"Touya, look at this." = Normal speech.
'Touya, look at this.' = Thoughts/Telepathy.
(One hour later.) = Time skip.
~Yo, it's God.~ = Phone call.
"Come forth, fire!" = Chanting.
[Kingdom of Belfast] = Title/Place/Rank/Weapon Name.
{Gate} = Spell name.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(The Royal Garden, inside of the Royal Castle.)
While Touya had gone to bed early, Yumina and the others were sitting at a table, overlooking a great view of the garden and its plant life.
The others joined her after they were personally invited by Yumina to this private meeting, nervous as to what the Princess of [Belfast] and more recently, the fiance of one Mochizuki Touya would want with them.
"I will be frank, I do not intend to monopolize Touya, you're welcome to be his wife if you wish." Yumina dropped a bomb, immediately getting every girl's full attention.
"Wha- What do you mean to become his wife?!"
"That's- I- I mean…"
"I-I must disagree- By w-what do you mean allowed to become his w-w-wife-!?"
"I mean, I wouldn't mind, but I've only known Master for less than a day."
Hilariously enough, the only one who wasn't a stuttering mess was Sally, calmly drinking the tea she was provided by Yumina's servants. Meanwhile, the others were in full-on denial or embarrassment.
Yumina studied each female at the table, using her Mystic Eyes to judge their reactions, and then smiled, all of them were genuine and they were in love with Touya.
Well, in Sally's case, Yumina can't really tell but she means well at least.
"Do you remember what my father told you about my eyes?" Yumina pointed at them, bringing attention to it.
"Of course your majesty-"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Yumina interrupted, raising her hand to silence them, "Do not call me that, since we'll be living together from now on, I would like you all to call me by my name, no honorifics or anything like that, just Yumina."
At her insistence, a pregnant silence took over, but it only lasted a second before Elze chose to speak up.
"Okay, Yumina." She nodded and gestured for the older silver-haired twin to continue. "I just want to ask… Do you really love Touya?"
At her question, Yumina smiled, she saw the longing in Elze's eyes, despite her trying to bury her feelings for him, Yumina could see it as bright as day.
She placed a hand over her chest, and spoke, "Yes. I do, I love him, truly."
"Why…?" It hurt Yumina to hear how defeated Elze sounded like she was on the verge of crying, but she steered her nerves and kept a neutral face, "I mean, why would a Princess like you fall in love with an adventurer?"
"Because of my eyes…" Yumina began, "I can see what his true desire is, do you know what I saw?"
"I saw a bright and warm light, even for a second, I felt so safe in it and in that moment. I knew that he was the one, he was the one I wanted to be with for the rest of my life." Yumina clarified, and then stared at them, "When I thought my father was on the verge of death. Touya saved him. Of course, I was suspicious of his actions and so I used my Mystic Eyes to get a glimpse of his deepest, darkest desires."
"And like I said before, I found nothing, no ulterior motives, no semblance of corrupted thoughts, nothing. Just a warm, inviting, and enveloping light…" She sighed blissfully, calming herself before she continued, "He could've had anything he wanted, he could've asked for anything, and yet… He refused, he refused to be rewarded for saving a King, just doing it for the pretense of helping my uncle.."
"So I ask you if you were in his place, would you ask for something?" With her question, each of them got to thinking, and all of them unanimously agreed that yes, they would ask for something.
"I guess I would…"
"If you put it like that…"
"Yes, no doubt I would ask to be rewarded."
"Yeah, you'd be an idiot not to."
Everyone, sans Yumina, snapped their heads towards Sally, she even outright admitted to it and even indirectly said that Touya was an idiot for not accepting such an honor.
"Don't give me that look, Master may be an idiot to refuse but that doesn't mean I don't like him for it." Sally refuted, noticing their disapproving stares.
"Moving from that, yeah, it's normal for someone to be rewarded for something they did, especially when saving a King." Elze continued, ignoring Sally's comment.
"I must concur. It is normal for one to be rewarded for their services, even if one is noble, surely the thought of a reward will flash into their thoughts." Yae nodded, agreeing with her fellow party member.
"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Yumina began, "And yet, Touya didn't accept it, he outright refused to take a reward, saying that anyone would do the same. And although there might be, those kinds of people are few and far between."
"On another note. Currently, there isn't a male successor in this Kingdom." Yumina said, taking a sip of her tea, "If it stays like this, I will undoubtedly be crowned as the Queen of [Belfast] and have to take a spouse as the Prince Consort, and then the child born from our union will be named successor after my rule. That's how it normally would be."
"However, I will never marry a man I don't love." She concluded, looking down at her teacup as she stared into her reflection.
"...If you won't marry someone you don't love, why did you propose to Touya? Is it to use him as a convenience?" Linze narrowed her eyes. A bit of venom leaked into her words.
"No, you got it all wrong." Yumina shook her head, "Father would never allow such a marriage to happen in the first place either."
"However, in the case of an incoming marriage proposal. It'll give him trouble later down the line." Yumina stared into the distance, watching as the servants tended to the garden, "Even when I reject offers solely based on their character, desires, or the like. The general populace would begin to doubt my abilities."
"Aha! It is because of your Mystic Eyes, I presume?" Yae asked, Yumina nodded and then turned her head back to the table.
"Exactly, it is because of my eyes, anyone would be exposed simply because of my Eyes' abilities and will be judged by the public afterward, but it doesn't stop there." She sighed, "If he were to be exposed, then the manner of his relatives, his friends, and anyone connected to him will be judged solely based on my Eyes, if that were to continue it will create a controversy that may involve civil unrest, which is why I wanted to find my true love before that happens."
"And then I did." Yumina smiled, and everyone knew who she was referring to, "I don't know if it's because of my Mystic Eyes or it was love at first sight, or a calculated decision. I know for sure that the moment I laid my eyes on him, I had already fallen heads over heels."
At her declaration, nobody sitting at that table doubted her words, every single one was genuine and got them thinking, what if they had that kind of confidence in their feelings, would they be the same as her?
"But still, isn't it a bit too soon to consider a marriage?" Elze inquired.
"If I didn't do it, my relationship with Touya would've ended there." Yumina explained, "As Elze said, I am the Princess of a Kingdom and he's an adventurer, who knows when we would meet again? Days? Weeks? Months? Years even, so I took my chance and never looked back."
"Seems you had to weigh many considerations before you proposed," Yae remarked.
"Yes! But I have no regrets! I'll do anything from this point onward to make him fall in love with me!" Yumina smiled, nodding her head.
"..But what if…" Everyone turned their attention to Linze, "What if Touya liked someone else? What would you do?"
Yumina smiled again, this time her gaze was solemn yet warm, she began turning her head to every single female sitting at the table before sighing and speaking.
"Which is why I invited you all here." She said, "I could tell, even without using my Mystic Eyes, that you look at Touya with the same admiration and longing as I do. That's why I wanted to speak with you all privately. You love him, don't you?"
Her words got them off guard, everyone, sans Sally, blushed up a storm and tried to deny her accusations yet the more they thought about it, the more and more it made sense yet they were still in denial.
"I- I mean, he is all nice and strong- And he never once got intimidated by me whenever we sparred- He's considerate and even steadfast which is what I like about him-" Elze began to list off without even noticing it, "And he's smart too! Like the time he helped Aer make a new recipe for [Parent]!"
"Y-yeah, and that time he helped Dolan- Micah and him were doing their daily money count and Touya offered to help because he was bored- And- and that time he helped me practice my magic after helping him discover he could do it himself…"
"Yes, and that time he helped me when I doubted my abilities as a swordsman after my spar with Viscount Swordreck, Touya-dono showed me how the Viscount could fool my senses and even offered to help me overcome them-"
While the other three unconsciously listed off the good things Touya did, Sally kept silent, so uncharacteristic of her that once the other three began to notice, they stopped their rumbling and looked at the raven-haired girl.
"What about you, Sally, what do you think of Touya?" Elze broke the assassin out of her thoughts.
"Yumina, the others know this but you don't, I used to be an assassin working for Ptolemaios." Sally stared into the distance as if she was in deep thought.
"[The Dark Lord, Ptolemaios]? The one from the [Story of The Red Goblin]?"
"Mhm, the very same." Sally nodded, "Before he was defeated, he was first searching for people who would help him achieve his goal of controlling the world, I was one of those people."
"I was sold as a slave you see?" Sally smiled, unnerving the others as she dropped such information so casually, "When Ptolemaios found me, he was curious that a child had so much magical potential and so he trained me, he gave me purpose and I followed through."
"I killed for him when ordered and every time I did I got stronger, I was really good at it." Her scythe appeared behind her briefly but disappeared soon after, "But bit by bit, it started to get boring for me, so when I began to wonder what would happen if I just quit, that's when I got sealed away, there was no way Ptolemaios was going to lose an asset like me so easily. I fought, of course, there was no way I was going down without a fight."
"But even then, I was defeated. Then I got sealed, locked until they needed me but by then, Ptolemaios and his followers were defeated. So there I was, left to rot inside of a cage in a cave, forever trapped until the end of time. Or at least that's what I thought."
"Roughly a thousand years later, Yae and Master showed up, sparring at the [Eastern Forest]. Of course, they aren't the first ones to do that there but there was something about them that caught my attention more than anyone. I wanted to meet them personally and the rest is history."
After her speech, no one said a word, Elze raised an eyebrow and spoke.
"And what does that have to do with this?"
"Because I hesitated." Sally claimed, "I hesitated to quit that cult back when I had the chance and I was sealed away because of it. If I hadn't, I probably would've met a man to fall in love with and started a family, I would've lived happily and died with someone I loved. But I hesitated."
"What I'm saying is, don't hesitate, you don't get a second chance at life, so I suggest telling Touya you love him, it's not like Yumina would oppose it, isn't that right?" Sally asked.
"Yes, I don't care if Touya has a mistress or two, even if he chooses to marry another woman, as long as he loves me and her equally. I have no objections." Yumina nodded.
"See? So tell him how you feel, there's no what ifs, just go for it." Sally then stood up from her seat, "Take it from someone past her time, a thousand years is a long enough time to think and wallow over things, but don't hesitate, you'll only end up regretting it when you grow up… I know I did."
With that, Sally sunk into her shadow, likely going back to Touya, leaving the others to their thoughts.
Taking that as her cue, Yumina stood up and announced her leave, urging the others to think about this meeting and consider their feelings.
While they did come to the conclusion of wanting to confess, there was still one lingering thought on their mind that stopped them even if Sally told them to not hesitate.
Does Touya even love them back?
Fear of rejection is a fickle thing.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At the town of [Reflet], inside of the adventurer's guild hall.)
With all the craziness from the capital finished, two days had passed and the party was at the guild in [Reflet], having finished registering Sally and Yumina and inviting them to the party, which now boasts a whopping 6 members.
"I've learned magical arts from Charlotte and I know my way with marksmanship with bows, I'm fairly confident in my abilities!" Yumina boasted, having changed out of her royal outfit and into a more battle-appropriate attire.
To empathize her point she showed off her bow and a quiver of arrows, she handed them to Touya and he held it close to his face, he inspected the bow, by now he was no stranger to inspecting weapons, he made a hobby out of it after searching up ways to maintain his own weapons' conditions.
He used {Inspect}, a null spell that allows him to gather information about an object or person, to check the details of the bow in his hands.
[Item Name]
Quickdraw Composite Silver Bow.
[Item Description]
A bow forged from silver, enchanted with Quickdraw and Double Shot, used promptly by Yumina Ernea Belfast ever since she was a child, and reforged by time, refined by use.
[Weapon Class]
Bow.
[User]
Yumina Ernea Belfast.
[Special Abilities]
Quickdraw: This allows the user to draw the bow's string faster.
Double Shot: In tandem with Quickdraw, allows the user to fire two arrows.
"Wow, that's a good bow," Touya commented, handing back the bow to its owner, he then took a glance at the quiver full of arrows.
[Item Name]
Reinforced Rhino Hide Quiver.
[Item Description]
A quiver created from a rhino's hide, reinforced with lightweight steel. It can hold around 77 amount of various arrows.
[Weapon Class]
Equipment.
[User]
Yumina Ernea Belfast.
[Special Abilities]
None.
"Good choice of equipment, Yumina." Touya praised, handing the quiver back.
Yumina smiled, happy to hear her fiance's words of praise, feeling more confident in her abilities, she continued.
"My magical aptitudes are wind, earth, and darkness, however, I can only call three summoned beasts." She explained.
"Those aptitudes are the exact ones Linze doesn't have, talk about a coincidence," Touya remarked, locking eyes with Linze who nodded in agreement.
"Yes, for now, why don't we take a quest and test her?" Linze reasoned.
"Hey, what about me, I just got my adventurer's card." Sally chimed in, waving her card in front of the duo.
"I don't think we need to test you, Yae and I can confirm that." Touya quipped, still stingy from his first encounter with his now bonded servant.
"But you don't know if I work well with a team!" Sally shot back.
"If there's anything I know about you, it's that you're obedient when it comes to me, so I won't be too worried," Touya remarked, Sally pouted but she backed down, he had a point and she wasn't going to press harder than that.
"In any case, if something dangerous happens, Touya would most likely protect you, Yumina," Elze added in, walking to the receptionist with a request paper in hand.
"Yes, it's settled, Touya-dono will be your protector, Yumina-dono." Yae agreed, nodding as she went with Elze with the request she picked.
Touya felt like he didn't have a say in the conversation, he opted to sigh as his gaze fell onto Yumina, she stared back with a smile on her face, it was so bright that it caused him to smile as well.
Linze wanted to say something but a hand landed on her shoulder, Sally shook her head, knowing just what to say without even saying the words. Linze sighed and nodded.
The two girls watched as the only male in the party and the Princess locked eyes, seemingly forgetting that they were not the only ones sitting at the table.
"Alright, all set, anything you guys wanna do before we head out?" Luckily, Elze's voice snapped them out of their trance.
"Nothing really, what quest did you guys take?" Touya asked, standing up from his seat.
"Subjugation Quest, we need to kill five [King Apes] at the [South Forest] near the [Alain River]." Elze waved her hand, "With six of us here, I figured we can handle it, especially with Sally over there."
Said scythe wielder simply waved her hand.
"I, on the other hand, have chosen this Monster Extermination quest, a fearsome Dulluhan was spotted near the [Old Royal Capital Ruins], our job is to swiftly kill it before it can move on and harm innocents," Yae replied, a hand on her chest, feeling refreshed and ready to fight even after yesterday's events.
"I don't doubt your abilities, Yae, but we do have new members, would that be alright?" Touya asked, looking over to the aforementioned new members, more specifically, Yumina.
"Yes, I feel that once Yumina-dono proves herself to be capable, we can all take this quest together." She nodded, clearly enthusiastic about the quest and a chance to fight a fearsome beast.
"I guess, well it's settled, Does anyone have any objections?" Touya looked around the group, no one raised or objected, he nodded and picked up his yari, and stood up from the chair with a smile on his face.
"Then let's go!"
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At the [South Forest].)
Since the [South Forest] was relatively near the town of [Reflet], it didn't take too much time to get there on foot.
Arriving at the entrance of the forest, the group did one last check on their equipment before entering the area their targets were living in.
Their journey through the forest was a quiet one, so to pass the time they all engaged in some idle chatting.
However, Yumina suddenly stopped walking.
"What's wrong, Yumina?" Sally asked as she was guarding the rear of the group.
"I feel like this would be a great time to use my summoning magic." Yumina mused, a finger on her lip, she turned to the group, "Would it be alright if I used my summoning magic before we go any further?"
"Sure, go ahead." Elze nodded, curious about the summoning and so was Touya.
"Okay, Come forth, Dark! I seek the proud beasts wrapped in silver: [Silver Wolf]!." Chanting the spell, a purple circle appeared, and out came five wolves, though the one in the middle of the pack had a star-like scar on its forehead.
"These puppies will be useful for snuffing out those [King Apes], I'll be able to communicate with them even at long distances." Yumina knelt and patted the leader of the pack, "Now, go and find. Happy hunting."
The leader barked and led the pack, Yumina waved goodbye and turned around, flashing a smile.
"Summoning magic huh? Wonder if I can use it." Touya asked, curious about the summoning properties and its functions.
"It's not too complicated." Yumina began, "Basically, you can master it by making a contract with the summoned monster. For example, those puppies' contract conditions weren't difficult to fulfill; it was an easy contract. There's even a legendary beast available if given the chance."
"Though, the stronger the beast summoned, the harder the contract," Yumina explained. Touya nodded, taking in the information.
"I see… Would it be fine if you teach me how to do summoning magic?" Touya asked.
"Yes, I'd love to." Yumina smiled, glad to have a chance at helping her fiance.
Though, after saying that, Yumina suddenly stopped and raised her head to the right, she stood there for half a second before addressing her thoughts.
"It seems those kids already found them." Yumina informed though she frowned, "However, there seems to be more than what we initially needed, instead of five [King Apes] there's eleven."
"Eleven…? What are we going to do with the extra six? We only need to kill five of them." Elze said, donning her gauntlets.
"I think it's best if we leave none of them alive, the quest did say subjugate them all. If we leave even a single one alive it might reproduce and relocate somewhere else." Linze reasoned, readying her wand.
"Yumina, can you tell your wolves to lure them here?" Touya asked.
"I can, though what for? Do you have something in mind?" She nodded, already telling her summons the plan.
"I'll set up a trap, a pitfall using earth magic," Touya answered as he began chanting the spell.
Readying up, Yumina took the backline, joining Linze to offer covering fire, Yae and Elze went up front with Touya in the middle, and Sally, on the other hand, stayed behind with the Princess and the younger twin.
The rustling of bushes caught their attention and everyone took a stance.
And then, the wolves jumped.
They heard a loud roar, belonging to the monsters, as they were chasing Yumina's summons, try as they might, the wolves were just faster and jumped over the pitfall they were informed of earlier.
The apes on the other hand completely fell for it and a number of them fell.
"Now!" Touya yelled, yari in hand as he stabbed the closet ape in the head.
Yae vaulted over him and slashed one, killing it with ease and then moving on to the next with practiced precision.
Elze brawled with one, using [Boost] and punching the head off the ape, she ducked under a right hook from another behind her and answered with a kick to the stomach. A quick uppercut and another head was taken right off its shoulders.
"Come forth, fire, whirling spiral: [Firestorm]!" Fiery flames spewed out of Linze's wand and flung towards the pitfall, erupting in flames and killing any trapped apes in it.
"[Slip]!" One ape tried to flank around the chaos, only to fall from Touya's null spell, it recovered enough to stand back up only to be greeted with two arrows to the head, piercing its skull and killing it. Courtesy of Yumina.
One more tried the same, only to receive an arrow to the knee, it roared in pain as it was forced to bend but was silenced as the pack of wolves pounced on it and ripped it to shreds.
Only three remained and they knew that they were outmatched, one tried to hightail it out of there. But just as it turned around its head was sliced off its shoulders. The body dropped to the ground as Sally spun her scythe to rid itself of the blood.
"Disappointing." Sally mocked.
"Come forth, lightning, lightning spear of the white lotus: [Lightning Spear]!"
"Come forth, fire, flaming spear of the crimson lotus: [Fire Spear]!"
Both Yumina and Linze, respectively, chanted their spells. Behind them three spears of elemental magic appeared, aimed directly at the last two remaining [King Apes], they flung towards their respective targets. Killing them.
With that, all of the monsters were defeated, everyone celebrated and congratulated each other on another good job. Yumina said her goodbyes to her summons as they sunk into the purple magical circle, likely to go back to where they came from.
Turning around, Yumina shafted, staring nervously at the party.
"So, what do you guys think?" She asked. Fidgeting in her stance.
"In terms of ability, I see no problem."
"Your magical skills are on par with mine, you're very talented."
"As expected of a Princess, your skills are exceptional and a very much appreciated one. Yumina-dono."
"No objections."
All four girls were happy to report that she was absolutely a good addition to the team, agreeing without any doubt of her abilities.
Yumina beamed, happy that she was easily accepted to be a part of the party, but then turned to Touya who hasn't said a word yet.
Noticing all of them staring, Touya sighed and closed his eyes, giving his thoughts on the matter.
"Yumina, you're good in my book." Touya gave a thumbs up, causing her to smile brighter, "But even if you're capable… is it really okay to let a Princess to a dangerous-"
Just before he could finish his sentence, he heard Yumina sniff a little and saw her face. A small pleading look on her face broke down any doubts Touya had about bringing her along.
'Fuck- that face is just cheating.' Touya groaned, her look crumbled any willpower he had and gave in.
"...I'll be looking forward to working with you, Yumina." Touya sighed, she smiled as she lunged forward and embraced him.
"Yeah! Leave it to me! Touya!" She exclaimed, happy to have her fiance's approval.
After that, they all agreed to take a break before moving on to Yae's request.
They set up a picnic blanket down and took out some snacks from their begs, meanwhile, Touya was the one beheading the [King Apes] and stuffing them in a bag for storage.
Once he was done, he wiped the sweat off his brows and joined the others on the blanket. He sat down and sighed.
"Y'know, I just realized something." He started, picking an apple from his bag and taking a bite out of it, "With Yumina and Sally joining in, now there are six girls, which leaves me as the only guy in the party."
"Where does the problem lie with that?" Yae asked, wondering what he meant about that.
"Maybe you haven't noticed, but I do. We kinda stand out in the guild." Touya sighed, remembering the stares he got ever since Yae first joined. "And then there's the staring…"
"What's the problem with that?" Elze raised an eyebrow.
"Well, being surrounded by cute girls is the problem." As soon as they heard that everyone, sans Yumina and Sally, blushed, "I mean, all of you are cute and I'm lucky to be with you."
"Wh-what are you saying!? Touya that's a funny joke-" Elze frantically waved her hands, "Quit joking- Joking about calling us cute and-"
"But it's true though."
That stopped them in their tracks and blushed even harder. Though Touya was not done.
"Like, Elze for example." Touya gestured to her.
"You act strong and tough, but deep down, you have a cute side that I like about." Elze was stunned and couldn't say anything, her face blushing redder.
"Or Linze, her shyness is something I find cute." Linze looked away, trying to bite down her blush.
"Yae and her dignified personality but when pressed, she shutters, and I find it cute." Yae hid her face with her hands, steam seemingly coming out of her.
"Sally's psychotic cute." She smiled, nodding.
"And Yumina…" He turned to his fiance, "Yumina, you're so cute I can't help but stop myself from hugging you."
At his words, Yumina blushed but then hugged her husband-to-be, she buried her face into his chest as he returned the hug.
"I- I think we should get going-" Elze declared, standing up as she turned to leave the forest, Linze and Yae followed her lead, hiding their blushing faces.
"Heh, remember what I said," Sally mumbled, sinking into the shadows and joining them.
After separating, both Yumina and Touya joined after.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At the [Old Royal Capital Ruins].)
"Yae! Sally! It's heading towards you!" Touya yelled, trailing behind the Dullahan as it tried to make an escape.
"Understood." Yae unsheathed her katana and prepared to meet her adversary.
"Leave it to us." Sally grinned, already prepared to face an opponent.
The Dullahan saw that its retreat was blocked by the two females, it braced itself and charged full speed ahead.
Sally was the one that met its charge, their weapons clashing and a shockwave erupted, the wind blew all over the place but compared to last time, Yae was unfazed by it.
She was not idle, once Sally got the Dullahan into a dreadlock, Yae skipped past the former assassin and went to slash away at the monster. It staggered, while the blade could not pierce its' armored body, the blows behind them had enough strength to at least stagger it.
Unfortunately for it, Sally had the strength to pierce its armor. While it was distracted with Yae, Sally swooped in and swung her weapon downward, denting the armor with the tip of her scythe's blade.
It grabbed onto the blade, stopping it from further piercing its armor, but it quickly switched to defending itself as Yae tried to sneak in with a slash while it was preoccupied. It backhanded the samurai, forcing her to stop and block.
The Dullahan then grabbed and pushed the scythe off its chest and proceeded to counterattack. Sally completely read all of its swings and dodged with expert ease. Angered, it swung in a wide arc, hoping to slice or at least make the two back off.
Unfortunately, Sally stopped its attack as she placed her scythe's handle in the way of the swing. The impact caused it to bounce off of the handle, with the momentum throwing it off course, Sally smirked as she worked in tandem with Yae, attacking the Dullahan from all sides.
Sensing that being at the forefront of this onslaught meant there would be no chance of survival. The Dullahan quickly raised its hand that held its greatsword and swung downward.
Sally and Yae avoided the swing although the ground broke under the weight of the attack as that swing was infused with dark magic, just before it could counterattack, a spear pierced its shoulder. Turning around it saw Touya behind it.
Not one to let it recover, Touya quickly yanked his weapon out and swung it around, flinging the Dullahan away.
Despite its large structure, it was able to twist acrobatically in the air and land on its feet. It tried to recover what strength it had only for the shoulder Touya pierced to be broken as he shot it with a [Shining Javelin].
It tried to charge at him with its sword hand raised, only to be met with a flying kick from Elze. Stopping it in its tracks and flung it across the area. It crashed into a nearby ruined wall, destroying it.
Elze joined the fight, taking a fighting stance as she focused on the Dullahan as it wobbled about, trying to stand back up. Trailing behind her were Linze and Yumina, having returned from killing a large pack of [Horned Wolves].
"How was the wolf hunting?" Touya asked, standing beside Elze as he pointed his yari at their enemy.
"We managed, pretty close to sixty kills I think." Elze replied, as the rest of the party took positions around the Dullahan, covering any chance of it escaping, "Yumina was a big help back there."
Said Princess in question smiled, as she drew an arrow and aimed at their enemy, next to her Linze began chanting a fire spell, "Come forth, Fire! Purgatorial Sphere of Flames: [Fireball]!"
The ball of flame slammed into the Dullahan, damaging it as it staggered backward. It recovered itself and took a stance.
It saw how surrounded it was, and that it was backed to a literal corner, well, at least what's left of it after it crashed into it. Wanting to even out the odds, it stabbed its sword into the ground.
A black ooze spewed out of the sword and out of the ooze came dozens of [Skeleton Soldiers], armed with spears, swords, and axes, clad in leather and chainmail armor.
The skeletons brandished their weapons, charging toward the adventurers with the intent to kill. They were met with the same ferocity.
Sally swung her scythe and took out a considerable amount of them with one swing. She dodged a spear thrust and responded with her scythe's blade, a group of them tried to jump her but she just used her flames to burn them to dust.
Elze came about and smashed the skull of a skeleton, she ducked underneath a swing and swept kicked a skeleton off its feet, she then proceeded to smash its skull with a stomp of her boots.
Yumina charged her arrow with wind magic, her shot pierced through several of them and even went past their shields. To her right, Linze chanted another AOE fire spell, covering a large portion and killing off most of the skeletons.
Yae went for the Dullahan since there were no more skeletons to stop her. It brought up its sword and blocked the strike. Pushing Yae away, flipping in the air. She once again engaged in combat with the monster.
She avoided a swing and slashed the chest plate, while it did not dent it, it did leave a noticeable scratch on the paint, she once again avoided another swing. The Dullahan, while stronger physically, was woefully outmatched in speed. It was practically being danced around by Yae.
It tried to swing in a wide arc, only to meet nothing but air as Yae jumped over it, she raised her sword and swung downwards, meeting the Dullahan's blade and then shattering it.
Surprised by the turn of events, it tried to grab Yae, but she merely twisted herself and evaded, backing off as the Dullahan was now rendered defenseless.
Not a second later, a spear pierced its chest courtesy of Touya, it kneeled, trying to get the spear out of its chest but to no avail. It took one last glance at its surroundings before succumbing to its sustained injuries. The spirit left and only the armor remained.
Relaxing as they defeated a fearsome foe, Touya sighed, releasing all the tension in his bones.
"I'm exhausted…" Yae whined, flopping to the floor as she sighed.
"Are we sure that was a green rank quest? That [Dullahan] was tougher than it needed to be." Elze inquired, finding it strange that a mere Dullahan was causing this much concern despite being a green rank.
"Not to mention the [Horned Wolves]..." Linze added.
"It is strange, isn't it?" Yumina remarked, sitting on a nearby ruin that was almost the shape of a chair.
"A large pack of [Horned Wolves] being with a [Dullahan] was unexpected." Linze sighed, "That was dangerous, thankfully they aren't usually strong."
"But hey, look on the bright side!" Elze chirped, trying to reassure her sister, "With so many wolves we killed, we're bound to get some big money out of it!"
They rest began to engage in some idle chatting, Sally and Yae, despite not liking each other, which was more one-sided to Yae's case. Talked about how their fighting styles complimented each other.
The twin sisters talked about something only they would know, meanwhile Touya was talking with his fiance, he was still adjusting to that. But then an idea came to his head that I wanted to ask her.
"These were the old capital right?" Touya asked, looking towards Yumina who nodded, "Even though it's been a thousand years, I wonder if there's any buried treasure here…"
"Right?!" Elze exclaimed, "There could be some hidden and forgotten treasure laying around!"
"No, there's no way. It'd be one thing if the country was destroyed, but they just moved the castle, they must have taken all the treasures with them, right, Yumina-dono?" Yae attested.
"Hmm… It's hard to say." She started, finger on her lip as she began to think, "It's been years since then and there might not even be anything here, but it is possible that my ancestors left behind a few things here."
"Well that's reassuring…" Elze groaned, causing the blonde to giggle and assure her that there's still a chance.
While they had a conversation, Touya was in deep thought, mulling over Elze's suggestion of buried treasure. Joining him was Sally, instead of her usual way of transport, via sinking into the shadows. She instead opted to walk to him.
She sat next to her Master, poking his chest and getting his attention, "Something on your mind, Master?"
"Huh?" He blurted out, "No, just thinking of what Elze said."
"Then, why not use {Search}?" Sally suggested.
"I was thinking about it." Touya nodded and let out a huff, "Alright, {Search: Treasure}."
Closing his eyes, Touya focused his spell through the ruins, both in surface and underground, though he came up empty handed as he found absolutely nothing.
He sighed in disappointment and was about to announce that he found nothing, only to be interrupted by Elze's voice calling him.
"Touya!? You {Search}, right?!" She yelled out, hoping to hear some good news.
"At least nearby, there doesn't seem to be any." Touya shrugged.
"I see… Too bad…" Elze slumped back, downcasted that her dreams of treasure hunting were crushed.
"Wh-what if it's something you don't think is treasure? There might still be something valuable right?!" Linze reaffirmed.
'Hm, she might be right…' Touya mused, "I guess it doesn't hurt to try again. {Search: Historical Relics}."
Just like before, Touya closed his eyes and focused on the spell, but this time, there was something that came up. He honed in on it and it brought him deep underground. Inside of a sealed room.
He stopped the spell and walked towards where the entrance to the underground system would be. After a few feet, he stopped near a pile of rubble.
Curious, the others followed him, wondering what he found that led him to the pile of rubble.
"I found something." He said, everyone's interest perked up, "Though the entrance to it is blocked by these ruins, does anyone have a way to get rid of these?"
"I may have something." Linze brought her hand up, she then asked everyone to stand behind her as she chanted her spell, "Burst forth, Fire! Crimson Eruption: [Explosion]!"
One bright flash and a massive explosion erupted, destroying the pile of rubble and anything near it to a degree. Once the spell died down, the only thing left was a sealed and somehow still okay looking door.
"Wow, what a blast." Sally said, everyone groaning at her pun. She giggled at their reactions, "Come on, you gotta admit that was a good one."
Ignoring her comment, Touya knelt and inspected the door, it was still intact, like it was made to keep something out.
'Or in.' He mused, shaking his head, he gripped both handles and opened the door.
It gave way and the entrance was laid out for them, looking at each other for confirmation, they all nodded and went inside. To the deep dark.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(Underground the [Old Royal Capital Ruins].)
"Come forth, Light! Tiny Illumination: [Light Sphere]." Before they went any further down, Linze casted a light spell, illuminating their way through the dark.
Touya asked if Yumina's summons would be able to go up ahead and scout, but she shook her head saying that they weren't well adjusted to the darkness. Understanding her predicament, the rest just walked further down the stairs.
Thankfully, Linze lit up their way with her magic.
Walking down the path lit up by the light, the group stopped as they saw a giant stairway spiraling downward, taking a peak at the bottom, even with the light in her hands. Linze couldn't see the bottom.
"That's a long way down." Touya remarked, humming as he used {Long Sense} to get a feel if there's anything hostile down there.
"This place… is kinda creepy- like ghosts would pop out." Elze shuddered, hiding behind Touya.
"Wha-! What are you saying Elze-dono? There's no way that ghosts would appear! …right?" Yae whispered, clinging onto Touya as she used him as a shield against the darkness.
'You weren't like this when we first encountered Sally in the cave, what gives Yae?' Touya groaned, feeling both his arms locked between two clinging girls, "In any case, nothing is here, so it's safe to go down, trust me."
At his reassurance, both girls nervously nodded and followed his lead.
'Hey, Sally.'
'Hm? What is it, Master?'
'Do you sense anything down here? I already used {Long Sense} but I just want to be sure.'
'Nope, already did that the first time we entered, absolutely nothing is down here other than that sealed door.'
'Alright, thanks.'
Cutting off from their shared link, Touya smiled as he confirmed, nothing indeed was down here.
The journey down the stairs was a long one, the steps were steep and the group huddled together as there were no safety rails to hold onto. After a while, they finally reached the bottom and were greeted by a sealed door with writing.
"Wow, how nostalgic." Touya quipped, causing Sally and Yae to giggle, knowing what he was referring to, "Say, Linze, can you read this?"
"No… I can't understand it." She shook her head, "It does seem like an ancient magic language but I can't be too sure."
"Guess I'll just take a picture for now." Pulling out his phone, he used the camera function and snapped a pic.
"What was that!?" Yae and Elze snapped, scared by the sudden flash of light.
"Hey guys, look over here!" Sally's voice caught everyone's attention as she pointed at a small gemstone sticking out of the door, "I found something here!"
"That's a magic stone isn't it?" Yumina asked.
"Yes, an earth magic stone to be exact." Linze nodded, inspecting it further, "If you run some magic through it, it'll probably activate some kind of mechanism."
"Or a trap." Touya suggested, taking a glance at the stone.
"I can't say that isn't possible, but traps usually aren't easily seen." Linze said, while it was a possibility, the fact that they could see it means the chances of it being a trap were low.
"Okay, Touya, do it." Elze ordered.
"What?"
"Well, other than Yumina. You're the only one here who can use earth magic." She pointed out.
"This could be a trap though?" He debated.
"Even if it was, you wouldn't let anything harm us right?" Elze smiled.
He tried to come up with something, but he realized that yes, he wouldn't let anything hurt them and two, he was outsmarted immediately. Sighing, he took one last glance at the stone and held out his hand.
He heard some shifting behind him and turned his head, everyone else, sans Sally, was a few feet away from him.
"...Why is everyone backing away?"
"Just in case." All four said at the same time.
"Wow, thanks for the reassurance." Touya rolled his eyes, going back to his objective. He poured magic into the stone and a section of the door evaporated to dust.
Taking a step in, he gestured for the others to follow.
Walking further down, they eventually came to a room with no other way other than back from where they came from. In the middle was some sort of large oval shape and then there was something else in the corner but they couldn't make out what it was.
Touya walked up to the oval-shaped object and knelt down. He asked Linze to come closer so he could see what it was.
Despite that, he couldn't, he tried squinting his eyes and wiping the dust off the object but he still couldn't get a clear picture.
"Hey, what is that thing, a statue?" Elze asked, getting nervous at their light source seemingly dimming out.
"I honestly can't tell, it's too dark." Touya shrugged, though it's not like they could see him do the gesture anyways, "Linze was your {Light} time limit this short?"
"Huh?" She pouted, "I know I'm not great when it comes to light magic, but even so, I can hold {Light} up to two hours before recasting it again-"
"Wait, now that I think about it, it does seem to be getting weaker…"
"It doesn't seem like it, it is!"
"Touya!"
"Touya-dono!"
At the distressed sounds of Yumina and Yae catching their attention, they saw the {Light} was steadily getting absorbed by the statue and something in the corner.
"What the fu-" Before he could curse out, a high-pitched screech filled the room.
Everyone inside had to cover their ears as the ear-piercing sound was too loud to bear, not a moment later. The cavern began to rumble and shake, the walls seemingly crumbling under the sound of the screech.
Just then, the statue began to glow red as its legs spasmed out violently.
"Everyone! OUT. NOW!"
Thinking quickly, Touya opened {Gate} to the surface and yelled for everyone to get out lest they be buried alive. One by one, they left until he was last.
Though he felt a chill down his spine as he narrowly dodged out the way of an appendage that was looking to skewer him.
Rolling out of the {Gate}, Touya looked back and saw a glimpse of what it was that tried to stab him. It was the same statue but this time it had a cyanish-blue colored crystal-like body and looked like a cricket.
Its 'eye' stared back as the {Gate} closed, seemingly trapping the beast.
'What the hell was that.' Touya mused, getting back up and dusting his clothes.
"What in the world was that?" Elze pointed out, having never seen anything like it.
"I've never seen a beast like that before." Yae added, in all her travels, she had never encountered something like it.
"Well, whatever it is. It's buried deep now." Sally remarked as she went to the entrance of the underground system and closed it shut.
"Good thinking, Sally." Yumina praised, just as surprised as the rest, she made a mental note to ask her father if he could send an expedition team to the ruins and investigate.
Before they could turn to leave, they heard another screech, but this time it was more like a loud hiss, like a snake's.
And then a moment later, a large snake-like creature burst out of the ground. It had the same colored and crystal-like body as the one before, the only difference is that this one was akin to a snake while the other was a cricket.
Speaking of the crystal cricket, it burst out of the ground as well, it screeched as if it was angry, which it probably was.
It suddenly shot one of its legs forward, trying to stab Touya's head; he dodged it of course.
He readied his yari and pointed it at the two monsters in front of him, his companions did the same.
"Come forth, Fire! Crimson Duet, [Fire Arrow]!"
"Come forth, lightning, lightning spear of the white lotus: [Lightning Spear]!"
Linze and Yumina were the ones of the group to make the first move, chanting a fire spell and wind spell respectively and flinging it towards the monsters. But to everyone's surprise, it suddenly got absorbed by them.
Angered, they retaliated, the snake pounced while the cricket opted for a ranged approach.
Everyone dodged, but now they were separated by the two monsters, Linze, Elze, and Yae were facing the cricket while Touya, Yumina and Sally had the snake's attention.
Touya cursed, he couldn't see past the snake's massive body, blocking his view of the other three while they were busy fighting the crystal cricket. But he did hear the sounds of magic chanting and weapons clashing.
'Well, that doesn't matter right now, they can handle it, we have to fight our own battle.' He mused, readying his spear as Sally took position next to him. Yumina drew an arrow and aimed at the snake.
It stared at them, a red glow as it readied itself and pounced.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
Don't you love cliffhangers?
And just like that, we come to an end to chapter 5.
Now, fair warning, but thanks to the new semesters starting and schools coming back, I might have less time for writing, so updates may be bi-weekly or monthly depending on how much time I have.
On the bright side, I can finally rewrite the script as I only wrote the first 5 chapters of this story and we're halfway through the first arc, which is this one.
Next chapter should be the fight with the Phrase and a subsequent infodump of the world, along with another chapter of relaxing before we enter the Mismede Arc.
Other than that, let's meet again in the next chapter, this is V_KJ signing out.