Chapter 17

We went to the basement of the building. Several torches hung on the wall give light to the fairly open room. There, some mages were maintaining the anti-magic barriers. They were quite surprised to see us.

“Sir!” One of them called out.

“Disable the underground barriers and deploy a Duel Shield.”

“Yes, Sir!”

The mage went to his fellow mages and communicated the orders. Not long after, I could sense the magic barriers in the basement dissipating. Emori and Akareseki went to the center, the rest of us standing to the side. The mages then deployed the shield that covered the two of them.

… This is way smaller than what I thought it would be.

I wasn’t sure if it was intentional, but it placed Emori at further disadvantage. Most magic spells are long range, and Emori wasn’t trained in close quarters combat.

I wanted to cast aside my doubts and trust fully in Emori, but she would be all alone in this. None of us could back her up.

“Are you ready?” Akareseki asked. He unsheathed a shining sword with a dark red line running through the middle. It was a real, metal sword, nothing like the wooden one Prilus used in his duel against me.

Emori prepared her stance, holding her magic wand. She took a deep breather. “Ready.”

“Begin!” The mage declared.

Akareseki rushed forward, plunging straight into the fight. In his right hand was his sword, two magic wands on his left.

A ball of flame struck Emori’s position. Emori dodged to the side, then ducked underneath a swing from Akaraseki’s sword.

Emori, she's still using the eyepatch?

I only noticed it now, but she hadn't released it. It was still there, covering her right eye.

She fired her White Spring, its shape similar to the original, but far less powerful. The spell itself was quite sluggish for some reason, slower than usual. Asereseki slid to the side, his cheeks centimeters away from the white beam. The spell struck the shield, causing ripples to appear on the surface.

Akareseki moved onward, striking with great precision. Flames appeared on the blade of his sword as it sliced through the air.

That sword… it's not a magic weapon, is it?

If yes, then that would mean that he was capable of triple wielding.

Sharp rocks shot up from behind Emori, causing her to stumble. Not wasting the opportunity, Akareseki brought his sword straight into her neck. The momentum threw Emori off her feet and flying into the shield.

“Akh!”

“Emori!”

Emori fell to the ground. Sweat ran down her forehead. Not giving her time to stand, he used another rock spell to stab her from underneath.

“Bwegh!”

The rock formation pushed her up and pinned her on the roof. Had there was no Duel Shield, those rocks would surely pierce her.

“Emori, are you alright?” Maya shouted. We ran closer to the shield. The shield prevented us from intervening, acting as a wall that separated us.

“I'm… fine!” Emori unleashed another White Spring attack. The spell struck the rocks and caused it to crumble into many tiny pieces.

She dropped down, launching another spell as she fell. Akareseki jumped back, barely missing her light spears.

“You're… movement is impressive.” Emori tried standing straight. She hadn't suffered any wounds, but her breathing was rugged. She winced, her left hand holding her stomach. I used Zoom and scanned her body. Her clothes were intact, not even a cut on them. Her skin didn't show any wounds. The shield was working as intended.

It did little to reduce my fear, though.

Come on Emori, you got this!

I should have been the one that fought him instead. I may not be able to win, but I should still be able to put up a better fight.

“You're not bad yourself, Your Highness.” Akareseki did little claps. “You put a lot of work into your levels.”

“Yeah. Because the demon king.” Emori staggered forward.

“You're not going to give up?”

“If I give up now, what will my people say?”

“Your people won't even know this happened.” Akareseki pointed his sword toward her. Emori moved forward.

Within a split of the second, the sword moved from the front of her neck to the left, then sliced horizontally. Unable to cut through her skin, the sword smacked her neck and flung her to the side, crashing into the shield.

Realizing he hadn't broken Emori’s spirit, he did relentless strikes against the helpless Emori. The sword’s sharp surface smashed at her countless times, throwing her all over the place. Her body kicked up a cloud of smoke everytime she crashed to the ground.

“Emori!” I yelled.

Should I beg her to stop?

I knew she wouldn't actually be harmed, but she was clearly suffering. Blow after blow, Akareseki continued striking her, yet she didn't relent.

She looked for moments to strike, attacking with White Spring. But, whenever such an opportunity happened, she would miss. Akareseki’s attacks intensified. He dual casted fire and steel spells, all while using his sword to beat Emori up.

As if it wasn't enough, he utilized his rock spells to pin her down, before practically burning her and stabbing her, over and over again.

I shivered as Emori screamed in agony. Yet, she didn't give up. If anything, the anger in her eyes shined ever brighter. Akaraseki must have noticed that he had yet to break her spirit, thus he continued slamming at her.

This guy's scary…

But the same could be said for Emori.

Had it been someone else, they would have fainted by now, unable to endure the pain. In a way, the fact that Emori could still stand was no less impressive.

“Don't you think it's time you give up, Your Highness?” The match had gone for twenty minutes. Even Akaraseki began struggling to keep his breath. He wiped the sweat off his face before taking his stance.

“... No… Never.” Emori stood up. She struggled to breath, her steps unstable. She drew closer. I used Zoom to check on her. She still looked like how she started. Not a cut or wound visible. Even the eyepatch that she wore through the entire match was still intact.

Still, what's the point of that, though?

Sure, it hid the spells she casted, but that clearly didn't matter. Akareseki would dodge them anyway. If anything, she was only limiting herself.

Is that why she keeps getting hit?

“Emori!” I yelled. I yelled as loud as I could. Despite that, I didn't know what to say. Should I ask her to stop, to give up? Should I encourage her?

I wanted to encourage her, but looking at how she stood pained my heart. She shouldn't have gone through this.

I raised my hand. “Sir!”

“Give up, Your Highness.” Akareseki didn't bother looking at me. “Whatever you're trying to prove, it's not worth it.”

“... Who… let you decide… that…”

Akareseki’s sword flew and smashed into Emori's stomach, sending her once again flying into the shield.

“ARGHKHHH!”

“Emori!”

“I am simply acting in the best interest for my nation.” Akareseki stepped forward. “The lives of the imperial family are important, don't get me wrong. But they're not more important than the entirety of Nanawak. If to protect the lives of my people I must be the enemy of the state, so be it.”

It was clear Akareseki wouldn't give up, no matter what.

“Let me say this again. Give up, Your Highness. You have zero chance of winning against me.”

Emori could only take so much beating. If she lost now-

“Didn't you… learn not to… underestimate your enemies?”

Smash.

Another strike sent her flying across the room.

“I apologize if you thought I was underestimating you, but I'm not the one fighting with an eyepatch on.”

He began approaching Emori.

Despite her pain, she let out a thin smile. “Would you… prefer me… to take this off?”

“I do not care whether you kept it on or not. You're not winning either way.”

“Is that… so?” Using what little strength she had left, she took the eyepatch off.

On her right eye were four symbols of the same spell. A spell that she had refused to use before. The most powerful spell I have ever seen. A spell that only she can use.

The sacred spell, White Void.

“What the-”

Akaraseki jumped away in an attempt to dodge, but it was too late.

No, he lost the second he stepped into the Duel Shield. A blinding light enveloped the entire shield, blocking us from seeing inside. The entire building shook, some of the mages falling to the grind.

“Emori!” I yelled. Ripples appeared throughout the Duel Shield. The shaking along with the light, lasted for five entire seconds.

Then, there was darkness.

Light All!

One-by-one, the torches lit back up.

The shield was down, Akareseki was lying unconscious on the ground, and dust filled the room. He wasn't harmed, at least he didn't look like that.

Considering the sheer power of a single White Void attack, four of them would definitely knock him unconscious, even if he wasn't harmed.

“Emori!”

Emori, meanwhile, kneeled on the ground.

“Emori!” I ran up to her.

“Fortis… it hurts…” tears dripped down her eyes.

“Uhh, Heal! Oh wait, you're not hurt.”

Emori reached out and gripped my hand. She stared into my eyes. “Dizzy.”

“Stay with me, Emori!” Not sure what else I could do to alleviate her pain, I decided to hug her tight.

“It's going to be alright. It's going to be alright. We still… wait!” I turned toward Maya and Solicea who stood behind me. “Go look for Nayala!”

“Alright, let's go.”

Maya and Solicea ran up the stairs. I noticed the effects of the anti-magic barrier that was above us began dissipating. The ground shook quite hard when Emori fired her White Void. The spell didn't damage the building, but the vibrations must have broken the mages’ concentration.

Fighting ensued above, the surprised shouts spreading throughout the building. But, after a few more seconds, everything went silent.

I brought my hand to Emori’s forehead. The heat was still there. I moved and touched her wrist, making sure her heart was still beating.

It's stable, at least.

“Fortis…” Emori closed her eyes.

“Ah, damnit!”

I picked Emori up and prepared my nature wand. Carrying her on my back, I went up the stairs, ending in the inn’s hallway. Footsteps came from the stairs, and from it, appeared the princess herself. Maya and Solicea walked by her side.

Surprised soldiers came from outside, about to attack when they saw her. They stopped in their tracks and saluted her, bewilderment clear in their eyes. No one dared to say a thing, though, the inn was silent as ever.

Solicea quickly approached me. She let out a tired smile. “Let's discuss this- Hold on.”

Her eyes traveled to Emori who was on my back. Her face changed into one of horror as she ran to Emori’s side.

“Emori! What happened to her?” She put her hand on Emori's forehead.

“She's knocked out from a duel.”

“A duel? What kind of duel?”

“We should talk about this back at base.”

I used Connect to contact Regus and told him that we had secured the Princess.

“Come on, let's get out of here.”

The three of them touched my shoulders. I used Teleport and sent us back to the Wolves’ headquarters.

•••

“So that's what happened.”

After we arrived back at base, the first thing we did was bring Emori to a room with a bed and let her rest.

I then told Nayala, Mister Vorak, Regus, and Amira about our meeting with Akareseki and Emori's duel against him.

“She fought that hard for me… it must hurt a lot…” Nayala had a sad look on her eyes. I could understand her feelings. Her friend was now unconscious because she got caught.

“Our medics have taken a careful look at her. She's just exhausted. Let her rest.” Mister Vorak reassured us.

“But… White Void, huh. Four of it no less,” Regus muttered. Most mages respected sacred spells, and seeing one in action was considered a blessing of the century.

The mage that provided the shield and other mages that watched the duel were all impressed with Emori's White Void. Thus, the news spread far and wide among the magic community.

What will happen now...

The only one that knew of her ability was me, and she wished to keep it a secret because she didn't want the throne. Now that the word has spread…

But… It proves how close she is with Nayala.

For her to sacrifice herself. She knew the risks, yet she fought anyway.

“Should we wait for Emori to wake up?” Maya asked. Mister Vorak shook his head.

“While we have successfully rescued Your Highness, the same couldn't be said for His and Her Majesty.”

“I thought Akareseki lost?”

Like Emori, he was still unconscious. He was captured by the local soldiers and was now being held in their headquarters.

“Fortisbel, remember what I said when we first met?”

“The demon-tempered monsters?”

She nodded. “As I said, many of the capital’s soldiers were deployed to help fight the demons. It was Akareseki's idea. In place of them, he hired many high-level hunters from the Hunters’ Union. I don't know how much they paid them, but apparently there's a riot in the capital when he disappeared.”

Unlike the soldiers and the Eastern Wolves, the Hunters' Union was an organization independent of any other Nanawak organization. Their members, likewise, came from a wide political spectrum.

Some were loyal to the Empire, others had more… different views. This meant some were more than willing to imprison the Imperial Family for a good price.

“Akareseki most likely planned this from the very beginning.” Nayala stroked her chin.

“But… How long can he keep people from finding out about his coup?” Even if he hadn't found us, people would eventually be suspicious about the disappearance of the Imperial Family.

“So… that Akareseki kidnapped you, then used that as an excuse to put your parents into custody for their own safety… is that right?” Maya asked.

“That's accurate as far as what I know.”

“I don't think he actually wants to topple the Imperial Family,” Amira stated. “My sources said that he already signed a major contract for muskets. Once the contract was signed and the muskets paid, even His Majesty would have trouble canceling it.”

“And, rather than going through the trouble of canceling it, we might as well equip more of our soldiers with them...”

In other words, Akareseki never planned for this to go for long. If they just waited long enough, he would eventually wake up. They could then force him to free the Imperial Family.

That meant, we wouldn't need to force an attack on the castle.

“So, what's your decision, Your Highness?”

“... I'll consider it carefully. Please give me time.”

“As you wish.”

She then turned to us. “Will you four be going back?”

“Me and Emori don't really have anything to do back there, at least I don't think so. How about you two?”

“When we originally made plans for the student exchange, the club president already excused us from all plays for the next three months. We won't have a problem hanging around here.”

“Alright, I'll write a letter to Syla and to your school. Sorry for involving you in all this, and thank you.” Nayala stood up and did a deep bow. Seeing their princess, the three Wolves followed suit.

“Ah, it's not us that you should be thanking.”

“Yes, I'll speak with Emori once she wakes up. Now, if you'll excuse me.”

Nayala turned and left the room. Before she left, I noticed the symbol of Connect appearing on her right eye.

I wonder how the prince would react if he knew what happened to Emori.

Both me and Emori would receive quite the scolding once we returned.

“We prepared some rooms and a change of clothes here. Feel free to hang around if you want,” Amira said.

“Thank you.”

“Come on, I'll lead the girls to the rooms.”

Amira, Maya, and Solicea stood up and left.

“I have some business to attend to. Please excuse me.”

Mister Vorak also left, leaving just me and Regus behind.

“Umm, I know you're tired, but…”

Ah, yeah, I did promise them a spar, didn't I?

“Sure. Emori did most of the work before. I can spar.”

Regus’ face lit up. “Thank you!”

We proceeded to the center field. Wolves who had returned crowded us, all eager for a chance to fight against me. There I took on seventeen excited Wolves.

And defeated them all.