A Summoner's Journey
Paralogue 10: The Sacred World
Team for this chapter: Eldigan, Reinhardt, Michalis and Lachesis
"... What did you say? Nino and Jaffar are out too?" I groaned after Reinhardt returned from the barracks. I forgot that the duo went out with Alfonse earlier to clear some quests issued by the quest fountain "Eldigan, find an available axe and staff user in the barracks. Lachesis should be a good choice for the latter. Go!"
As the paladin left, I walked to the Sacred World portal and stared into the milky vision branded onto it. The portals always intrigued me. They constantly showed moving visuals, almost like an opening of a video game. Upon studying the World of Holy War's portal closer, I noticed that it was the opening cutscene for Fire Emblem 4, with its wheel of holy blood shifting like a mirage. With the Sacred World portal in front of me, I saw still scenes of knights battling amongst demons, two people staring into a bonfire and a man breaking a black stone in two while an older man slumped on his throne. I wondered if this was how the gods saw our world, being able to enter timelines and altar it at a whim. I stared down at my own hands, just now wondering how much power I really possessed.
"Lord Lucian, we're ready to go" Eldigan broke me out of my thoughts as I turned, seeing that the paladin brought Prince Michalis and Lachesis along with him "Is everything alright?"
"Y-yes, I'm alright" I nodded "Let's go. We have to liberate the Sacred World before Veronica amasses too many heroes"
We leapt into the portal and dropped straight into a canyon-like battlefield, with many mountains surrounding the area around us. Up ahead, a battalion of Emblian soldiers were passing through, along with a couple Sacred World heroes. I spotted Veronica among their ranks and I locked eyes with her.
"Veronica!" I yelled "Why are you doing this? I thought we were going to agree to a truce after that border incident with Muspell. What are you doing attacking the Sacred World?!"
Veronica pretended not to notice, only turning to a small, blonde axe armor beside her "Amelia, now's the time to show me your best. Lead the Emblian armor knights to kill Lucian and his band of heroes. Do that and I'll release you from your contract and you can go home"
"A-alright then. I'll give it everything I got" Amelia nodded earnestly, heaving her Slaying Axe "All knights, follow me! Our foe is just up ahead. March! March!"
As the armor knights hastened their march, Veronica turned to a red haired sword cavalier "You too Seth. You have your cavalier division to lead with the archer brigade backing you up. Get onto what I told you to do"
"Princess Veronica, I have one question before I go" Seth replied coldly, his Ruby Sword not even drawn yet "Why do you insist on behaving like a child like this? You act like you're the boss of everyone and that we're servants to be disposed of. Serving you was insufferable"
"I don't care what you think, Seth. There's a voice in my head telling me what to do" Veronica replied with equal steel "And it tells me what I'm going to have a lot of fun. Why do you ask and defy me so anyways? I suppose you're going to tell me that fighting is wrong, aren't you?"
"No. Fighting is sometimes necessary for the sake of a kingdom and its people" Seth shook his head "But this… this is simple conquest. You have more than enough men at your disposal if you were able to conquer Renais and Frelia so easily. So I cannot believe you do this at your people's behalf"
"The people…?"
"Yes. Everything a ruler does is for their sake. A true monarch cannot let their selfish desires lead them" The sword cavalier said firmly "And protecting these people is overwhelming. It requires a person of fine character and you are clearly not up to it"
"Enough with your senseless jabs. You find Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika fine rulers and want to work under them" Veronica glared at Seth "So if you want to see them so badly, get going on the job I told you to do. Move already!"
"... Very well" Seth turned to his battalion of cavaliers "Men, we're flanking the enemy from their left side. We'll distract them long enough for Amelia's armored brigade to catch them from behind and finish them. To battle!"
"Damn. If it wasn't for their archers, I would of sent Michalis over to assault them and disrupt their formation" I grit my teeth as I watched the cavaliers quickly rush towards us, with bowmen backing them up. Seth led the charge with his Ruby Sword in hand "Eldigan, you take the charge. Reinhardt and Lachesis, back him up. Michalis…"
"Fool. You said I couldn't take out the archers, but you forgot I have Iote's Shield" The wyvern rider heaved his Silver Axe "Take out the sword-wielding commander and I'll handle the rest. This folly was foolish to only bring lance cavaliers"
"Got it. Michalis, fly over and take down their archers to lessen the pressure on Eldigan. Once their formation is disrupted and the commander is taken down, we'll rip into them from both sides. Let's go!"
"For Renais!" Seth's battalion reached us and Eldigan rushed in to intercept with his demonic Mystletainn, cutting a bloody swath through the mass of Emblian goons. Seth and Eldigan clashed blade to blade in a deadly dance of blood and steel while Reinhardt and Lachesis disrupted lance cavaliers breaching through, with Dire Thunder and the Earth Sword respectively. Seth continued to pressure Eldigan with a flurry of sword strikes and landed a blow on Eldigan's collar. However, the paladin wasn't fazed and simply struck down another enemy cavalier with his sword, drinking in green light to restore his wounds. Seth blinked, before beginning his assault again.
"A soldier who can heal his own wounds with his sword. That's a new one" Seth clashed swords with Eldigan again before the paladin bounced back Seth's Ruby Sword, slashing the Mystletainn across the sword cavalier's chest "As long as there's someone to drain life from, he'll never die. Therefore, the sword must leave or we'll have to fell him in one strike. Cavaliers, focus on the paladin. Engage him all at once!"
"Eldigan, fall back! Funnel the enemy down to a single point between two mountains!" I called and Eldigan backed up, repelling incoming Silver Lances and cutting down enemies aplenty with the mighty holy weapon "Reinhardt, rend them asunder!"
"You will back down!" Reinhardt moved behind Eldigan and his Dire Thunder blazed with red lightning before sending a destructive bolt of thunder through the crowd with Blazing Thunder, vaporizing most of the foes to ash, including Seth. With the path clear, I noticed Michalis cutting down the back line archers with ease, deflecting their arrows with his Iote's Shield while his wyvern delighted in gobbling up foolish soldiers and whipping its tail in their faces. Eldigan rushed in to assist and the duo finished off the archers.
"It's not done yet. There are still foes around" Reinhardt cautioned, turning behind us "Armor knights"
"Eldigan and Michalis, get back here. There are still enemies around!" I recalled the paladin and dracoknight to my side and had Lachesis heal them. The knights led by Amelia arrived and surprisingly, they moved a lot faster than usual. As I fell back, I did a quick check on Amelia and saw her C skill: Armor March. That explained the strange orange glow emanating from her when around armored allies. It was going to be hard to stone wall them with Eldigan in such a wide space.
"Michalis, target the small blonde axe knight in the center. She's the reason the knights are moving so fast!" I commanded and the dracoknight sailed above the squadron of knights, breathing devastating fire to stow chaos in their ranks.
"Hold steady everyone! March forward and break their defense!" Amelia called hoarsely, but Michalis quickly put a stop to that. He swept aside Amelia's surrounding allies and clashed Silver Axe to Slaying Axe with the young general. However, Michalis's wyvern gave him a huge advantage as Amelia had to deal with it's powerful tail, teeth and fiery breath as well as Michalis's axe. She was soon going to be overwhelmed.
"Lady Amelia, I got you!" A sword knight turned back from the raging battle against Eldigan and Reinhardt, holding a sword with a dragon's head designed on it's hilt. A Wyrmslayer+, a sword made to destroy dragon scales.
"Michalis, get back!" I called and the dracoknight paused his assault on Amelia, flying back from the sword knight's Wyrmslayer+ like it was an electrical rod. The wyvern growled in anger, clearly hateful of the weapon.
"Fool. You think a weapon will save you? From ME?!" Michalis's Silver Axe pulsed with golden lightning "I'll show you to not mess with the king of Macedon! BLAZING THUNDER!"
With a mighty roar, Michalis slammed his electrical axe straight onto the sword knight's head, splitting it in half and blasting a shockwave of lightning through the armored ranks. Reinhardt joined in on the thunderous mayhem, sending his own Blazing Thunder roaring through the enemy crowd. Within seconds, the armored brigade was smote to dust, with only Amelia remaining. She lay propped against a mountain wall, wheezing and covered in wounds from her fight with Michalis. The wyvern rider went to finish her off, but I stopped him.
"Stop. She's already wounded enough and won't harm us in her state. Let's get going and find more Emblians" I ordered and the four of us left the canyon after Lachesis finished healing. Meanwhile, Amelia crawled her way back to the nearest Emblian camp, stripping off her armor to lighten the load on her body.
"G-general Seth…? Are you around?" The axe knight croaked before a strong arm picked her up, hoisting her onto his horse. If there was one thing Seth was glad for by working under Princess Veronica, it's that her contract made him nearly undying until it was broken. At least then he could return back to his normal life once this ordeal was over.
"Amelia needs serious medical attention. Heal her at once" Seth dropped the unconscious axe knight at the nearest healer station before riding off to rest up for the next battle. However, Xander stopped him.
"General Seth, Princess Veronica orders you to move to Renais castle. The Askran heroes are bound to go there to find more Emblians" Xander told Seth "You and Amelia will be stationed there, as well as Prince Innes and Princess Tana once they're done at the Narube River"
"Acknowledged. I have no means of opposing the contract, so I must obey… no matter who enforced it" Seth replied bitterly.
""Regardless of who enforced it"" Xander repeated "Is that so? Yet you don't seem to recognize Princess Veronica's authority, General Seth. Or so it seems to me"
"Does it?"
"You offered sharp criticism of her actions. What could possibly motivate that?" Xander wondered aloud "I'll tell you. Only a subject who hopes to see their ruler act justly, therefore someone loyal, would do that. You're clearly a loose cog in this army, General"
"... I simply wish to see Embla prosper. Is that really so impolite of me?"
"Don't bother. She won't listen to you" Xander replied firmly "They say that lecturing a fool is as pointless as talking to a rock. You're the rock here, General. Veronica won't speak to you outside of giving orders and thus, you cannot hope to sway her with your lectures"
"I see. I'll be sure to not let my mouth run again" Seth turned to leave.
"If you didn't recognize Princess Veronica's right to rule, you wouldn't have upbraided her for her actions" Xander told Seth on a final word "You're an enigma General Seth. I hope we can speak more sometime"
"And I dearly hope not, as long as you're in this army"
Not too long later, we arrived at a large river that used to be a haven for several villages. Now the houses laid in ruin with only the soft trinkle of water echoing through the misty air.
"Michalis said he spotted Emblians just around here from up in the sky. They should be farther down the river" I said "Remain vigilant everyone. Eldigan, take the lead. Reinhardt and Lachesis, stay close behind"
"Hm… this place has seen its fair share of battle. I pity the villagers who used to live here" Reinhardt observed, pointing across the river "There's multiple skeletons of wyverns, horses and humans there. Additionally, the ground itself feels unnaturally soft, even by riverside standards"
"It's blood. A great amount of blood was shed at this river, suggesting a large battle took place" Eldigan drew his Mystletainn "Mystletainn can sense it"
"How? It's just a sword. An obscenely powerful one, but it can't just detect blood like that" I replied and the paladin smiled, drawing a dagger from inside his coat.
"Let me just show you so we can save the explanation" Using the dagger, Eldigan cut open his wrist with little to no pain. He must of been used to it thanks to Fury being his A slot skill. Afterwards, the paladin thrust Mystletainn straight into the ground, the blade sinking into the soft mud easily. Within seconds, Mystletainn glowed and sealed the cut on Eldigan's wrist, just like how it stole life force on the battlefield.
"The magic infused into the Mystletainn allows it to absorb blood to heal my wounds. Lachesis's Earth Sword is humanity's attempt at replicating it" Eldigan pointed to the sword by Lachesis's side "Really, the only way for me to fall in battle is not have any enemies to attack, get hit by an incredibly strong light or thunder spell or get Mystletainn knocked out of my hands"
"Otherwise, Eldie's invincible on the field. He already was an incredible paladin and Mystletainn just bolsters that even further" Lachesis added proudly "That means that-"
"Hush, you two. Prince Michalis has returned. It seems we're about to meet the enemy" Reinhardt said, shifting his Dire Thunder from under his arm to his hand "In a tighter area like this, I doubt they have battalions or other masses of soldiers here"
"Then it should be an easier fight. They couldn't have gathered such a large force by the end of the river. That would just be illogical" Eldigan pulled Mystletainn free from the ground "I estimate a cohort at least of Emblian soldiers, with a couple heroes mixed in"
"How much would a cohort be?" I asked.
"Roughly twenty or thirty-ish men, at least back in my world" Eldigan answered "Nothing compared to the two battalions and brigades we fought back at the canyon"
"Just up ahead, there are six Emblian soldiers and one hero" Michalis interrupted "Hardly a challenge compared to the last battle"
"Only six Emblians and one hero?" I repeated "This has to be a diversion. There's no way they sent this little forces here at the river to challenge us"
"Perhaps send Prince Michalis back to see if an army's on our tail?" Reinhardt suggested and I nodded.
"Good idea. Michalis, fly back where we came from to check if any enemy forces are pursuing us" I told the wyvern rider "We can't be caught between two Emblians fronts. We have too little fighters to fend them off"
"Pah. Ridiculous that a king is relegated to scouting duty" Michalis grumbled, but he took off anyway, soaring off into the misty skies. Meanwhile, we arrived at the end of the Narube River, where an Emblian sword fighter, green mage and four archers awaited us, with one hero in the middle.
"Damn. They arrived faster than I predicted. Men, take up your formations!" The hero turned his head to the swordsman "Sword fighter, take the front and hold the line. Me, my archers and the wind mage will assist from behind. Move!"
"Innes! Are you alright?" Suddenly, a blue haired lance flier flew up to the archer, her ponytail whipping in the wind. Innes's face turned from shocked to annoyed quickly.
"Tana, what are you doing here? You know you can't help me on the battlefield" Innes scowled and Tana growled, clearly stung by Innes's sharp words.
"Well, I brought several Frelian pegasus knights with me along with the Vidofnir. Please Innes. Just let me help you in this battle" Tana scanned the battlefield "It would be advantageous for us if my fliers attack from the other side of the river, right? We can divert the enemy and divide their power!"
"That would be but…" Innes shook his head "No, I cannot allow it. There's no more time to waste on this conversation. Stay in the rear and don't get in my way"
"Wait Innes!" Tana called, but the archer already ran off "Ephraim and Eirika can get along. Why can't we…?"
"Princess Tana, are we still going to…"
"Yes. We'll attack from the other side of the river as I said. We will help my brother!" Tana rallied, holding up her dragon-headed spear "Let's move Frelians!"
Meanwhile, the Emblian forces have engaged my own and I counterattacked similarly to the canyon battle: Have Eldigan hold the line while Reinhardt and Lachesis blast the foes from behind him. Having Michalis out of this battle was discomforting, but it wasn't the biggest loss. The enemies were few in number and no match for Eldigan and Reinhardt.
"Five pegasus knights have joined the battle Lucian!" Eldigan called as he fended off arrows with his red and white tower shield, defending Reinhardt and Lachesis the best he could "We can't handle an onslaught of this many enemies!"
"Then we'll clear out as many foes as we can before the fliers arrive!" Reinhardt's Dire Thunder pulsed with red lightning "Eldigan, be ready to cover me. I'm about to unleash Blazing Thunder"
"Got it!"
The mage knight leapt onto the path in front of Innes's archer brigade and let loose crimson lightning with Blazing Thunder, smiting the ground in front of him. The lightning burned through the group of archers, turning most to ash besides Innes.
"Gotcha" Innes aimed his serpentine bow at Reinhardt and Eldigan jumped in to shield him. All of a sudden, the archer turned his bow on Lachesis, firing the arrow straight at her.
"Lachesis! Get out of the way!" I cried, but the healer quickly drew her Earth Sword, using the giant blade to block the arrow. Before Innes could shoot more, Eldigan cut him down. Now it was just us and the Frelian lance fliers.
"This would be a lot easier if Michalis was with us" I muttered as the squadron ahead of us split, intending to strike us from different directions "There's no better time than now to use this though…"
I reached behind my back, pulling free the bow that was strapped over my shoulders. Turns out, my summoner robe was amazing at hiding things because I was even able to sneak away with a quiver of arrows and nobody noticed. I nocked an arrow into my bow. Time for my training to pay off.
"Reinhardt and Lachesis, stay near me and fend off the incoming lance fliers. Eldigan, take down anyone that gets too close!" I commanded, shooting my arrow at a flier swooping down to strike. They swerved out of the way, charging towards me with their Silver Lance ready to impale. I cursed, fumbling for another arrow before the flier was struck down by Reinhardt, leaving both pegasus and rider smoking by the river.
"Don't hesitate. I'll cover you while you shoot" Reinhardt assured, turning back to continue the battle "There is only four more left, including the leader"
"This'll make it easier. Gravity!" Lachesis thrust her second staff in the air, conjuring heavy magic to anchor a sword flier in place. The Gravity magic sent the flier sprawling to the ground, letting me get an easy shot through her chest with an arrow. Eldigan sliced apart another lance flier's weapon before slashing her chest open, leaving only two enemies left.
"Here comes the leader. Lachesis, prepare to subdue her with Gravity if things go wrong. I'll handle this" Reinhardt stepped up, letting loose two blue thunderbolts with Dire Thunder to strike Tana. The lance flier expertly swerved out of the way to avoid the lightning while advancing towards us. Clearly, this flier was experienced. Reinhardt conjured a short range burst of lightning to cover our front, but Tana darted to his left, Vidofnir poised to strike his neck.
"Reinhardt, back off!" I cried, letting loose my arrow, but before it could hit, a wyvern tackled Tana away from us. The dragon sank it's teeth into Tana's pegasus, making the mount shriek in pain. Before the lance flier could regain her bearings, Michalis brought his Silver Axe down and completely cut Tana's midsection off, slaying the pegasus knight for good.
"Michalis, you're back! Thank goodness" I wiped the sweat off my brow as I put the arrow in my hand back into my quiver "Is there anyone following us?"
"There isn't, but I spotted a small army heading to a ruined castle. That should be our next destination" Michalis's expression was of annoyance "It was foolish to send me off in the first place. You lot almost died without me"
"Gee, if it wasn't for the last part, I would of mistaken his words for genuine care and kindness" Lachesis muttered sarcastically "But no matter. Let's heal up and move to this castle. You do remember where it is, right Michalis?"
"Of course I do. What do you take me for?" The prince replied gruffly "I'll lead the way once everyone's rested and healed up"
"We can do that on the road back. Let's move" I said and Michalis nodded, leading back down the Narube River. Meanwhile, Innes and Tana reappeared in a flash of light, freshly healed like all heroes under a contract.
"Damn it. We don't have any men to assist us in fighting them. We have no choice but to retreat to Renais castle" Innes grumbled.
"I can still fight Innes! I want to help!" Tana pleaded to her brother "We can surprise them from behind, take our their leader and-"
"Tana, be quiet. We're going to retreat to Renais castle" Innes replied more forcefully before setting his hands on his sister's shoulders "Look, I'm only going to say this once. I'll admit that you're a skilled fighter on the field. But you're my sister, someone very important to me. I can't bear to lose you. Not if I can avoid it"
"Innes…"
"So please, stop asking me for the impossible. Now come, it's time to go" Innes gestured to Tana's pegasus "We can reach Renais castle faster on your mount"
"Very well Innes. Let's go" Tana nodded.
Not too long later, we arrived at the ruined castle Michalis spoke of. Though I could see efforts of it being repaired, nobody seemed to be here except for us.
"Here we are. It won't be easy for Eldigan, Reinhardt and Michalis to fight here, given their mounts and the limited space" I observed "Hopefully the castle's been ransacked enough to give it some extra space"
"That would be ideal" Reinhardt agreed "Now then, shall we enter?"
"Yes. We don't know the enemy's formation inside the castle, so be on your guard everyone. Move out!" I rallied and we charged into the ruined gates of the castle. Meanwhile, Veronica was just putting the finishing touches on her defense.
"Well, here we are Seth. Our final battle" Veronica strode up to the sword cavalier, looking bored as always "Win and I'll free you. Lose and you'll be freed from the contract regardless. It's a win-win situation for you and when that happens, you can march right back to your precious Ephraim and Eirika. How wonderful!"
"Indeed. That is my hope" Seth agreed "But if I may say one last thing: It is true that I am not a knight of your kingdom. However, I sincerely wish that Embla will flourish one day and you'll become a good ruler. For the sake of your citizens and for your own as well"
"Hmph. Again with your ramblings of being a good ruler. I should of strengthened the contract for me to mind control you directly" Veronica turned her back on Seth "That would shut you up"
"Do you always treat your subordinates this way, Princess?"
"That is not your concern. Take your battle station" Veronica ordered "I'm going to visit Lyon"
"Lyon?! You know he's not in the right mind. Whatever you want, he's not going to-"
"Shut up and be a good soldier Seth" Veronica growled before walking back to the throne room, where Lyon was lounging on it leisurely. Veronica assigned him there as the last defense of the castle in case the Askrians hit.
"Princess Veronica… you are a devious one for enslaving me under your contract while I was weakened" Lyon's usually pleasant voice was twisted with strain and scorn, like someone else was speaking through him "I like you for that. Truly, it's a waste for me to work under you. Why not allow me to advise you directly? I could give you power unlike anything in this world"
"Cease your pointless offers, Demon King. Just do what I tell you to do" Veronica replied coldly before stretching out her hand "Give me your tome"
"My tome…? That is what you want?" Lyon threw his head back and laughed, "I'll admit that you're skilled in dark magic, but this is advanced stuff. Lyon himself couldn't wield it without my strength. What can you possibly do with it?"
"Give. Me. The. Tome" Veronica said with more force "Now"
"I'm afraid I'll have to refuse. I'd like you to stay alive, Princess" Lyon smiled darkly "If it's more power you want, I could help you…"
"Enough words. Give me Naglfar!" Veronica opened her palm, a sphere of dark lightning forming "NOW! Gespenst!"
"Fool! I am composed of dark magic itself! You can't use that to…" Suddenly, Lyon was surrounded by a storm of dark lightning, which convulsed and blazed with gigavolts of dark magic "GARRRRGHH! WHAT…! HOW…?"
"Naglfar is mine now" Veronica shut her hand and the Gespent storm exploded, disintegrating Lyon's body and imploding the throne he sat on, leaving only his magical tome behind "Finally. Fools underestimate my power just because of my age…"
Veronica scooped up the tome and teleported away just as the fighting began. Eldigan led the charge as usual, galloping up the steps of the castle to engage Seth and Tana. Reinhardt and Lachesis supported him from behind while Michalis took flight, picking off any enemies he could find.
"Innes and Amelia! Get over here!" Tana fell back from the fight against Eldigan, her pegasus's wings glowing with astral blue. All of a sudden, Amelia and Innes materialized beside her, charging in to assist Seth. A quick hero page check told me that it was her Guidance C skill. The sudden arrival of new enemies began to overwhelm Eldigan, despite his life-draining Mystletainn.
"Tana might call in more allies with her Guidance. Michalis, take her down!" I called to the wyvern rider and Michalis rocketed down to engage with Tana. As he attacked, Tana generated a protective orange shield from her lance and continued to fight, turning the fight into a deadly flurry of blades, teeth and wings. Meanwhile, Reinhardt smote Seth to ashes while Eldigan cut off Amelia's head to recover his health. Lachesis grounded Innes with Gravity, but it was pointless against an archer.
"You should've tried harder" As Innes's arrow flew through the air, it glowed with icy energy from Iceberg. There was no space to dodge, so Lachesis tried to block it again with her Earth Sword. However, the icy arrow was too strong and pierced through the blade, shooting through Lachesis's heart and killing her instantly. The cleric fell to the ground and faded into feathers.
"Lachesis!" Eldigan turned his rage onto Innes "Reinhardt, back me up!"
The paladin swiped his Mystletainn downwards onto the archer, but Innes darted away, nocking another arrow into his bow. Reinhardt sent two Dire Thunder blasts coming his way, but a shell of blue light covered Innes, reducing the damage. It was similar to Lukas's skill back in the World of Shadows. Fortress Resistance.
"I will finish you!" Eldigan's Mystletainn struck the ground near Innes again. However, the sword was now covered in the shine of Growing Light, causing a blinding explosion that knocked Innes backwards into a wall. Eldigan instantly followed up by impaling Innes through the stomach, ending his life. Meanwhile, Michalis's wyvern sent a roaring wave of flames over Tana, burning her to a crisp to finish the fight. Her chilling and agonized scream wasn't a fine way to finish the brawl though.
"Thank you. Your work here is done" I heard Seth's voice nearby as he materialized back to life, as well as Innes, Tana and Amelia "Now that our contracts are broken, we may return back to normal. You are in our debt"
"I cannot say that I like how this ended" Innes crossed his arms "It took outsiders to win us our freedom. Still, I must offer my thanks. Next we meet, I will lend you my skills"
"Me too! I'd be happy to help you if you ever need it. Just drop in Castle Frelia whenever you'd like" Tana nodded with a grin.
"Me three! You can find me in Castle Renais soon enough" Amelia promised "So if you find me, I'd be happy to help. Stay safe on your travels!"
"Thank you all. I'm just happy that you're all free from Embla's rule" I smiled "Now it's time for us all to depart. Farewell!"
I unclasped Breidablik from my belt and opened a portal back to Askr. We bade the Sacred World heroes goodbye and landed back in the portal courtyard. I dismissed everyone to go rest before heading off for a bath. The Sacred World summoning banner should be arriving soon, so I needed to remember to claim the quest fountain's orbs too. Still, one question continued to probe me.
"Why did Veronica attack the Sacred World? I thought Embla was at a ceasefire with Askr thanks to Bruno, but that doesn't seem to be the case" I murmured to myself as I let the warm bathwater soak my body "And I thought that Diana girl was going to talk with Veronica about a possibly alliance with Askr. Did that fail too?"
"Luciannnn! Where are you?!" I heard Serra's voice holler from behind the bathhouse's doors and I jerked up in surprise "It's nearby nighttime and you still haven't taken me out to dinner yet!"
"Ah! I nearly forgot!" I scrambled out of the bath to get dried up and dressed "Sorry to keep you waiting Serra! I'll be out soon!"
A Dangerous Force: Diana and Veronica's Conversation
Back in Embla, Veronica teleported into the Emblian throne room, carrying the bloody tome of Naglfar under her arm. Diana and another woman awaited her return, with Diana just freshly appointed as Veronica's bodyguard and attendant by Xander.
"Welcome home, my dear. I trust that things went smoothly" The woman extended her hand to Veronica, seemingly eager to take the book of Naglfar from her "Hm, you look more solemn and mellow than before. Did something go wrong?"
"Nothing happened. Now, is this what you wanted?" Veronica offered the tome of Naglfar to the woman. Blood still stained the cover and pages, but an endless spiral of darkness seethed out, making Diana chilled to the bone. The woman took the tome without any hesitation.
"Oh my, yes. Thank you, darling. This is precisely what I needed" The woman flipped through the pages of the cursed book "With this tome in hand, my king's vessel will move. All that is left is to build a bridge over the southern sea. Thank you so very much Veronica. We're becoming better and better friends every time!"
"All you did was advise her on certain decisions and sent her off to fetch a tome. I doubt you earned any friendship from her" Diana commented with an icy tone "Your honeyed words, voice and body may work on men, but not me or the princess. Stay on your back foot, Loki"
"Enough Diana. You're talking too much" Veronica snapped and Diana instantly quieted down "Now Loki, I'd like to know. Is your king a good ruler?"
Loki paused, scratching her chin as if the answer was genuinely hard to say aloud "He's… alright. Why do you ask anyway, darling? Did the general's words sting?"
"No. Forget what I said. It doesn't matter" Veronica shook her head "What's really important is-"
"Yes, dear. Of course I'll hold up my end of the bargain" Loki interrupted with a sly smile "My king will lend you his might in thanks to your support. You do really want to see Askr and Lucian burn, don't you?"
"Princess, may I ask you to dismiss Loki from the throne room? I must talk to you privately" Diana asked, a look of worry crossing her face. Veronica regarded the lancer and then looked back at Loki.
"Very well. Loki, leave us alone" The princess commanded and Loki nodded, vanishing from sight in a flash of purple magic. With the two alone, Diana whirled on Veronica.
"Princess, I told you already. In three days time, we are to meet with an Askrian representative to discuss a possible alliance to fight against Muspell. Why are you aligning with them?" Diana demanded "I fought their soldiers myself at the Zenith border. They are relentless hyenas like the all-consuming flame they represent! Is Loki twisting your mind to have Embla fight alongside dogs like them?!"
"Diana, I am starting to regret having you appointed as my bodyguard. You question far too much" Veronica replied coldly "It's simple. Aligning with Muspell allows me to crush Askr faster. Why is that so hard for you to understand?"
"You do realize that once they're done burning Askr to the ground, they'll turn on Embla!" Diana protested "We can't possibly defeat them without Askr's help. We don't have the luxury of a summoner like the Order of Heroes do!"
"Speculation. Baseless rumors. Like so many, you are underestimating my power" Veronica pointed to a tall candlestick nearby the Emblian throne "The Demon King was no challenge to me. How can some king be any better?"
With one motion, Veronica conjured dark magic to slam into the candlestick, breaking it into dozens of pieces and scattering small flames onto the marble floor.
"Once Askr is dealt with, my head will be clear. We can crush Muspell just as easily as the flames dancing on this very floor" Veronica slammed her boot onto the leftover embers, snuffing it instantly "Now leave me. I need rest. You pointless questioning wore my energy thin"
Pivoting on her foot, Veronica walked away back to her room, leaving Diana alone.
"Just what do you have against Askr? Do you despise them so much that you'd kill them over a kingdom of oppressive conquerors?" Diana muttered to herself "Loki must be behind this. I need to keep a close eye on her in the future. For the princess and Embla's sake"
And with that, The Sacred World is done! I'm going at a snail's pace at this point, but I hope to catch up a little more once I find more free time. This was the first paralogue to have actually intriguing dialogue, particularly with Seth lecturing Veronica about being a good king, so I like that it formed it's own sub-plot on it's own. I hope you like my expansion of the paralogue's ending to include Diana, who will act as Veronica's foil and voice of reason in this whole conflict. Coming up next is the Brave Heroes paralogue. If you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow! If you want to give constructive criticism or praise, leave a review. Until next time, fellow summoners!