"Mr. Brimir!"
With a shout, Saito woke up.
Gasping desperately, he looked around.
He was still confined within the stone walls of the "Prison Island" cell.
Looking down at his chest, he saw a sweat-soaked jacket. It seemed like the "LÃfþrasir" rune hadnât reacted.
After a while... the sound of a drop, a drop of water dripped on his leg, confusing Saito.
"...?"
Water drops continued to drip down, gradually wetting his pants.
"Huh... are you telling me, that Iâm crying?"
Saito rubbed his eyes.
But his tears didnât stop. No matter how much he wiped them, they continued to flow.
"... Strange. Huh? Why am I crying...?"
Floating on the inside of Saitoâs closed eyelids, was Brimirâs expression of sadness.
"Barely, I just vaguely remember... that something very sad happened."
The words Derflinger incidentally had said before floated through Saitoâs mind. Such a sad tragedy had occurred six thousand years ago, which led to Derflinger sealing his memory.
"Brimir and Sasha were originally in love...."
They held no hatred for each other.
But, in the end it had come to that kind of ending....
Brimir only wanted to save his people, and Sasha... had to avenge those people who had been massacred.
Saito wiped his eyes with the cuff of his sleeve.
"Yes, now isnât the time to cry...."
In his mind, he desperately contemplated the meaning of the dream he just had.
Why is it that the familiar rune let Saito dream of a memory from six thousand years ago....
6,000 years ago, the "Great Catastrophe", which had caused the death of half of the Elves, was the "Void" spell "Life" cast by the Founder Brimir. In order to eliminate the cause of the wind stones going out of control, which was actually a giant chunk of "Spirit Stone", Brimir blew up the "Holy Lands" along with the Elven city.
But... at that same time, a doubt floated up in Saitoâs mind.
"But isnât this a bit weird?"
Since the "Holy Land" had been flattened 6,000 years earlier, why was the issue of the "Wind Stones" going out of control happening again...?
Saito, racking his brain, tilted his head in doubt.
"I donât understand... but that this has some meaning is right."
Why should the "Holy Land" be destroyed again...?
No, wait a moment... Saito suddenly remembered something as he racked his brain.
In Saitoâs mind, the remnants of the crater made in the desert, as well as a large chunk of the "Holy Landâs" mountain range coincided with the scene of the "Dragonâs Nest" surrounded by the formation of strange rocks.
"...Right, isnât all of the âHoly Landâ sunk to the bottom of the sea?"
Perhaps the "Holy Land" hadnât been completely destroyed....
In other words, the "Life" that Brimir fired didnât completely destroy the "Holy Land"...?
That made sense. Why were the "Wind Stones", which should go out of control once every several tens of thousands of years, about to go of control again... Was the current instance of the "Wind Stones" going out of control because Founder Brimir didnât completely destroy the "Holy Land" 6,000 years ago...?
"Thatâs right, this must be it...."
Saito was convinced. At that time, Brimir had failed to completely destroy the cause of the "Wind Stones" going out of control.
It only leveled half of the "Holy Land", thus delaying the destruction of Halkeginia.
"Wait a moment, if thatâs the case...."
Saito, with his hands across his chest, sunk deeper into thought.
The "Holy Land", which had sunk to the bottom of the sea.
The Founderâs Void, which had awakened in Louise.
"Right...!"
Saito softly cried.
As long as Louiseâs "Void" destroyed the "Holy Land" sleeping at the bottom of the sea again, wouldnât it be possible to stop the "Wind Stones" from going out of control, and save Halkeginia? That way, they could avoid a battle in order to compete for land and war breaking out with the Earth.
"Thereâs a chance... this way thereâs a chance."
This caused hope to suddenly spring up in Saitoâs heart.
"I have to tell Louise about this immediately...."
Thinking this... Saito was suddenly shocked.
How could he tell Louise about this from the prison...?
If the combined force of the "Coalition Army for the Restoration of the Holy Lands" began to invade the Earth, it would be too late....
At this time, there was a clatter in the corner of the cell, the sound of a pile of books.
Looking, Saito saw Tabithaâs surprised face gazing at him.
"Tabitha, youâre awake?"
Saito promptly asked.
Right then heâd been too absorbed in thought and had completely forgotten that Tabitha was also there.
"You were just talking in your sleep, were you dreaming?"
"Well, a little. You didnât see me crying just now, did you?"
Asked the question, Tabitha was hesitantly silent, then nodded her head. [1]
"Really. I let you see an embarrassing side of me."
"Itâs nothing, everybody, cries."
Tabitha shook her head.
Then Saito stood up, and sat next to Tabitha.
"Hey, Tabitha. Is there any way to escape from here?"
"No, there is no way at the moment."
"Oh... Thatâs true."
On the day they had been locked up here, Saito had tried all the escape methods he had seen in the dramas or movies. But reality wasnât that simple... it could be said that the fantasy world isnât that naïve. Whatâs more, even if they suffered through the effort to escape here, outside was an island in the middle of the ocean. Even with Tabithaâs magical flight, it definitely wouldnât take long to exhaust her magical power.
Just then, Tabithaâs words suddenly piqued Saitoâs curiosity.
"... You just said, thereâs no way at the moment?"
Tabitha nodded her head, and gently pushed up her glasses.
"When the time is right, there will be a chance to escape. So wait quietly."
"But we donât have much time left...."
Saito couldnât help but whisper this. Before the "Coalition Army for the Restoration of the Holy Land" began to invade the Earth, he had to tell Louise about the dream he just had now. And....
Saito looked down at his chest.
"Time may be running out...."
"...."
Consequently, Tabitha silently pulled something from her cloak.
It was a piece of parchment that had be folded repeatedly.
"Whatâs that?"
"Mixed in with the breakfast things today, the secret code of the Knights of Parterre."
"Secret code...."
Saito almost couldnât help but blurt this out, and immediately covered his mouth.
"The Knights of Parterre, is it Isabella?"
Asking in a low voice, Tabitha silently nodded.
"After learning I was arrested, she started the rescue operation alone. The secret code corresponds to âThe Book of St. Aegisâ and can be deciphered."
Tabithaâs sight fell to Brimirâs holy scripture in her hands.
"So thatâs it...."
Saito felt a great sense of admiration, no wonder she was so calm, since thatâs how it is. Tabitha had known for a while that her cousin Isabella would begin acting immediately.
"Whenâs the escape?"
"When the next meal is delivered."
The moment Tabitha responded with this.
Boom---------!
The deafening explosion caused all of "Prison Island" to shake.
"Wh-whatâs going on?"
The shipâs deck sharply rocked with the violent impact.
Colbertâs "Ostland" launched a kamikaze attack on the buildings of Prison Island.
"Woaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Guiche emitted a mournful screech.
"Aaaaaaaaaaah!"
The teenagers of the Knights of the Water Spirit desperately clung to the side of the ship, standing firm to avoid being thrown off of the ship.
Malicorne, who hit the side of the ship, bounced back and forth a few times across the deck.
The hit collapsed a sturdy wall and stirred up a lot of dust.
After the impact subsided, a momentary silence enveloped everything.
"Truly useless, and you still call yourselves the Queenâs personal bodyguards!"
Ãléonore roared as she held the steering wheel.
But even her hands were shaking slightly.
Due to the low buildings of "Prison Island", to collide they had to fly with the bottom of the ship almost touching the ground, requiring rather sophisticated maneuvering techniques, unlike the suicide attack on the Elven tower.
Of course, extreme low altitude flight was easy to say and hard to do, so the bottom of the ship cut through the ground, and crashed into the building.
"... The ship seems to be fine."
Kirche said as the dust made her cough.
"Well fortunately I anticipated this earlier, so I reinforced the ship in advance."
Colbert, standing on the front deck of the ship, proudly nodded.
Before their departure, Colbert had attached the armor of the "Tiger Tank" to the front of the ship with "Alchemy". The steel armor of the "Tiger Tank" was harder than all the metal from Halkeginia.
"Prison Island", with a diameter of two leagues, sounded a low alarm.
Then Colbert pointed his wand at the collapsed stone wall and fired a "Fireball", blowing open a large hole for everyone to invade inside with.
"Okay everyone, are you ready?"
Colbert said with a serious expression as he looked back.
The youths of the Knights of the Water Spirit stood up together and silently pulled out their wands.
Although some people looked a bit timid, and some people looked stubborn, no one had complained. After all, everyone had a nobleâs dignity.
"This is a race against time. While the Elves are confused, you have to find Saito and Ms. Tabitha. Per the plan, I and Ms. South Gotha will distract the Elves and fight for time. You have to find those two as soon as possible."
"We canât hold it for too long. If you want to save them, you have to move fast."
Fouquet grinned, and immediately jumped into the diffusing dust.
"Then let us move too."
Kirche said.
Like the combat plan, the soldiers going to save Saito and Tabitha divided into three routes.
Guiche, Malicorne, Kirche, along with Sylphid formed one team, and the remaining people were divided and led by Reynald and Gimli. Although there were few people in Guicheâs group, there was the "Triangle Mage" Kirche, and the "Rhyme Dragon" Sylphid. Colbert believed that it was sufficient combat power.
Each group leader was allocated a "Holy Land" weapon to hand over to Saito later. Derflinger was placed in a magic bag, and carried with them.
"Big sis... I will definitely save you, chirp!"
Sylphid, who had turned into a girl, held up Tabithaâs wand.
"Hey~ please, wait for me for a moment."
They saw Guiche embrace a mole that had to be held with two hands.
It was Guicheâs familiar, a giant mole.
"You want to take that mole along, Guiche?"
Malicorne asked.
"Yes. My Verdandiâs nose is very effective, maybe it coming along could be useful?"
"Are you sure it wonât get in the way?"
Hearing this, Kirche wrinkled her brow.
"Please donât look at her that way, her footsteps are very nimble."
Guiche gently placed Verdandi down by his feet, and with a "sniff sniff sniff", her nose moved as she smelled the air.
"The first team to rescue those two, immediately use the "Little Snake" to signal, and all teams must quickly retreat at the signal. If you are discovered by an Elf, you canât fight, you have to run away. Donât fight, if you canât escape, surrender."
After listening to Colbertâs reminder, the youth of the Knights of the Water Spirit strongly nodded their heads.
"I wish you all the best."
Finally, Colbert sighed.
After the impact subsided, Saito trembled and looked up at the ceiling.
"Wh-what was the just now... That wasnât Isabella, was it?"
"...Unsure."
Tabitha replied.
"At least the Knights of Parterre wouldnât do it like this."
At this time, the sound of footsteps gradually approached from the other side of the metal door.
This immediately made Saito nervous. It shouldnât be the Elven guards coming to see what the two of them were up to.
After a while... the sound of the door lock came in from outside.
While Saito tilted his head wondering, "Whatâs going on?" the cell door opened and the light from the passaged shined into the cell.
"Iâve made you wait, Lady Charlotte.", an Elven guard, holding a magic lamp, lowered his voice and said.
"Huh?"
Saito was confused by the situation in front of him.
Whatâs going on? Saito turned to look at Tabitha.
"Chikasui", Tabitha said.
"Ah!"
Hearing this, Saito got it.
On a closer look, there was a familiar dagger held in the elfâs hand.
"Chikasui" was one of the spies of the Knights of Parterre, and its true form was an "Intelligent Dagger" that can manipulate the essence of the wielder.
At first, even Saito thought that Chikasui was just a simple cross-dresser. When he learned the truth from Tabitha, he was greatly surprised.
"Elves have training against mental control, which is really difficult to deal with."
"Is the explosion just now you?"
"No, Iâm also unclear about the situation."
To Saitoâs question, Chikasui shook his head.
"But this is still a great opportunity to escape. Although itâs a little earlier than scheduled, please take advantage of this time to quickly escape."
Then Chikasui gave Tabitha a tiny, baton-like wand.
"You may not be used to it, but itâll be like this for the time being."
"It will do."
After nodding, Tabitha put the wand in her cape.
"Good, letâs go...."
Just when Saito was about to stand up, he felt dizzy.
Tabitha immediately supported Saitoâs staggering body.
"What is it?"
"Oh, Iâm fine... Just a little vertigo...."
While preparing to stand up on his own, Saito suddenly lost all the strength in his body and fell to the ground on the spot.
"Wh-what? Are my feet... not listening, to me...."
"What are you doing?"
A surprised Chikasui inquired.
"Sorry Mr. Chikasui... can you give me a weapon as well?"
"A weapon?"
"Yeah, I just need to hold a weapon, and I should be able to move...."
"Then please use me."
Chikasui pulls out a short sword from his waist and handed it to Saito.
When he held the short sword in hand, the rune on Saitoâs left hand immediately lit up. Even using the power of Gandálfr, there was no way to restore his lost strength, but his body definitely relaxed a lot.
I should be able to move for a while....
"Letâs go."
In the chaos of the explosion, Saito and Tabitha escaped their cell.
"Huff, huff, huff... Wa-wait a minute, you guys."
In the prison passage, with the sound of the alarm, Guiche and the others were running like crazy. As Colbert expected, the Elves seemed to be in a state of confusion. However, after all, the chaos canât last for too long. If they donât hurry and save Saito and Tabitha, they would become nothing but rats in a bag.
"Well, I never thought weâd go as far as to invade an Elven fortress a second time."
Malicorne said with sweat on his forehead.
"But after this mission is successful, we can all be honored. No, maybe we can also be granted territory? Moreover, th-thereâs also Her Majesty Queen Henriettaâs lips...."
"The premise is to first return alive? I donât want to pursue knighthood lying in a coffin."
"Tiny, where are you! Answer me, chirp, chirp!"
"Please, weâll be discovered if you call with such a loud voice!"
Kirche, running in the front, looked back to remind Sylphid.
"You guys also, cut the irrelevant chatter, look."
Kirche pointed her wand to the front.
Although they didnât hear Sylphidâs voice, they were still coming... a team of two Elven guards were yelling something in Elvish (Elf language) as they ran towards the group.
"Okay, letâs go!"
"Roger."
Guiche and Malicorne immediately turned right.
"Wait a second, magic incoming!"
The magic they saw the Elven guard begin to chant was Firstborn wind magic.
A tornado-like air vortex fired from the palm of their hand.
"Woaaaaah!"
The panicked Malicorne immediately chanted the "Air Hammer" spell.
Speaking in terms of results it saved their lives, but the Firstborn wind magic caused an earth-shattering boom, which exploded in the center of the passage. Guicheâs group was blown away by the wind and rolled on the floor.
"Go-goodness, what a terrible power."
A pasty-faced Guiche said.
If they had actually taken that attack right then, their skeletons would cease to exist....
"I-itâs coming again!"
Malicorne shouted.
"Everybody flee, Iâll stop them here."
Like heâd made up his mind, Guiche suddenly stood up.
"Facing Elves, your Golem is just childâs play!"
"Anyway, you can watch and be amazed, Iâve also matured."
Then Guiche chanted a spell, and waved his rose-wrapped wand.
The petals flying in the air immediately became eight "Bronze Valkyries".
"Howâs that? One more than usual... Woah!"
As a result, the bronze valkyries were broken into pieces in the blink of an eye by the magic the Elves fired.
"Really, what the hell are you doing?!"
Kirche launched "Fireball" magic at the same time. Triple the firepower, three balls of flame with tracking abilities rushed towards the Elves.
Then the fireballs exploded, causing a succession of violent noises in the prison.
"Oh, did I win?"
"No. The difference in the power of our magic and "Firstborn" magic is too vast."
Just before the fireballs hit, a stone wall appeared to block it that Kirche couldnât see through.
From the other side of the burning flames came the sound of Elves chanting.
"Sylphid, what kind of magic can you use?"
Guiche asked, sounding anxious, but Sylphid shook her head apologetically.
"I canât do anything, the spirit power is being suppressed by the Elves. Without spirit power, Sylphid is useless."
"How could this be...."
Guiche held his aching head. Even if she changed back into a "Rhyme Dragon", there was no way to fly here and would hinder their action....
"In short, run first!"
"Correct."
With that, Kirche fired a "Fireball".
The flames and sound of the explosion should be enough to block the line sight.
When everyone returned up the passage, they escaped around the corner of cross passage of the intersection.
"The enemy is chasing us, chirp!"
Kirche looked back and cast another "Fireball".
"Really, if you keep that up, youâre quickly going to run out of mental energy."
Just then, they found two familiar figures in front of them.
"Oh, isnât that Saito, Saito!"
Guiche shouted
"Chirp, chirp, big sis is also there!"
"Hey~ Saito! We came to save you!"
Malicorne shouted as he waved his arm.
However, the situation really felt off, and Guiche, noticing the abnormality, frowned.
Say, how exactly did those two escape from their cell...?
Saito and Tabitha seems to not notice everybody, and passed by Guiche and the others.
"Huh?"
After stopping, they turned around.
The next moment, the two people were engulfed in the magic launched by the Elves pursuing Guiche and the others.
In the hall where the alarm went off, Saito and Tabitha made a mad dash for the exit.
The sound of an explosion came again from another location.
The sound of footsteps and the roar of Elves can be heard everywhere. However, the pursuing elves, are being scattered all over the place to a major degree by small magic dolls that look exactly like Saito and Tabitha.
"SkÃrnir"
This is one of the "Magic Tools" used by the "Mjöðvitnir", a magic doll that can change its appearance to look just like someone by absorbing their blood. When King Joseph had perished, the Knights of the Parterre were detained and brought here by Chikasui. They were suitable to be used as bait.
At the corner of the passage, Tabitha stopped Saito with her hand.
"Stop."
Then she cast the "Summon Water" spell, and created a puddle at her feet. She used the water surface as a mirror to confirm whether there was an Elf down the passage.
"No problem."
Going a few steps forward, Tabitha waved at Saito behind her.
"There are very few guards."
"Um... It feels like they donât have time to round us up."
Saito nodded. He didnât know if it had anything to do with the violent explosion just now....
At the end of the passage was a metal door, that was much like what Saito saw in Adyl. It may be a magically driven lifting device, similar to an elevator.
"Tabitha, do you know how to use this?"
Tabitha shook her head.
"It may only react to the Elvish language."
"Isnât that a dead end...?"
"Even if the device doesnât move, you can still fly"
That made sense. It seemed like Tabitha wanted to fly in the elevator shaft using "Flight" magic. That was certainly the fastest way to the surface.
After chanting a spell, Tabitha shot an "Ice Javelin" towards the metal door.
The extremely sharp ice spear hit the door directly.
But the metal door is motionless.
"... Firstborn magic."
"Canât destroy it?"
"We can only find a different route."
"Right."
Just as quick as they gave up on the thought, and as they turned away to leave....
The lifting device door slowly opened.
"Oh, Tabitha, weâre soooo lucky...."
Saito didnât have a chance to be happy.
Elven guards immediately appeared from the open door.
"How is there another Saito!?"
Kirche shouted.
"Thereâs also another big sis here, chirp!"
"God~ What the hell is going on!? Iâm losing my mind!"
Guiche held his head and groaned. A little magic doll tumbled at his feet.
"Itâs a magic doll that can change its outer appearance, Tabitha must be the one spreading them."
"Itâs good that it can confuse the Elves, but even we canât find the boss."
Malicorne muttered.
After all, itâs impossible to distinguish from their exterior.
"However, with this stuff scattered all over the place, it means the two of them most likely already escaped."
"Oh, but time is running out...."
"Oh, whatâs this here?"
"Why are you asking that now, this is an Elfâs... huh, whoâs voice is that just now?"
A skeptical Guiche looked back, and the other three showed a look of incomprehension as they shook their head.
"What? What did you say about Elves?"
They heard the voice again.
"Did you wake up?"
At that time, Kirche was shocked, and pulled Derflinger out with her hand.
"Oh, isnât this Ms. Big Tits? Whereâs my partner, and where exactly are we?"
"Itâs Saitoâs talking sword! How come you suddenly woke up?"
"I just woke up, so what exactly is going on?"
"This is an Elven Prison."
"Prison? What are you saying, how come weâre in this kind of place?"
"We came here to rescue your master."
Then Kirche simply explained how Saito was arrested and locked up in "Prison Island". She briefly explained that they had come to help him.
While silently listening to the explanation, Derflinger responded,
"... Gotcha. No wonder it constantly feels like my partner is nearby."
"Really? You can tell which are fake?"
"Of course, donât underestimate the bond of my partner and I."
Derflingerâs blade started clicking
"This is really reliable."
"Oh, Verdandi, what are you doing?"
At that time, Guicheâs familiar was trying to dig in the ground.
"There are no âEarthwormsâ here."
Malicorne said.
They heard Verdandi digging around, absorbed in trying to dig a hole in the ground.
Guiche and the others looked at each other in surprise.
The trio of Elves charged out of the lift, and immediately surrounded Saito and Tabitha.
Tabitha quickly pulled out her wand and chanted "Icicle Blast" magic.
The Elf in front couldnât defend against the spell, and were directly hit by a flying ice arrow. Not letting an enemy sense the spell is a specialty of the Knights of Parterre.
The other two cursed in Elvish. The next moment, they pulled out sabers and threw them like boomerangs.
"Tabitha!"
Saito acted quickly. The "Gandálfr" runes allowed Saito to react quickly, he cut in front of Tabitha to protect her, and reflected the saber.
That wasnât over. The sword that was reflected turned around in the air and went straight for Saito. That and Aliâs "Sword of Will" were the same Firstborn Magic.
But Saito expected that. If this was the first time you saw this trick, you might get stabbed in the back. However, as long as you know the trick, it was nothing to be scared of. Moreover, Ali could manipulate 4-5 swords at the same time, but the Elven guards could only manipulate one.
After reflecting the sword, Saito charged directly forward. The Elf, with a horrified expression on his face, took a body shot from Saito, and dropped to the floor. Tabitha followed up and fired an ice arrow. The elf laying on the floor was frozen hand and foot, and couldnât move.
The last Elf yelled something, then the stone wall burst with a rumble and a human-shaped stone doll appeared. The stone doll raised its first and tried to flatten Saito.
Saito shouted, "Wow," and rolled on the ground. The stone doll wielded its fist like a giant hammer, and smashed a giant hole in the ground. Tabitha immediately launched "Ice Javelin", and a huge ice spear hit the head of the stone doll. However, even if the stone dollâs head shrank, that didnât hinder its movement as the "boom, boom," sound of it fists sounded as they smashed towards Saito.
"Woah... wa-wait...!"
Saito continued to dodge in a sequence of close calls. The sword techniques he was proud of were useless against the stone man. If Derflinger was in his hands, he might be able to smash the stone man. However there really was no way with the short sword in his hands.
"... Dammit, what should I do?"
Saitoâs forehead broke out in cold sweat. They were in a pinch, one where they were being cornered.
If they uses up their time here, reinforcements would soon come from the lift.
If it was the normal Saito, no matter how many enemies, he could get out of danger with the power of "Gandálfr". However, the current Saito had used up too much physical strength, and without Louise there to stimulate her familiarâs emotions....
Seeing Saito desperately gasping, even the power of the "Gandálfr" eventually had a limit. Sneaking a peek at Tabitha, you could see an anxious expression that she rarely showed.
At that time... with a crash, small pieces of stone fell on Saitoâs head.
"Huh?"
This made Saito look up.
The next moment, a huge "bang" sounded, and something dug through the ceiling.
Before Saito could even make a sound, a lot of rubble poured down and buried the Elven guards along with the stone doll.
"Wh-what happened...?"
Just as Saito opened his mouth in confusion....
A round object fell from the hole in the ceiling.
"Huh?"
This puzzled Saito.
What fell in front of his eyes was a mole with big eyes, shining with intelligence.
"Mole?"
Just at the brink of confusion....
Saito suddenly realized that this mole looked very familiar.
"Arenât you... Guicheâs familiar!?"
It must be true. Not only did this mole save his life in Albion, but he also stayed in his tent when he lost his partner before. Even if itâs a mole, he wouldnât forget how his partner looked.
"How did you get here...?"
As Saito wrinkled his brow in confusion, a familiar voice was heard coming from the hole in the ceiling.
"Hey~ It that Saito there?"
"Guiche!"
Saito shouted.
"This is the boss right?"
"That looks right."
"Big sister, Sylphid came to save you, chirp!"
"Malicorne, Kirche, and Sylphid!"
The Saito and Tabitha looked at each other.
Guicheâs group cast "Float" magic, and jumped down from the hole in the ceiling.
"Big Sis, luckily youâre alright, chirp!"
Sylphid hopped onto Tabithaâs head, and hugged her tight.
"How did you get here?"
Saito asked everybody.
"It was on Queen Henriettaâs order."
While answering, Guiche posed with his hair waving.
"In short, we pretended a bit, you see... hey, uhh, what are you doing!"
"You guys-----!"
Saito burst in to tears, and tightly grabbed Guiche and Malicorne.
"E-enough, you can let go. Please, youâre nose is running!"
Kirche, with a wry smile, pulled out a magic bag from under her cloak.
"Here, we also helped you out by bringing your sword."
After taking out Derflinger, she handed it to Saito.
"Derf...."
When Saito received Derflinger.
"Hey Partner, long time, no see!"
"Woah!"
Shocked by Derflinger, Saito couldnât help with opening his hand.
"D-Derf! You finally woke up!"
"Hey, do you have to be so surprised, Iâm a little sad, ya know."
Derflinger said in his usual tone.
"What have you been doing until now!? Even if I talked to you, you kept sleeping!"
Saito complained with an unhappy voice.
"Sorry, I was sleeping."
"No kidding."
Saito couldnât help but smile. Just hearing Derflingerâs voice, he felt energized.
"Hey, pick me up partner."
"Right."
The moment he held Derflingerâs handle in his hand, the runes on Saitoâs hand lit up and he felt like power gradually flowed into his body....
"Say, partner."
Derflinger said in a sad voice.
"What is it?"
"I thought about it all. Really, thought about everything."
"Right...."
This made Saito feel uncomfortable and he also didnât know what to say to comfort him.
Thought about everything....
Saito thought about everything he saw in the dream from Derflingerâs point of view, the tragedy that occured 6,000 years ago.
Including the moment that Sasha ran her beloved Brimir through the chest....
"Derf... I have a lot of things I need to ask."
"Yeah, I know. Iâll tell you everything."
Seemingly determined, Derflinger answered.
"Hey, you two, can you talk about this later? Basically, we need to escape from here first."
Kirche said.
"Elf reinforcements have come."
Tabitha extended her wand from within Sylphidâs arms,and looked up as she raised her head.
The sound of the Elvesâ footsteps approached.
"Ah, right...."
"Send the signal to retreat to everyone."
Saying that, Guiche pulled out a small tube given him by Colbert, and ignited the magic inside the tube.
"TOOT!"
A shrill, ear splitting sound rang throughout the prison.
The "Little Singing Snake" was the modified magic weapon "Little Flying Snake", and could produce a sound that can be heard no matter how many leagues away it was. Originally, it was a failed weapon Colbert made to be used on the "Zero Fighter", so he never thought it would used in this manner.
"*sigh*, you guys seem fierce."
Colbert wiped the sweat from his forehead.
His tone was a bit casual, and his expression was very dignified. Although the distraction had succeeded in attracting many Elves, he was quickly run into a dead end, and he couldnât escape from the firstborn magic he couldnât oppose.
"This seems to be the end of the road."
Colbert muttered with a despondent expression.
With eight Elves in pursuit, the results werenât bad.
Colbertâs lips were twisted coldly. His present expression was not that of the gentle teacher he usually had, but that of the captain of the experimental team of the Magic Research Institute, the "Flame Serpent" that people were afraid of.
"I never hated you guys, but please join me on this journey."
The determined Colbert raised his wand upright. In order to protect the lives of his students, Colbert was ready to become the merciless "Flame Serpent" again.
A little blazing ball lit up the tip of his wand.
That was Colbertâs trump card.
Fire, Fire Earth, a triangle spell of two parts fire combined with Earth. The water vapor in the air was converted to vaporized fuel oil with "Alchemy", and then ignited. A huge fireball would instantly expand and exhaust all the nearby oxygen, killing any creature within range.
This was the deadly magic "Explosion", which didnât distinguish between friend and foe.
It was also mostly effective against the Elves, but this magic does have its drawbacks.
Using it in this confined space, there was nothing Colbert could do for himself....
He saw the magic was about to be complete.
The wall in front of him collapsed with a rumble.
"What?"
This cause Colbert to lost his chant.
The small fireball that lit up the tip of his wand disappeared.
The thing that destroyed the prison wall was a giant stone golem that was nearly twenty feet tall.
Ms. South Gotha.
"What, you were here? Get out of the way, quick."
Fouquet grinned as she sat on the shoulder of the golem.
"Oooooooooooooh!"
As soon as he held Derflinger, Saitoâs actions immediately became like the wind. He charged in between the Elven guards that were blocking their advance. Deftly dodging the magic arrows fired at him, he used Derflingerâs blade to absorb them.
It didnât matter how strong the Elvesâ firstborn magic was, it was meaningless if they couldnât chant. As soon as he saw an Elf try to chant magic, Saito immediately stunned the enemy with a melee attack.
"This situation isnât too bad, partner."
"Well, you really are the best."
"Itâs nice to hear you say that."
Derfâs blade shook with laughter.
Of course it wasnât only that. The source of "Gandálfrâs" power came from the movement of his heart. Everyone had come to rescue him... Guiche, Malicorne, Kirche, Sylphid, Colbert-sensei, and the members of the Knights of the Water Spirit... That lit a fire in Saitoâs heart.
Magic flew from behind him, providing cover for Saito. Kircheâs fireballs burst; Tabithaâs ice arrows accurately attacked the Elvesâ magic. Malicorne used "Air Hammer" to clear the path, and Guiche used an earth wall against the the soldier pursuing behind them.
"Sylphid will cheer for everybody, chirp!"
The group rushed straight ahead and it didnât take long for a wall to block their way.
"Itâs a dead end!"
"Do we go back?"
"No, that wonât do. Weâd be easy pickings...."
Saito grabbed the magic bag that Kirche brought along.
"Here, Iâll use this."
He took out a "Weapon" of the "Holy Land".
"The M72 anti-tank rocket."
It was the same type as the "Staff of Destruction" that was used to smash Fouquetâs golem.
After removing the safety pin, Saito pulled out the back cover, and placed it on his shoulder after extending the inner tube. Without aiming, Saito undid the safety and shouted at the same time.
"Everybody, donât stand behind me, and cover your ears!"
He pulled the trigger.
A rocket-type warhead with a tail was fired, exploding on impact.
They were surrounded by a loud noise, and the wall in front of them shattered.
On the other side of the hole blasted in the wall, the sun was shining on the surface of the sea.
"Yeah, success!"
Guiche shouted with joy.
About twenty feet down was the deck of the "Ostland", that had crashed into the prison.
The other youths of the Knights of the Water Spirit seem to have already returned to the ship.
"Get ready to jump."
"What?"
Kirche grabbed Saitoâs hand and jumped straight down.
"Woooooooooooooah!"
The frightened Saito screamed in terror.
But before they hit the deck, their bodies suddenly started to lightly float.
It turned out that Kirche had cast "Float" magic earlier.
"Hey, Saito, youâre okay!"
As soon as they landed on the deck the members of the Knights of the Water Spirit immediately stepped forward and surrounded Saito.
"Gimli, Renault, and everybody... wow!"
"Boom!" a loud bang sounded, and a huge golem fell from the sky.
"Whatâs going on?"
Saito looked up and saw Colbert riding in the hands of the golem.
"Colbert-sensei!"
"Oh, Saito, youâre safe."
Jumping quickly to the deck, Colbert immediately shouted at the back deck.
"Can you take off, Ms. Ãléonore?"
"No, the steam system is broken!"
Ãléonore yelled in reply as she held the steering wheel.
The impact from colliding with the prison just now seemed to have damaged the steam system.
"If we donât escape immediately, weâll be surrounded by Elves!"
Kirche reminded them.
"Hey, give it to me."
Colbert, chanting fire magic, injected "Fire" into the system.
Right after it came in contact with the steam system. It began to rumble.
"Itâs moving, it started!"
The "Ostland" slowly floated and flew up into the vast sky.
At dawn... Louise, who was lying in bed, woke up.
After sitting up, Louise wiped her eyes with her pajama cuffs.
Because Louise had cried a lot in her dreams.
It was a sad dream, a dream so sad that no more sadness could be added....
The impact of the dream was too big, and Louise was stunned for a while... At that time, there was a knock at the door.
"My apologies. Ms. Vallière, are you awake?"
The one who came was Siesta. Louise staggered as she stood up to open the door.
Seeing Louiseâs expression, Siesta was surprised.
"What happened, Ms. Vallière?"
"Itâs nothing."
"How could it be nothing, arenât you crying?"
"Whoâs crying?"
"You are."
"...."
Louise looked away from Siesta.
"I had a dream."
"Dream? A nightmare?"
"No, it was a sad dream."
Saying that, Louiseâs eyes fell on the clothes held in Siestaâs hands.
"What clothes are these?"
"This is the outfit that the Pope asked for Ms. Vallière to wear...."
Held in Siestaâs hands was the holy white garments worn by a priestess of Brimir. That was the outfit that Louise wore previously in "Aquileia" when she had served as a "Priestess".
"Well, Iâm prepared."
Seemingly determined to do it, Louise groaned.
Louise changed into the holy garments of the Brimir faith and, accompanied by Siesta, went to the deck of the "St. Mark" as it floated in the air.
Under the endless blue sky, you could see scattered clouds and the deep blue sea of the "Holy Land".
A large number of Romalian warships surrounded them in the local airspace, protecting the "St. Mark" that the Pope was on. Outside that, the fleets of the countries of Gaulia, Germania, Albion, and Tristain were deployed. In the center of Tristainâs fleet was the "Versanda", a particularly eye-catching "Dragon Carrier Ship", that Henrietta was aboard.
With a total of over 700 ships, this was the largest fleet in the history of Halkeginia. Of those, 250 were warships, and the rest were galleons carrying soldiers and supplies.
The 80,000 soldiers of the first wave of the "Coalition Army for the Restoration of the Holy Land" were on those ships. The remaining troops were on standby in the camp in the suburbs of Adyl, ready to proceed to the front lines.
The huge fleet was covered in flags, and the mighty army shocked Louise.
"Wow, itâs amazing...."
Siesta was stunned in bewilderment.
"Uh, indeed...."
But... Louise though.
No matter how large an army they prepare, the "Holy Land" was sleeping at the bottom of the sea.
"How is he going to send such a huge army?"
Tiffania and Josette, who had changed into the same holy garments as Louise, stood on the back deck of the ship.
As soon as Tiffania saw Louise, she rushed to her.
"Ah, Louise...."
Tiffania, looking restless, held Louiseâs hand.
"Louise, you really... really arenât changing your mind?"
"Yes."
Louise nodded her head.
"The only way to save Halkeginia is to capture the âHoly Landâ."
"Louise, I...."
Louise gently put her hand on Tiffaniaâs trembling shoulder.
"Tiffa, please, trust me."
"Louise...."
Seeing Tiffaniaâs pained expression, cause Louiseâs chest to ache.
Itâs my fault that I involved this half-elf girl, who quietly had lived in the forest of Albion, in such a cruel fate.
"Donât worry, Tiffa. Iâll bring all of this to an end...."
"Right, yes, Louise, Saito, he...."
Just as Tiffania started to say something.
"I made you wait, ye âSaintsâ who shall save Halkeginia."
A smiling Julio stepped forward and saluted the two.
"The Popeâs prayers will be over soon. This way, please."
"Yes...."
Looking at Julio with cold eyes, Louise silently followed in his steps.
Tiffania and Siesta both watched Louise leave, looking uneasy.
Pope Vittorio Serevare had been praying on the bow deck of the ship.
They saw him with his eyes closed, chanting a spell in a whisper.
The Pope, without a wink of sleep, or a drop to drink, prayed through the night continuously.
"What is his Holiness doing now?"
Louise asked Julio.
"Youâll know soon."
Julio smiled happily, and turned his eyes to the sea.
Soon, Vittorio quietly stood up.
Looking at the sea from the bow of the ship, he opened his hands, and read what seemed to be rune characters.
Soon after....
An ear-ringing sort of rumbling sound rang through the nearby air.
"Wh-what?"
Louise couldnât help but cover her ear because it sounded like the annoying sound of insects flapping their wings.
"This is the power of the âVoidâ... the sound of the tiny particles that make up everything in the world shaking."
"You say that this is the Void?"
Then came the huge "rumble rumble"-like sound.
"The sea, is dividing...?"
At that moment, Louiseâs eye widened in surprise.
The sea that divided below them exposed a huge black mountain range.
"Thatâs...."
The mountains slowly rose out of the sea, and a lot of sea water poured down them like a waterfall.
"Really, what just happened...?"
Louise asked with a look of shock.
"This is what the "Holy Land" originally looked like."
Hereâs a little tidbit about Japanese affirmations/denials - if someone asks a question which is negative (In this case, "you didnât"), the Japanese way to affirm that is by nodding, as if to say "you are correct, I didnât".