NOVPUBI opened my eyes in the morning to see Mia still sleeping soundly by my side. It had been a long time since I had seen her so comfortable and relaxed like this.
At the same time, I couldn't help but feel for her. She's usually one of the first to get up and refuses to miss her early morning training.
She also has the best hearing in the kingdom, so the noises of frantic knocking on the door and the loud commotion that permeated the castle and woke me up should have sounded way louder for her.
Yet, she was sleeping peacefully... I never thought I would see her so careless and at ease, and I burned the image in my mind.
I knew I had no choice, but instead of rushing to answer the door, I gently removed her hands from my body.
It was difficult to overcome the thought of leaving her alone again when she needed me by her side the most...
Agatha: "...Did I interrupt something?"
Her eyes were filled with suspicion, and I couldn't blame her for it.
For anyone looking at this scene, knowing how disciplined Mia is, they would definitely come up with only one explanation...
Miwen: "Nothing much... What's happening?"
Agatha: "We are under attack."
Miwen: "Huh... I wasn't expecting them to come back so soon."
Attacking this fortress after what Licia did to defend it? That was incredibly bold.
I can't imagine what the proposal would do to the soldiers' morale... If it were me, I'd probably run away from the army.
Especially since the land around the castle was still filled with the crystals she created, almost a reminder of the massacre they suffered during their charge.
Agatha: "I think we're dealing with someone else this time. It's a small company and the soldiers don't look very professional or well-equipped, so... They are probably mercenaries... I wasn't even going to call you, thinking the men should be able to deal with them... But Angelica and Lana went to take a look and asked me to bring you..."
Huh...
Terith's men are not the strongest, and they have been busy caring for the wounded of the last battle, but even then, Agatha was right. A mercenary band shouldn't give them too much trouble...
Thanks to my psychic link, I could ask Angelica and Lana what was happening and immediately get an answer.
After they told me what was happening, I sent Cassandra a message asking her to make a quick trip to the Kingdom and reunite with me as fast as she could.
Miwen: "Agatha, return to the infirmary and ensure Claire and Licia don't leave. Cass and I will need a minute to change..."
Agatha: "Yes..."
I gave Mia one last head pat before leaving, for good luck, and then we made our way to the castle gates.
Cassandra: "This might be tough... Are you sure about not calling the demon? Not that I mind though..."
Miwen: "She's getting a little ahead of herself. This might be a little challenging, but it's necessary to put her back in her place."
Cassandra: "You're trying to control a demon... A devil, actually... This much should be expected. But if you ask me, you'd have a much easier time punishing her with your other sword. Five minutes and she'll be begging for more~"
Haha...
Sometimes it's hard to take Cassandra's suggestions with a straight face.
She has an extremely skewed perception of reality, but when she targets Elizabeth with her delusions, it becomes surreal enough to be funny.
I can certainly use sex as an incentive, and it, by its very nature, helps some girls, namely Beatrice, know who is in charge of whom.
Never mind that Elizabeth could kill me with ease if I pushed her buttons too far, becoming submissive and succumbing to pleasure is something I can only imagine Cassandra doing.
And if it's not a matter of "yes" or "no", but rather a scale, then Elizabeth is at Cassandra's opposite end.
Miwen: "Let's tame a less dangerous beast first, ok?"
As soon as the guards opened the gates for the next wave of levies, I stepped outside, joining the battle with Cassandra in my hand.
Our men were close to surrounding the enemies ahead of us, but clearly, something was impeding them.
Magic bolts and arrows targeted the castle's entrance, but instead of the walls, they were mostly meant to hit the reinforcing troops like me.
Protecting myself against those was surprisingly easy. Our mages offered a lot of support, so all I had to do was be careful with the arrows flying past, and by swinging Cassandra around, I could cut them down before they reached me.
Once I reached the frontline, I had to be more careful.
Using [Analysis] to determine each soldier's strength was impossible and a waste of time and focus... I had to treat every man, no matter how scrawny or bulky, as a threat.
At the same time, I had to be swift... Striking a good balance between the two was rather difficult, but thanks to watching and training with the girls, I could get a few clues of a soldier's strength by the way they moved, answering appropriately more often than not.
Having a high level and therefore high stats helps a lot, but mistakes are inevitable with so many factors at play.
Sometimes, even the best move doesn't imply getting out unscathed, but being faster, stronger, and more resistant than everyone gives me a big leeway.
Cassandra also increases my stats when I equip her, so no men in this battle could get past us with their ability alone.
Even the few who got lucky shots could at most claim the glory of being intercepted by the magic barrier I had cast before their death. Their biggest deed was to make me lose a few precious mana points.
Unfortunately, since I wasn't going to rely on Elizabeth's help or the mana I can draw from our contract, this could become a problem if I wasn't careful...
Cassandra: "Ahh... Nothing like war and sex to make a girl feel alive~"
She speaks brazenly, with a sharp tongue and no care for the listener or their opinion.
For her, any relationship between a man and a woman boils down to sex and desire. No traces of morality or care to be found, only this insatiable search for satisfaction.
And then, hearing her say how much she loves war...
I couldn't help but think that if she were born a man, she'd be way more manly than I. And way more terrifying, too.
Actually, she kinda already is...
Miwen: "I'm glad you're having fun, but don't forget we have a target today."
I hated to be a killjoy, but we couldn't waste too much time with the average soldier. Terith's force was more than enough for them.
My objective was to cut a way through, penetrate their lines, and reach the source of this trouble.
Today's dance partner...
And sure enough, finding her was much easier than making my way through the men.
The light flashes falling from the sky, almost like judgment had come for us, were a clear indicator.
But if that wasn't enough, I could always follow the screams of bravado, followed by the cries of despair coming from her direction.
Miwen: "Man... Shouldn't you be resting?"
Gullard: "...Lady Isabella entrusted me... with..."
Several men were being picked by hooks of light, thrown into a mountain of corpses behind a single woman.
Thankfully, I managed to cut it down before it reached Gullard, but his battle was over.
He was barely hanging on to his consciousness, gripping his sword that had carved the ground, offering him his only means of support after his legs gave up.
A meager, but brave last stand against the monster that had already defeated tens of men before him.
Miwen: "You did enough. Leave her to me... Angelica."
It wasn't even a fair fight to begin with.
The guy had suffered almost as much as Claire and Licia in the last battle.
I was amazed that he had the fortitude and sense of duty to come here under his conditions.
Well, perhaps it was his loyalty to Isabella...
But I respected it.
I pointed to the castle, and Angelica, summoned to me, immediately carried Gullard back.
Nissa: "A dragon... But not the one I know. How many of them do you rule?"
Miwen: "...What are you doing here, Nissa?"
Nissa: "What a stupid question. My life's mission has been to protect this world. Now that it needs me most... I've come to purge the calamities plaguing it."
Such a noble motive, I was impressed.
But whether or not it was true was a completely different story.
Miwen: "Really? Because I was under the impression you were frustrated with Elizabeth's curse and knowing you couldn't defeat her and have it removed, you came after me."
Or at least, that's what Elizabeth predicted was going to happen.
Nissa: "Insolent as always, I see. But you're not completely wrong. I do want the curse removed. And I can't see myself defeating both that demon and the dragon. However... You are the monster who reigns over them. The true calamity that will bring an end to this world, are you not?"
Miwen: "I'm still on the fence about that..."
The way Nissa spoke... It was hard to detect any fear in her, but...
I could tell she wasn't as confident as when she brought Isabella and me to her home.
As for what changed, well... She said it herself.
Now she sees me as a proper threat... The same level as Elizabeth and her new pet.
Miwen: "The prophecy... I've been wondering about that. You knew Isabella as the Umbral Queen. You also knew she was the one who would bring the three calamities together... So why did you not kill her?"
I didn't think much of the first fragments of it Elizabeth got from her, but I had to reconsider after listening to Edmond talk more about it.
He said Rodky's prophecy told of the Umbral Queen using three calamities to destroy this world.
But that was weird. If Nissa's knowledge was based on the game like Sabrina and I, no matter how it came to her, it wouldn't make sense, because... Isabella does not command the dragon in the game. She kills it.
She also doesn't have access to a demon.
These deviations happened because she summoned me, and that's-
Nissa: "What are you talking about? Umbral Queen? I thought one of you was the third calamity. Since she passed my test, I decided to take her under my wing, as a bargaining chip against you, who had to be the third. And even if I was wrong... If I could control what she learned... If I could slowly-"
...
I see.
The Umbral Queen was added later.
Unfortunately, such a coincidence is impossible. For her revelation to be so close to the truth, and its revised version to just so happen to mirror perfectly what we are seeing...
It had to be intentional.
Someone wanted the play to go this way.
They meticulously moved every piece to make sure it happened as they intended.
Every single life I came across in this world... Isabella, Nissa, Edmond... Maybe even Mia and Melissa.
Hell, I'm included in it too...
We are just their puppets...
The provocation of this scenario wasn't meant as a trap. The scenario was meant as a provocation.
Nissa's revelation, the game, and my summoning...
They wanted to push me.
But why?
What would they even gain from it? Is it just entertainment, or is there a greater reason?
Nissa: "Oh... You are distracted."
...!
Shit.
She might not be on Elizabeth's level, but she's not an opponent I can dare to take my eyes from, even for a second.
The moment she had the opportunity, she seized it, and behind her, I saw a small light sphere forming.
Dozens of light beams were shot towards me from it, and my chances of dodging them were null.
I knew every single one of them was powerful enough to break the magic barrier I had my body coated in, penetrate my skin, and come out on the other side.
In that brief moment, my eyes were already filled with the blinding light coming from her attack.
It was only her first move, and my survival was already at stake.
