Connie filled a bowl with so soup, then put it on a tray alongside a couple rolls and a glass of Lia’s favorite soda. She was obviously going to be feeling bad about what had just happened, and she could use so comfort food to keep her mind off of things. When Connie got back to the bedroom, however, she was surprised to see that Chrys had beat her to it, and was already talking with Lia.
“I just feel so useless.” Lia said. “I’m not good at any of this, I was just a normal kid before all of this, and it’s showing. I’m not good at policymaking or politics or any of that, and while I used to be one of our strongest fighters, I can’t even fall back on that anymore. I just…froze up, and left Alia and Rose to fend for themselves. So…I don’t know, I’m just feeling like our success is in spite of , not in any part because of .”
She looked up at Chrys with watery eyes, then stopped as she caught sight of Connie in the door. “C-Connie!” She said, hurriedly reaching up and wiping her eyes. “Thank you! Um…how long have you been there?”
“Since you said you felt useless.” Connie replied, walking over and placing the tray on a nightstand, casting a quick spell to preserve the freshness of its contents. She sat down next to Lia, laying a comforting hand on Lia’s thigh. “You’re not useless.” She said. “I can guarantee that, were it not you specifically that was in your role, things would be drastically different.”
Connie motioned at the room around them. “We wouldn’t have any of this. In fact, I don’t even know if Rose would even be alive, she might have been kept in the afterlife until a more opportune ti. There’s sothing about you in particular that draws people in to you and makes them want to help.”
“Well, it doesn’t an I feel any less useless now.” Lia sighed. “I’ve made connections, sure, but at the end of the day I’m sitting here in an extravagant bed while people are out fighting and dying.”
“I know how you feel.” Chrys said quietly. “I was always compared to my mom, and I was always found lacking. I an…how do you asure up to soone like her? She’s wise, kind, and has the fighting ability of a thousand soldiers, and I was just…an extra. Yeah, I was technically heir to the throne, but no one actually expected to take over; before I killed her everyone just sort of thought my mom would be in charge forever. And after…who would want the girl who destroyed the world’s golden age to take over? It felt like I never deserved any of what I had, and even now I feel the sa.
“I’m here because of luck. I was lucky enough to be Rose’s daughter, and that alone has brought to where I am now. I made so many mistakes, ruined so much for so many people, and I’m back to being treated like royalty.” Chrys paused, a guilty expression crossing her face. “Sorry, I know I’m supposed to be comforting you, but it just sort of slipped out. As I was saying, I get where you’re coming from, but you’re at least making the effort. Just rember that you’re technically a student, and students aren’t supposed to start doing their work until they’re done learning.”
“Chrys, do you know what Rose told about you killing her?” Lia asked.
“T-this isn’t about !” Chrys protested.
“Chrys, she says that looking back on it now, it’s one of the best things to ever happen to her. You freed her from a life she hated, and, these are her words, not mine, allowed her to get everything she had ever wanted. The empire had to fall at so point, Chrys, and her only regret about it was how it negatively affected you.”
Chrys sighed. “I…I know.” She said. “Did I ever tell you what happened in that bathroom?”
Lia shook her head. “Not from your perspective.”
“I…I walked up to her, a specially-prepared dagger in my pocket.” Chrys said. “She turned around and, for the first ti in my whole life, she hugged . And, when she did…I…I stabbed her. She had to have known I had the dagger, but she let do it anyway. And, as I stabbed her, she rubbed my head and said she was sorry she didn’t do better, and that she loved .
“The mont I hit her, I realized what I had done, and I tried to save her, but…my spells wouldn’t co out right. And the whole ti she blad herself for everything, said that if she had done better that I wouldn’t have to bear the burden I was bearing. No matter how much she had accomplished, how many lives she saved and how much she improved society, it was never enough.
“I guess what I’m saying is that you remind of her. And that’s not really a bad thing, she’s the best person I’ve ever known, but…she’s too hard on herself. And I think you’re being too hard on yourself too; you’re making an effort, and that’s what matters, right? You’re doing the best you can, but it’s still not enough for you. No one expects you to be a great general or stateswoman right away. But, as long as you’re making the effort to improve, you’ll get there, and that’s the important bit. Just…give it ti, okay?”
“I don’t have ti.” Lia said bitterly. “People are out there dying for , and I can’t do anything to help them.”
“It’s not just for you.” Connie said quietly.
“What?” Lia asked, turning to face Connie. “But I’m the one who –”
“Part of it is because of the conditioning Alia put in, yes, but I think a lot of the people out there are fighting because they believe in the society you’re creating. Plenty of people left military service after being converted, so the people who stayed wanted to stay. They knew exactly what they were getting into, and they proceeded anyway.
“They know you’re making an effort, and they know that if they lose you, everything falls apart. I can guarantee that the vast majority of soldiers out there today won’t fault you for this, especially since you wanted to stay but were forced away. So just…take it easy on yourself, okay? Get so rest, and I’ll think of sothing that can help with the issue.”
Connie picked the tray up and set it on Lia’s lap, undoing the stasis spell on it in the process. “Now eat. Chrys, there’s more in the kitchen, so you go get so food too. If you’re going to mope, you’re going to do it on a full stomach, understand?”
Alia finished her spell, nodding to herself as the Mana scattered into the air and began to draw up a thunderstorm. The rest of the battle had gone about as Rose had predicted; the two of them caused a panic in the back lines, but weren’t able to grab anyone truly important, then teleported back and waited a bit. While the enemy army was still getting themselves reoriented, Rose called for the retreat and had Alia cover the army as they did.
The spoils were, likewise, about as expected. While they had lost many monsters, the number of people in the army had grown by about ten percent. Or…at least, that was what the raw numbers said; Alia assud that many of those they converted would be unwilling to imdiately join the fight against their countrywon. Fortunately, dealing with all of that was not Alia’s problem, and all she had to do was rest up in preparation for her rampage later.
That was sothing she was really looking forward to; she had precious little ti at even a semblance of her forr strength, and it felt good to let her frustrations loose. And, what was better, she would be experiencing a marked jump in power this ti; she had played a pivotal role in the day’s battle, and had leveled up five tis from it. On paper five levels wasn’t much, but when you were as strong as Alia…those levels were few and far between.
She was practically salivating at the prospect of evolving out of the Fallen Hero race. She had been keeping a careful eye on her stats, and she was gaining a little extra each ti she leveled up. If her projections held true, she’d actually hit her old stats at about level forty-eight, and that ant when she evolved back into Hero, she was going to be even stronger than she was before, at least in terms of stats.
Having her Worship sealed ant she was still significantly weaker than she should have been, but she was becoming increasingly sure that she wouldn’t need any Worship to handle this war. Her opponents just weren’t skilled enough to make it a necessity. It would make things faster, yes, but it wasn’t required.
Those thoughts filled her mind until it was ti for the raid. She and Rose set off with a thousand or so soldiers, stealthily moving towards where their enemy was camped. Rose was fairly confident that they would still be in their sa camp; the storm made moving a camp that large extrely risky, and most armies preferred to avoid engagents in that sort of weather, so it would be a reasonable decision to stay put for one night.
When they got close, Alia said goodbye to Rose, and teleported herself into the camp. She was, of course, t with cries of alarm, but that was all part of the plan. While unbound, Alia didn’t really care if she was noticed, and she would make an excellent distraction from the others.
Magic circles began to fill the air around her and she lifted into the air as she began to cast her spells. First and foremost, she had to locate the prisoners of war, if any were there. This was the riskiest part of the plan; Rose was confident that there would be prisoners, but if it turned out that there weren’t, Alia’s bindings would instantly be restored.
Fortunately, Rose was right, and there were mbers of the swarm deep in the heart of the camp, guarded by a few people that were over level two hundred. So, with them located, she flew herself forward at a breakneck pace, relishing in the sensation of control she had. Tents that had been erected poorly were blown away by the wind pressure of her passing, and anyone unlucky enough to be directly in her way was covered in modeling wax and stored safely in her dinsional storage
A few tis she was attacked by soone with a high enough level to actually react quick enough, and each ti she was perfectly capable of retaliating, easily cocooning the fool who thought they could challenge a Hero and adding them to the ever-growing pile of cocoons in her storage.
The best was yet to co, however; Alia had been keeping a magical eye on the location of the prisoners, and she could tell that not one, but two people at max level had joined the guards. And, after only a couple of minutes, she touched down outside of the makeshift holding facility that contained the prisoners. “Give the prisoners now and there won’t need to be a fight!” Alia called out, yawning theatrically. “I’m giving you five seconds to state your compliance, or I’m coming in!”
“I’m giving you five seconds to state your compliance, or I’m coming in!” Eliza’s heart pounded in her chest as she heard Alia’s voice. The Hero herself had co for her and the other prisoners, and that could only an she would soon be free.
The past few hours had been awful. She had been tied up and subject to nurous interrogations and so rather forceful mind-reading, and she had been completely unable to resist. The difference in level between her and her captors was just too large for her to even dream of making an escape.
“You and what army!” Louis, one of her captors, yelled back. From what she had gathered, Louis and the other newcor, Raymond, were at max level, but the two n clearly didn’t realize how little that ant in the face of Alia’s overwhelming might.
The air beca charged, and the magically erected earth walls of the building collapsed in on themselves, the ceiling turning into modeling wax as it fell. “You do know who you’re talking to, right?” Alia replied, stepping into the area that had once been Eliza’s prison.
“A Hero restricted to a tenth of her forr status.” Raymond replied, loosing an arrow from his bow. The arrow glowed with power, and the shockwaves it created knocked Eliza’s chair over, but unfortunately did not loose the chains that were holding her.
Alia caught the arrow between two fingers, looking at it disinterestedly. “Technically right, I guess. Here, I think you dropped sothing.” She threw the arrow back at Raymond, who hurriedly sidestepped the projectile.
Eliza couldn’t see where the arrow ended up, but judging by the boom and shouts of pain, it had exploded so distance further away in the camp. Alia took a step forward, a legion of magic circles appearing in the air around her. “Last chance to run. I know you two are at max level, and I’m telling you straight up that this won’t even be a challenge for .”
Louis began to cast so sort of spell, a large magic circle drawing itself out on the floor below him, but despite the fact that Alia was in the process of casting what had to be at least a dozen spells, the circle was nigh-instantly erased, and Alia took another step forward. “Amateur work.” She said. “Were you even trying?”
Raymond let loose another arrow, and once again Alia caught it. One of the magic circles behind her disappeared, and the arrow was instantly coated in modeling wax. She threw the arrow back at Raymond, but when he dodged to the side, the arrow swerved to follow him. He kept that up a few more tis before quickly nocking another arrow and firing it at the one chasing him.
The two arrows collided in midair, but yet another of Alia’s spells activated, and all of a sudden there were two modeling wax arrows aiming for Raymond. “I’m going to die of boredom at this rate.” Alia complained, countering yet another of Louis’s spells. She snapped her fingers, and the two arrows instantly flew to Alia’s side, hovering nacingly in the air.
“Tell you what, both of you use your ultimate Skills. If you can scratch , I’ll leave now. If you can’t, then I’m going to start attacking. As much as I love to play fight with you kids, I do need to get these prisoners back to safety.”
“You’ll regret that.” Raymond spat, tugging at his quiver and throwing it into the air. Either his Skill was making more arrows or the quiver had so sort of space magic tied to it, because hundreds of arrows flew out of it, arranging themselves in a do surrounding Alia.
Then, all of a sudden, all of the magic circles behind Alia disappeared, and Louis swelled with muscle, the skinny man turning into a hulking giant as his Skill activated.
“Ah, the antimagic field.” Alia said. “Did you know that it’s completely pointless if you just infuse your spells with enough Mana to overwhelm it?” Magic circles once again popped up behind Alia, and she gave Louis a smug grin. “See? Always struck as a bit of a dud of an ultimate Skill, to tell you the truth.”
The arrows all speared towards Alia, but she simply rolled her eyes and activated one of her spells. The arrows stopped in midair, then redirected themselves at Louis, hitting him and bouncing off of his body with an almost tallic-sounding plink.
“Okay, mister archer over there is now disqualified, think you can do any better?”
Louis swung a fist at Alia, who just raised a hand and caught it. “Uh, did you really think that would work?” She asked, activating a spell before lifting the behemoth up and throwing him a few yards away. “Yeah, it buffs your physical stats, but it’s kind of pointless against soone with stats like mine.
“Anyway, those were your two chances,” Alia continued, stepping forward as even more circles appeared in the air behind her. “I am once again reminding you that my number one priority is the prisoners. If you just leave, I won’t give chase. If you choose to stay, then I will be going all out and converting both of you. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of use for you in the swarm.”
Raymond paused, looking from side to side. From what Eliza could see, all of the lower-level guards had wisely taken the chance to flee, and it was just him and Louis standing against Alia. He nodded at Louis, and Louis’s transformation faded, Alia’s magic circles glowing brighter as they were no longer suppressed. Louis cast so sort of spell and then they were gone, leaving Alia alone with the prisoners.
“Wow, I didn’t actually expect them to leave.” She said, a disappointed look on her face. “Well, we’ll see how he likes the little surprises I left him, if we’re lucky, we’ll have a powerful new ally by the ti the night’s over.”
“Little…surprises?” One of the other prisoners croaked.
“Yeah, all those arrows I hit him with were loaded with a delayed-cast spell, if he’s too low on Mana after our encounter he’ll find himself cocooned and teleported away. Anyway, let’s get you all ho, shall we?”
Alia snapped her fingers, there was a wrenching sensation, and then Eliza found herself in the courtyard of one of the border forts, completely free from the chains that had been wrapped around her. “We’ve got food left in the ss and healers in the infirmary, go get yourselves patched up and get sothing to eat then head to bed.” Alia ordered. “Talk with your superiors in the morning, they’ll sort everything out.”
All of a sudden, a huge number of cocoons appeared next to Alia. “I have to get these people converting, so please leave be for a bit, I want to get through this before Rose gets back.”
Eliza stood, her legs protesting the action. The infirmary and then a al sounded really nice, especially when she had resigned herself to a night of torture. She almost headed off, but then stopped and turned back to Alia. “Um, thank you for rescuing us…uh…Your Grace? Sorry if that’s the wrong form of address, I’m not familiar with all of this. And, um, sorry for bothering you when you just said not to, but…is the Queen okay?”
Alia gave Eliza a smile. “You’re welco, and that question is the exception. She’s perfectly fine, if emotionally distraught. She was really upset when she saw how you soldiers were getting hurt, and we had to send her back early in case we got into a high-level fight. She just wasn’t ready for sothing like that in that emotional state.”
“Oh. Um…good. Tell her not to feel bad about it, please. The fact that she cares is enough.”
“I’ll pass the ssage along. Now, I’m sure the rest of you heard that, and I won’t take any other questions. Go move along, I need to work.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)