Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad helping me with SPAG edit.
More author note at the end for people who are interested to see me blabber some more.
As their group descends down the dungeon. Lights from enchanted torches that are supposed to burn everlasting become more and more sparse. Some still sit on the walls, others are completely destroyed from wear and tear, or undead monsters.
Monsters also become stronger and stronger as they make their way down the Boletario crypt. Spirits, and black phantoms ambush them from every shadow. Skeletons and dried up husks jump out of coffins.
As their group descend into lower levels, stronger undead monsters start to make appearances. Not dried up husks, or rotten zombies, however. Their bodies are ripped with bulging muscles underneath their armor.
The only difference between them and the living are their grayed out hair, equally gray skin, and eyes that seem to glow with necromantic energy. Their armors, and weapons all coated with symbols glowing with the same unholy magic in their eyes. Their unholy armor can even stop blessed steel from harming their unliving flesh, and their blows cause everyone to recoil back, even the Shield Hero.
The first princess of Melromarc feels more and more useless as they descend down the crypt.
Out of the four elements, fire is the most destructive and most volatile. Even if she didn't have her heart ailment, it's too dangerous to use her fire magic in a confined space like the halls of the underground catacomb. As for her newly trained water magic… her control with the opposite element of her affinity isn't good enough to conjure spells without a nearby water source yet.
Most of the time, she's relegated to throwing a [Mage Light] or two above their heads, or onto the walls to let them see their surroundings. Once or twice, she manages to concentrate long enough to throw a [Hydro Sphere] around an undead or two that's giving everyone trouble.
Chapter 61: The Death of Honor
Ethereal howling and angered battle cry surround the first princess as the dead and the living clash their weapons. Mein already lost count how many times they fought through similar skirmishes just like this. She points her hand towards one undead warrior clashing swords with Jaune a few paces in front of her, trying to envelop it with her water magic and give the Arc boy an advantage.
Nothing forms around the tip of her finger, or her target. For a brief moment, she worries about her heart, or her dwelling mana supply. But she isn't feeling any pain in her chest, or dizziness in her head. No, something is slowly draining the effectiveness of her spells away.
To the left, Nikos lets out a pained grunt as the axe from another undead falls on the side of her head. Thankfully, the blessed steel of her helmet stopped the worst damage. The former gladiatrix knocks the undead away with her shield, as lightning coats the full length of her spear. With a yell full of righteous fury, Nikos skewers the undead right through its chest, turning the thing into dust.
This single act seems to take everything out of the red head, as Nikos nearly doubles over afterwards. Raphtalia quickly grabs onto her shoulder, and parries a strike away from a skeleton who tried to finish the job on Nikos.
A shadow flashes away from Mein's head. The princess looks over and sees the devil bird turned brat jumping over Jaune's head to land a flying kick on the undead warrior's nose. Jaune nearly keels away from her stunt, and even painless undead recoils back from her assault.
The undead manages to regain its balance. Ethereal light coils around its short sword, ready to be launched towards them.
But Firo is faster. The deceptively angelic looking girl cupped her hands in front of her chest. "[FIRO FLASH]!"
Pink, glowing petals of light blow out of her hands. At first, the flurry of petals flies straight into the undead she's fighting, causing cracking explosions on its armor and flesh. After a few breaths of continued assault, the undead crumbles onto the floor into ash. Not even its armor or weapon remain.
But Firo isn't finished with her attack. The bird spins around, blowing her glowing petals every which way, even towards them.
"Look where you aim that thing!" Mein hears the shocked cry of Richard. The princess freezes up in front of Firo's sudden movement even as Raphtalia throws herself in front of Mein.
Firo's flower petals harmlessly blow through everyone like a fancy party trick from some entertainer, even as undead monsters around them blow up into more dust, or dissolves into ectoplasma. She hops over in front of the Shield Hero and gives him a tackle embrace. "Firo did well! Praise Firo, Master Naofumi!"
"Ye, yeah. You did well, Firo." Naofumi awakes from his stupor. His movement looks jerky, like a badly constructed golem as he cranks his arm and scratches Firo's head.
"Can Firo have something sweet? Firo hasn't eaten since that dragon smelling town!" Firo jumps off the Shield Hero. The devil bird turned damn brat holds out her empty hand in front of Naofumi and blinks at him with her deceptively innocent eyes.
"Su - sure. Here you go." Naofumi takes some dried fruit out of his shield. Firo snatches the treats away from his hand before he even fully extends his army, and they disappear into her mouth.
"A little warning would have been nice." For a brief moment, Mein thought the whine came from Richard again. But then, she notices the higher pitch and tone that seem soured with jealousy and realizes it belongs to Raphtalia.
It takes the first princess of glorious Melromarc even less time to understand Raphtalia's envy. For a long time, Raphtalia herself is the only child that the Shield Hero fusses and cuddles over. Granted, that's a role the lost princess of Q'ten Lo wanted, and strived to grow out of. She clearly did not want to be some pampered princess everyone cherish and protect like some dainty southern flower.
But after her sudden transformation, Firo is suddenly the youngest 'child' of their group. And the one Naofumi fusses over the most. Even if Raphtalia doesn't realize it or want to, she probably feels like her place with the Shield Hero is replaced by Firo.
The fact that Firo has the opposite personality from Raphtalia, or the bratty devil bird effortlessly helps out in fights where Raphtalia constantly struggles to help out easily made the raccoon dog girl feel even worse.
It's a feeling the first princess of Melromarc knows too well. She may no longer pine for Mother's approval, but she still grinds her teeth whenever Mother, or one of her courts praises the achievement of the second princess Melty.
"What? Are you jealous?" Firo turns to look at Raphtalia. She blows her tongue out while pitching the skin around her eyes. "Firo's more helpful than you!"
"YOU-!" Raphtalia looks like she's about to squeeze through their front line at Firo. Either with words, or hands. But Mein quickly catches the raccoon dog girl's shoulder, while whispering into her ears.
"Don't pick a fight." Raphtalia looks back at Mein. There's still anger on her face, but it's clearly not aimed at the princess in disguise. "You already made a good impression with Master Naofumi. He knows you are a good, well behaving girl. Don't stoop to that brat's level."
Raphtalia didn't say anything. She takes a few deep breaths… and immediately recoils back from the foul stench of death and decay. At least she is no longer at risk of looking like a snarling bonedog in front of the Shield Hero.
"Behave, Firo. Raphtalia was right." Naofumi's hand falls on Firo's shoulder. Not fast enough to be a slap, but clearly showing his disapproval. "You got lucky this time, Firo. Don't go around hurting your friends."
"They aren't Firo's frien-" The bird turned child looks up, her eyes meet the disapproving face of the Shield Hero, then slowly drops downward. "Firo's sorry."
"That's a good girl." Naofumi's hand moves up to scratching Firo's hair again, completely missing her poking her tongues out at Raphtalia.
Damn, spoiled brat!
"It's strange, how Firo's magic didn't hurt any of us." Martin casts his eyes from Firo to Nikos. "From what I know, very few Miracles have the ability to distinguish friend from foe. What about your magic, Sister Pyrrha?"
"Same thing with Wizardry." The former gladiatrix places her spear at the catacomb wall and looks down at her hands. Mein can see a few sparks dance around her hands.
A lowborn gladiator from Zeltbole having rare, and advanced lightning affinity, and by extension fire and air twin affinities? That's admittedly something the princess didn't expect from a commoner. Perhaps this Nikos descent from some illegitimate child of old nobility?
Considering the red hair and one of her affinity being fire, Nikos might very well be related to Mein herself. Or perhaps she has some Fjalar blood in her vein.
Oh well, it's not like Mein will suddenly start calling her 'Cousin Pyrrha' or something, even if Nikos is proven to have some distant Hibernia blood. House Melromarc may have suffered devastation from The Great War like most Melromarc noble houses, but Mein is not desperate enough to bring some Zeltbole gladiator in some lost, distant relative to bolster their numbers.
Mother will probably marry her off to some ugly, old Faubley noble in the end.
"My power is definitely waning." The voice of Nikos brings the princess back from her stray thoughts once again. The frown on the former gladiatrix is clear for everyone to see. "It's getting harder and harder to conjure my spells."
So it's not only Mein herself. She was honestly worried about losing her own touch.
"Now that you mentioned it… don't you all feel colder? Or is it just me?" Naofumi looks around, his hands rubbing back and forth on his gauntlet arms. "I wonder if I can unlock some cold resistant shields… maybe from coal? Charcoal? Yeah, I'll try it next time…"
"You are right, Master Shield Hero. Our Miracles are being slowly overpowered by the unholy magic." Martin shares a look together with Alfred.
"The veil separating the gray realm of the dead from the living is getting thinner as we descend." King Ariona helpfully interjects from Eclair's sword. "It's slowly overpowering the power from the gods' divine sphere, or the mana from Endless Aether."
"Firo doesn't feel anything!" As if trying to prove the point, the bratty bird runs back and down the hallway extending into the darkness. "Firo can run more rounds~!"
"Your magic must be more akin to Sorcery then." Mein can barely make out the large frame of Farkas through the tight formation of their group, but the deep growling voice can't be mistaken by another. "I may not have a touch of talent for Sorcery, but even I know it's the art of souls and spirits."
"So, the godless beasts practice foul necromancy. Why aren't I surprised?" Alfried's snark comes from the other direction of their group. "Perhaps you and your brother share each other's wives too."
"You DARE compare the venerated art of the souls with perverted mockery of your savage ways? You fur-less ape!" Mein suddenly feels Kyubey pushing into her from the back. Farkas is clearly trying to squeeze his way through their formation to reach Alfred for his slight.
"STOP! DAMN IT!" Naofumi's exasperated cry echoes through the empty hall of the catacomb. "We are still knee deep in undead, freezing our asses off! Let's not add trying to kill each other onto our list. Don't make me drop a mountain on you like I did to discount Godzilla!"
"Do not taunt our current ally, Brother Alfred." Jaune's words are shorter, and less emotional than her Naofumi. But Mein can hear the warning in his voice loud and clear.
The only boy of House Arc is compassionate, but he isn't a pushover like many had mistaken him for. Mein still remembers how he almost challenged Lord Grant to a duel of honor back when the two of them were courting, and forced the older lord to back down. Simply because Lord Grant remarked how she was destined to be betrothed to the Faubley pig king.
"As you command, Brother Jaune." The redeemed legionnaire replies with his usual serene voice. As for Farkas, he didn't say anything. But Mein can no longer feel pressure from Kyubey, or anyone else behind her.
"Are you okay, Pyrrha?" Mein turns around to look at Jaune. The Arc boy is standing on the tip of his feet, looking towards the direction of Nikos.
"I'm fine… don't worry." Mein can see the gladiatrix easier than Jaune, thanks to her standing in the middle. The other red head is leaning on the catacomb wall with one hand, her breath labored.
"Everyone's tired… and agitated. We need some rest and regain our energy." Naofumi's voice carries out. He slowly kneels down and places a hand on the ground. "The floor is too cold."
"This is only the third level. We have two more left to go." Mein turns around to look at Eclair, the Seatto heiress is tightening her cloak around her shivering body. "We didn't bring any winter clothing, like fur. Can we even make it to the bottom level like this?"
"Put me down on the ground, my daughter. I'll do what I did in the Church." Mein turns her head to look over at Eclair, she sees the knight slowly kneeling down and placing her ancestor's sword on the ground with both hands. "It won't be as effective, though - I have no hallowed ground to draw the gods' protection from."
Deep down, Mein wonders if it's worth it to even try resting here in the catacomb. With the strong necromantic energy around them, she doubts they'll manage to recover more strength than the crypt drain from them.
"You don't seem to be affected, Firo." Naofumi slowly sits down on the ground, and squeezes Firo's cheeks. For the first time, the devil bird turned girl tries to dodge away from her Naofumi.
Ha! Serves her right!
"Run around, and warn us if some undead try to sneak up."
"OKAY!" The devil bird happily nods her head, and starts running around the dark corridor filled with the stench of death. For the life of Mein, she can't figure out where Firo gets this energy.
"Teach me how to do that [Sanctuary] thing." Naofumi's voice echoes again to no one in particular. "If our magic gets weaker, we need more people casting them. I must have some talent, if I placed a self-buff onto Firo without hurting her, right?"
"That might work… It's said the heroes are uniquely connected to the Chief God's divine sphere. Brother Alfred?" Martin nods his head and starts rambling under his breath. He suddenly looks up and calls the penance legionnaire standing besides the Shield Hero. "Will you do the honors?"
"Of course." Alfred nods back under his brass dom and turns towards the Shield Hero, and begins his… brainwashing. "The key to casting a powerful Miracle is putting all your faith in the gods. As for the spell work of [Sanctuary] itself…"
Mein tightens her traveling cloak around her and realizes how much her feet ache. She already forgot when was the last time she complained about her aching feet. The princess slowly sits down, trying to regain her strength. She immediately jumps back up when it feels like the floor is covered with ice needles.
She looks around, and feels her face burning up when she realizes no one else tried to sit on the floor. At most, some of her fellow fighters lean themselves against the catacomb walls. Trying to cover up her own embarrassment, she pulls Raphtalia over and whispers to the lost princess. "Are you okay, Raphtalia?"
"I'm fine, big sister." Raphtalia turns around and returns a puzzled look back. "What's wrong? Why are you worried?"
The princess in disguise isn't particularly worried about Raphtalia. With both of them well protected in the middle of their formation, they didn't confront any strong undead in previous fights. For now, she is only trying to cover her own embarrassment.
Pondering over what to talk about, she remembers Raphtalia's jealousy towards the devil bird again. "The bird … Firo. You didn't want her to take Master Naofumi away from you, did you?"
"...yes." The face of the Q'ten Lo princess turns pink, her eyes wanders away, not daring to meet Mein. "I should be grateful for what Master Naofumi, and big sister Mein did for me already. And Firo is less than a month old. I shouldn't feel jealous. But… it's hard to not to feel anxious when Master Naofumi pampers her."
"I understand." Mein gives a few pats on Raphtalia's shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, I like you much better than that spoiled brat. I'm sure Master Naofumi also likes you for how well behaving you are."
Hmm… now that she thinks it over, the princess realizes she actually has more in common with the devil bird, while Raphtalia is more like her perfectly well-behaving little sister. It's rather ironic how she is much quicker to take over Raphtalia's side. Is this how Mother sees things between herself, and Melty?
No, that can't be right! Surely, she's nowhere near a totally useless spoiled brat as that gluttonous bird? Yes, she was spoiled… and kind of rotten thanks to Father's constant coddling. But at least she understands how to act as a proper princess, future queen, and one of the real players in The Game.
Melty is a proper spare, and she might even be a proper administrator. But her naivety has no place to survive all the backstabbing of the court. Even the Pope of the Three Heroes Church agrees.
"Do you have siblings? Big sister Mein?" Raphtalia's question suddenly brings the princess back to the present.
Mein is about to say yes, when she suddenly realizes that the Mother of 'Myne of Samphor' actually exists. Unfortunately, she knows what the woman, or the commoner from Samphor she is supposedly impersonating is actually like. If anyone realizes her answer was wrong when they return…
Despite the chill of the undead dungeon, her clothes stick on her back in cold sweat. There's a good chance they cross Samphor again on their way back. How many children would a commoner couple have to fill their labor? How many children can they even afford?
Raphtalia did not seem to realize how close to the edge of panic she drives her 'big sister Mein'. She continues on, looking rather nostalgic to the life she lost not too long ago. "Father and Mother didn't have any more children after me. The Kagura family actually wanted me to have more siblings to continue our line, in case something happened. And I… I used to want to have a little brother, or little sister. I didn't care too much about learning our custom, or history from the Kagura family. I thought if I had a sibling, maybe they'll bother someone else."
"Am I a terrible person? Big sister Mein?" The lost princess of the hermit nation gives another sideways glance to Firo. The devil bird turned child is still running around, unlike everyone else. "I… it sounds terribly selfish. But I'm glad I was the only child of Father and Mother, now that Master Naofumi has Firo. I miss them, but I'm glad I didn't have to share them with another child."
"No, you aren't a terrible person. Raphtalia." A month ago, the princess would have emphasized in her mind how Raphtalia isn't even a 'person', let alone a terrible one. But now, she only feels a sense of relief that she wasn't the only one with selfish feelings. Even someone as well-behaved and proper as Raphtalia has them deep down.
Does this mean her little sister isn't as perfect as Mother thinks, just like Raphtalia?
"It's only natural for you, and everyone else to be selfish. At least a little." The princess extends her left arm over Raphtalia's left shoulder. She pulls Raphtalia close, to the point she buries her lower face in her hair. After a few weeks of using sham- her Naofumi's hair potion, Raphtalia's hair is no longer dry as a bundle of hay. Fortunately, as the failed trials they both have been using are thoroughly washed off their hair, they don't smell like rotten egg-ups either. "It's okay for you to think for yourself. Outside your parents, very few people will care about you unless they can get something from you."
And depending on your family standing, even your father and mother may use you for their own ambition. That's a lesson the first princess learnt well from Mother, that she is genuinely grateful for.
"Remember, no one has the right to chastise you for looking out for yourself. Because very few will do it for you unconditionally. Especially when you didn't even hurt anyone. You shouldn't feel bad about it." The first princess of Melromarc gives the shoulder of the lost Q'ten Lo princess a shake before letting go of Raphtalia. Of course, she didn't finish saying the second half of her personal principle to her fellow princess. Because she still needs to keep her helpful and compassionate 'Mein of Samphor' persona.
Even if you DO hurt someone else, you shouldn't feel too bad either. When everyone is in the right look out for themselves, getting hurt by someone else only means the victim is either too weak, or too dumb to protect themselves properly.
"A good principle to live by." Eclair nods her head along, her eyes unfocused. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what she's thinking about. "One has to be able to protect themselves before they can do anything else."
"My lady! You can't be serious!" The high pitched scream sounds like a sharp nail scratching over a malachite blade. The princess didn't think an honorbound knight could make a sound that would pierce right through her ear into her head. The demi-human knight points her finger at Mein, completely unaware she is accusing the princess of her nation. "You are a knight of House Seaetto? How can you listen to this… this honorless lowly commoner? What about your oath as a knight to always hold onto TRUTH? To uphold HONOR of your family?"
As the princess of Melromarc, Mein should be offended by the words, no, even the thought of being accused by a lowly demi-human. Lucatiel only managed to join the ranks of knights because Lord Seatto being the… mentally eccentric, and kind of challenged sort.
But at the moment, all she managed to feel is a sense of amusement mixed with fatigue. It seems like at least some gods above have a sense of comedy. To have the very words she herself would have used to put some filthy commoner upstarts throw at her own actions.
She would have actually giggled, if she isn't too tired of their current quest.
"Don't talk bad about big sister Mein!" Raphtalia nearly pulls her sword out of its sheath as she pushes her way towards Lucatiel. She settles for waving her fist in the end.
"You aren't acting befit the honor of a Silver-Hand you yourself, Sir Lucatiel!" Eclair only managed to control the harsh tone of her voice at the start. As she slowly spit each word at time, her voice slowly rises. At the end, the last heir of House Seaetto is nearly roaring at the only surviving knight of her noble house.
"Keep quiet! The gods, nor I care for what you speak or believe in personal principle. But the Shield Hero needs his concentration to master [Sanctuary] Miracle!" Alfred spins on his heel and turns to face them. Everyone can feel the heat of his glare through his brass dome helmet. Raphtalia and Eclair both look down, looking ashamed at their outburst.
"I apologize for my terrible choice of words, Miss Mein." Lucatiel bows her head down towards the princess in disguise. Her voice is much quieter this time. It's hard to tell if she has simply taken Alfred's warning to heart, or if she is ashamed of her previous outburst. "I was anxious and didn't think clearly. But it still should have been beneath my station as a paladin of the Silver Hand. I did not mean disrespect towards you, or your family."
Mein feels like rolling her eyes at Lucatiel's empty words. As a master of word crafting, she knows how cheap they are. If apologies mean anything when they truly matter, this world would have no need for warriors. At the very need, the armies would not be needed between different nations. Considering how much into a lady, or lords' coffers they eat into.
Still, she needs to play her role as the compassionate, and well-meaning commoner adventurer. Not a seasoned player of the Game. The first princess can only sigh in his mind at letting the chance of blackmail material slipping through her fingers. "You are forgiven, Sir Lucatiel."
Then again, the one this dirty rat- no, the last Silver Hand knight, serves is Lady Eclair of House Seaetto. She can probably call in a favor from the future Lady Seaetto for not taking offense to the words of her most important and only vessel.
"Still, even with my poor choice of phrases, you should not take Miss Mein's principle for yourself, my lady." Lucatiel turns to Eclair once again. "As a knight of House Seaetto, and its future lady, you must hold yourself to a higher standard."
The first princess has to fight back her desire to roll her eyes once again. Out of the three major powers of Medea, Siltvelt is the land of savage animals, Faubley was traditionally known as the land of mages and spellwrights, and the land of change, innovation and industry in the more recent years, Melromarc, is the land of knights and ladies.
And among every noble house, ancient and recent, great or lesser, House Seaetto has the reputation of being THE most chivalrous, and honorable noble house. There is a good reason for it: Most other noble houses, even those that have strong ties to their own knight order know that virtue such as chivalry and honor has no real place in the art of statecraft, and especially politics.
It's a noble goal to pursue them, especially when trying to endear yourself to the unenlightened common folks to justify your own right to rule over them as their better. But if you truly apply your own rulership and make decisions based on such principles all the time, you will severely limit your options at best, causing all kinds of preventable disasters at worst.
She herself isn't above doing something chivalrous and honorable at occasions, usually when the reward is greater than the negative consequence. But she will never choose an option out of some misguided sense of morality, if the alternate option yields greater results.
"Tell me something, Sir Lucatiel." Eclair's voice is much calmer than when she chastises Lucatiel a few moments ago. But the princess in disguise can feel greater emotion behind every word. "At Father's last moments… did anyone from any Silver Pass noble houses, those that are supposed to serve as our bannermen, render any aid to Father when he needed them the most?"
"No, my lady." Lucatiel's feet shuffles, her body shakes and for a brief moment nearly topples over. But the rat knight manages to catch herself. "Just because all the bannermen of my lord acted without faith, isn't a good reason to give up on the ideal of honor itself."
Sounds like a good, no, a GREAT reason!
"Tell me something else then, Sir Lucatiel." Eclair's voice is still calm in the ears of Mein. Dangerously so. "Without any of Father's bannermen, did he manage to protect his vessels, our people who depended on him for protection."
"My lord didn't… but-"
"Then clearly something needs to change." The last Seaetto takes a step towards her faithful knight. Once again, Eclair's voice is not loud. Yet, every word she speaks sounds like she is chewing iron. Or rather, it sounds like she is stabbing knives into her own body. "Father did everything befit a honorable knight, and dutiful noble. Yet, he was not able to save himself, his knights, or his people. Clearly, the principle he followed was imperfect. I wish to at least find a way to help what remains of our people, before everything is truly lost."
"But, but you can not give up on your family honor and-" It's clear Lucatiel has nothing useful to add to the topic, even if she doesn't want to give up her principle as a knight. Before she can continue, Eclair holds up a hand and stops her.
"I met a lot of different people on my quest here. I see how different people have their own ways to live, their own code of honor. Not just knights. Common folks, merchants, arcane scholars, warriors and nobles with different cultures… and even agents who live in the shadows and bandits. I'm not giving up on the traditional ideal of honor and virtue, becoming one of those fallen nobles who forsake their duties and abuse their people. I still believe in truth, and honor. But I want to be someone who can protect my people first." Eclair closes her eyes. Her body is perfectly still as a statue. A few moments later, she opens her eyes again. This time, there is no confusion in her eyes. "I want to find a better way. A way to keep my honor, but also to protect my people."
"You picked a hard road to walk, my daughter." Before Lucatiel has a chance to object, Ostrava in the runic sword, speaks up first. "But it's necessary. We lost too much after the Second Scourge, and I had to find new ways to do things with my friend. We made a lot of changes to the kingdom. If a pampered cowards like I can, I'm sure you will also succeed with faithful brothers and sisters in arms, and wise guidance."
"If even King Ariona the Wise agrees with you… I will follow you to death. My Lady."
"[Sanctuary]!" With a sudden declaration, Naofumi pushes his hands forward. A circular magical circle glowing white pure, white light forms underneath his feet, slowly enlarging till it easily covers everyone in their group and then some.
Mein slowly crouches down and runs her finger through the marble floor. Before, the freezing cold easily pierces her gloves like needles. But now, she can barely feel anything. She takes off her leather gloves and tries again. There is no warmth, but she isn't feeling any chill either. Taking a long, hard breath, the princess finally sits down on the floor.
Hmm… she might be imagining it, but it feels like even the foul air is somewhat cleaner.
She can finally take a well earned rest after their hard trek through the catacomb. Even if she didn't help too much with the fighting, she still feels exhausted and hurt all over. Looking around, it seems most people share her thoughts as they also slowly sit down.
"Such power. You did more by yourself than all of us put together. You truly are a hero favored by the gods, Master Shield Hero." Martin, the battle priest, praises Naofumi. The young hero simply looks down, smiles sheepishly and scratches his own head.
Perhaps it's not only luck that the Shield Hero's earlier stunt with Firo didn't hurt the deceptively angelic looking devil bird turned child. A shame really, for Firo is surely a Harold of the Shield Demon.
Their mixed group manages to regain most of their stamina after rest. The priest, and templars of the Three Heroes' Church also used this rare down time to teach as many useful Miracles, especially those made to fight against the undead to the Shield Hero as possible.
Once again, the first princess wonders if the gods actually do look over them… and treat everyone as their own amusement. The members of the Three Heroes' Church, even if it's only those from its more revisionist and tolerant branch, teach the hero they are supposed to fight against Miracles of the gods. Surely, this can only be some kind of rehearsed divine comedy.
The journey down the last two levels of the crypt becomes easier thanks to Naofumi's strong Miracles. Sure enough, the necromantic energy from Gray Realm becomes ever stronger as they descend down the levels. Weaker undead monsters, such as skeletons, hollowed husks, and ghosts disappeared from their sight. Only black phantoms, and death knights remain.
But the air is no longer as oppressive as before thanks to the Shield Hero's Miracles, willed by his strong connection with the Divine Sphere.
"[Shield Bash]!" Naofumi pushes back another death knight with his shield, the undead creature tumbles into three of his fellow unliving. Firo jumps forwards again to add one more two feet flying kick, knocking all four down into a tangle of unnatural bodies and limbs. The Shield Hero throws his free hand out towards them. "[Banishment]!"
He didn't manage to crumble them into dust, as expected from the Pope of the faith, a Vicar, or a high level priest. His almost non-existent ATK rating made sure of it. But in return, all the undead somehow look even older than they do originally: their gray skin looks even more sickly. Their bulging muscles powered by abhorrent death energy visibly shrink, until they become wrinkled skin wrapping around bones, no longer capable of the strength supporting their heavy armors and weapons.
And speaking of their death rune covered equipment, even they lost their unholy luster, becoming dull, like stone.
The Shield Hero may lack strong enough ATK to do any meaningful damage to anything above level 10, or something particularly fragile below level 20 (Skeletons, for example). But his strong DEF rating ensures near 100% chance to apply status ailment from any spells and weapon arts, and multiplies their effectiveness.
The shriveled undead still tries to crawl towards them. A fast round of stomps running over them courtesy of Firo puts them out of their misery, and turns them into dust.
"[Force]! [Banishment]!" A white bubble of concussion force shots out of Naofumi's hand, slamming into a group of death knights trying to swarm their location further down the corridor. They fly backward into the darkness faster than they charged out, Firo follows right after them.
"[Lightning Spear]!" Naofumi looks back at the group behind him. A yellow bolt of lightning forms in his free hand, and he tosses it out like a javelin when some black phantoms come out of the wall trying to ambush the party. The bolt hits the Phantom closest to the Shield Hero, and then it jumps over to the others. Stunning them all into paralysis despite their ethereal bodies.
Despite not actually killing anyone (once again, thanks to his laughable ATK rating), her Naofumi at this moment looks every bit the unstoppable demi-god from bard's songs. If some of the less mentally sound members of the Three Heroes' Church decided to antagonize the Shield Hero, they will probably curse the monster unleashed by Jaune and his group.
Not that the princess in disguise is complaining.
"Forward! Follow the Shield Hero, and Miss Firo!" Jaune's white, holy fire covered sword is a relic from his own family, and not made of blessed steel. But he easily cut through two of the phantom, sending them back to the Gray Realm, or wherever these dead abominations came from.
Rallied by Naofumi's Miracles and Jaune's words, everyone in their group marches forward. The undead monsters are much stronger than the ones above ground, or in the upper level crypt. Yet they still crumble to dust.
"Only one last level to go." Eclair looks at the stairs descending down the last level of her family catacomb. "One last level… and then it's all over. I can begin anew."
"The faster, the better." Lucatiel gives a quick glance back, the princess can feel the demi-human paladin was looking at her. The rat demi-human no longer hesitates. She immediately takes the stairs down, ignoring the order of their formation devised by Jaune. Eclair quickly follows after her.
"Wait! I should go first!" Naofumi chases down after them. The Arc boy raises his sword arm after the Shield Hero, and everyone follows down right after.
The last level of the catacomb is different from the rest. As there is no side corridor extending left and right from the stairs. Perhaps House Seaetto hasn't had the need to build more corridors for burial yet. They weren't exactly a noble house with a lot of members.
The princess turns her head back and faces the only corridor in front of them. She sees Lucatiel standing perfectly still in front of everyone like one of the many stone statues in the catacomb. The princess squints her eyes, trying to get a good look to find what unsettled the last Silver Hand paladin.
From the other side of the dark abyss, a single figure emerges and silently walks towards them. Another black phantom, shrouded in dark, scarlet ethereal glow. But this one looks even stronger than the ones they faced before. Thin strands of dark smoke slowly seeped out from its body, cloaking him like the darkest shadow.
This phantom's clothes and armor looks identical to Lucatiel herself. He also wields a greatsword of identical design. It walks till it's about twenty paces away from Lucatiel and stops, staring at Lucatiel like a perfect statue.
"Big brother." Lucatiel's voice trembles, slowly breaking. The demi-human knight clearly didn't expect to face the undead form of her own elder brother.
Mein turns to look at Eclair. The Seaetto heiress' limbs are shaking like Lucatiel's voice. Her face is even more pale than the undead they faced so far, even her lips are turning purple. A gentle breeze can probably bring Eclair down to her knees.
The princess takes a few steps forward to stand besides her ally. Propping her own arms behind Eclair, so the Seaetto heiress doesn't fall.
"Join me, sister. In life or death, Silver Hand only serves one lord." The undead knight holds his hand out to Lucatiel, waiting for her to take it. Unlike King Ariona's chime-like voice, this black phantom sounds like someone's nail scratching through glass. Corrupted by the negative energy.
"No… NO! My master is right here. The heir of Lord Uther: Lady Eclair Seaetto!" Lucatiel's voice no longer shakes. She holds her greatsword up in front of her face, and then swings it to the side. "As the last living Silver Hand, I challenge you. The last chapter master to a duel for the right of succession. En Garde!"
"Very well. Show me your resolve, and your skill." The phantom mimics Lucatiel's movement, and then waits for her to come forward for the first swing.
"Shouldn't we help your friend, Eclair?" The sound of cracking lightning brings both Eclair and Mein's attention to the Shield Hero. Sure enough, he is holding onto a bolt of yellow lightning in his free hand like a javelin, ready to be thrown.
"NO! Lucatiel just challenged a fellow knight to a duel of honor. Even if her older brother is already dead and a monster… us stepping in would dishonor her as a knight." Eclair's legs no longer shake. She jumps in front of the Shield Hero, blocking his way with her body.
"You guys have some very weird ideas about holding onto your honor…" The Shield Hero dispels his miracle while shaking his head. His gaze fixed in front of the two dueling knights.
"Will she win?" The princess whispers in Eclair's ears. On the one hand, a paladin's ability is used to counter the unholy such as undead and demon. But on the other hand… if the demon-human siblings have a pure sword fight, the odds will stack heavily against Lucatiel, as an undead monster will have much more stamina than a living combatant, especially in an area saturated with necromantic energy.
"I… don't know. I haven't seen Lucatiel, or Azla for a long time. But as a child, I never saw Lucatiel win against her brother." Eclair's voice clearly sounds worried. "This must be her last chance."
An emotional, and poor decision on Lucatiel's part to challenge her undead brother in a one on one duel.
With a loud yell, Lucatiel charges forward. Her greatsword pointed right at her brother's chest, like a knight's tourney lance. Her brother simply slaps her sword away with the tip of his own greatsword, almost like an afterthought.
The princess in disguise bites her lips. From a single exchange, it's abundantly clear the elder, and dead brother have more strength and skill.
Lucatiel hops back and charges forward again. Her last assault was clearly only a test. This time, she shakes her wrist, and her greatsword seems to split into three and flies towards her phantom brother like arrows from three points.
"It's [Dragon Finger]!" Nikos cries out in surprise.
The princess is surprised too. [Dragon Finger] is a spear weapon art originated from Midland Siltvelt, and it's supposed to be used with a spear with a soft wooden shaft. The added elasticity of the wooden shaft was what gives the weapon its ability to 'split' into three directions.
To use it with a sword, and a solid, steel greatsword no less… The last Silver Hand must be highly skilled with both sword, and spear.
Before Mein, or anyone else, has a chance to cheer for Lucatiel, her undead brother shakes his wrist and mirrors her technique. Both swords clash together, and the black phantom sword easily parries away the steel great sword. Blood gushes out of Lucatiel's body, like flowers.
The last Silver Hand didn't even make any grunt of pain. She simply charges forward, wildly swinging her greatsword at her brother. At the moment, she looks more like a crazy lion than a rat demi-human. But her brother clearly has the upper hand, as he easily parries away her every strike, adding more wounds to her body.
Naofumi gathers another bolt of lightning in his hand. This time, both Eclair and Jaune wrestled with him, trying to pry his arm away and not letting him interrupt the duel. Firo looks like she's about to kick them both, but Nikos blocks her with her shield.
"Get off me! She's going to die, I have to help!" The Shield Hero flails wildly, trying to shake away the two knights restricting him. Sadly, once again his lack of ATK rating cripples his ability to do anything.
"You can't! Master Shield Hero! A duel of honor is more important than a knight's life!" Jaune doesn't shrink under the Shield Hero's fury. Steadfastly defending the way of Melromarc life.
"This duel was stupid in the first place! Her big brother is an undead monster!"
Privately, the first princess agrees with the Shield Hero. What use is one's honor, if it'll only get you killed?
"Should we help, big sister Mein?" Raphtalia's voice makes the princess turn her head. The lost princess of Q'ten Lo is also biting her lips. Her knuckles around her sword is white. "I… I heard about these duels of honor. They are a big part of my homeland too. But I don't want Eclair to lose someone important to her."
Mein gives Raphtalia's hair another ruffle and whispers in her ear. "Lucatiel hasn't lost yet. We'll step in if she's about to die."
Meanwhile in the duel. Lucatiel suddenly spins her body around with her back towards her brother. With both hands around the hilt of her sword, she buries the blade right into her own body. The tip of her sword, burning with holy fire, sinks into the phantom's chest as well.
"Using your own body as a shield to block my vision… not very chivalrous or… honorable… of you. Sister…"
"No…" The last Silver Hand can barely speak with her own sword through her body. "All… to protect my lady…"
"Well played…" The body of the black phantom slowly fades away as Lucatiel slowly crumbles down on her knees.
End Note:
First of all, sorry about this update being later than usual, and me not on top of getting back to review replies. I suffered a somewhat mild (compared to my depression when I first went to college, at least) burn out for the last few weeks, and I simply can't do anything productive for the last few weeks.
As for this chapter, Naofumi gets some more training from the Three Heroes Church and develop his miracles, and we get to see how other people change thanks to Malty's involvement with them. Specifically, her 'friendship' with Eclair changes the lateral. I definitely had a great time writing Malty and Eclair's interaction, considering it's something I was inspired by reviews and wasn't planned out when I first developing idea for this story.
And of course, Raphtalia and Firo is now officially starting to develop sibling rivalries between each other, with them both being surrogate children of Naofumi (and Malty).