss and Chill, who found the little girl adorable.

Ayer returned back to where Sir Grant's hideout was. The three were welcomed by the appearance of Captain Bivel, who noticed their approach and guided them back to the room where the princess was. In the room, Ghevanna and Sir Grant could be seen planning something.

Apparently, in Ghevanna's household, there was a high priest by the name of Solus. The said priest was a member of the Blazing Order and was manipulating her father, the King, into doing things that had no exact meaning, such as looking for "important things" that no one knew. Ghevanna tried to sneak into the room of the high priest, but she was caught and ended up being thrown out of the palace by her father after he was manipulated by Solus.

A small group of trustworthy and powerful knights will arrive here in order to invade the palace and arrest the high priest. and convince her father to know that Solus is a bad person. The sage heard the name before from the words of the sage and told the princess. She was shocked to hear this. The sage was a respectable figure and was the only sage left capable of maintaining peace.

But even if they had a small group of knights, it was not enough to challenge the kingdom-size army that her father possessed.

The princess then asked Ayer what he would do next, and the boy replied to the older girl that he would continue his journey to find the next artifact before the other party princess smiled at this and told Ayer that she would entrust this to him now.

Suddenly, a wounded bandit entered and told them that a large group of bears and wolves were surrounding their area and were being controlled by the high priest Solus. Everyone was shocked and immediately excited to find Captain Thom and some knights fending off what looked like a big herd of bears and wolves.

On top of the cliff from afar, the high priest Solus could be seen, and Ghevanna angrily called out to him to stop this. The high priest was surprised to see her in this place, and he told her how naughty she was to side with a criminal known as Sir Grant. It turns out, Sir Grant was once a personal guard of Ghevanna's and the one who discovered something evil about the high priest. However, he was discovered and ended up on the run, hiding.

But Solus does not care anymore. He just wants to get the artifacts and the boy, Ayer. Of course, if they give the artifacts and Ayer to him, he will spare their lives and will leave the palace, an enticing deal for Ghevanna. But she was not deterred and gave the high priest a middle finger before she yelled, "Bring it." This earned her a shock from the people around her, but they did agree with her decision without a shred of doubt.

Ayer watched as numerous people stood in front of him, with Riss and Chill holding each of his hands. He wanted to help, and Ghevanna told him that he could, so long as he did not get too far from them. Ghastly will always be behind Ayer to protect him from trouble.

And then, the fight was on.

On the left and right, bandits and knights battled against the bears and wolves. There are other people that can cast magic spells, but it was not enough to defeat the monsters. Riss can now utilize her magic to a powerful degree. Ayer, too, can cast powerful ice magic and freeze a large number of the monsters thanks to the three blessings he received from the Spirit Kings.

But they were still young, so the two kids were exhausted immediately after casting multiple and powerful spells. In their place, Ghastly took over. Chill can also cast ice magic, but unlike Ayer and Riss, she utilized it to cripple the bear and the wolf, and she was killed by the others.

However, it was clear as day that the numbers were far too great. Not to mention, other monsters began to pop up, aside from bears and wolves. The numbers were increasing, almost to the size of an army, and they were filling almost every corner of the path. Sir Grant asked Captain Thom where the knights that were supposed to be here were, and the captain replied that they would arrive shortly.

They tried to push back as Solus simply laughed from the cliff. He got worried at the powers that Ayer possessed, but in the end, he was not able to accumulate the power, not to mention he was not trained enough.

When they were close to Sir Grant's hideout, Captain Thom ordered the bandit leader to take the princess and flee to safety. He and the knights will buy them time. Sir Grant got a mixed reaction, but Ghevanna refused to leave here.

Ayers was horrified at this sudden development. He thought it was fine; he was trying to give this one more time. But after the deaths of those people who were trying to protect him, he felt regret deep inside of him. He then thought of just going along with the high priest so no more innocent blood would be wasted. Riss immediately noticed this and shook him off to remove those thoughts from his head.

He must gather his courage and stand up. When she said that, he remembered that when he was Caliber, he remembered the words of Hundar. Those people who died for him, he should at least respect their death by not giving up.

Thanks to her encouragement, he got his wits back. He joined the fight with the others and told everyone to hold on.

And then, a loud voice echoed in the air. There it was, on their left, on a hill. Ra'Khar can be seen riding a bull. Seeing the said orc alive brought a fresh air of relief to Ayer. Everyone was distracted, including the monsters, as they looked up at the hill, where, in addition to Ra'Khar and a group of orcs behind him, there was Garrel leading a group of armed dwarves and a group of knights on horse loyal to the princess.

On a smaller scale, a small army had arrived to rescue them.

Then, in Ra'Khar's warcry and lead, the army charged forward with massive roars.