The Night Before

Blue flames erupted in the forest, illuminating the night sky. Enemy casualties weren't the goal; it was destroying supplies and morale. Unlike the beastfolk of Stonewood, the human invaders weren't biologically equipped to survive in Purga without heavy coats and cloaks.

The villagers also played their part. They couldn't attack the humans directly, but years of hunting the local monsters had given them the ability to bait the creatures into ambushing Richard's men. The method was less effective than Hanabi's scorch and burn approach, but still helpful in buying time.

"We've been harassing them day and night," Hanabi complained when she returned. She'd chosen to abstain from drinking until the conflict resolved and it showed in her snappy responses and her sluggish behavior. It made me wonder if letting her drink would be more beneficial.

"It's working, though. Even with their light barriers, we've managed to push several of their forward camps back. The villagers have gotten used to the enchanted weapons, too."

With Martoh's help we'd been training the villagers willing to fight into a functional militia. They were clumsy and without their Essence Stone infused weapons would have been near useless. It really sold how powerful the stones were and how we absolutely could not let Richard get a hold of them. Collapsing the tunnel had saved us on that front and I'd gone with Yahime to disrupt their mining operations several times. I just wished I could use my new naginata.

Through testing I'd learned that [SKILL SHARE] allowed me to connect to Yahime's [INNER VOID] and summon my weapon on command. The issue was that it was too long to use in the narrow caves and I'd yet to engage anyone in an open area. Every time we found someone Yahime killed them in an instant, so the only practice I got was during the brief morning training sessions Hanabi had me do. I could hold my own against Yahime with my stats back to normal and my form was even better than it had been in university. But compared to a genius swordsman like Louis who could also draw on the power of spirits? He'd cut me down before I could blink.

"They'll attack soon."

Hanabi's voice was firm and assured. Her centuries of experience and Aurelie's knowledge of empire tactics had proven invaluable to our efforts. I just worried it wouldn't be enough.

"And we're sure they can't ambush us from the mountain?"

"The terrain is difficult and there's not many places to hide," Lucinda said. She'd chosen to remain with the defense force rather than hole up with the women and senior members of the village caring for the children. "Tapper and a few others will be with them as well. He was quite insistent."

He's definitely the father of Mochi's baby. It's a shame they're hiding it. I know she's a widow, but her husband died years ago.

"Then I guess we just wait more," I sighed. "I know I'm being impatient, but I wish this would just hurry up and be over with."

"Have you thought about where you'll go after? Lady Hanabi informed me of your intentions. Just know that the people of Stonewood will be happy to pledge their allegiance to your cause."

"You don't… I appreciate it. And I was thinking of heading to the city Bixey told me about."

"Heilig? You'll have fun there."

I looked at Hanabi in confusion. Was I missing something?

"I'll give you the details once this is over. Just know it's a rough place to be. It'll be worse since you're human."

"I wouldn't expect anything else."

I really didn't. It was a miracle the villager had accepted me as easily as they did.

"But before that, we'll throw a big—"

Bright balls lit the night sky. Dozens of orange fireballs and orbs of blinding light arced through the air and exploding against the village wall. The logs groaned in protest, struggling to remain standing as another salvo approached.

"They're finally making there move!"

Hanabi's flame wheels ignited behind her, shooting bolts of blue fire at the incoming bombardment. She managed to intercept the majority of them and the few that she missed didn't cause significant damage. Then the attack stopped.

"Why did they stop?" Hanabi asked. Her body was tense, her eyes hungry for human blood.

"They're probing our defenses. They've realized we'll break them with our raids. If I had to guess, they'll attack at dawn."

Lucinda didn't hesitate to act. She grabbed the closest villager, a goatman who's name I didn't know, and told him to double the number of sentries once the fires were extinguished and prepare.

"You two should rest," she said. "Let this old woman handle things tonight. We'll need you in top shape."

"Is Yahime still at Billia's?"

"came back… attack?"

"We think in the morning."

I was torn. Part of me wanted to have Yahime with me while I rested; I'd gotten accustomed to feeling her body against mine while I slept. The other part knew that it was more important for her to keep watch with the others.

"Hanabi and I are going to rest until then. I want you to find Taro. Listen to anything he or Lucinda tell you, alright?"

"sleep… ky—"

"Not tonight." I rested my head against Yahime's torso. "I'll be fine, I promise."

I could sense the hesitation and anxiety in Yahime, but she didn't argue.

With everything settled, I laid down in my, Lucinda's, bed and opened my status window to check it one final time.

NAME: AURELIE SCELERAT

HP: 444/444

MP: 200/200

END: 92/100

P.ATT: 61

M.ATT: 83

P.DEF: 21

M.DEF: 11

[SKILLS]

[APOSTLE] [DUSK RAGE] [EARTH MAGIC (EXPERT)] [HEALING TOUCH] [KISS OF THE VOID] [PACT MASTER] [PERFECT SIGHT] [SKILL SHARE] [VIDE'S EDICT] [WILL OF THE EMPRESS] [YOZORA MAGIC (NOVICE)]

EQUIPMENT

SIMPLE CLOTHES

CAPTAIN'S CLOAK

WORN LEATHER BOOTS

FROSTHOUND GLOVES

FANG KNIFE (SEELE)

STORED

OTHERWORLD GLAIVE

ARTISAN DAGGERS (ENCHANTED)

My defense stats are still horrible. Then again, they're all horrible compared to Yahime's.

I switched to Yahime's tab.

NAME: YAHIME [FAMILIAR]

HP: 3996/3996

MP: 100/100

END: ???/???

P.ATT: 573

M.ATT: 777

P.DEF: 293

M.DEF: 333

[SKILLS]

[BESTIAL TRANSFORMATION] [INNER VOID] [MATERNAL EMBRACE] [ONE OF MANY] [PERFECT SIGHT] [SHAPESHIFT (MASTER)] [SKILL SHARE] [SOUL ABSORPTION] [VIDE'S FLAME]

Why was her M.ATT so high? It didn't make much sense to me since Yahime couldn't use magic. Still, it fit her monstrous stats. As for her skills, the ones that had remained a mystery were finally given an explanation. Vide must have had something to do with that.

[ONE OF MANY]

0.5% INCREASE TO STATS FOR EVERY NEARBY DUSK.

[MATERNAL EMBRACE]

THE FIRST MORTAL BLOW TO HIT REDUCES HP TO 1.

"Wait, what's this?"

There was a small, unlabeled bar at the bottom of Yahime's page I hadn't noticed. The tooltip only appeared when I focused directly on it.

AWAKENING (II)

2081990/2092020

That's right. She awakened in Edgeton. That's when she learned to speak and started feeling emotions. Wish it said what gave her experience, though.

What would happen if she awakened a second time? My body trembled in anticipation. She was so close! With any luck the upcoming battle would be enough to push her over the edge. As far as her inventory, it was such a hodgepodge of random items I'd thrown that I couldn't be bothered to check it. The only item of worth was Murus's sword and Martoh had yet to give that back.

I yawned, letting my heavy eyelids close. I couldn't predict what would happen. I couldn't even say I wasn't worried. We'd put in our best effort. The rest was up to fate.