Chapter 08
Translator: Blushy
Editor: SenjiQ
“Are you sure they’re heading to the Great Temple of Misorua?”
“I’m certain! I’m sure that I heard that this big fire and everything else is a distraction. Well, I did lose consciousness because of the beating though.”
“Are you sure?!”
“Trust me, Tsar!”
I kept silent. “Trust me,” he said. It was only natural that I wouldn’t be able to say anything else since Kamil said that.
“Rashiok, can you go any faster?”
As soon as I called out to him, Rashiok ran as fast as he could through the fiery capital while carrying Kamil and I.
I was slammed by the wind pressure, and I laid down on Rashiok’s back to avoid being blown away.
As I did this, I noticed that blood was slowly seeping out from the base of his severed right wing which was right next to my face.
――― It was the wing that Kamil had cut off in order to keep me alive.
“… I’m sorry; do your best, Rashiok…!”
Rashiok’s foot kicked the roof of a building with increasing strength as if responding to my voice. He was still able to run as lightly as if he was flying in the air even with the loss of one of his wings.
Even in this situation I couldn’t help but give my thanks to Earl Thelesia for giving me this magnificent draconis.
It wasn’t difficult for him to track down Feyria even with his body on the edge of its limits.
A swarm of black, fiery phosphorescent moths swirled in the skies of the capital.
The massive blaze had created a dark cloud over the capital. Are they planning to flee under the rain? The dark clothes hanging low in the sky merged with the smoke that was increasingly rising.
“Rashiok’s nose won’t work if the rain gets rid of her scent…”
“We’ll catch up to them before that happens. Tsar, trust the draconis that we raised.”
“~~~. Shit. Aren’t you having a little too much fun at a time like this?!”
“Of course, I am. I’m with Tsar right now.”
I groaned. Ah, that’s right. This is how we’ve always interacted with each other.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
Rashiok let out a low growl.
I could see the roof breaking in front of me. The phosphorescent moths were buzzing above us.
Deiferias was standing in the plaza in front of the Great Temple of Misorua, manipulating the phosphorescent moths with her fingertips, as if she was dancing. A number of hateful purplish-red lights trailed in the sky and swarms of phosphorescent moths began to move as if they were connected by a string.
It was a terrible, yet fantastic scene. The pain in my left hand forced me to shake off the hazy, distant memories that flashed through my mind.
I saw Feyria sitting limply on the ground beside the dancing Deiferias.
I lightly tapped Rashiok’s neck.
“Let’s go!”
Rashiok jumped from the roof of the three-story building towards the woman on my command.
I’ll show you that a magic beast of Amon Nohl, a steep, rocky, snow-covered mountain, can kill you on landing impact with its great flexibility.
Deiferias jumped back in surprise since the attack came out of nowhere.
Kamil, Rashiok and I all moved at once to take advantage of this opportunity.
Rashiok took Feyria in his mouth and left the plaza at once.
Kamil drew his short sword and leped at Deiferias, and I slipped behind the holy mother statues in front of the temple. I swallowed the cough as the pressure on my weakened organs got the better of me.
“Ah, Kamille, you’ve finally betrayed us!”
“Betrayed? Don’t be ridiculous. My one and only master has always been and always will be ―― Eliza-sama.”
Kamil’s sword, which was aimed at Deiferias’s chest, was repelled by a wide knife. Kamil was able to dodge the slash of her knife with minimal movement.
He jumped back this time when the phosphorescent moths rushed at him with a repulsive sound.
This was the first time that I had ever seen him fight properly.
His movements weren’t as monstrous as Claudia’s. I now understood the sword that had neither a noble’s elegance or a warrior’s vulgarness. His sword was for killing. I need to talk to Earl Thelesia later since he told me that Kamil was the son of a merchant. No… I can just ask Kamil from now on about numerous things.
“Now, dance as hard as you can if you don’t want to be turned into a ball of flames!”
Her high-pitched, raspy yell was swallowed by the sound of the innumerable flapping wings.
Although Kamil was perfectly capable with a sword, there was still a limit to what a single human could do. The countless number of phosphorescent moths that fluttered and danced in the air began to swarm together, and he was unable to close the distance between Deiferias and himself, little by little.
“Ahahaha, come on, dance more!”
The woman’s dance became more intense, at the same time, more phosphorescent moths began wriggling on the ground.
This time, there wasn’t any water that was conveniently sprouting around. Deiferias didn’t hesitate to send the phosphorescent moths towards Kamil like a tsunami.
Kamil’s expression showed his impatience. He immediately cut off the knight’s uniform that began to smoke, but the phosphorescent moths were closing in on him.
I stared at the battle from behind the statues of the holy mother while holding my breath. I was aware of the whole scene as if I were looking at a huge painting, and I bit back the scream that wanted to escape from my throat every time a phosphorescent moth swarm grazed past Kamil.
I’m the eye. I have to see things differently from Kamil. I must cut off all impulses and emotions and keep my head cool ―――.
Then, with a few words, I looked for a chance and shouted as loud as I could.
“To the right, Kamil! Aim for her blind spot!”
――― Deiferias’s magic seemed to start from one point.
Her left eye, which I had damaged with my own hands, may not have gone blind, but her eyesight seemed to have been significantly affected. While I was calmly observing their fight, I noticed that the movements of the phosphorescent moths on her left lacked energy.
Her flashy, dancing movements were almost deceiving, but when the woman was trying to control Rashiok or give commands to the phosphorescent moths, she always looked at them.
The woman’s magic had two qualities: the ability to give simple, automatic movements and partial control, and the ability to direct movements manually at her own discretion.
The woman was startled by my voice and looked away from Kamil for a second. She turned her face away from him and turned towards the statues of the holy mother.
Her fingertips cut through the air towards me.
The red glow in the plaza rushed towards me at once.
“Burn to death, Breast!”
My eyes turned black.
I held my breath in order to rouse my body which was trying to break down if I relaxed.
――― You’re the one who will die, Deiferias!
I swung the draconis wing at the wall of phosphorescent moths in front of me. It was Rashiok’s wing, which had been cut off because she had controlled him.
A gust of wind roared in the air.
I was about to be blown away, but I struggled to stand firm on the spot.
The weightless phosphorescent moths were flung away by the surging wind and easily pushed towards the opposite direction.
A woman’s scream was mixed in with the roar of the wind, and then her screams turned into shrieks.
In the centre of the plaza where the phosphorescent moths were scattered, Kamil’s sword had pierced the woman’s chest.
Her amber limbs slumped to the ground as he withdrew his blade.
Her bright red blood spread on the ground every time she twitched.
The phosphorescent moths who were fluttering about in confusion gathered around the dying Deiferias as if drawn by her blood.
Her voice trailed off into the void.
The smell of burning flesh wafted through the air and my consciousness was fading from the nauseating feeling.
―――― But, we won. He definitely killed her. I won.
“Too bad. I won.”
Then, a voice came from the sky.
A huge bird flapped its wings against the dark clouds and rose from the roof of the Great Temple into the air.
“Wilhelmina!”
Wilhelmina and ――― a boy with black hair was on its back.
“Ah―――.”
I know that face.
Dressed in simple monk’s clothes, with beautiful black hair and violet eyes that were like jewels.
That was, without a doubt, ――― Alba, the hidden character in that otome game.
“Ahahahahaha. It worked! Now the Prince is mine. ――― Look, you greedy, arrogant nobles of Arxia. I have obtained the scythe of death that I will use against you at last!!”
Wilhelmina’s loud laughter echoed through the air.
Wait, Prince, prince. Alba… He’s the First Prince who entered the monastery!
“Stop it! Do you want another war!?”
The only destination where Wilhemina could escape to with Albert on that bird is Rindarl ――― from the beginning six years ago, the purpose of these people was to get Albert out of this kingdom.
“War? No, that’s not it. What I want is the destruction of Arxia.”
Wilhelmina replied with a smile filled with gloominess.
“――― You think I’m going to let you do that?”
Instantly, the ground shook with a thud and a golden light fell from the sky with a roar.
The giant bird shrieked, and the sound of lightning continued two and three more times.
Then ――― the giant bird shook and tilted its body and fell from the roof to the ground.
“Did you think you would get away with it under the Priestess Faris’s watch?”
Kamil and I could only look up in surprise as the events unfolded.
I looked up and saw that Priestess Faris and Earl Thelesia were standing at the entrance of the Great Temple of Misorua.
“Argh――― don’t get in my way! You’re trying to take everything away from me! You’re not satisfied with taking away my Crown Prince title and separating me from my mother, you have to take away my future ――― and freedom too!”
Albert stood up from under the wings of the giant bird.
“Taking away? That’s odd. Prince Albert, you’ve never had any freedom since you were born as a prince.”
Earl Thelesia’s words shattered Albert’s fury.
“What―――.”
Albert widened his eyes and looked at the two adults who were standing in his way with a stunned expression.
… This was the first time I had seen someone tainted with hatred and despair.
“I’ll never forgive you, ――― I can’t forgive you. I’ll definitely… be free, even if I have to destroy this kingdom!”
The air seemed to tremble as if frightened by his anger.
The giant bird got up as if it had snapped, and a white bolt of lightning flew towards Earl Thelesia and Faris. But a golden bolt of lightning flashed from somewhere. The two lightning bolts collided and dissipated with a huge explosion.
――― What the fuck is happening? What the fuck is going on?
Is this magic too? … Is Priestess Faris using magic?
I couldn’t keep up with the battle that was happening in front of me. Too many unrealistic things were happening.
The white lightning controlled by the giant bird and the golden lightning controlled by Faris cancelled each other out, and exploded, crushing the outer walls of the Great Temple, the paved road, the planted trees and the statues.
Then, the battle which seemed to be evenly matched, suddenly came to an end.
“Guhh, gaah!”
Earl Thelesia coughed up blood. The golden lightning faded for a moment, and the two of them were blown away in the aftermath of the explosion.
“Siegmund!”
“Earl Thelesia!”
The giant bird took advantage of this moment to fly into the sky.
Albert got away ―――. The seeds of war flew into a place that was out of my reach.
“Wait!”
I yelled my lungs out, but the giant bird disappeared beyond the dark clouds.