ESS END: A thoughtful battle and…Divine Cheating?!! Part 2 of 5.

Peaceful or not, the night gave way to the morning rather quickly. It was almost as if the cosmos itself couldn’t wait for the coming battle.

And before a certain someone in the audience even thinks that I had something to do with that, I did not. It is just an expression. Got it, dear?

Fufufu~~, very well.

In any case, with the arrival of the new day, the people within the village began to move.

“Mother. Brothers. Goddess. Please watch over me.”

Short, but meaningful. Those were the words with which Euphemia left her room after reading Charles’ report on his discussion with Fen’Ru-el and checking her weapons and armor one last time. By her side there was only her dear maid, Sistina.

And only her.

No other door opened.

No other person followed her from the rooms. But that was alright. After all, that was his step to take, his choice.

Meanwhile, Charles and Fen’Ru-el gathered the villagers at the central plaza with the help of the village’s head.

There was an announcement to be made. A grim announcement.

As for the rest of Euphemia’s elven entourage, two had been sent to the village entrance just in case a certain Lesser Dragon Lord wished to make an unexpected entrance, while the remaining three joined Euphemia as she made her exit from the inn.

Then, slowly but surely, Euphemia solemnly made her way towards the center of the plaza where she would deliver the announcement.

Once she got there, Charles told her that he could give the announcement instead of her, but she refused.

Fen’Ru-el did so too and she refused again.

It was her responsibility to face the villagers and tell them of the coming danger, not theirs.

With that, she turned to face an entire village’s worth of lives, both old and young, and told them.

She told them of Xol.

She told them that he was the one who attacked the village the day before and more.

She told them of what he could do and what he had done to other villages that had gotten between him and his prey.

She told them that he was coming and why.

And they listened to her.

They listened to everything she said.

There were no screams. No curses. No objects thrown at her in rage.

No…demands for the person attracting such danger to be thrown out or for her to be punished for stopping at the village.

There was just a tense and painful silence.

Even after a few moments passed, silence still reigned.

But that didn’t mean that nothing was being said, not at all.

The gazes of the villagers were loud enough.

They were afraid. They were angry. They were waiting.

They were waiting to see what she was planning to do, for they had already seen her jump into the fray once before.

They were angry about their broken peace, for they thought themselves relatively safe from those that wanted to hurt the world. But even more than that…they were angry at Xol for defiling the very nature they were deeply connected to with his Dark Spirits, nature’s cries from the day before still being fresh in their hearts.

Yet…beating out those expectations and such anger was fear, a very simple but very understandable fear. They feared for their lives, the lives of those they cared about, and their beloved village.

To think that something like this would happen just when the village was about to grow…just when everyone hoped for an even brighter future for it…

To see such hope be shaken by evil hands…it broke their hearts.

“…”

Faced with such gazes, such emotions, Euphemia couldn’t help but fall silent too…if only for a moment. She understood them too well after all.

Still, it was only for a moment, because she knew that the best way to respond to those kinds of feelings was to speak from the heart.

“I used to be a little girl a mere five years ago. For some people, I still am. I certainly haven’t experienced as many things as many of you have, yet I can say this with confidence…I know that fear that is gripping your hearts right now. I have known it since I was 10.  My home was besieged by the forces of Eternal Winter and Violet Death, and I was forced to abandon it while my brothers and sister stayed behind to fight.

“To say that it did not leave a scar in my heart would be to lie, for the emotions within me did that…and more.”

Euphemia’s voice turned into a whisper as she looked down and remembered that painful night, but the fire within her didn’t let her stay like that beyond a moment and thus…her intense gaze met with everyone’s once again as her voice and the intent she carried grew louder.

The teen girl part of herself had taken a step back, now was the turn of the Princess.

“‘Never again’, I swore to myself. And while I know that it is impossible to stop that from happening  in other places of the world, I shan’t let it happen here. We shan’t let it happen here. My companions and I shall bring Xol down before he gets the chance to threaten your loved ones and your beloved home,” so proclaimed our dear Euphemia with the same conviction that she showed Kori the night before.

“Of course, Xol will try to divide our attention by sending Savage Spriggans to assail this village. As such…if you share the same desire as me, I ask you to stand and become your village’s shield alongside them!” she motioned towards the three elves that had accompanied her to the plaza as they took a step forward. They were one archer, one swordsman, and one caster. Gur'Enel, Alphi’Nott, and Ghyllen.

They stood before their countrymen with confidence, not surprised by Euphemia’s decision and much less doubting it, especially after her actions throughout their journey.

“They shall remain here by your side and protect you just like they did when they were part of the Deamisian Royal Knights!”

Following this, Fen’Ru-el lifted the King’s enchantment from his and his subordinates’ armors, transforming from inconspicuous ones to ones seemingly made from golden leaves, just like the name of the Order they once belonged to, ‘The Golden Leaf’.

“““““…!!!”””””

This not only shocked the people of Cucuy Village, but, as Deamisians themselves, this gave them even more hope. Just who was this young woman? Yes, they knew that she was the dear friend of their Prince, but they didn’t know much more beyond that.

But they were about to.

And in a way that would make their hope and morale soar.

“Let us protect the people that are its foundations and the bonds that make Cucuy Village your beloved home! I am Euphemia vi Kyrie! Carrier of the will of my mother the Saintess, Theresa vi Kyrie, and my brother the Knight of the Moon, Erevain vi Kyrie!! Who is with me?!”

For a moment it seemed that Euphemia’s voice would echo through the village alone, silence threatening to reign again, but then…

“You can count on me, Lady Euphemia!!”

…it happened.

“This old man will never forgive himself if he lets a young’un like ya do all the work! I’m in!”

“Me too!”

“Your mother saved me when I was younger! It’s time for me to pay back the favor!”

“I’ve been a guard of this village for decades! And I’m not going to start slacking today! I promise you that!”

“I want my children to be born in this village that I love, of course I’m with you!!”

“Daughter of the Saintess or not, as the staff of the village’s church we promise you that no civilian will be harmed under our protection! Love be unto you!”

Moved by her words, the villagers started to speak up one after the other in a wave of clamor that inspired more and more to join.

They answered her call not with hearts free of fear, but rather…they did so in spite of it, for their love towards their village and the ones within it was greater than any fear.

“…”

Seeing all the people willing to join her, our dear Euphemia was both moved and inspired by them. Still, she knew that there was no time for her to take in such sight, and immediately moved on to the next thing to tackle.

Especially now that she can count on so many people.

“Thank you so much everyone! Let us discuss our plan!”

Having been recognized by everyone as their leader for this situation, Euphemia—with the help of Charles and Fen’Ru-el—provided the villagers with a plan to enact alongside the companions that will stay with them.

The plan was simple.

Knowing that Xol would try to hurt people to distract those attacking him, Euphemia had the civilians take refuge within the church rather than having them evacuate and endanger everyone by being in the open. Meanwhile, those with combat capabilities would protect the church and thus, them.

She had three reasons for choosing this.

First, regardless of the terrain, even just one Savage Spriggan would have the advantage out in the open given its abilities. Even more so in a place filled with nature to corrupt and control, like a forest.

Second, monsters—controlled or not—attract other monsters. And that would only make things much worse for everyone by escalating things into a full monster stampede.

Still, simply taking refuge within the church wouldn’t be enough to prevent the Savage Spriggans from being meanies and hurting the people inside. Be it by breaking in from the surface, underground, or just breaking it all in one fell swoop. Thus, she asked the church’s staff to erect a [Blessed Barrier] around it.

In doing so, the church would become nigh impossible to break into from all sides, including from below. But there’s a caveat…one that I really, really don’t like. The magical circle carved on the church itself to enable this barrier can’t fully hold my power, causing it to degrade over time. All members of the church know this and are trained to supplement this shortcoming with their own mana by replacing the most degraded parts with ones made with it, but it is quite draining.

Worst of all, since it’s a reactive type of barrier, the circle would degrade faster if it blocked a large amount of damage for an extended amount of time, making such recovery tactic not worth it.

This leads us to the third reason for Euphemia’s course of action, ease of defense. Having everyone in one place makes it easier for those with combat capabilities to protect them.

These valiant people would be divided into three teams—each lead by their own elven Royal Knight—and tasked with engaging the Savage Spriggans via hit and run tactics, keeping them at bay and preventing them from overwhelming the barrier, all while avoiding full on confrontations unless absolutely necessary.

“There is no need for any of you to be heroes. Not right now. The objective is for all of you to hold out until my companions and I defeat Xol. And we will. I promise,” said Euphemia knowing full well that she was asking them to go through the harshest ordeal of their lives, regardless of how much she wanted to avoid as many losses as possible with her strategy.

This weighed heavily on her heart.

“…”

Yet she wasn’t going to waver under said weight. She wouldn’t make light of the determination of those before her. They knew the risks. They knew what they were going up against. And they were going to follow her lead.

Thus, she intended to continue with the strategy meeting. Perhaps come up with some contingencies in case something unexpected happened, yet she prayed for nothing like that to happen.

She even hoped that she was strong enough to make Xol unable to even send a single Savage Spriggan to the village.

She also wished for more time, at least just enough for her to cover anything they might have missed.

But then, as she did so, one of the elven Royal Knights that were at the village’s entrance, Sols, came with news.

“Lady Euphemia! It’s Xol! Leglas has pinpointed his location!”

“…!!”

Time was up.

“You heard him everyone! It is time! Those who can’t fight, to the church! Those who can, you know what to do! Gur'Enel! Alphi’Nott! Ghyllen! I leave the village and the villagers to you!”

“““Yes, Lady Euphemia!”””

Time was up and Euphemia wasn’t going to waste even a second more. She immediately sprang into action and commanded everyone to do the same before leaving them with her last words of encouragement.

“May we feast in victory tonight!”

“““““Yes!!”””””

What better motivator than something to look forward to? Fufu~.

“Charles! Sistina! Fen-Ru’el! Sols! With me! Let’s go to Leglas!”

After that, a certain someone watched as Euphemia and her companions left to where Leglas waited from his room’s window, his fist slowly closing in frustration. Or perhaps…conviction? Only he knew the answer.

One thing was for sure, the question that he had stowed away inside his storage pendant all this time now stood tall behind him wanting to know the answer too.

Its crimson color burned with the intensity of battles past and a passion forgotten.

Its golden hues spoke of both a wish made in halcyon days and a duty forged in an ideal now silenced.

Its blemishes and scars, a medal each and every one, filled with lives saved and honored. A legacy overshadowed and willingly veiled.

It was a crimson set of armor with a missing arm guard and a sword with a star for a hilt.

His crimson set of armor and sword.

“…”

As he turned from the window, he faced them.

They were waiting for his answer. His choice. The choice.

His eyes still uncertain, yet not for long.

What will it be, dearies? Will he go? Will he stay? We’ll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, let us put our focus back on our dear princess and her companions, for they were well on their way to Xol’s location.

“So he suddenly stopped moving when he realized that you had detected him, Leglas?” so asked Fen-Ru’el.

“It is the only thing that comes to my mind when thinking about it, Boss,” ascertained Leglas with a tinge of frustration in his voice for being detected by the enemy.

For a moment, Fen-Ru’el wanted to comment on the fact that he was calling him ‘Boss’ now that they were acting as knights instead of ‘Leader’, but he did away with such thought and focused back on the matter at hand.

“Is he preparing an ambush?” he wondered aloud after he used his own trained senses to ‘look’ ahead and grimaced as he was greeted by the insidious presence of Xol and his Dark Spirits.

“He doesn’t need to,” Euphemia interjected, “with his powers he can ambush us in the middle of combat if he wants. And he knows it. That is why he is doing the same thing he did when he attacked Kori’s home. He is waiting for us to go to him. In other words…”

Then, as Euphemia was about to finish her explanation, Xol finally came into view. He was just as Kori had described him. A deceptively unassuming posture and build. Violet-tinged black scales. And black horns that flowed from the forehead towards the back of the head before pointing upwards in a slick manner.

“…he is waiting for his next meal to deliver itself to him.”

Euphemia scowled.

“Heh…”

In response, Xol bowed in fake reverence before raising his head and showing another thing Kori had told her about, an insidious toothy grin.

“Welcome, Princesssssss. You sssweet, sssweet dessert of a runaway piece. It isssss high time we met.”

As soon as Xol finished his greeting, a wave of killing intent and magical pressure washed over Euphemia and her companions.

The resulting oppression was almost asphyxiating for Euphemia, who felt like many shadowy hands had crawled all over her before coalescing around her neck and crushing it very slowly.

‘Ghn…was this what you felt when you confronted Eternal Winter, Big Brother?’ so she wondered while she pictured a battle she never witnessed within her mind, all as Xol’s oppression threatened to make her take a step back, much to his delight.

‘If that is the case…’

Yet those very same images and the feelings they stirred within her urged her to not bend the knee to it, to keep moving forward.

Just like her companions.

Just like her Big Brother.

‘…then I shall not disappoint you by letting this disgusting feeling get the better of me!’

So she did.

One step, she summoned a couple of her scepters to her hands, light and space became hers to command.

Two steps, she weaved her mana and ki together and covered her whole body in the resulting translucent white veil, letting it both strengthen and fortify her.

Three steps, she took a deep breath and did away with any lingering influence Xol’s oppression had on her.

More and more steps came after those, each firmer than the previous one, until the distance between Xol and Euphemia’s group was quite shortened.

*clap-clap-clap*

Amused by her courage, Xol clapped and grinned.

“Look at you! Approaching me like that dessspite thisss clearly being your firsssst time fighting a dragon. Wonderful. Truly wonderful. It even makessss me want to offer you a treat in the sssshape of a deal. Pleassssing my former massster be damned.”

Former Master? Deal? What was he talking about? Such questions filled the minds of Euphemia’s group save for a couple who had knowing looks thanks to their…age old experiences.

“What kind of deal?” asked Euphemia, giving voice to at least one of those questions.

“My Lady—” Charles tried to advise her against even considering making a deal with a dragon lord, especially one that worked for the leader of the Chosen, Xetant, as his abyssal black scales showed.

Not only that, but the violet tinge on them implied the identity of his former master very clearly.

Still, Euphemia stopped him before he could say any of that with a very simple yet very particular twirl of her light attribute scepter, making him close his mouth immediately.

“Pardon my butler. Please, go on. What kind of deal do you offer?” she asked once again, firmly.

Xol glanced at Charles and smiled in a mocking manner before extending an offering right hand towards her, his violet-tinged black scales covering most of it.

“A sssssimple one, princess. You give me the Mind Weaver and I go away without attacking that village of mortalsss. Or you and your companionssss for that matter.”

“Hmmm…”

For a moment, our dear princess seemed to be truly thinking about it. At least, that is how it seemed to someone who not only viewed mortals as lesser, but also didn’t see the need to use his pillaged yet still incomplete mind weaving magic to read their ‘small’ minds to confirm such thing.

“One person in exchange for the sssafety of many. Isn’t that the…hmm what’s the word? Ah, yess. You mortalsss call it ‘the greater good’.”

Thus, he tried to give her one more push to accept, looking forward to the expression she’d make when he changed his mind at the very last moment and did the opposite of what he promised.

He even imagined it, letting himself feel elated in what was to come if only for a brief moment.

But then…

“Indeed. Some ‘mortals’ would think so…”

“Then—”

“But I am not one of them. As such, I shall be rejecting your offer.”

“…”

But then he was dragged down from such foolish high by the very source of it, making his smile disappear and leaving him speechless, thoughts racing with indignity.

He had been rejected. Firmly. Utterly.

The disrespect.

The audacity.

The gall.

How dare an inferior mortal reject his poisoned offer? How dare she deprive him of what could have been a delightful display of despair born from a broken promise? How dare this appetizer not season itself with such emotions?

How dare she?! How?! How?! How?! How? How…

“…fun. Hehehe…how fun,” Xol grinned another, larger toothy grin. “It’sss alwaysss thosssse who ansssswer like you that tasssste the bessst after breaking them.”

The moment those words left his lips, Xol pounced at Euphemia like a beast does towards its prey, all while Dark Spirits began gathering around his hands like fuzzy, buzzing black gauntlets.

And just like a beast, he intended to use the claws forming from those very gauntlets to turn our dear Princess into princessy bits.

“…”

Yet…our dear Princess was not intimidated by any of this. She faced the incoming Xol and instead of jumping out of the way and readying a counter like many warriors would do, she murmured something and charged straight at him while her companions seemingly did nothing to stop her, making Xol laugh.

No. Not just laugh, but gloat.

“Hehehaha! It ssseeems that you’re alone in your arrogance, little Princesss!! What a ssham—”

“[Quickstep]!”

Or at least he tried to, but he was oh so rudely interrupted by our dear princess as she used a movement skill to deftly and quickly move under his long and still-swiping arms. And then…

“Huh…?”

“[FLASH]!”

“GAAAH! My eyesss!!! My eyeeeeesss!!”

…she shoved her light attribute scepter right onto his face and blinded him with an extremely intense and painful flash of light.

But she wasn’t done.

“[Scepter Fighter Trance]...”

“Youuuu…!”

Before Xol could even react by blindingly swiping at her, our dear Princess teleported to his left flank and let her most powerful attack take form as Xol roared at her in anger, his bloodshot eyes slowly regaining some semblance of sight.

Said attack summoned all her scepters at once and had them float behind her back in a circle, gathering mana from both her and the world itself until…

“…[Kaleidoscopic Blast]!”

“[Dark Def—GUAAAAARGHHHH!!”

...she released it all in a powerful point-blank multi-attribute blast that went ‘FZOOOOOON’! All as it sent Xol flying across the valley before he could even use any defensive skill!

“What a shame, indeed. Because starting from here, this ‘little Princess’ shall take you down.”

Our Princess firmly declared. After all, she had a promise to keep.

To be continued…NEXT WEEK!