In the blink of an eye, we were on a new battlefield, everyone once again by my side. A large wall stood in front of us. At first glance, it appeared unguarded, but there had to be soldiers through the large, open gate in the middle.
"What's going on? What happened?" Azura asked.
"I believe we were victorious," Alfonse spoke.
"And how did we get here? Are we really at the border wall?"
"It would seem so," Anna answered. "We're not sure why, but that's what's been happening in every conquered world we've been in. We also don't know if it's dangerous or not, but better safe than sorry."
"It's too quiet," Matthew thought aloud. "I'll go scout ahead; there's no way we're alone."
"Be careful!" Sharena told him as he started away.
"Of course, Princess," he said with a casual two-finger salute.
"Miss Anna," Gunter spoke. "What can you tell us of these 'contracts,' that you spoke of?"
"Commander Anna, if you want to use a title," the red-head replied. "The contracts force the Heroes under them to do whatever Princess Veronica's bidding. We don't know how she does it, but she is a powerful mage."
"And a brat!" Sharena interrupted. "I'll bet that's how she gets all of those Heroes under her control."
"Calm down, Sharena. There's no point in getting mad about it." Anna turned back to the older man. "Princess Veronica is young, though. Likely about… fifteen? At least?"
I cocked an eyebrow at that.
"Ah, anyway, we can only free them if we defeat them in combat. The contract will protect the Heroes from a mortal blow, but after that, that protection is gone."
"I see," Gunter spoke.
"But that still means that we need to defeat Xander," Azura added.
A few moments passed before someone cleared their throat from beside me. My eyes flicked up to see Bartre leaning on his axe. "So, Maxis, how long have you been with the Order?"
I shrugged. "A day."
"Really? I've heard you've done some pretty incredible things in that short span of time."
"Hm."
"Don't you think so?"
I shrugged again. "I dunno."
"Hmm."
We loitered around for a bit longer until Matthew returned. "There's four of them: an armored woman, an axe fighter, and two troubadours."
"Was one of the troubadours a young girl?" Gunter asked.
"Yeah, the one from our last battle."
"Then we are facing off against Princess Elise and her retainers, it seems."
"Sounds like it," Matthew murmured as he knelt down and started drafting up the battlefield in the dirt with his knife. "Armor on the left… axe on the right! What do you want to do, Maxis?"
I moved to look over his drawing and examined it for a few moments before a hand clapped my shoulder. "I can take care of the knight," Bartre spoke with a toothless grin.
I looked back at the crude drawing. "Fine. Alfonse should take care of the axe-wielder."
"Understood," the swordsman spoke.
"Maxis," Anna interrupted. "I think Raigh would do well against… Effie, is it?" she asked Gunter.
"Correct," he replied.
The boy—who I had completely forgotten about until now—scoffed as he continued reading his book. "No. Too young."
"I'll protect him, Maxis, don't worry," Bartre said.
"Too young to kill."
"We're not killing them," Raigh spoke as he glared at me. "We're freeing them."
"…Fine."
"And the troubadours are likely to flee, correct?" Alfonse asked.
"Yeah."
"Alright, then. Let's go!"
From outside of the wall, we couldn't see the battle, but we knew it ended in our favor when we were whisked away to a place featured in every Souls-Borne game: a poison swamp. The first thing that I noticed is that it's black as pitch. I froze in place until what I'm sure passed as a flare flew up into the air, stopping just below the foliage, and lit up the entire area. Tall trees were all around us, cursed puddles dotted the ground, and natural light was inaccessible. The source of the flare was a young blond man atop a black horse. The same one we saw with Xander. He was flanked by a yellow-clad, blond mage and a tan archer, along with an Emblian red mage.
"Leo!" Azura gasped. "You fell under contract, too? Why?"
The young man scoffed. "Do you really think I wanted this? No, this was Xander's idea. Can we just hurry this up, please?"
"I… Yes, let's… Maxis, what is your plan?"
I was silent for a moment. "I dunno."
"Shall I take over, Maxis?" Virion asked me.
"Sure."
"Excellent." He turned to the others. "I will be facing the archer, of course, but I would like to know if any of you have good resistance to magic, else I fear we may not be successful."
"That's a good question," Anna said with a toothless smile. "My resistance is reasonably high, I would say."
"Mine too," Azura spoke.
"Good. Maxis," Virion called out. "Do you have any qualms about fielding Maria or Raigh?"
"Yeah."
"Ah… Alright then, we shall do without. If any of you find yourselves in an unfavorable position, please do not hesitate to flee."
"Right." Soon, the three were moving into battle, and the rest of us watched as Virion traded arrows with one of Leo's retainers. Anna and Azura ran off in the opposite direction and past some trees. The red-head immediately retreated when she was hit by a fireball. "Damn red mages…," Anna muttered when she got back. "Maria, do you mind healing me?"
"Nope, not at all!" the young girl chirped. She waved her staff over the wound, and it began to shrink a bit.
"Ah, that's nice…" Anna turned to me. "I don't think there was a single plan that could have avoided this," she said with a shrug.
Raigh scoffed. "There would have been if our tactician wasn't a coward."
"Raigh!" Sharena exclaimed.
"He's just trying to look out for you," Bartre scolded.
The boy just scoffed again.
"H-he doesn't mean anything by it, Maxis," the blonde tried to console me.
I shrugged. "'S fine." It didn't bother me because it was the truth, but Bartre's words were more so. I blinked and found myself surrounded by lava.
"Mind your steps, everyone," Virion warned. "In the meantime, Princess Sharena, you must defeat that oddly familiar crimson-haired sword-wielder, Commander Anna—or whoever else can wield an axe—will battle the lance flier behind her, and, Prince Alfonse, I request that you protect me as I attempt to shoot down that lilac-haired beauty and her ominous companion."
"I must request that do not speak about Princess Camilla in such a manner," Gunter spoke lowly.
"A-ah, yes, of course! M-my mistake." Virion turned to Sharena. "When you are ready, Princess."
"Alright," she said as she moved to meet her opponent. The red-haired swordswoman dashed forward with a two-handed lunge. Sharena blocked and thrust her lance into the woman's side. She winced at the blow, but her gambeson helped mitigate the damage. She took a large step backward, but the loose rock behind her would give her no purchase. She let out a shriek as she began to fall backward. A hand grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back before she could be harmed. "Are you alright?" the princess asked.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine! I didn't need your help anyway; you're my enemy!" the red-head snapped.
"I'm sorry… But that would have been just awful if you had fallen in!"
"I-I guess so… …Thanks, I— Gah!" The swordswoman was interrupted by an arrow hitting her in the side. She turned her head to the archer that hit her. "That hurt, you—" Her voice died in her throat as she realized who it was. "What's he doing here?" she asked the princess in a hiss.
"Do you and Virion know each other?"
"Uh, no! No, we don't. I just…"
"Sharena!" the prince called out. "Please focus on the mission!"
"Yes, sorry, Brother!" She didn't need to, however, as another arrow hit the red-head in the chest.
"She'll be fine, Sharena," Anna told her as she pushed past. The lance flier flew forward and thrust. The tip left a small cut under Anna's arm, but she countered by leaving her opponent with a large gash in her head.
Meanwhile, Alfonse blocked an axe strike. An arrow appeared in the throat of the bandana'd assassin, and he turned his attention to the purple-haired woman hurtling towards him. He parried her axe and swung for her neck. In a flash, we were in a throne room.
"So you've made it," the Nohrian crown prince spoke.
"Xander!" Azura called out. "What is the meaning of this?! Why would you willingly follow such a cruel leader?!"
"You know why! My father was no different, and yet I followed him until the very end! And besides that, she holds something in her eyes that I have not seen in such a long time. No matter! Have at you!"
"Let them come to us," I said. "Follow the weapon triangle."
"Of course," Anna said. "You heard him, everyone!" They all got into ready positions in front of their respective foes. All of the enemy cavaliers began their mad dash towards us, but Alfonse, Anna, and Sharena each held fast. Weapons crashed into shields, and arrows and magic flew. Flew isn't the right word, though. It more appeared as a sinister fog in the face of the axe cavalier. Alfonse's sword pierced the rider's stomach, and the horse darted away. Xander and his retainers were taken care of just as quickly.
"You did… well, Order of Heroes," Xander spoke as you tried to stand. "Though I'm afraid that I will be returning to Embla."
"What?!" Azura gasped. "You cannot possibly be serious!"
"I am. Do not stop me, Azura."
"…Fine. But do know that this is not over."
"…I know."
Anna sighed. "At least we're done here. For now, at least. Come on, everyone! We're going back to the castle!" Everyone began to move out, and I headed up the rear. "Maxis," the commander spoke lowly. "I'd like for you to meet me in my office sometime before dinner. Sharena will take you up there, if you don't know the way."
I nodded.
I opened the door quietly and stepped in. There was a loud thunk and a quiet curse before Anna rose into view from behind her desk, rubbing the back of her head. "M-Maxis! I uh… Welcome! Please, have a seat!"
"You alright there?" I asked with a smirk as I crossed the room and sat down.
The commander gaped at me for a moment before letting out a relieved breath and smirking herself. "Ah-hah, yes, I am. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about… Some of the Heroes asked me…" She shook her head. "Are you alright?"
I stared at her desk for a while before shrugging.
"Look, I think it's obvious that you're not… Maybe this is normal for you, but to us, it looks like something is wrong."
Another moment passed before I nodded.
"So there is? You can tell us. Maybe you're not comfortable with doing so right now, but just know that we want you to be able to trust us. We trust you. Alright?"
A third moment. I nodded.
"Good. You're free to go."
I stood up and started for the door. I stopped in the middle of the room, then turned around after a fourth moment. "…I… have an issue." Anna was silent as she watched me. "An… addiction. To porn."
